Category Archives for Airlines.
Etihad Guest will award 5 million miles to the first member who flies to or from each of the carrier’s 15 brand-new year-round destinations during the coming 12-month window. Two runners-up will pocket 3 million and 1 million miles.
Etihad had been restricting American AAdvantage from booking business and first class long haul awards until 14 days from departure. But something seems to be afoot, because it’s not just the new Atlanta – Abu Dhabi flight that is now open to AAdvantage members.
First class awards are wide open on some routes like Paris to Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi to Singapore. You can even book Etihad First Apartment awards on the Airbus A380, complete with your own room that offers a seat and separate bed, and an onboard shower.
American Airlines should fix standby by reversing policy changes that make them uncompetitive and inconvenient for customers.
Delta Air Lines says they see weak demand for coach travel right now, but no decline in premium cabin demand. Their executives believe that once passengers fly first and business class, they’ll do anything possible not to go back.
The key to getting the most out of miles and points is having some flexibility. If you can only take a certain flight on a specific day, you’ll take or leave what’s available. But if you can shift your plans and take advantage of the awards that are available, when they come up, you can get orders of magnitude greater value – business and first class for the same price as coach, international long haul for the same price as domestic.
Etihad business class is fantastic. Spending American AAdvantage miles on the product is an incredible value, at 70,000 miles each way between the U.S. and Mideast or even connecting over Abu Dhabi to India, Sri Lanka or the Maldives.
Once you see this mistake on an American Airlines plane, you won’t be able to unsee it – and you’ll begin to notice it everywhere: “Use Seat Bottom Cushiom For Flotation”
Flight attendants will still have to ratify the deal. Pending major surprises though it seems likely, though some flight attendants will believe that they can always do better – that you should ‘never take the first deal’. However starting the click on “40% total economic improvements” in the first year along with retro pay is going to be something most crew will want right away.
Southwest Airlines starts charging for checked bags on May 28th. That’s just days away. And they still won’t say how much checked bags are going to cost!
Surely the systems are already programmed (or are they?) They certainly know the pricing. They just won’t tell customers what to expect.
Memorial Day Weekend bookings made between the end of January and mid-May are actually up 6% year-over year when looking at the Thursday-Monday of the 2024 and 2025 holidays.
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 »
