An Alaska Airlines baggage agent at Newark air[port faced off with a customer over delayed luggage, losing it not just on the customer but with another passenger who tried to help de-escalate things.
Delta Air Lines confirmed during its second quarter earnings call a plan for ‘basic business.’ Just like they have ‘unbundled’ economy class, offering basic economy that doesn’t allow changes or mileage-earning and where you don’t get to pick your own seat, they view ‘unbundling’ of the features of business class a new step in maximizing revenue from customers.
Delta Air Lines is earning half the industry’s profit. They had a 13.6% operating margin and made $1.3 billion in the last quarter. That’s great – except that both figures are down year-over-year and the airline lowered its guidance for the third quarter as well. Their stock lost 8% of its value at the open on Thursday’s morning’s announcement, though it gained half of that back by the end of the trading day.
The airline’s spin is that there’s too much capacity, and the problem is other airlines, but the industry is correcting itself. In other words, the problem isn’t Delta, and going forward Delta won’t have a problem. I don’t think this actually makes sense.
Savings on stays is the interesting play with Expedia’s OneKey Rewards, and the easiest way to earn status that yields that savings is by having one of their new credit cards from Wells Fargo.
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.
Union organizers at Delta are lambasting management for not sticking up for flight attendants who wear Palestine flag pins. In fact, they’re publicly standing up for flight attendants who have been wearing Palestine flag pins.
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.
Fiji Airways will launch non-stop service from Dallas – Fort Worth to Nadi, Fiji. This route makes a ton of sense, with the carrier becoming a full member of oneworld and adopting American’s AAdvantage as its frequent flyer program. I would not be surprised to see them add Seattle, home to oneworld member Alaska Airlines, in the future as well.
Star Alliance frequent flyer program Avianca LifeMiles is testing points transfers with Brazilian carrier Gol, which is a much bigger deal than it might seem at first.
I have a bit of an idiosyncratic preference for the bulkhead seats at the front of the cabin when I’m flying business class. And most people would disagree. In fact, in many cases the first row of business class is going to be unpopular when it’s right behind the galley and right behind the lavatory.
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 »
