Category Archives for Airlines.
On Friday it was possible to book transatlantic business class award tickets on Air France for as little as 13,500 Flying Blue miles each way and in fact in some cases for just 1,500 points (!).
This was an error in pricing. Some people who booked it will get to travel, while others will have their plans cancelled.
Flight attendants at American Airlines, frustrated by lack of progress on a new contract, have gone online to commiserate and share how much they’re struggling day to day with a raise. Some don’t have money for gas to get to the airport, or to pay their bills and buy food so they make up for it pocketing snacks from the first class snack basket. Some of the stories are heart wrenching.
The Department of Transportation has settled with Southwest Airlines over its meltdown last Christmas, with the airline agreeing to a $140 million penalty (but not really). It took DOT a year to deal with this. Customers who were inconvenienced in the mess do not get anything from this. And Southwest Airlines doesn’t deserve it in any case.
Delta Air Lines and El Al announced a partnership in June. That partnership is now live and it means the end of El Al’s relationship with Alaska Airlines.
Some people like to give out chocolates to their flight crew, or agents in the airline lounge. Others prefer to hand out small Starbucks gift cards. This isn’t expected. Most people do not do this. But for those considering it, is it a good idea? Is it appropriate?
They refuse to show a Jewish sitcom and thinks that this isn’t ‘taking sides in the conflict,’ indeed perhaps the most objectionable thing is British Airways not wanting to take sides against Hamas, terrorism, and the mission to cleanse Jews ‘from the river to the sea’ (and, indeed, beyond).
For years airlines ‘gave away the value of seat assignments for free’ to customers. That’s no longer true. And the tax code encourages airlines to charge for seats, too. That’s because base airfare for domestic flights is taxed at 7.5%, while fees aren’t covered by this excise tax. Airlines have an incentive to move money from the fare into fees.
An American Airlines passenger shared their ordeal boarding a flight with breast milk and being told they weren’t allowed to bring it on board, they’d have to ‘consolidate’ it into their carry on or give it up in order to fly.
The woman began crying and tried to show the agent her employer’s rules. Eventually she broke down, because the milk would spoil without being in the cooler packed with ice the way she was carrying it. She “squash[ed] some of it into [her] bag but couldn’t make it fit with the ice so most of it is unusable.”
Earlier today I wrote about getting transatlantic business class awards for an unheard of 13,500 miles each way.
It turns out there’s an even better deal out there. Business class for practically free: just 1,500 points to fly business class to France.
Alaska is doing something special for their million milers: luggage tags made from the metal of former Alaska Airlines planes.
They’re gifting hand cut luggage tags made from the fuselage of their retired aircraft.
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 »
