I first raised Ariana Afghan Airlines safety issues two years ago. An open secret in Europe has been that the airline is a ticking timebomb waiting for a crash, but nothing was done at the behest of US diplomacy, which wanted to see the Afghanistan carrier succeed. Now that the E.U. has created an airline blacklist, Ariana Afghan is on it along with 91 other carriers, mostly from Africa. Some of this is certainly grandstanding, and no doubt politics comes into play in the creation of the list (and just because an airline isn’t on it doesn’t make that carrier necessarily safe). I notice that North Korea’s Air Koryo is on the list. Readers will correct me if I’m wrong (comments are open) but I’m not aware that Air Koryo flies to Europe to begin…
About Gary Leff
Elite status matters
The Upgrade Travel blog takes on Joe Sharkey’s New York Times declaration that he’s done with airline elite status. Upgrade Travel blog grants that status isn’t as meaningful as it once was (I wouldn’t grant such a thing, actually), but points out the obvious — the problem isn’t elite status per se, the problem is that Continental doesn’t deliver the goods. My Star Alliance Gold status still gets me access to nice lounges around the globe, ability to reserve the better economy seats (without a fee a la Northwest), higher baggage allowances, faster checkin, and shorter waits at security lines. (Not to mention the bonus miles, which he says he can’t use.) And if Joe has problems redeeming awards on Continental (who doesn’t, Skyteam offers poor availability more or less across the board) then his…
Marriott to Display “All-In” Pricing
Mar
21
2006
Hotel Hotsheet reports that Marriott will roll out “Total Trip Pricing” — a commitment to show “all in” costs for their hotel rooms on their website. In other words, taxes, surcharges, and resort fees will be fully disclosed. Small steps towards a better world…
Hertz to Impose No-Show Fees on U.K. Customers
Hotels have moved to become more like airlines over the past few years, with non-refundable internet prepaid rates and moving back the deadline for cancelling a guaranteed room without penalty (often now it’s 6pm the day before checkin instead of day of — and some resort properties require much earlier cancellations, even weeks). Airlines themselves have become more like airlines, with most change penalties moving from a pittance up to $100 (though the odd route on some carriers is still $50 mostly as a result of competitive requirements, Alaska is generally $50 across the board and JetBlue is just $25). It’s remained something of a mystery why rental cars haven’t been able to move to a penalty-laden pricing model. But Hertz appears to be making baby steps towards changing that. They’ve announced their intention to…
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Northwest lies about the advantages of charging for premium coach seats.
Mar
21
2006
Last week I mentioned that I didn’t think Northwest’s move to charge for ‘premium’ seats in coach (which, outside of exit rows, aren’t in any way actually better) was a big deal. For infrequent flyers it’s neutral or a positive, the opportunity to access seats — though not meaningfully better — otherwise were mostly available to Northwest elites. For frequent flyers it’s more or less a non-issue: if you’re regularly flying Northwest and spending much time at all in coach you should be changing airlines. The only positive Northwest has is its domestic upgrade program, which isn’t just complimentary but also something they regularly deliver on. Still, charging elites for something they used to get for free (without even anything new offered up in return) is never a good thing. But what really irks me…
If it was almost any other hotel chain I’d so be there..
(Ok, not any other chain, Radisson wouldn’t count!) Best Western is awarding lifetime Diamond status to everyone who stays 60 nights in 2006. (Via The Global Traveller.)
Free $5 Starbucks Card
Mar
20
2006
HP is offering a $5 Starbucks card for customizing your profile with them. You don’t even have to sign up for spam. Starbucks card offers rarely come, but it’s about 15 seconds of work…
Le Meridien Now a Part of Starwood Preferred Guest
After some stops, starts, and glitches over the weekend it looks the like Le Meridien properties have gone live on the Starwood website and most are now listed as award redemption options as well. The integration is official, and Starwood elite members should now expect to have their status benefits honored across participating properties in the chain. (Notably absent are the Parker Meridien properties in New York and Palm Springs, which didn’t participate in the old Moments program either — as well as about ten other properties.)
Hotel Discount Codes
Orbitz is offering $50 Off hotel bookings of 3 or more nights. Discount code is 831750. It’s valid for stays through April 30th but the booking must be made by March 22. This presumably applies only to OrbitzSaver prepaid hotel deals. Meanwhile, Travelocity is offering $10 off “Good Buy” hotels with code HTL10. This can be used even on a single night stay, but can only be used once per Travelocity account (except for Travelocity VIPs who can use it an unlimited number of times). Flyertalk member CalItalian reported these discounts and noted, regarding the $50 Orbitz coupon, Best deals I found were weeknights in Reno or Laughlin, NV. 3*, 3 night stay with coupon for $25 to $28 plus tax.
