Category Archives for Airlines.
If it’s true that we shouldn’t trust loyalty programs, and that ought to become our base case, then the way that information gets out to the public is precisely by shaming loyalty programs when they behave badly. Rather than shrugging our shoulders at no-notice devaluations, it is important to shout it from the rooftops so that members know to build lack of trust into their base case.
An airline needs to know how much an aircraft weighs for takeoff and fuel burn purposes, and estimates work but those estimates need to be reliable.
The Department of Transportation approved the American Airlines-JetBlue alliance in New York and Boston. Those airlines had to give up takeoff and landing slots in New York, and commit to increase their flying (or lose more slots).
However it’s a new administration and other airlines aren’t happy with the increased competition JetBlue and American will provide. So the Department of Justice is ramping up a probe of the deal, taking another bite at the apple for special interests.
You’re going to see a lot about a new CDC-released study that suggests blocking middle seats is important protection for air travel during the pandemic. However the coverage is going to be very misleading.
All that the new research tells us is that being a bit farther away from someone infected with the virus is probably better than being right next to them, which we already know.
Over the weekend, Vivo Y20 cell phones and accessories which were made in Guangdong, China and headed to Bangkok caught fire as they were about to be loaded onto an aircraft in Hong Kong.
Effective immediately and without notice, Southwest Airlines has started requiring 6.5% more points for flight redemptions. The change comes as Southwest celebrates its 50th anniversary this week. Award tickets used to cost 78 points per dollar of base fare and now cost 83 points per dollar.
I first wrote about Bask Bank and the Bask Savings Account at the beginning of 2020. I’ve been saving and earning with them for a year and the mileage-earning strategy has proven-out.
That’s not really a surprise. I’ve been a customer of Bask Bank’s parent, Texas Capital Bank, since July 2003. But it’s great to see that the value proposition has remained constant throughout the past year’s turmoil, and even looks more attractive compared to today’s alternatives.
On Friday American Airlines confirmed they were removing espresso machines from their Airbus A321T, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. A spokesperson explained this was intended to “help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered.”
This decision generated a surprising amount of comment and interest. However American now says that the machines will actually stay. They have removed supplies, but expect the espresso service to eventually return to premium cabins where the machines are offered
American Airlines has already retaliated against Burbank, California-based upstart airline Avelo founded by former Allegiant President and United CFO Andrew Levy which begins flying April 28.
Earlier I noted that ex-Royal Prince Harry flew to London for his grandfather’s funeral and made the trip without his wife Meghan Markle.
All of the royal drama aside – his walking away from his title, giving an interview to Oprah where he called his family racists – I thought there could be a bigger scandal in his first trip back to the U.K. in a year.
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 »
