Category Archives for Airlines.
It’s been 14 years since Microsoft has released a new version of Flight Simulator. I’m genuinely excited by this, although I worry I’ll spend way too much time on this. I don’t play video games, it’s not a part of my life. That might be about to change.
Your risk really comes down to likelihood of being right near someone else who has the virus – much like anywhere else you go except that in most indoor places there isn’t HEPA air filtration. Planes are probably safer, then, than bars, indoor restaurant dining, gyms, and open plan offices.
But it’s confusing to look at planes, where social distancing isn’t mandated, and hear airlines say it “isn’t possible” while restaurants are being required to do it to their own financial detriment all over the country and to wonder what’s different?
A rumor started flying in Texas this weekend that we’d see another lock down in the face of rising Covid-19 spread when a former judge and Jefferson County district attorney as well as assistant US Attorny for the Eastern District of Texas posted to Facebook that the governor had texted him it was time to stock up on essentials again.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was photographed yesterday flying an American Airlines regional jet, without wearing a mask.
Cruz is holding a cup of coffee in the photo. And while American Airlines and other U.S. carriers require masks to be worn by passenger, they aren’t required to do so while eating or drinking.
Early in the pandemic I warned you to be indispensable in your job, that we were in recession and work from home couldn’t be an excuse to let up at work. A lot of jobs would be lost and you needed to position yourself so that yours wouldn’t be one of them.
In normal times performance matters at work. That’s not true at airlines, and certainly not true during these times. Non-union workers are being let go en masse, and at a scale where it’s difficult to separate the poor performers from the stars. And union employees mostly see jobs preserved or lost based on seniority alone – performance and value creation for the company have literally nothing to do with the decision.
On June 21 an Emirates flight attendant was arrested in Dubai while on a first date.
UAE police raided the man’s apartment while they were both there, and found two joints of marijuana. Police took them both into custody, and she’s been held ever since. Reports are that the 23 year old British expat, Derrin Crawford, has fallen ill with septic tonsilitis while in jail.
An announcement was made for people to keep their distance from each other at the gate, but no one did.
United told her that she should just “push your way through” when it was time for her to board, she says. She objected, everyone is supposed to be social distancing to reduce contact and limit the spread of COVID-19. And the airline is supposed to have procedures to make sure travel is safe. She says she was told, “if you don’t like it then don’t board.”
United Airlines made big news this week by announcing they could lay off as much as 39% of their employees (which some media exaggerated as half).
Now American Airlines is preparing to send out WARN Act notices, too according to the TWU-IAM association which represents mechanics and fleet service workers at the carrier.
It was big news this past week when American Airlines responded forcefully to a complaint about shutting down a member’s account for opening various frequent flyer accounts in different names as part of a technique to generate several Citibank credit card signup offers.
Now the person filing the complaint has done two things in response to American’s filing.
Through July 12, Aeroplan will sell miles with a bonus of ‘up to’ 75%. They’ll sell you 1 million miles, double the usual limit.
There’s an extra kicker for those seeking elite status with Air Canada: the amount you spend buying miles with this promotion counts towards the airline’s qualifying dollars requirement.
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 »
