Category Archives for Airlines.
With a vaccine for Covid-19 seeming like a real possibility next year, but taking time to roll out broadly across the population, companies whose activities bring large groups together are working to figure out how to do that faster. One way is through technology to ensure that everyone congregating indoors is likely to be free of the virus.
Following American AAdvantage announcing reduced qualification levels for elite status earned in 2021 last month, United MileagePlus is out with its 2021 elite qualification rules and they’re layering on four different boosts towards status along with making it easier to earn confirmed upgrades for those continuing to fly beyond the 1K level.
Taken together lower status requirements, a hard start for current elites towards status, along with bonus qualifying spend for status in the first quarter, and a relaxed restriction on using credit card-earned elite qualifying spend towards top status United has laid out ways that status will be easier to earn than ever this year.
Airlines will need to figure out how much airflow they can maintain while applying de-icing fluid to aircraft with passengers on board.
Furloughs don’t just disrupt the lives of those who lose their jobs. They’re just the most obvious people affected.
Pilots get bumped down to flying smaller aircraft, and from captain to co-pilot. Flight attendants though are really displaced too. That’s because senior flight attendants, used to working the best trips, wind up back on reserve.
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’. These are revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s fantastic award availability booking for late summer and fall 2021 for Qatar’s QSuites product – out of several U.S. cities – with four business class seats available.
Traditionally non-stop cross country flights in premium cabins are tough to get but that is a lot of premium cabin inventory at a time that business travelers aren’t flying. Or – perhaps this is an early mistake on United’s part that won’t last. But every single day between the February 1 start of service and the end of the airline schedule 11 months from now has numerous business class saver award seats open.
American Airlines announced this morning that they’ll no longer charge telephone booking fees on award tickets, and no longer charge fees to cancel an award ticket and redeposit miles into a member’s account. Those are both real improvements to the program. They are also extending their pause in mileage expiration through June 30, 2021.
One Spirit Airlines flight attendant went on a bizarre rant, pre-emptively warning passengers about the consequences of bad behavior – including failure to wear masks – by letting everyone in the cabin know that they are a government official, commercial aircraft are government property, and they can write anyone up that they want simply for acting out of character. That comes with 20 years (or life!) in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This will give United 11 open clubs. They’ll also be offering “more pre-packaged fresh food items” at Denver, Chicago and Honolulu “including breakfast partfaits, sandwiches, wraps, salads, desserts…”
One time passes valid for a year are currently discounted to $39 rather than $59.
The new Boeing 787-8s American is receiving don’t have exactly the same interiors as the planes that they began taking delivery of in 2015.
Reviewing a sneak peak at the interiors two things stand out to me.
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 »
