Category Archives for Airlines.
At the United Airlines media day executives at the carrier shared what a review of 365 days of ticket purchases on the United website showed about the cheapest days to buy travel and the cheapest days to travel.
United Airlines is launching their new premium regional jet configuration on board what they are calling the Bombardier CRJ-550. United can’t add more regional jets for large numbers of passengers. So they’re putting just 50 seats in a plane that can fit 50% more. This new aircraft makes its first commercial flight this Sunday, October 27th.
There are some positives – and, I think, real negatives – to this new aircraft. And it’s unclear United will even keep it in service if they get the deal they want from pilots in a new contract.
A flight attendant claims she caught two Southwest pilots live-streaming the lavatory into the cockpit for their viewing. This is when they were supposed to be flying their plane.
“The flight attendant entered the cockpit when one of the pilots went to use the lavatory. She noticed an iPad with the lavatory video feed. The co-pilot “panicked when he realized she noticed the device..[and] claimed it was part of a new security measure featured on all Southwest flights.”
Customers flying first class on regional jets have traditionally been given a ‘yellow tag’ for their carry on. The purpose is so that those bags get priority.
Starting November 11th these yellow tags will become an Executive Platinum and ConciergeKey benefit. Instead of just being available to first class passengers (on regional jets with first class), they’ll also be a top tier elite benefit when those customers are flying coach.
I’m at United’s Media Day in Chicago and the morning session gave me seven key takeaways, from new overhead bins to free baggage delivery to Marriott hotel rooms and a new member-driven charity program in MileagepPlus.
I’m here at United Airlines Media Day in Chicago and United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said that relying on commitments from Boeing and the FAA that the 737 MAX is “is not going to be enough.”
American Airlines is looking to reduce the cost of delivering checked checked bags – and as a result
they are “in the process of reviewing” their policy of standby free of charge (or for a fee) for elite customers who have checked bags.
With this change – reversing the benefit American trumpeted a decade ago that one way awards would never cost more than half a round trip – there was no press release.
Nonetheless it makes sense in the new world American AAdvantage has put itself in. Paid roundtrips are still sometimes less expensive than two one ways for international travel. It’s not surprising that awards would mirror this.
American Airlines released third quarter earnings and held their earnings call this morning. The carrier reported $557 million in pre-tax income for the quarter.
Their 4.6% pretax margin during the peak summer third quarter is weak. However CEO Doug Parker kept his job through the quarter and that’s the biggest victory for this management team after alienating employees, shareholders, and customers.
The Austin airport teased a new route announcement coming this morning. Routes Online broke the news ahead of their announcement – and it’s one I didn’t expect.
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 »
