American Airlines sends out surveys to about 12% of passengers after their flights, and they get a 10% response rate — or about 90,000 surveys back each month. That way they can compare their performance month-over-month.
To compare their performance against other airlines they use metrics from JD Power and Airs@t.
“Upon entering the plane the [flight attendant] at the door greeted us with a banana in hand and mouth.”
Uber is now admitting that they were hacked a year ago and didn’t tell anyone. Data on 57 million riders was stolen, and information on 600,000 drivers was taken as well. Uber paid off the hackers to destroy the data.
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.
A woman in New Hampshire has been arrested for redeeming Delta SkyBonus points. That’s their small business program, like American’s Business ExtrAA and United PerksPlus. She was the manager on her employer’s account, and used the points even after she was let go in 2013.
There’s an annual festival in Arkansas where live turkeys are dropped from an airplane. Attendees chase the surviving turkeys hoping to catch them.
The FAA said it would investigate but has determined they have no regulations that prevent turkeys from falling from the sky (last year two died on impact).
A reader noticed something funny happening with United miles (plus cash co-pay) upgrades. If the first segment of the itinerary didn’t clear, the miles and co-pay would get credited back even if the first segment was a short flight and the long international flight was upgraded to business class.
China is North Korea’s primary sponsor state. But North Korea is also a problem for China. Kim Jong Un’s saber rattling leads to the militarization of South Korean and potential re-arming of Japan, challenging Chinese hegemony in North Asia.
Meanwhile, as the U.S. antagonizes North Korea, if China plays a role containing them they gain prestige on the world stage — equal to or in excess of the United States.
The new Qatar Airways cargo flight to Pittsburgh will receive subsidies… from the region’s airport authority.
Pittsburgh is also subsidizing Alaska Airlines, Wow Air, and Condor.
American Airlines surveyed their workforce in a major endeavor called “American Voice.” And it took responses from 59,197 employees or 53% of mainline American to learn what I’ve been saying for some time: more pay doesn’t translate to better service or happier employees.
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 »
