American is bringing US Airways onto its reservation system slowly between July and October. But there’s also going to be a test on June 23, when 10 US Airways Express flights will operate as American flights, and are loaded onto American’s Sabre reservation system.
IATA has issued new recommendations for maximum carry on size — and it’s smaller than what the major US airlines currently allow. Is it just a ploy to extract more checked bag fees from passengers?
American and Qantas have announced a joint venture that begins with American flying Los Angeles – Sydney and Qantas restarting San Francisco – Sydney service… and is expected to grow, possibly adding new service to Auckland as well.
Virgin Money subverts (or reveals…) the very meaning of the Sex Pistols with the new Sex Pistols MasterCard. Almost as much irony as the Karl Marx MasterCard from Sparkasse bank!
There was apparently a technical glitch preventing American AAdvantage from booking Etihad first class award seats. That’s been resolved — first class awards are back!
At 4pm Eastern today American Airlines will announce Australia service! I’m betting that it’s Los Angeles – Sydney in a joint venture with Qantas, served by a Boeing 777-300ER.
A collection of interesting links you’ll want to see, many you’ll want to click.
Airlines want lower costs to distribute their tickets and greater flexibility in how their fares are displayed — especially the ability to upsell unbundled products through whatever channels are distributing their fares.
Delta is limiting the sites that can display its fares. Lufthansa has declared that all ‘indirect channels’ (like travel agents, online booking websites) have to pass on a 16 euro fee for their tickets.
This is a war between airlines and their distribution partners, and they’ll bloody each other in the process. While not convenient for consumers, you won’t really feel the losses here.
American AAdvantage is currently unable to ‘see’ Etihad first class award space. This isn’t like past glitches, business and economy awards appear unaffected.
US airlines have about $30 billion in net operating loss carry forwards worth over $10 billion in tax savings. At a time of record profits, the US tax code won’t require them to pay much if any federal taxes. Is that a subsidy, or just plain fair? And should they be screaming about the subsidies they argue airlines in other countries receive?
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 »
