Category Archives for Airlines.
U.S. airlines tell the U.S. government they cannot do temperature checks themselves (Frontier notwithstanding), but at the same time U.S. airlines are already doing temperature screening on their flights to Canada.
An internal American Airlines memo details how customers will be handled if they show a 100.4 degree temperature or above.
It’s the regime uncertainty as much as restrictions themselves that are damaging to travel at the moment. It’s tough to buy a ticket when travel restrictions may change after you make your purchase. And it’s tough to fly when you may be forced to quarantine for two weeks at your additional expense after potential exposure to someone with the virus.
Airlines will be handing out quarantine forms for passengers to fill out when entering New York. Governor Cuomo also wants “a customs-like check-in at the airport” for domestic flights.
The forms will be used to enforce New York’s quarantine of arriving domestic passengers from states with “a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.”
Huge waves were created this week when United revealed that travel bookings have been falling off. Things are headed south, it appears, and they’re sending out possible furlough notices to 36,000 employees. But they aren’t really going to lay off 39% of their staff, for four reasons.
United Airlines is bringing back Los Angeles – Sydney service starting September 10, three days a week – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It’s part of larger growth in their schedule that includes a return of Chicago – Hong Kong and starting up Chicago – Tel Aviv.
But there’s something really interesting about the Los Angeles – Sydney service.
The latest partner addition is Brazil’s Azul, based in São Paulo. The carrier was started by Dave Neeleman, former head of JetBlue. Azul means Blue. Get it? (And like JetBlue they promote live TV.)
Redemption prices follow Air Canada’s partner award chart and are combinable with Star Alliance flights. And there re no fuel surcharges.
American’s new domestic first class seat is literally the same seat that they use in premium economy, except that it lacks a foot bar or foot rest. The seat is, therefore, premium economy-lite. It’s disingenuous in the extreme to call it ‘business class’.
However on some routes, up until now, that’s what they’ve done when flying Boeing 737s to Latin America. For their Iceland flight though they’re changing this practice.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says that private jets are for the “neoliberal elite” so the populist chooses to fly commercial. Today he’s heading to the U.S. for a visit with President Trump. There aren’t currently non-stop flights between Mexico City and Washington DC. So he’s taking Delta, flying coach, and connecting in Atlanta.
Here’s the Mexican President ensconced in an exit row aisle seat on board Delta flight DL366 from Mexico City.
A 41 year veteran of Qantas lost his engineering job after two women complained about him watching porn on his company-issued iPad. His excuse? He must have momentarily dozed off and the porn just came on without his realizing it.
In other words, the man’s defense – that he brought to the country’s Fair Work Commission to dispute his firing – was that he was sleeping on the job.
The best treatment at American Airlines goes to their top secret ConciergeKey level. They do not release much information about it publicly, but I’ve shared full details before. ConciergeKey is the ‘super secret’ level that George Clooney had in Up in the Air.
With some of American’s best ground services suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve also introduced two new opportunities: more confirmed international upgrades and access to the British Airways Concorde Room at London Heathrow airport.
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 »
