Category Archives for Airlines.
Three years ago I wrote about the problem of gate agents skipping over people for upgrades if they weren’t waiting at the gate. American has just sent out a memo addressing this problem.
According to the President of Star Alliance member airline Thai Airways, the Bangkok-based carrier is on the verge of shutting down if they don’t succeed quickly in a turnaround.
Over the summer the airline’s President introduced a six point plan to crowd source cost cutting ideas; reduce food waste; make a ton of money flying to Sendai, Japan; collaborate with a local gas station cafe chain; and platitudes but it was (shockingly) insufficient.
Unquestionably Singapore Airlines has one of the great international first class products. Admittedly their lounges are somewhat sub par. However their food and beverage program is outstanding. Their main meals are my favorite. And their wine program is fantastically curated. What could be greater luxury – beyond the quality of the champagnes, even – than the ability for passengers to have choice?
The Points Guy ran a love letter to American Airlines a piece laying out the case why it’s good for airlines to get rid of seat back entertainment. Each of their arguments is wrong.
What’s more, streaming content has its problems. Customers may be required to watch through the carrier’s app, but aren’t always clearly told to download it until it’s too late in the air. Airlines haven’t always invested in the same up to date content for streaming as seat back (I’m looking at you, American). And what happens if the U.S. government brings back an electronics ban?
The underlying issue isn’t “will Southwest Airlines try to buy another airline” it’s “how does Southwest Airlines grow without the Boeing 737 MAX in service and continued production?” And if Southwest isn’t in a position to grow its business, it can’t command the historically high price-earnings multiple it’s enjoyed relative to peers in the U.S. airline industry.
Mergers are costly. They rarely generate the promised benefits. They involve combining IT systems, fleets, unionized work forces, and company cultures. They’re fraught with risk. Southwest Airlines needs the MAX to be flying again soon, and likely to act on a plan to diversify its fleet (with the attenuated costs and complexity that brings) — potentially with Embraer E2 jets.
Airlines fight tooth and nail to operate on time. When they’re lucky they push back a few minutes early. It isn’t often you see flights leaving 5 to 7 hours before they’re scheduled to depart. However a unique situation in Santiago, Chile is causing American Airlines to leave that much earlier than planned.
Are these recent reports from American Airlines international first class really that surprising, when there’s so little emphasis on what service delivery for premium customers looks like at American?
British Airways flight crew have a reputation for being some of the rowdiest in the world, and ‘things to tend to happen’ during Singapore layovers (Johannesburg, Las Vegas, Bangkok, and Nairobi are also well known trouble spots).
Over the summer it was a game of naked spin the bottle that got out of hand in Singapore. Two years ago it was crew running naked through hotel corridors, stealing fish.
Now during a Singapore layover “[s]ome of the crew got plastered, allegedly using drinks smuggled off the BA in-flight trolley” and this led to an altercation in the lobby and a suspension.
I criticize many of the decisions that American Airlines leadership have made. They’ve managed to anger shareholders, employees, and customers alike. While racking up more debt and worse operating statistics than competitors they’ve also re-started their project to degrade the domestic product.
There’s one area though that they’ve performed at an outstanding level.
Mark Sanford is running for President in the Republican primary against Donald Trump. He is best known for disappearing for six days while serving as Governor of South Carolina. He had told staff he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He didn’t return calls from staff, or check in with his family on Father’s Day.
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 »
