Category Archives for Airlines.
Ben Lipsey, head of Air France KLM Flying Blue who got his start in the airline industry by messaging Air Canada’s President on FlyerTalk to score an internship when he was 20 years old and eventually moved over with Ben Smith when he became CEO of Air France KLM, gave an interview where he talked about the importance of the program’s value proposition for Americans.
While speaking with American AAdvantage Managing Director Heather Samp about changes to status qualifying and benefits for 2023, I asked about changes to award redemption. I wasn’t expecting to get an answer. She was more forthcoming than I expected!
American Airlines is making several changes to status-earning and adding milestones at which you’ll receive additional benefits for 2023.
They’re also removing the flight requirement to earn milestone benefits; increasing the Loyalty Points required for Gold status, while leaving all other levels the same; lifting the cap on the number of miles you can earn for a ticket; and changing mileage-earning on basic economy tickets. It’s also going to take more Loyalty Points to earn choice benefits for Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members.
Japan Airlines will introduce a new lifetime status-earning program in 2024 that is based not just on flying but co-brand credit card spend and shopping, too.
Madrid-based oneworld airline Iberia is introducing new business class suites with doors. This isn’t a future product we’ll see years down the road. It’s already flying. In fact it’s received an aircraft featuring these seats – an Airbus A350 registration EC-NXE.
Spirit Airlines looked at telephone data and remittance data to get a sense for ties between the U.S. and a new city they might serve in Latin America. Volaris sent someone to a bus depot to count passengers.
A group of Frontier Airlines passengers banded together to rent a van for an overnight drive rather than endure travel on the airline, after their initial 650 mile flight from Orlando to Knoxville was cancelled last Sunday.
The airline told them the next flight they could take would be two days later, and so they decided 10 hours with Hertz would be far better than 48 hours to their destination with an air carrier. And they took to TikTok to document the journey.
On Saturday I wrote about wide open United Airlines award space nearly every day from Los Angeles to London in business class for four or more passengers this spring and summer.
Business class awards to Europe during peak season have been tough. It’s especially hard from the West Coast. And harder still when you’re looking for more than two seats. So this was huge. But it gets even better. There’s amazing United Airlines saver award space on numerous routes to Europe.
In 2017 Air Canada violated the ‘three hour tarmac delay rule’ by not allowing passengers to get off the aircraft, and the Department of Transportation has issued a $100,000 fine. But they’re learning that miles given to customers give airlines a 60% discount on DOT fines.
Business class awards to Europe during peak season have been tough. It’s especially hard from the West Coast. And harder still when you’re looking for more than two seats. Fortunately right now United has 4 or more business class saver awards available flying Los Angeles – London Heathrow nearly every day this spring and summer.
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 »
