Category Archives for Airlines.
Alaska is making a similiar – albeit less generous – move as what JetBlue has announced. They are also suspending fees on new ticket purchases made made March 11, but they are only suspending fees until March 11. (Update: That was mistaken info provided by Alaska.)
LATAM is the largest airline in South America. With Delta’s move to acquire 20% of the airline, LATAM is leaving oneworld and its planned joint venture with American Airlines to align itself with the Atlanta-based carrier.
News of Delta’s plan only came out in the fall, and they’re already launching reciprocal mileage-earning and redemption starting April 1.
If you’re looking for green shoots in the coronavirus story, here’s one from Delta: even as there’s concerning news this morning about a person in California contracting the virus without having had recent international travel or having been known to come into contact with someone who was infected, there’s some indication that business in China is recovering.
At least Delta Air Lines cargo thinks so.
If you have a previously purchased airline ticket, JetBlue’s normal cancellation rules apply. However if you buy a new ticket starting tomorrow through March 11 for travel completed by June 1, no cancellation fees will apply.
The airline says this is about getting consumers to buy tickets who are afraid of coronovirus, and the policy even applies to their basic economy and vacation package fares.
I’m not locking myself in a cabin in the woods. I’m doing the disaster-preparedness thinking that I should have done already, unrelated to coronovirus.
The closest analogue in my lifetime may have been Y2K preparedness, and that turned out to be a nothingburger. It was sure eerie to be flying on January 1, 2000 on board a nearly empty United Airlines Boeing 777 from Los Angeles to Washington Dulles. The plane didn’t just operate, it operated on time, and everything else worked fine too.
However the thing about disasters is they aren’t exactly predictable in terms of how or when they manifest, and thinking through preparedness can make good sense even if this turns out to be a non-event in the middle of the U.S. where I live.
There are two paths American could take for a new flight from the U.S. to Doha. One is replacing existing Qatar Airways service from one of their hubs. The other is flying Seattle – Doha, which makes a lot of sense once Alaska Airlines joins oneworld and potentially severs its partnership with Emirates. But American needs that to fall into place first, and get agreement over subsidies for their new flight.
Deposit $1000 and earn 5000 miles in a month. You still have the $1000 in your account (and it keeps earning miles). This offer ends unless you open your account by Saturday, February 29. Starting March 1 they’ll require a $5000 deposit to earn 5000 miles after account opening.
You’re better off jumping on this before the end of the week, when the offer becomes less generous (but still quite good).
Parker has the challenge of reversing course after everything he’s said about the existential threat Qatar Airways posed to his airline. So how is he explaining the flip flop? He penned a letter to employees.
Delta has increased its stake in Korean Air to 11% and may buy more if it needs to. They spent $49 million for the additional 1% stake. It was only last June they made their first 4.3% investment.
There’s currently a power struggle for the airline, with dissident shareholders controlling 37.08% of the company.
American Airlines announced a new strategic partnership with Qatar Airways that involves restoration of codesharing and exploring flying to Doha. This pretty much puts to rest speculation about Qatar Airways leaving oneworld
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 »
