Category Archives for Airlines.
JetBlue was on a cost-cutting trajectory going into the pandemic. They haven’t eliminated change fees the way other U.S. airlines have on non-Basic Economy fares. But they’re having to turn to their loyalty program to drive bookings.
And they’ve announced several changes that make it easier to earn elite status, and more valuable to do so. They’re introducing lower qualification thresholds, several months of a companion pass, and new bonuses.
American Airlines now offers free inflight messaging on ViaSat-equipped aircraft using Facebook Messenger (and Messenger Kids). That means it’s offered on all American Airlines Boeing 737’s (including 737 MAXs), Airbus A321s, and legacy American A319s.
Legacy US Airways A319s and Airbus A320s have Gogo internet and are not included. Widebody planes with Panasonic internet are not included.
Southwest has aggressively added destinations during the pandemic. Some, like Chicago O’Hare, because of a unique opportunity to gain access to an airport that was full prior to 2020. Others are leisure destinations where they’re seeking new revenue opportunities for planes that have nowhere to go.
Over the past couple of years Southwest growth has been constrained with the grounding of the MAX. They haven’t had the planes to add new destinations. Now they have a surplus of planes because they haven’t needed the frequencies they used to offer, especially on business routes between major cities. And with the end of ‘middle seat blocking’ on Southwest they have even less need to add incremental flights in those markets.
American Airlines is making the AAdvantage program friendlier for new members, who are the people that are flying today. They’re introducing better boarding just for joining the program, after eliminating telephone booking fees for award redemptions for all members and eliminating mileage redeposit fees, too.
Frontier Airlines announced today that their 156 Airbus planes on order, which begin delivering in March, will receive Recaro’s slimline SL3710 seats. Slimline seats are known for passenger discomfort. They have less padding, and therefore take up less space. That lets airlines squeeze more passengers into the same amount of space. Frontier claims the sufferiing, though, is good for you because it’s good for the planet. Is that true?
A passenger with Covid-19 died yesterday on a domestic flight, as reported by a fellow passenger on twitter. The passenger is LAX-based, and the other flight I’ve found to or from LAX which diverted yesterday was UA591 from Orlando. United confirms it diverted for medical reasons.
When Southwest Airlines extended elite status back in April, and made it easier this year to earn both status and a Companion Pass, they extended the validity of travel vouchers.
There’s been discussion for months about being able to convert travel funds into Rapid Rewards points and that functionality is finally available. The rate is reasonable but I won’t be taking them up on the offer. Here’s why.
Six men were charged with “stealing millions of airline frequent flier miles” in the Northern District of Texas. While the Department of Justice doesn’t say this, the court in which charges are being brought includes Dallas and almost certainly means they’re prosecuting a theft of American AAdvantage miles.
The lead defendant was arrested in Poland in May and extradited, arriving in FBI custody on Friday after weekend travel from Warsaw to Dallas. I’ve been involved in several criminal trials involving miles and points as an expert witness. This is the first one I’m aware of that involved an international arrest and extradition.
Right now there’s a stronger likelihood of a second round of airline subsidies from the federal government than at any time in the past several months. It appears that $17 billion more for airlines is included in the next scaled-down federal stimulus bill, and legislative leaders in the House and Senate plan to bundle it with must-pass funding measures to keep the government running and avoid a shut down. Now legislators have a Friday deadline.
Airlines have deployed the argument that the vaccine means they need subsidies because they’ll have to scale up operations to be prepared for cargo shipments, and even though they’d be paid to ship cargo somehow they are unable to prepare for that on their own. This is, to put it bluntly, a lie. Here are 10 reasons why.
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 »
