Category Archives for Airlines.
Southwest Airlines and JetBlue rumors have been swirling all weekend. It’s not clear exactly what is going on, but some expect that there will be an announcement on Monday with markets closed for Presidents Day. Another rumor – without a JetBlue component – is that Southwest could be announcing a 10% layoff.
Passengers had been told after takeoff that “they would not be permitted to leave their seats” for the entire flight due to weather-related turbulence expected for the full flight. Cabin crew would not be getting up, either – and “that includes to unlock the bathroom doors.”
They want to cram in as many passengers as possible. Every inch that’s used for something else – like lavatories and gallies – is seen as money left on the table.
Southwest Airlines is trying to tailor their product to get customers to spend more. They’re going to introduce assigned seats and extra legroom seats. You’ll no longer pick your own seat when you board. This means changes to their credit cards. At competitor airlines, cards usually come with boarding benefits. Southwest’s premium card offers a statement credit for buying earlier boarding, which gets you a better seat assignment. They’ve talked about card benefits needing to evolve with the way they’re changing the airline, but haven’t talked specifics. I haven’t seen much notice of this, but Southwest Airlines has posted how their credit card customers will be treated under new assigned seating and premium seating that the carrier plans to roll out. All Rapid Rewards Credit Cards will include new complimentary seating and boarding benefits, as…
United Airlines flight 23 from Newark to Dublin diverted to St. Johns, Newfoundland with a medical emergency on Thursday. Passengers are still stuck there days later, with little hope in sight and no plan to fly out today.
For years I’ve written that American Airlines has high costs, and can’t win with a strategy of aping Spirit and Frontier (despite that having been Isom’s focus while President of the airline). Over the past three years they’ve been focused primarily on costs when they largely have a revenue problem. They need to earn a revenue premium because saving an incremental $100 million through purchasing efficiencies and product cuts doesn’t move the needle, and can be more than offset in revenue losses.
They seem to be realizing this.
Southwest Airlines flight attendants union board member Chris Click just came out of an executive board meeting and took to social media, fueling speculation that the carrier could be close to announcing a deal to acquire another airline.
When Alaska rolled out a new distance-based award chart that covered all of their partners and all regions of the world, they said they would introduce the ability to combine different partner airlines on a single award ticket redemption. That’s something they had teased since joining oneworld and again promised for this winter.
Fresh on the heels of naming a new Chief Customer Officer, American Airlines has named a new head of the AAdvantage frequent flyer program. Scott Long moves over from investor relations to become Senior Vice President of AAdvantage.
I had the chance to try BLADE helicopter transfers in New York for the first time, and it was very cool but it’s not perfect. There are two things that concern me.
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 »
