Category Archives for Airlines.
The head of world airline trade group IATA says so far governments have provided subsidies to carriers totaling $160 billion. But that’s not enough and they believe governments need to hand over more.
And what’s the terrible thing that will happen if they don’t? Something that is entirely and completely normal and happens all the time during normal times: some airlines may go out of business. That’s ok.
It’s been some time since there have been generous offers just to sign up for a frequent flyer program, essentially to start a permission marketing relationship. Maybe 16 years ago United Airlines was giving out 1000 miles to new members referred by an existing member, and rewarding the member that referred them to. But usually new member bonuses have required some kind of activity – proof of a customer’s value to the airline – before being triggered.
Once so many people have either had Covid-19 or been vaccinated against it that it’s equally likely that someone is vulnerable to it as not, restrictions on those who aren’t vulnerable to the virus (and therefore cannot spread it) are going to be harder to maintain. We’re going to see more people rebelling against mask requirements on planes in late March than we’ve seen so far.
Aegean Miles & Bonus is one of the most lucrative Star Alliance frequent flyer programs. Awards booked through them across Star Alliance partner airlines require fewer miles than in most other programs. So when they’re giving away 5000 redeemable miles just for signing up by December 1 those miles actually get you much closer to an award than you’d think.
American Airlines is offering the easiest Gold status I’ve ever seen from a public offer, and a path to Platinum with just two flights as well. Just sign up for Mastercard Travel. Details of the promotion are available under ‘latest offers’ but there’s no registration required. And you don’t even need to be a current elite frequent flyer with another airline.
At some point in 2021 “Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members will be eligible for free domestic upgrades on Alaska and MVP Gold 75K will be eligible for free domestic upgrades when traveling on American.” And “[w]hen the long-haul international flights launch” that are part of the partnership, Seattle – London and Bangalore then Alaska’s MVP Gold 75K members will be able to upgrade on American’s international flights. There will be access to extra legroom coach seats as well for top- and mid-tier elites.
Judah 1 has acquired a Boeing 767-200ER and says they’ll have Part 121 certification from the FAA next year. They plan to add 2-3 more large aircraft to their fleet. Their CEO says that God spoke to him and inspired the plan to serve only Christian missionaries and not to charge checked bag fees.
American Airlines announced today that they’re eliminating change fees for all international tickets other than Basic Economy tickets that originate in North or South America. They’re taking it much farther than other airlines had when the first round of change fee eliminations were announced at the end of August.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will start direct flights from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv on March 31, 2021. It has entered into a new agreement with Israel’s El Al for codesharing and a frequent flyer partnership.
This is monumental. Not only will this Arab state airline fly non-stop to Israel, it will all Israel’s flag carrier to put its own code on Etihad flights. That means, effectively, that certain Etihad flights – which all begin with a prayer from the Quran – will also be El Al flights.
The CEOs of the 7 largest U.S. airlines told Congress that unless they get a second bailout by the end of the year, don’t expect them to ship vaccines. It’s an idle threat. They’re telling their own workers they’re ready and eager for the vaccine shipping business.
Subsidizing flight attendant salaries makes no sense if you’re talking about readiness of cargo flights. And there are better ways that funneling huge unrelated subsidies to airlines to ensure a business is ready to deliver on a big commitment. Just follow the Operation Warp Speed model and guarantee the purchase of cargo capacity to allow the airlines to plan for it.
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 »
