In recent years Alaska has had largely the same limited inventory of Air France awards made available to other partners (so it’s about as bad as availability offered to SkyMiles members). British Airways is hardly a replacement partner, however, given the fuel surcharges imposed on BA awards. Still, Alaska continues to add partners while carriers like American only seem to lose them.
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.
Delta is offering people who turn down the buy up to regular economy a free checked bag if they buy up, at the same $20 increased price (which is less than they charge for a checked bag). That has to be a mistake.
Last week Swiss made first class award space broadly available. Many people made their bookings via Aeroplan, and Swiss unilaterally cancelled the reservations.
This was not a mistake fare, members booked award tickets at the correct published price for the route and cabin. We now have Aeroplan’s updated statement.
Saturday’s Delta flight DL453 from New York JFK to Seattle didn’t make it all the way across country without kids yelling at dad they needed to get off the freeway for a potty break. The pilot landed in Billings, Montana. But there was no gate available.
Less competition shouldn’t always be illegal, but we shouldn’t pretend it’s good for consumers, something that the federal government is supposed to take into account today in deciding whether to grant anti-trust immunity to airline collusion. Neither the United-Air Canada nor Delta-Westjet deals should be approved. And existing deals should be regularly revisited to determine whether the promised consumer benefits have materialized.
Ultimately we need a new approach to anti-trust, but piecemeal exemptions that favor one company over another while going through the kabuki theater that is it’s all about benefits to passengers is simply bad policy.
Air Canada has been advertising a roundtrip fare from Ottawa to Sydney for $439 – that’s $439 Canadian or just $347 – over a limited set of dates.
Despite using the Sydney Opera House in their advertising, they’re actually offering this fare to Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The lack of NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) filed by North Korea about their tests means that there’s a risk of flying in the area that they usually test, in the sea out towards Japan.
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.
Over the weekend a family flying from Maui to Los Angeles on Virgin America was kicked off — because their 3 year old spit up. The mom took her son to the bathroom, they were ‘running up the aisle’ but the boy got sick on the way to the lavatory. She took him inside, finished up, and opened the lavatory door to give the child to her husband so she could clean herself up.
That’s when her husband said, “come on. We have to go. They’re kicking us off the plane.”
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 »
