Category Archives for Airlines.
Southwest Airlines blamed air traffic control and weather for cancelling a quarter of its flights over the weekend, while pilots were rumored to be calling in sick in heavy numbers to protest vaccine mandates. The cause of the cancellations was clearly only affecting weather and air traffic control surrounding Southwest planes because other airlines had no such problems, even at the same hubs.
The FAA, usually a staid agency, took to twitter to defend itself.
Spirit has worked hard to improve its operational reliability in recent years. Before the pandemic they weren’t just cheap, they were frequently on-time. That reputation may have been undermined, but it looks like they may be working towards a new reputation – one that takes care of customers when flights delay?
After cancelling a couple of thousand flights, and delaying hundreds more, the lives of tens of thousands of passengers are being thrown into disarray. People are missing important life events, and this is not just ‘air traffic control and weather’, i.e. ‘things outside of the airline’s control that they cannot be blamed for.’
American Airlines has two frustrating, little-known rules for frequent flyers who like to redeem miles in one program and use the benefits of elite status from another – or who want to use their AAdvantage elite benefits while flying American, but earn miles in another partner frequent flyer program.
You’re not allowed to switch out your frequent flyer number and accrue miles with a partner after you’ve used benefits of your AAdvantage elite status. You’re not allowed to use AAdvantage elite benefits when traveling on American through a partner award redemption.
Like many pilots, he has a side job. (The most common side business seems to be insurance.) So it’s odd to suggest that a vaccine mandate forces him to make a choice about whether to feed his family.
One American Airlines employee out on the ramp stopped to comfort animals as they were being loaded onto an aircraft. It’s the little gestures when you think nobody is looking that make all the difference in the world.
Both United and American Airlines sell basic economy tickets which are non-changeable. If you get sick and do not fly you lose all value of your ticket. That’s a huge incentive to fly sick. (Delta makes basic economy tickets changeable through December 31, 2021.)
I don’t want to drink the swill that many airlines serve on board, and would love an option to pay for something nicer. I’m not sure it would work, though, as a business proposition because of the cost to source a niche product, taking up scarce galley space, when the market for this might be limited.
Airlines might also worry that a paid upcharge in a premium cabin might cheapen the experience. On the other hand they don’t seem to worry that serving cheap wines cheapens the experience! So perhaps they should give it a go as a test to improve the product while generating incremental revenue as well?
Backpackers for years have stuffed their clothes into pillow cases to make pillows to sleep on. But Anya Iakovlieva takes that efficient packing tip to new heights by using the pillow case as an extra carry on bag. Just stuff all your items inside, instead of using it for a pillow. This video has been viewed over 17 million times on TikTok. A pillow case with a zipper works best.
An inconsistent product may be dictated by market conditions with a connecting product – but airlines still need to take efforts to treat the customer seamlessly. The last thing you want to do is nickel and dime your most premium customers, simply because they connect onto a flight that operates with different service standards.
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 »
