Category Archives for Airlines.
United’s new PointsPlus upgrade program – which replaces regional and global confirmed upgrade certificates – is scheduled to launch on Wednesday.
Overnight on Tuesday nights the ability to confirm upgrades with existing regional and global certificates will be frozen in preparation for this launch. Then upgrades should re-open on Wednesday with a bank of points replacing existing upgrade certificates, and the ability to use those points in a more granular manner.
On Friday American Airlines flight 3508 from Pensacola to Miami returned to the Pensacola airport when a passenger on board said she had a medical emergency. Only there was no medical emergency. She just wanted an upgrade.
I’ve been a BankDirect checking account customer since July 2003 and I’ve earned hundreds of thousands of American Airlines miles from the account as a result. While some people have used the account to earn miles as an investment return in a low interest environment, I’ve just used it as a… checking account.
Hong Kong’s government gave the troubled airline just 5 days “to find new cash or last-minute investors, or face having its operating licence suspended or even revoked.”
Without a new cash infusion, customers certainly shouldn’t be buying tickets on the airline, which creates its own self-fulfilling challenges.
Delta flight 405 from Paris to Boston arrived 34 minutes early on Sunday – despite pushing back 15 minutes late. That wasn’t the only thing notable about the flight, however.
The battling between American’s independent APFA union and the stalking horse of the national AFA reminds me of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. They’ve seemed to have forgotten they’re supposed to be fighting the Romans (American Airlines management).
The union needs to be building a war chest for its negotiations. Instead they’re cutting costs like accounting systems that allow for electronic expense reports. They’re keeping higher union leadership pay. And they won’t go to the membership for a dues increase – fearing that would put them out on the streets.
Continental Airlines tried to take advantage of the uproar, committing to give members a window to take advantage of current rules if they ever tried to devalue.
The OnePass program, which covered Continental and Eastern, offered a “redemption guarantee.” If they ever increased the mileage price of awards.
A simple way to think about better breakfast is to think brunch. That opens up a whole new world of possibility beyond reheated scrambled eggs or omelettes, granola or oatmeal.
In the case of air travel it’s expected that flight crew have the same incentive as passengers – to get where they’re going safely. However there can be pressure to stay on time or get out ahead of bad weather, there can be a tendency to misjudge risks, and it’s crucial to make clear there’s a corporate culture of safety.
China Southern is taking that to the next level. They aren’t just saying ‘safety first’ and that employees won’t be punished for raising safety concerns that lead to delays, they are rewarding crew for raising safety issues.
Hong Kong Airlines was troubled long before protests erupted in the Chinese Special Administrative Region, keeping travelers away. Parent HNA Group was under strict orders to deleverage, with the government concerned about over $100 billion in debt.
HNA had problems paying for fuel. They had problems meeting interest obligations. They missed a $43 million debt payment last year and offered travel vouchers instead of cash to repay its investors.
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 »
