Category Archives for Airlines.
I like business class awards at a discount, and 50% off premium economy can be useful. However 25% off premium economy from Seattle is only moderately useful and really only if you’re based in Seattle. 25% off economy redemptions aren’t great since you do pay some carrier-imposed surcharges. I need to see at least 50% off economy to suggest the awards as worth pursuing.
United Airlines is cracking down on flight attendants posting photos of themselves online posing inside of overhead bins, known as the “Overhead Bin Challenge.”
It’s understandable that an airline wouldn’t want to have to take a maintenance delay if an overhead bin was damaged. And HR is certainly going to prefer to tell employees not to do it – it’s harder to sue the airline for an injury that way. On the other hand, heaven forbid a United Airlines flight attendant look like they’re having fun at their job… Last summer Southwest Airlines, for their part, backed up their flight attendant’s “brief moment of fun.”
American Airlines gutted their partnership with Alaska Airlines and the most recent stage of the breakup was just announced in the fall so I was genuinely surprised by the about-face announced in mid-February of a newly-energized partnership including oneworld alliance membership for Alaska.
On Wednesday American’s CEO Doug Parker held one of the airline’s monthly ‘Crew News’ employee question and answer sessions, a recording of which was shared with View From The Wing. During his introduction Parker talked about the strategic shift that this represents.
Since this morning we’ve learned that Amazon is telling employees to defer non-essential domestic business travel. After mentioning this on Twitter I’ve seen others reply that their companies are doing the same and pulling out of trade shows. The value of going to trade shows drops (they are a perfect example of network effects) and the reduction in travel spreads, along with a further reduction in economy activity. A 12% selloff in the markets over the last week may not be wrong.
When the American Airlines-Qantas joint venture was first announced I expected that an early route addition would be Dallas Fort-Worth – Brisbane. The head of the Brisbane airport expected it, too, and the CEO of Qantas International predicted their Boeing 787s made the most sense flying Brisbane to LA or Dallas.
Before Qantas began operating an Airbus A380 on the Sydney – Dallas route the flight was on a Boeing 747 and from Dallas to Sydney had to make a stop in Brisbane (but flew non-stop from Sydney to Dallas). Now JonNYC is writing that Dallas Fort-Worth – Brisbane is a route to look for.
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.
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 »
