Norm Mineta declared that allowing foreign carriers to compete with domestic airlines within the U.S. was a non-starter. Little improves quality and reduces cost like competition, and Mineta will have none of that.Sounds like another good reason to Impeach Norm Mineta.
About Gary Leff
Upping the Ante in Online Rate Guarantees
Several hotels chains offer ‘best rate guarantees’ to lure customers to book rooms on their proprietary websites. They say that if they don’t have the best rate, they’ll provide some compensation. Hotel chains find it very costly to have customers book through other venues, especially the major online booking services. So they say and do whatever they can to encourage customers to book directly with them. Now Cendant hotels (Days Inn, Super 8, Ramada, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, etc.) has come up with a new pledge. They’ll offer the best rate or the first night’s stay is free, up from their old 10% discount.
Foreign language translator
What Flight Attendants Really Mean: What we say: “Yes, it’s mineral water.” What we mean: “Tap water has minerals in it too.” … What we say: “We’re not allowed to give out our layover hotel information.” What we mean: “Not interested.” … What we say: “I recommend the short ribs today.” What we mean: “We’re out of chicken.”
Tahiti Fare Special
Air Tahiti Nui is running a $340 special roundtrip fare on a few dates for Los Angeles-Tahiti (Papeete).This isn’t quite the $220 all the way to New Zealand they were offering a year ago but it isn’t bad!
Points.com bonus for American Airlines transfers
Hot off the presses from Notiflyer, Points.com is providing double points for transfers to American. What’s more PointsPlus members get another 25% bonus. And PointsPlus memberships, which usually run $19.95, are available free… You’ll still lose most of the value as a result of the transfer, but the ratios won’t be as bad. Don’t go consolidating all your accounts, but if you’re trying to top off an American Airlines balance for a specific award this might come in handy.
Charging for Airfare by the Mile
Sun Country Airlines is introducing a new program that customers can join to pay for their flights by the mile, removing advance purchase requirements and other restrictions. Under the program, now in a quiet “soft launch” mode, there are no blackout dates or Saturday night stay restrictions. Fares are pretty much in line with those for 21-day advance purchases. But there are no advance purchase requirements for VIP tickets. Prices are the same even on the day of departure. And the fares include all taxes and fees, Sun Country says. VIP members must pay a $99 initiation fee and $12 monthly membership charge. At this time, VIP members can only buy tickets for themselves. But Mendota Heights-based Sun Country plans to soon offer a family VIP plan, which would cost $15 a month and permit…
Future cost savings for the airlines?
British Airways won’t pay credit card merchant fees on negotiated corporate fares. Instead those fees have to be picked up by corporate clients. American Express sued over this but the lawsuit has been dropped.British Airways still won’t pay the fees, but will no longer be a preferred supplier for Amex travel.My guess is that with BA standing firm in their position not to pay credit card fees that these fees will become a major issue for other carriers as well. Just as airlines have cut travel agent commissions and pushed bookings to their own (less costly) websites, airlines may view credit card fees as a new source of savings moving forward. The settlement raises the question of whether other airlines will follow the lead set by BA and start to pass on merchant fees for…
Book Southwest Airlines tickets via Galileo?
Southwest has long shied away from participating in the large computer reservation systems like Galileo and Worldspan (though there has been some minor Sabre participation). That’s why you can’t book Southwest flights on, say, Expedia or Travelocity. Southwest even stopped filing its fares with the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. in order to prevent Orbitz from using the information. Southwest managed to control the distribution of its tickets very effectively, moving most of its sales to its own website saving distribution costs in the process. Now comes word that a new Galileo tool may make Southwest flights available.
Free Points.com PointsPlus Membership
A current WebFlyer EyeSpy notes: Sign up with FAIRMONT President’s Club for free..(1-800-441-3313 in the US) then as a member you can get a one year complimentary PointsPLUS membership in points.com (a $19.95 value) allowing you unlimited exchanges of your loyalty points for one year. After receiving your president’s club membership, go to www.points.com/fpc
The State of Loyalty Programs
Mileage awards are getting more costly to use but miles are easier to accumulate. My own sense it that this tends to balance out. The article doesn’t even mention increased award opportunities that stem from airline alliances and opportunities for non-travel awards. A similar story with more details on award price increases can be found here. Obviously the revealed preferences of consumers — the fact that programs drive spending behavior — suggest that people believe there’s still alot of value in loyalty programs. Nearly half of all Americans carry credit cards tied to a loyalty program.
