Category Archives for Airlines.
Despite getting billions in federal aid precisely to ensure that employees do not see layoffs or a reduction in pay, United Airlines is reducing pay for non-union staff, including administrative help, by enforcing unpaid vacation time. They’re also planning to lay off at least 30% of this group October 1, as soon as CARES Act restrictions lift – and they’ve adopted a new policy that says any of these employees laid off will receive zero severance.
When planes pull up to the gate passengers unbuckle their seat belts, not waiting for the captain to turn off the seat belt sign. Then everyone begins to jump up, and get into the aisle. Everyone crames body-to-body in the aisle. They’ve been cramped into airline seats for the duration of the flight, and strangely decide to cramp themselves even closer together in the aisle.
United Airlines has a new approach to deplaning that starts today, that they hope will bring social distancing to get off the plane that way that airlines are trying to implement for boarding and blocking of middle seats.
Ben Baldanza, who used to be CEO of Spirit Airlines, now has a podcast. He told a story about when he ran marketing for US Airways and a rental car company in Greensboro, North Carolina wanted to buy frequent flyer miles to reward their customers for throwaway ticketing on his airline.
We might pick up the new coronavirus from surfaces, though most transmission is thought to happen from respiratory droplets. Blocked middle seats does nothing to protect someone in an aisle seat from the person in the aisle beside them – or the passenger behind them.
Science though suggests one change could that reduce virus transmission on planes in half.
Warren Buffett owned about 10% each of Delta, Southwest Airlines, American and a little bit less of United. He wound up with a bit over 10% of Delta – his biggest airline position – by accident when he was buying as Delta was buying back shares. It was rumored a year ago he was going to acquire Southwest Airlines in its entirety.
Buffett has now unwinded them all and walked away from the industry.
I’m starting to want to plan travel, even if it’s not clear when I’ll be able to travel abroad. I’m really hungry for sushi in Tokyo, laksa in Singapore, and prawn mee soup in Malaysia. I want a Asia trip, and there’s great business class award availability to Asia for January – March, 2021 right now. It’s available for four passengers, and far enough out that I’m willing to make some bookings.
Airlines are still refunding as many third party sales as they are generating new sales. However overall it does appear that the number of cancellations is no longer greater than new bookings. That’s mostly because the trips that were booked before the pandemic have already been cancelled, but it’s a way of thinking about having truly hit bottom already. Now there’s nowhere to go but up.
On Thursday American Airlines spoke to investors and journalists on their earnings call about the financial results during the first quarter and the challenges that lie ahead.
After the earnings call, as they always do, senior leadership at the airline hold a forum where they speak to employees and take questions. Here are 7 of the things they shared during that session, having reviewed a recording of that session.
United Airlines set the world on first when David Dao was dragged off of a United Express plane and bloodied three years ago. United’s CEO Oscar Munoz apologized… for having to re-accommodate him.
The worldwide outcry was so great that airlines had to revisit their policies for involuntary denied boardings. Now, as United does everything possible to reduce costs, it is scaling back efforts to control the sort of denied boardings that led to David Dao’s being dragged off a plane.
During this morning’s earnings call, United Airlines President Scott Kirby told investors and journalists that the carrier is “planning for zero net passenger revenue for rest of year and into 2021.”
They hope demand recovers but they have plenty of places to go for cash and are driving down expenses. Come the fall the only place left to go for cuts will be reducing employee headcount. They even talked about taking loans out against the MileagePlus program.
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 »
