Category Archives for Airlines.
British Airways elite members whose “Tier Point collection” (12 month member year) end date is between January – March 2022 will have their status extended for another year. Elites will have access to ‘pre-flight dining’ in lounges where this is offered regardless of class of service.. And Gold Guest List members will have access to British Airways Concorde Rooms.
On Saturday morning Air France flight AF393 from Beijing to Paris burst a pipe in the passenger cabin, reported as an ‘explosion’, which forced the Boeing 777-300 to turn back around and land.
This United Airlines sports charter provides perhaps the most graphic visualization of why weight and balance matters on a mainline jet. after arriving with USC Trojans in advance of their game against the Washington State Cougars.
Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza told an interesting story about trying to figure out whether a new route would be profitable.
In normal times airlines have great data – required and reported by the federal government – on a sample of US ticket purchases that show the number of people flying a given route and what price. But there are cases where this data isn’t available, and they had to look at… alternative sources of data to decide whether or not a route made sense.
American Airlines has updated its Contract of Carriage, the adhesion contract you agree to when buying a ticket, to detail new reasons you might be banned from flying the airline based on your behavior.
One of these new reasons is downright metaphysical.
Positive Passenger/Bag Matching (“PPBM”) was common in Europe before the United States, though programs developed here in the years following the the bombing of Pan Am flight 103. It means that the passenger and their bag has to travel on the same flight. If a passenger offloads from the aircraft, the baggage has to be removed also.
The idea there is that for security reasons you don’t want a passenger putting something on the aircraft (a checked bag) without tying their own life to its contents.
The airline isn’t doing a straight-up status extension like Delta and Hilton are doing. Instead, their plan to keep elite members who don’t qualify in 2021 is more of a ‘winback’ offer.
Alaska Airlines has introduced a new top elite tier beginning ‘end of January’ 2022 as expected: MVP Gold 100K.
This new level requires flying 100,000 qualifying miles or 140 segments in a year, and in either case including a minimum of 24 Alaska Airlines flights.
American Airlines now outsources curbside check-in at the limited number of airports where it’s still available, and it’s no longer offered free (plus tips) where provided. Instead it’ll cost $3 per bag to use the service.
Even hubs like Phoenix, New York JFK, Los Angeles, and Charlotte don’t have American Airlines curbside check-in at this point.
There’s debate over whether changes to the American Airlines Contract of Carriage (the adhesion contract you’re agreeing to when you buy a ticket) matter or not. The airline says they’re not obligated to put you on another airline when they cancel your flight, and won’t reimburse your hotel if you submit a receipt unless they’re legally required to do so.
It’s this system of providing hotel stays I want to touch on for a moment. The airline has been saying that the only way they will cover your hotel is if they provide you with a voucher.
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 »
