Category Archives for Airlines.
After spending years asking the federal government to violate a treaty with the United Arab Emirates and block Emirates from flying to the U.S., several months ago they entered into a partnership with the Gulf carrier. The partnership does very little so far, but helped make the case for United to launch its own Newark – Dubai flight.
A passenger on board a Ryanair flight to Tel Aviv was threatened with arrest after objecting to cabin crew announcements that the plane was headed to “Palestine” and trying to photograph the crewmember making the announcement.
United Airlines turned a lot of heads when they brought in a Vice President of Comcast to be the new leader of their MileagePlus frequent flyer program. He had no experience in loyalty or working with airlines. And they were tapping someone from Comcast – one of the companies in America most hated by consumers – to lead their consumer marketing.
Last month an Aerolineas Argentinas crewmember called in a bomb threat – because she was assigned to work alongside her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.
Airlines fly ultra long haul flights, such as New York to Hong Kong or Sydney to Perth, and they usually treat catering similarly to a short hop across the pond from Boston to London – a meal after takeoff, and then something to eat again prior to landing, perhaps with midflight snacks available in the galley. Passengers are hungry.
Southwest is offering 40% off paid and award flights booked by June 15 for travel August 15 – December 14, 2023 using promo code 40OFF.
For years United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has argued that there’s an historical relationship between airfares and GDP. Fares have been lower than they have been in the past, and so they’re likely to snap back. In fact, five years ago, he was essentially arguing that airfares should double based on this natural relationship.
American and Southwest, for their part, face competition in their home market. JSX is allowed to offer convenient scheduled service from private terminals, using their own security (which includes scanners, bag swabs, and ID verification), because they operate with no more than 30 seats per aircraft. American is explicit that their concern is the competitive advantage this gives to JSX.
Female cabin crew at Hainan Airlines – and only women – face immediate suspension if they are 10% above the airline’s ‘standard’ weight limit for their height, as part of the carrier’s image program. It seems to be hurting their image more than helping it? Or maybe it’s guerilla marketing to sell tickets.
Etihad business class award space is wide open this spring, for up to four passengers. And there’s even two first class awards many dates from Washington Dulles as well.
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 »
