Category Archives for Airlines.
Sandra Jeenie Kwon is a former Emirates flight attendant with over 180 million likes on TikTok and with four million followers across social media platforms (here’s her instagram. At times she’ll post several videos a day, acting out the funny behaviors of passengers, and of cabin crew.
Here she acts out when a cabin crewmember finds a passenger attractive…
Is it time to stop traveling given the Covid-19 wave we’re experiencing in the United States? There are certainly many people who shouldn’t travel right now, and many places where there’s not much to do. But those who have already had the virus, and those who will soon have been vaccinated, are probably ok to travel. And many travelers are more responsible than non-travelers. The focus should be on how to be responsible rather than moralizing against all travel, telling people to stay home so then they gather with their neighbors locally.
What this also allows United to do over time is have fewer agents, or at least fewer agents per passenger. Instead of having agents deployed at airports across the terminal in case customers need them, and having down time throughout the day, they can locate agents centrally and optimize staffing based on predicted needs.
That makes this the perfect ‘United under Scott Kirby’s leadership’ initiative: it fosters on-time performance while reducing cost.
Booking an American Airlines flight may now be the most convenient way to get Covid-19 testing at home whether you plan to travel or not (and current ticket purchases generally don’t incur change fees if you choose not to travel).
In theory the European Union has the strongest consumer air travel protections. Its EU261 requires cash compensation for many flight delays. But airlines drag their feet paying compensation, and Americans can’t sue for EU261 compensation in U.S. courts according to a new ruling.
When the FDA gives its initial approval for a Covid-19 it will not be full approval (emergency use) so the FAA will consider its use by pilots separately even if pilots are considered essential or frontline workers for jumping to the head of the queue for access.
When passengers see a messy cabin, they tend to leave it that way themselves and perhaps even in worse condition (Cf. lavatories). It’s the ‘broken windows theory’ of policing applied to an aircraft cabin. Slovenliness begets slovenliness. But the reverse is also true. Hold up your end, keep things looking respectable, and your fellow passengers are more likely to do so as well – and an airline’s employees and contractors will have a much easier time maintaining the plane for the people flying in your seat next, too.
A swarm of bees “clamped themselves on to the window” of an Air Vistara plane parked in Kolkata. The fire department was called, and used a water cannon to disperse the bees.
Right now there’s great business and first class award availability on Star Alliance airline ANA from several US cities to Tokyo and back starting in August and running through the end of the current airline schedule (basically, October). That’s great for connecting onward to Asia.
Two passengers can fly from Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose or Seattle using miles from United (or Chase), Avianca LifeMiles, or even better Virgin Atlantic (which partners with several credit card transferable points programs).
How important are airline frequent flyer programs? United, Delta, and American Airlines have each mortgaged their frequent flyer programs for between $6.5 billion and $9 billion apiece. Stifel analyst Joe DeNardi says that without the ability to attract this cash, both American Airlines and United Airlines would be in bankruptcy.
Speaking on a panel at the Loyalty Summit online conference on Wednesday, DeNardi made this bold claim – but one that’s backed squarely by the numbers around cash burn and how much airlines have raised.
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 »
