Category Archives for Airlines.
While the Airbus A321XLR is still in the future – the aircraft hasn’t been certified yet, so Airbus can’t deliver any – American is beginning the process of switching its existing fleet of A321T planes into the standard, less luxurious configuration.
Delta Air Lines has moved to spending only as a metric for earning status. And they’re considering no longer awarding full credit for your spending, unless you buy more expensive fares. That’s one lesson of a new product survey they’re sending to frequent flyers that helps them sort through how much extra customers will pay to earn qualifying dollars.
Other ideas being tested include bringing back change fees unless customers buy up to a more expensive fare and return of fees for getting help from reservations, with free assistance via chat features only.
Last Spring United Airlines introduced wings with crew names and pronouns. These replaced separate nametags and crew wings. And the flight attendants union filed a grievance – not against the option to display pronouns, but because they say this jeopardized flight attendant safety.
American Airlines upgrades on Qantas are now live. It’s managed by PlusGrade, the company that sells ‘bidding for upgrade’ programs to airlines. And it’s a “cash or miles” upgrade option. Basically you have the ability to upgrade on Qantas, as a Qantas member might, but pay using AAdvantage miles. And this is the oneworld upgrade program.
Southwest has a government-granted near monopoly at Dallas Love Field airport. The airline, which fought tooth and nail for the right to be allowed to fly there as an upstart, now uses government to keep out competition.
During the American Airlines Investor Day on Monday afternoon, an analyst asked whether American would be open to re-starting its partnership with JetBlue. When the government sued to break up the deal, the judge in the case argued that it’s carving up who flies where that was an anti-trust violation. The judge’s decision was clear that a partnership along the lines of how American and Alaska Airlines work together in their ‘West Coast Alliance’ would have been legal.
American Airlines held its Investor Day on Monday afternoon. There was a surprising amount about the AAdvantage program in the discussion, in addition to what you’d expect about airline strategy.
We can expect to see some changes in how miles are awarded (more miles), new redemption options, and better redemptions for members with status. And there’s an explicit commitment not just to defend the value of their miles, but to ensure their currency provides greater value per mile than competitor airlines and even banks do.
A week ago I wrote that American Airlines would announce a big order for new planes on March 4th. Now they have done just that, placing an order for 260 planes: 85 Airbus A321neo, 85 Boeing 737 MAX 10, and 90 Embraer E175 aircraft.
It seems clear that JetBlue is better off without the distraction and cost of a Spirit Airlines acquisition. They should work on a new American Airlines alliance similar to American’s deal with Alaska, which the anti-trust judge outlined would be permissible (and American in its earnings call said they’d consider a new partnership).
They need to get their operation under control, rebuild service to Boston, shift away from long haul international growth where they’re bleeding, and walk away from Southern California. Or else, expect Carl Icahn to dismantle the carrier and sell it for parts.
Is American Airlines bumping paying passengers so that they can fly migrants out of southern border airports? That’s the claim being made across some sectors of the media. It takes one element of truth – that the number of migrants on planes out of a handful of airports has become substantial – and mixed it with an odd anecdote about a man who may have checked in late for his American Airlines flight and lost his seat.
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 »
