Category Archives for Airlines.
The new government rule is less generous than United’s and Delta’s policy used to be, but better than American’s policy.
So I was worried – correctly, it turns out – that the DOT rule might cause United and Delta to revert to the government’s less generous standard, leaving many passengers worse off. Oh, and automatic refunds are slow refunds.
Austrian Airlines has left Twitter because of “an increasing spread of hate, agitation, and disinformation” which they say is incompatible with their values.
They consider a continued presence on TikTok, on the other hand, to be consonant with the airline’s values and will continue to remain engaged in that platform. Go figure.
American Airlines’ post-earnings employee meeting, held right after their quarterly call, underscored CEO Robert Isom’s emphasis on reliability as the sole key to success, insights on Boeing delivery issues, and the costly challenges of airport real estate, especially in high-demand locations like JFK.
Delta’s vision is that they’re a premium, mostly non-union airline that pays employees well and negotiates hard with partners, suppliers and even customers. United’s vision is as the nation’s most global air carrier, an increasingly upgauged route network, and more premium seats than before.
On the other hand, American’s vision is cost cuts?
Virgin Atlantic announced a month ago that they would move to dynamic award pricing. They refused to say more about what this would look like, which obviously led flyers to expect the worst. Changes are now live, and here’s what I am seeing.
Over the summer, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant asked whether supplementing her income with OnlyFans would get her fired? Probably, if she were ever identified as a Delta flight attendant in connection with sex work.
Now, though, we know that officially the answer is yes.
In the promotions tab of your American AAdvantage profile you may find an offer of bonus miles for flying in premium cabins prior to the Christmas holidays.
The day after the American Airlines earnings call, executives held a question and answer session for employees. One question came up about mileage upgrades and how elite members were getting passed over – because waitlisting for an upgrade takes away the option to pay a discounted cash upsell amount – and so non-status members buying cheap upsells are trumping elite customers.
The company’s Vice President of Revenue Engineering took that question, and shared more than he was supposed to because they’re planning an announcement for a couple of months from now. I now have the full detail of his answer.
United is increasing the requirements to earn status 20% – 25% for the 2025 program year, adjusting the credit towards status given to existing elites and how credit card spend contributes to status, and introducing alternative uses of PlusPoints since upgrades so rarely clear.
A year and a half ago President Biden announced new rules coming to require airlines to pay cash compensation for flight delays and cancellations. Think of it as the U.S.’s answer to Europe’s ‘EU261’ compensation.
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 »
