Category Archives for Airlines.
The captain said he couldn’t control the plane during takeoff. He veered left and hit a runway sign. The first officer grabbed controls and the plane climbed out. They lost a $100 million aircraft, but all of the passengers were safe. And both pilots still fly for American Airlines.
At the internal company ‘state of the airline’ meeting after Thursday’s earnings call (a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing), Chief Operating Officer David Seymour argued that it doesn’t make sense to upgrade baggage tracking technology until their airline partners have done so first. And CEO Robert Isom says that lagging technology at some of their hubs makes it harder to do so.
Does anyone know how Trip.com is able to sell Southwest Airlines tickets, since other consumer travel sites aren’t permitted to do so? What’s going on here? I never even knew the flights were for sale on this site until now.
The great equalizer in life – the place where there’s no inequality – is dealing with a European airline. Over lost luggage. At New York JFK.
Status passes both engender loyalty and protect the loyalty relationship. That’s a strategy more programs should think through.
80,000 miles for Delta travel between New York and Austin. How about 90,000 miles? Those aren’t saver award prices, but they’re now being charged by Air France KLM’s Flying Blue.
The single best way to protect yourself against airline screwups is to make more than one flight booking to get where you are going. And doing this has been made easier and less costly by changes to airline policies over the past two years.
When your flight is delayed and you’re going to misconnect, or your flight is cancelled, other flights ae often too full – your airline may not be able to re-accommodate you quickly or even for several days. But is already having a backup flight in case – taking a seat you may not intend to use, that the airline cannot sell and other passengers can’t use until you give it up – ethical?
The summer before the global pandemic, Delta Air Lines revamped its long haul economy product. In a sign that they had forgotten they were an airline they introduced amenity kits, welcome drinks and hot towels, and course-based dining in economy class.
To show just how different of an airline Delta is now, compare course-based dining in economy with this.
I wrote on Thursday that American Airlines could find itself in chapter 11 bankruptcy. It wasn’t a prediction that this would happen, or a claim that it’s somehow inevitable. Instead it was an explanation that it is now thinkable because of their vulnerable financial position combined with high fuel prices, increasing labor costs, and looming recession. If these stars misalign for them, they’re the most likely big airline to take that hit.
The top line message from the American Airlines second quarter was record revenue and a return to profitability. But their financial statements actually show that flying planes from one place to another, and selling tickets, doesn’t generate profit for American Airlines. Instead, the AAdvantage loyalty program is responsible for all of American’s profits.
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 »
