A week ago we learned that United would launch Los Angeles – Singapore non-stop flights in October.
The flight will feature United’s typical six-across business class on a Boeing 787-9 (eventually there should be a retrofit to Polaris business class seats) and slimline seats in economy – less padding so they can squeeze in more seats.
Earlier this year I wrote that it’s the golden age of air travel with cheap fares all over the world. Most of those fares have been in economy, with sub-$400 roundtrips to Europe and Asia with amazing flash sales.
The President is expected to announce a new policy towards Cuba as soon as Friday in a planned speech in Miami that would “tighten rules on trade and travel, rolling back parts of former President Barack Obama’s opening to the island.”
Any return to a crackdown on business and tourism is likely to focus rhetoric on abuses of human rights in Cuba, which are of course true. However US policy towards Cuba has failed to foster regime change or liberalization for 50 years, at some point you declare the strategy a failure and try something different instead of doubling down.
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 bulkhead first class passenger on Thursday night’s Alaska Airlines flight AS755 from Seattle to Anchorage was removed from the aircraft at gunpoint on arrival in Alaska.
I care about my American Airlines Executive Platinum status far less than I used to. Airlines want customers to buy the product they want to fly on each trip, but that means flyers will buy it from whomever has the best schedule and price on that trip. I used to go to AA.com whenever I needed to travel, and buy the ticket American was offering. Now I fly a mix of American, United, Delta, Southwest, Virgin America and Alaska. And I’m not alone.
They’ve paid down significant debt, and they have similar future obligation commitments in line with Delta and far below American (largely because of American’s huge aircraft orders the last several years and into the future, but also because of low pension obligations — remember United moved a bunch of this liability onto the federal government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in bankruptcy while legacy American Airlines did not).
Here’s the United fleet plan he laid out, showing that the airline should end 2017 with the same number of aircraft as 2016.
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.
Virgin Atlantic has launched a formal status match program. If you have elite status with another airline (but explicitly not Delta, which is 49% owner of Virgin Atlantic) and a future flight booked they’ll give you 12 months of elite status as a match to your current level.
The Mile High Club is 100 years old. The very first couple to try it were using a Curtiss Flying Boat C‑2 off Long Island. The woman was cheating on her husband who was serving abroad in World War I. They managed to disengage the autopilot while engaged in their congress, sending the plane into the water. They were found naked by duck hunters.
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 »
