Category Archives for Airlines.
DOT has responded to a petition demanding it adopt mask wearing rules for airports and airlines. It declined to do so, because airlines and airports generally already require masks. Indeed airline mask mandates are better than federal mask mandates for two critical reasons.
United will start flying Newark – Johannesburg March 27, 2021. You wouldn’t be taking a holiday there now, but five and a half months is a million years in Covid time and mileage redemptions are especially flexible – a much better idea than paying cash for an international ticket right now.
The route will feature United’s new business class, and there’s excellent award availability right now.
Former American Airlines Chairman and CEO Don Carty was traveling in first class on Thursday. He left the airline 17 years ago, but some flight attendants still hate him. One crewmember took out their anger that he’d fly American the day 8000 flight attendants were losing their jobs.
American Airlines is letting cabin crew know that they’re not permitted to wear Breast Cancer Awareness flair on their uniforms – even accessories that had been approved for uniforms in the past.
With securitizing frequent flyer programs the ‘new thing’ J.P. Morgan sees an opportunity to take smaller pieces of a program – rather than a whole thing – and turn them into tradeable commodities.
Why not take pieces of the loan and trade those, creating a more liquid market? Why not then package these into frequent flyer mutual funds, parts of various instruments backed by several airline programs? And why not make a leveraged bet on these?
Whether traveling on an award or a paid American Airlines itinerary, if you’re using a partner frequent flyer account number you aren’t supposed to receive extra legroom seats in coach any longer.
They’re reportedly in talks with the government of Norway over nationalization, since the earlier bailout the carrier received hasn’t been enough to keep them afloat while a government spokesperson confirms that the carrier is deemed to be “very important” although they’d anticipate government-as-shareholder would be a temporary arrangement.
The White House proposal is now $20 billion rather than $25 billion as they try to find common ground between their $1.6 trillion number and the House’s $2.2 trillion. They’re trying to find a deal with $5 billion for airline shareholders and creditors getting shaved in the process.
American Airlines flight attendant Breaunna Ross shared a video of her last announcement on her last flight before her expected furlough. She arrives at Dallas Fort Worth and shares she “didn’t hold it together lolllll.”
Another cabin crew member – who is also getting furloughed – recorded her last announcement. And then the two of them “held hands as [they] landed.”
Summer 2021 is likely to look a lot different, a lot more normal, than the world looks today. It’s as far out as you can book a ticket on most airlines. And the great thing about using miles in most programs is how flexible they are. Worst case scenario a usually modest fee, but some programs like American AAdvantage are waiving award cancellation fees entirely right now. So it’s a great time to book your next adventure!
Cathay Pacific is currently making business class awards widely available between the U.S. and Hong Kong for up to four passengers, from several gateway cities. This allows you to connect beyond Hong Kong to much of Asia.
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 »
