A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Customers flew throughout 2017 for their elite benefits this year. They’ve been flying all this year on the promise of benefits they’d have for the remainder of the year (if a higher status) and next year. That’s why it’s terrible when a program takes away elite benefits during the program year.
American Airlines even sells elite status renewals. AAdvantage Gold, for instance, can sell for $699.
This tells me they’re thinking about their strategy against online booking sites, rather than thinking about their customers. If someone spends 55 nights or more a year (or spends over $20,000) with Hyatt they’re a valuable customer every time they walk through the door.
If a top tier elite books through Expedia because the rate was lower, or because the hotel was sold out on the Hyatt site but still available at GetARoom they’re demonstrating their loyalty. Treating them less well than a first time guest simply makes no sense.
easyJet flight U2-6267 from Bristol, UK to Prague was cancelled on Friday and all 140 passengers onboard offloaded from the aircraft when a group decided to “treat[..] the plane like a nightclub.”
Etihad has been pulling back from the U.S., just as they’ve been pulling back from investments in foreign airlines. They decided to stem their losses in air berlin and Alitalia. They’ve cut routes around the world as their appetite for growth at the expense of their balance sheet has subsided.
They eliminated their Dallas Fort-Worth flight after American severed its codesharing relationship. They eliminated their San Francisco flight after Air India starting San Francisco – Delhi.
Yesterday’s news about Hyatt Place simultaneously oversold and undersold the changes being made.
What they didn’t say in the release was that early check-in at Hyatt Place hotels would be confirmed in advance for Globalists and Explorists rather than offered if available when you show up at the hotel.
AccorHotels is considering buying a stake in Air France KLM because they can sell hotels and air in one shot, to both Accor and Air France customers. We’ve seen this play before.
American Airlines flight AA1897 from San Antonion to Phoenix ran into strong storms over New Mexico. It was pummeled by hail.
The Airbus A319 with 130 passengers onboard had its nose cone smashed and windshield cracked. One of the pilots couldn’t see out. But they managed to get the plane on the ground safely in El Paso last night.
Cathay Pacific will be rotating vintage champagnes in first class each month throughout the whole route network. This month will be 2004 Krug.
And they’re bringing back the predeparture amuse bouche for a three month trial on Hong Kong to Chicago, Boston, and New York JFK flights.
oneworld has three elite tiers. Star Alliance and SkyTeam have two. Star Alliance says they’re considering a third, a new top tier. But they aren’t saying what that would look like but it probably would involve devaluation of Gold.
Star Alliance also wants to introduce ‘dynamic redemption’ in other words revenue-based ‘miles and money’ across the alliance, spending points from one program as cash to buy a seat on another.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
