Category Archives for Airlines.
Greta Thunberg won’t fly, but she travels first class by train – but posts photos of herself in social media that suggest she doesn’t even have a seat and is stuck sitting on the floor.
The Hong Kong Airport Authority has seized 7 planes belonging to beleaguered Hong Kong Airlines to “protect the financial interests of both AAHK and the government.”
I wouldn’t be buying tickets on the airline, and that of course creates its own self-fulfilling challenges.
Airlines face a challenge around the holidays. Do they insist on a standard image for their frontline employees, or do they allow some festive creativity? And if employees can deviate from standard dress, what guidelines should be applied?
United Airlines appears to be taking a conservative stance this holiday season, cracking down on flight attendant holiday dress.
A California man was stranded in Austin for four days after being kicked off a flight. He was trying to get home with his possum. And he did everything right.
The Hill has named the Top Lobbyists of 2019 who “stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and the administration.”
This list includes all 3 major legacy airlines (but no smaller airlines) and the major airline industry lobby shop’s represenatives, too.
American Airlines has said that they believe their path to profitability is doubling down on their current approach which hasn’t worked so far. They should be changing their approach to invest in better service and a better product, especially domestically and in economy, and to build up their route network in key business centers, because that’s how they’ll grow the key profit center of their business – co-brand credit cards.
Airline President Glen Hauenstein says the model works like this: Fly Delta -> like the experience -> join Delta programs -> like them even more.
They believe the “relevance of [their] offering and how much people like you” determines allegiance and spend. The implication is that brand experience and scale matter more than value proposition of the card.
Korean Air says they’re making significant changes to their frequent flyer program, but only giving us the briefest sketches of what that might be. A new distance-based award chart is available in Korean and pricing for premium cabin awards, especially long distance premium cabin awards, because much more expensive.
Korean says they’ll be testing cash and miles awards, shifting to more revenue-based mileage-earning and distance-based redemptions, and revamping the elite program. That distance-based redemption chart is what I’m disappointed in.
Qantas announced today that they have selected the Airbus A350-1000 for ‘Project Sunrise’ ultra long haul flights such as Sydney – New York JFK and Sydney – London.
The news here is that they’ve deferred a decision, not that they are doing anything. And their aircraft selection just means they’ve tentatively decided not to order the Boeing 777X. It doesn’t mean they’ve ordered ultra long haul planes. And it doesn’t mean they’re going to fly these routes.
United’s Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet – the latter which flies United’s longest flights to places like Sydney, Singapore, and Capetown – have still had the old Diamond 2-2-2 seats that most passengers with a choice avoid.
We finally have a look into United’s retrofit plans for these aircraft, and it isn’t pretty.
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 »
