Category Archives for Airlines.
Delta now sometimes charges you more if you’re traveling alone – add a second passenger and the fare drops. It’s written right into the fare rules for some of their least expensive fares, that you must be accompanied by someone else on the itinerary to be eligible for their lowest price.
United’s brand-new Brooks Brothers uniforms hit airport concourses on Wednesday. Thousands of navy blazers, suiting pieces, and pilot epaulettes just became obsolete overnight. So why won’t those old threads pop up on eBay or in a thrift shop? It isn’t because a shirt or skirt unlocks the jet bridge by itself—but airlines, the marketplaces, and the TSA work to restrict crew uniforms from ending up in civilian closets.
Now that the new rule has gone into effect (May 28), there’s another wrinkle. It’s only supposed to apply to tickets purchased going forward. But people making a change to their tickets are seeing this, too. It’s concerning if someone bought a ticket that came with unlimited same day confirmed changes and no travel credit expiration, but now gets just one change that forces a six month expiration.
About an hour into the five hour flight, flight attendants were alerted that a dog was in distress. A call for medical assistance produced an onboard veterinarian who stabilized the animal, but the assessment was that the dog needed professional treatment. The Airbus narrowbody with 181 customers and six crew aboard made a 300-mile detour to Delta’s Minneapolis–St Paul hub.
United Airlines crew are wearing old uniforms for the last time, as frontline employees debut their new Brooks Brothers uniforms on Wednesday.
The end of Southwest Airlines as a brand is Tuesday, May 28th. They begin charging for checked bags on all tickets sold beginning tomorrow. What’s amazing is that they refused to even tell customers what they’d be charging. They were too embarrassed – having built their entire reputation on being a customer-friendly airline, with ‘bags fly free’ as the centerpiece.
Etihad Guest will award 5 million miles to the first member who flies to or from each of the carrier’s 15 brand-new year-round destinations during the coming 12-month window. Two runners-up will pocket 3 million and 1 million miles.
Etihad had been restricting American AAdvantage from booking business and first class long haul awards until 14 days from departure. But something seems to be afoot, because it’s not just the new Atlanta – Abu Dhabi flight that is now open to AAdvantage members.
First class awards are wide open on some routes like Paris to Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi to Singapore. You can even book Etihad First Apartment awards on the Airbus A380, complete with your own room that offers a seat and separate bed, and an onboard shower.
American Airlines should fix standby by reversing policy changes that make them uncompetitive and inconvenient for customers.
Delta Air Lines says they see weak demand for coach travel right now, but no decline in premium cabin demand. Their executives believe that once passengers fly first and business class, they’ll do anything possible not to go back.
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 »
