Category Archives for Airlines.
A status match campaign that only offers a match, and processes the match is… ok. But it’s also a wasted opportunity. The match needs to be as fast and seamless as possible, and then needs to follow up with the customer to help them understand and use their benefits and see why their choice to shift their business is a good one for them.
No matter what you think of JSX even (and they are fully legal, achieve high safety standards, and deliver a quality product), it’s embarrassing to see one-time maverick Southwest Airlines having turned into a creature of cronyism. They’re using the government to shut down competition at Dallas Love Field the way that major airlines in the 1970s tried to use government to shut down competition from them.
The United Airlines flight attendants union, AFA-CWA, has seen its negotiations with the airline drag on. They’ve been without a new contract since the last one become amendable in August 2021. And they have been talking up strikes.
Keyed to the airline’s announcement of an order for 110 new planes, flight attendants union President Ken Diaz put out a statement suggesting the airline is prioritizing planes over people.
SAS EuroBonus offers Gold status to those who hold 100,000 shares in the airline, and those shares are cheap while the carrier is in bankruptcy. But there are risks and hurdles that will keep most away from this lucrative offer.
With Lufthansa tied to United and Air Canada, Air France KLM tied to Delta, and British Airways tied to American the transatlantic market has become far more concentrated inside of “metal neutral, anti-trust immunized, revenue-sharing joint ventures.” There are only a handful of players across the Pond operating with significant frequency outside of the one of these deals.
At the end of last year United Airlines ordered 100 Boeing 787s with options for 100 more, in addition to ordering 56 Boeing 737 Maxs and exercising options on 44 that were previously ordered as part of a massive buy in 2021.
United is going back to market for even more planes.
Delta wants us to believe that they are just trying to solve a problem – that there are too many elites for the benefits available like upgrades and club access. They have no choice! Victims of their own success!
The truth is that planned Delta changes weren’t about scarcity of benefits or too many Diamonds. It was all about squeezing customers for more American Express spend because Delta is trying to move from $7 billion in revenue from American Express to $10 billion. But they went too far.
There was a 352% increase in negative online commentary about Delta following their announced changes, and that’s compared to the week of the Delta diarrhea plane.
Airline expenses break down across planes, labor, and jet fuel. The amount of fuel it takes to fly a plane varies based on how much weight the plane needs to carry. So if passengers would lose weight, airlines would save money. If everyone dropped 10 pounds on Ozempic, United Airlines would save $80 million per year.
Two grandparents traveling with their 11 month old grandson were met by police on arrival in Detroit on Sunday after a flight attendant reported them for human trafficking.
They had flown in from Punta Cana, where the grandmother had spoken at a conference. Dee Dee Ohara Blizard is Black, and her husband is Japanese. And the child’s skin color looks different than theirs. That appears to have raised alarms with Delta cabin crew.
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 »
