Category Archives for Airlines.
Virgin Australia went through bankruptcy during Covid. Under new Bain Capital management they hired the former head of Qantas’ Jetstar, who had just accepted a senior job with Qantas Frequent Flyer, to run their Velocity Frequent Flyer program. And Qantas tried to have him jailed.
I’ve fallen in love with some first class amenity kits over time, from Singapore Airlines to Asiana to Thai Airways. Business class amenity kits are usually far more pedestrian, from the bags themselves to their contents. Still, there are sometimes kits which are quite fun. Before the pandemic, when Delta was more of a premium airline inflight, their last amenity kit was Tumi with a couple of Le Labo items inside.
Air Canada has introduced a new Acqua di Parma amenity kit, a thoughtful premium brand choice.
The tag line for Kevin Smith’s Clerks was, “just because they serve you doesn’t mean they like you.” Just imagine what they do behind your back! When you aren’t looking, baggage handlers have been known to ignore bags, throw bags for fun, toss them in the trash and steal from them. When a baggage handler has plenty of baggage themselves, bad things happen.
I cannot say how long Swiss will make first class redemptions available to all Miles & More members, or even that they will not have ‘sellers remorse’. There’s no discount here, of course, just a redemption opportunity they do not normally offer.
Air Niugini stresses that they are “completely up to date with [their] payments to PUMA Energy.” However it appears that Puma – like many companies operating in Papua New Guinea – has been unable to exchange their local currency for foreign reserves.
In 2019 Lufthansa abruptly terminated the ability to transfer points from Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton and others into Miles & More. That made it tough for Americans to get their points. For most, it meant you’d need to spend on a Barclays-issued co-brand Miles & More credit card, or credit flights to Lufthansa’s frequent flyer program.
The explanation at the time was that German law made it impossible for them to continue allowing. Germany’s Payment Services Supervision Act was being interpreted to count a mileage transfer as a payment service which requires registration, government supervision, and “strong customer authentication” among other requirements.
Effective today Bask Bank is now awarding 2 American AAdvantage miles per dollar annually on its Bask Mileage Savings Account, an increase of 1/3 over the previous 1.5 miles per dollar and double where the earn rate was in July.
There’s also a compelling offer for opening a new Bask Mileage Savings Account by December 15, 2022.
American Airlines is phasing out the AAirpass program, which allowed customers to prepay for travel at flat rates and receive extra benefits – like no changes or cancel fees; premium seating; Admirals Club access; and even ConciergeKey status with larger purchases.
In September American Airlines removed the option to put a flight on a 24 hour hold, rather than purchasing it right away. Competitors haven’t had this option for years. It’s one of the things that set American Airlines apart and made them easier to buy from.
Now it’s been restored.
Protests have been ongoing in Iran for the past 10 weeks, precipitated by a woman who was beaten and killed by authorities for ‘improperly’ wearing her hijab. To prevent citizens from seeing the protests, seeing them spread, and feeling confident in defying the regime, internet access in the country has been limited. Their Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says these “riots” are in fact war perpetrated by foreign governments and dissidents.
Mahan Air flight attendant Sanz Keshavarz, who worked the Airbus A340, reportedly took part in protests and was killed by the government in response. The airline – which is said to work closely with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – has been said to warn all of their employees who attended the woman’s funeral that they could be prosecuted.
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 »
