Category Archives for Airlines.
In 1971 Southwest Airlines had just won a legal victory that would allow them to fly. Their first big investor joined the board of the company. And he had two ideas for what they should do. Southwest would have been a very different company, and air travel in the U.S. would have been very different.
Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja explains that their schedule is the product.
So it didn’t at all surprise me when airline CEO Robert Isom answered the question what is your favorite plane with “My favorite plane now is planes that deliver on time.”
Northern Pacific Airways is promoting that its Flycoin frequent flyer currency “is honored to be named one of PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups for 2023.” Because what could be more right now with FTX imploding; crypto exchange Gemini – founded by the Winklevi – facing pressure; Terra and Luna showing that stablecoins aren’t so stable; and 3AC collapsing?
Frontier Airlines is offering its “GoWild!” unlimited flying pass for $599 the first year. If you don’t cancel it will auto-renew for $1999 the second year. It’s a brilliant way for the airline to monetize seats that are otherwise-likely to go empty, and can be a great deal for travelers living in major Frontier cities like Denver, Orlando and Las Vegas.
This lets you buy an unlimited number of domestic U.S. flights, booked the day prior to travel, for just $0.01 in airfare plus taxes and fees (or in most cases less than $15 per flight).
In many ways the American Airlines move to ‘trip credits’ and away from ‘flight credits’ has been great. When you have a travel credit with the airline you can use it for your own future travel – or to book travel for someone else.
The change has been a gradual one over several years, and American has implemented the next phase of the change: International Expansion – Phase 2, according to an internal document reviewed by View From The Wing.
American Airlines will be introducing new amenity kits and bedding when they roll out their new business class suite in 2024. However they have a new set of amenity kits that are beginning to be used now.
It’s been several years since I’ve shared thoughts on effective philanthropy and donating miles. It certainly seems like we have more crises, more often, and more needs top of mind for help than ever before. I suspect that might not be correct in absolute terms, but the breadth of speed of information flow brings needs to the forefront constantly. And for many people, especially readers of this blog, miles may be an underexploited resource to help.
A Southwest Airlines passenger had left their phone behind in the gate area. They’d already boarded their flight, and the plane had pushed back. A gate agent worked to get the phone down to the ramp. A ramp worker brought it out to the aircraft. They weren’t going to open the aircraft door. Instead, the pilot opened the cockpit window and leaned out. Stretched as far as he could out the window, the ramper jumped as high as he could to pass off the phone.
On November 14, 1992 Vietnam Airlines flight 474 crashed during a tropical cyclone as it approached Nha Trang. The Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft was carrying 25 passengers and six crew. Only one person, a passenger, survived.
The sixteen year old Soviet-built aircraft had departed Ho Chi Minh City. As it neared Nha Trang Airport, it descended below its expected altitude. It hit trees and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed.
The month before the pandemic American Airlines lost 75,000 checked bags. Incoming CEO Robert Isom told an internal group of American employees just after that that “every lost bag is nearly $60.”
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 »
