May
18
2022
Sometimes airline union leaders flat out steal from their members. Sometimes it’s more subtle.
Flight Attendants Union Sells Out Spirit Airlines Cabin Crew: Lower Wages For You!
Airlines
Category Archives for Airlines.
Why Air Canada Wants Members To Get Great Value From Award Redemption (And Delta Doesn’t)
May
17
2022
On Sunday I covered remarks by the head of the Delta SkyMiles program where he explained, among other things, why Delta doesn’t try to offer awards that look like outsized value to the member the way that Air Canada Aeroplan does.
So it seemed worth looking at Mark Nasr’s comments at the same Skift conference. Mark is Air Canada’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Digital, Product, and Brand and oversees the Aeroplan program. He explains why it’s important to deliver good value awards to customers in order to succeed.
Passenger Loses iPad In Business Class Seat, Gets Reunited With It Two Years Later
May
17
2022
In January 2020 a passenger lost their iPad on an American Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Dallas – Fort Worth. As they explained it “somehow got ‘swallowed’ by [the] seat” in business class.
The passenger reports that the pilot (!) helped him to “partially strip away some of the seat upholstery including the life vest” but they weren’t able to find it. And they abandoned the search.
American Airlines Becomes More Flexible Rebooking Passengers On Other Airlines During Delays
May
16
2022
When things go wrong with an airline’s operation most carriers have “interline agreements” that let them put their passengers on another airline’s flights. However in 2018 American Airlines decided it was too expensive to put passengers on other airlines when they cancelled their own flights.
There’s an ability for American Airlines agents to make exceptions to this policy, and these are important for passengers without status flying coach to know about and ask for.
JetBlue Makes Hostile Bid For Spirit Airlines, Attacks Spirit Board
May
16
2022
JetBlue wants Spirit Airlines shareholders to vote against merging with Frontier Airlines. They’ve reiterated their offer of more money to buy Spirit. They’ve reduced their offer from $33 to $30 per share but are dangling an additional 10% – back up to $33 per share in cash – subject to negotiation and due diligence.
JetBlue’s offer is for substantially more money. It does not provide greater certainty, as they claim, though. There is more regulatory risk though it’s difficult to evaluate exactly how much. There should be a path to solve this though through negotiation if JetBlue is as confident in closing the transaction as they claim: a higher breakup fee.
Head Of Delta SkyMiles Explains Why They Charge So Much More For Awards Than Other Airlines
The inimitable Brian Sumers interviewed the Vice President of the Delta SkyMiles program for Skift and put the question to Prashant Sharma why does Delta charge so many more miles for the best awards than other airlines?
And Sharma’s answer is pretty simple: it’s because they can get away with it, and customers keep earning SkyMiles and signing up for the Delta credit card.
American Telling Gate Agents Not To Remove Passengers From Flight To Accommodate Late Standbys
May
15
2022
Standbys are being cleared earlier automatically and upgrades are now being cleared earlier by the ‘Agent Assist’ program which was developed to make work at the boarding gate easier, support single agent boarding, and still allow a flight to go off on time.
But with standbys and upgrades happening earlier, more customers are showing up at the gate asking to get on board after most seats have already been given away.
Bernie Sanders Spotted Flying First Class On Friday (And That’s Just Fine)
May
14
2022
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was photographed flying first class on American Airlines Friday enroute to a Pittsburgh event where he campaigned for State Rep. Summer Lee who is running for Congress in Pennsylvania. Sanders was wearing a mask.
Covid Tests For Travel To U.S. Could End By Summer
May
14
2022
There’s an argument for slowing down spread when you’re on the cusp on prophylactics and treatments, or when hospital capacity is overwhelmed. Neither is the case today, so while a test prior to travel reduces the likelihood a given individual is infectious at time of flight it doesn’t have a material affect on the broader public health situation. And we don’t require testing prior to domestic travel, or for large gatherings.
Can You Really Save Money And Time Shipping Your Luggage Instead Of Checking It?
May
14
2022
Luggage shipping services haven’t ever really seemed quite ready to go mainstream even though they’ve been around for many years. However a Shark Tank contestant company pitches that you save both time and money shipping with them. Here’s the math, how it works, and the risks involved.
