Category Archives for Airlines.
Over the holidays I saw reports of American Airlines selling upgrades from Los Angeles to Sydney (from coach to business class) for $350 and I thought that this must be a mistake. Lucky passenger!
However there are several data points of American Airlines selling long haul business class upgrades at this price.
United Airlines was the first airline to create a nonsmoking section back in 1971. Delta was the first to fully ban smoking worldwide in 1994. U.S. airlines were no longer permitted to allow smoking on any flight starting in 2000. Yet planes still have ashtrays! You’ll usually find them in or near the lavatory, because customers may smoke even though it’s illegal to do so. Passengers need to be told when not to smoke. And crewmembers need to be able to turn on that sign. If they can’t turn it on, because it is always on, then an exemption from the rule must be requested. Oops!
Three years ago United Airlines launched ‘agent on demand’ where customers would reach local agents, rather than a call center, when contacting customer service via their mobile device – scan a QR code at a hub, and chat by voice or video to deal with rebooking and other issues. This is a great feature, especially for the average passenger. It helps get real help faster, and utilizes agents efficiently.
It isn’t great for everyone, though.
When flight attendants first get started, wages are very low, and those assigned to big cities may be eligible for food stamps. Some crew live off stealing food from first class snack baskets.
But since they’re working perhaps just 75 ‘paid’ hours per month, they have the perfect opportunity to build a side hustle.
The pair booked window and aisle seats. When a middle seat passenger showed up on the Saturday flight, Congresswoman Pelosi gave him the window seat. This is being touted in the media as offering that passenger an “upgrade” rather than “strategy.”
Avoiding checked luggage saves time and reduces the risk of loss, but if unavoidable, using specific credit cards for protection, maximizing baggage allowances, not checking valuable items, and considering luggage trackers can mitigate the hassles.
Tipping is out of control. We now get presented with an option to tip even at self-checkout. At the Austin airport I was asked to tip when buying a water from a machine that was programmed not to accept $0 as an input.
The U.S. tipping culture always seemed strange, with customers supplementing worker wages, but this used to be limited to personal services provided by low wage workers. Now it’s everywhere.
I love premium products, and innovative ideas. So I’m rooting for Beond to succeed. But I’ve been skeptical of filling an all business class plane (most airlines go with a mix of products for a reason), based in a highly seasonal destination, operating only a few flights a week to each destination.
Fortunately on Thursday I had the opportunity to speak with the airline’s Chairman and CEO, Tero Taskila, to see whether he could turn around my skepticism.
American Airlines sent a redeye flight from Los Angeles to New York on February 2 without working electrical systems. There was only emergency lighting in the cabin. Flight attendants couldn’t prepare food in the galley of the cross country flight, and business and first class seats didn’t have power so could not recline. Toilets did not flush.
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 »
