Category Archives for Airlines.
Japan Airlines has a new cost-saving measure they’re testing on Bangkok – Tokyo Haneda overnight flights (JL flight 34): letting customers choose in advance to skip meal service in exchange for an amenity kit.
United Airlines has announced that they’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050, making a bolder claim than world airlines through trade association IATA which commit to a 50% reduction in carbon footprint by 2050. Both goals are far enough off as to be largely symbolic, but what’s got great potential here is the path United plans to pursue to get there.
The airline will invest in directly removing carbon from the atmosphere – not feel-good measures like planting trees where the accounting is murky. The technology is too expensive today, but payment processor Stripe just announced their own investments here. Adding United and perhaps soon others could help bring about critical mass that makes this technology viable to solve our environmental problems.
Low yield traffic may lead the way out of the pandemic, and if there’s hope for success it’s precisely that Jet Airways sat out Covid-19 in bankruptcy court – they already went bankrupt – and reviving the concept might mean facing scaled back competition, albeit alongside scaled back demand.
Etihad owns a 49% stake in Air Serbia, and the Serbian government owns the other 51%. This was one of the better airline investments previous Etihad management made in its effort to acquire stakes in airlines and redirect their traffic through its hub in Abu Dhabi. But it’s now falling apart.
Etihad has terminated flights from its Abu Dhabi hub to Belgrade, and will reportedly end its codesharing with the carrier it half owns next year.
Alaska Airlines has changed how elite status will be earned in 2021. Alaska used to require more miles flown if you include miles on partner airlines than if you’re using miles flown exclusively on Alaska. That’s gone.
Starting in 2021, Alaska and partner flights will count the same towards elite status, and the lower “Alaska-only” status requirements apply. But they’ll require a minimum number of Alaska flights for status – to keep low yielding American Airlines flyers from just dumping their American segments into Alaska.
Alaska Airlines has announced how oneworld elite status levels will apply to their Mileage Plan elites one the airline joins the alliance on March 31.
The sixth edition of CAAC’s Technical Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Epidemics in Transport Airlines and Airports lays out the country’s plan to avoid spreading infection while managing inbound international traffic. Domestic travel has largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but strict limits are placed on international travel to avoid importing SARS-CoV-2 back into the country.
Wearing diapers and avoiding the lavatory are just one of many strategies – including masks, gloves, goggles, hair nets, and hazmat suits – that are recommended for crew on flights bringing people back from places where the virus is spreading. Planes have quarantine sections of the aircraft cordoned off for anyone who shoes symptoms of infection, in order to separate them from other passengers and crew.
It’s interesting that they waited an extra month to program their schedule, but they’re publishing it three months farther out than they’d previously led customers to believe.
And it’s useful to know when the schedule becomes available for access to the cheapest fares on presumed peak travel days, such as July 4th weekend. Southwest hasn’t had change fees, even before the rest of the airlines jumped on the bandwagon for some fares and certain flights. So you can book forward-looking cheap tickets if it makes sense and retain flexibility.
Platinum Pro members can have choose a confirmed international upgrade, miles and other choices – and get new higher-tier oneworld alliance benefits. Executive Platinums can choose several options like miles and a club membership instead of confirmed upgrades if they’d like – and get the Platinum Pro choice, too.
Airline mask rules are likely to be watered down by a new executive order, but may last longer than they would have if left up to airlines.
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 »
