A huge challenge for businesses with high fixed costs is how to unload spoiling inventory without lowering the price existing customers pay. Airline seats that take off empty generate nothing for the carrier. Hotel beds that go empty on a given night can’t be resold in the future.
Restaurants have empty seats, too the rent is paid for and there’s very little extra staff time at the margin on a given night when an extra customer walks through the door.
Avianca’s LifeMiles is a fantastic frequent flyer program because they give you access to Star Alliance award travel, they don’t add fuel surcharges to any awards, have a reasonable award chart and sell miles super cheap.
In fact the head of the program has described the miles they sell as ‘good miles’ and the miles earned from flying as ‘bad miles’.
Marriott has a job listing for a Vice President, Global Card Program who will oversee 12 card products in 5 countries representing $55 billion in charge volume.
Hurricane Maria is dumping three feet of water on Puerto Rico. It’s taken out much of the power on the island. San Juan International is closed today, hopefully re-opening tomorrow but we’ll learn more soon. That seems optimistic. Other airports are closed too.
Former Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers discusses infrastructure investment through bets on building airports.
But he’s wrong about Washington Dulles.
With American Express’ Platinum cards you get access to American Express Centurion lounges, Priority Pass lounges, as well as Airspace and Escape lounges.
Now there’s a new addition to the lounge portfolio you can guest yourself into.
A passenger snapped a photo as he disembarked a flight and saw a beer in the cockpit.
The airline initially claimed it wasn’t their flight. Then the airline claimed “the can had been given to the pilot for safe keeping.”
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.
It’s often been said that there are two kinds of luggage: carry on and lost.
Baggage handlers don’t usually just send your stuff somewhere else for kicks. But one man did, hundreds of times, and for months. He’s being charged criminally.
There are easter eggs here, like as others have noted the Boeing 787 mother and her 737 child. Sadly despite the impending 747 retirement the Queen of the Skies made no appearance as Pa.
Oscar Munoz says thank you in Spanish. Some will see that as political but United’s global themed safety videos predate the election.
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 »
