Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

United Airlines May Delay a Flight for You the Next Time You’re Running Late

by Gary Leff

united-plane
Mar 05 2019

United Airlines President Scott Kirby spoke this morning at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation, & Industrials Conference and what’s notable is that instead of just talking about the airline’s route network — talking about earning their ‘natural share’ of revenue just by flying — he talked about earning customers’ business by delivering better service.

Kirby laid out several initiatives, entirely apart from investments in premium physical product like lounges and the addition of premium seats.

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One Airline Has Two Status Levels — But Benefits are Exactly the Same

by Gary Leff

spirit plane
Mar 04 2019

Spirit Airlines offers one of the best deals in travel, their ‘Big Front Seat’ which is often very modestly priced above the regular seat. It can be less than $40 more for a recliner style seat similar to what larger airlines offer in first class. They call it ‘Big Front Seat’ for a reason though since all you’re getting is the bigger seat up front, not other services like checked bags bundled in.

The carrier has done as much or more than anyone else to drive down the price of airfare across much of the U.S. and in the last year especially they’ve improved their operation – completing flights and performing on-time. They even joined PreCheck.

However they have one of the worst frequent flyer programs on the planet.

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Alaska Airlines Status After Just Two Roundtrips

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines plane
Mar 03 2019

Airlines will frequently give you elite status if you have status with a competitor in order to make it easier to move your business.

Alaska Airlines in particular is quite aggressive, they will even match to their top tier MVP Gold 75K level when you email with proof of your existing status.

They also have a new offer out that does not require you to be a current elite flyer, just someone that has plans to fly cross country a few times.

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Rumor: American to Admit Defeat, Give Passengers More Space in Coach

by Gary Leff

Mar 02 2019

In late 2017 American Airlines rolled out a new coach product. It featured less space than ever between seats (not just in coach, but less space for extra legroom coach and even for first class). There was less recline, too, and no seat back video. They found space for more seats by squeezing inches out of the lavatories. And they found space by taking padding out of the seats.

Not only was this new interior what’s going into their new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, but they’ve been taking more comfortable Boeing 737-800s and ripping out those interiors to match what I’ve sometimes called “Torquemada configuration.”

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American Airlines Updates Its ‘Flat Tire Rule’ to Help If You’re Late to the Airport

by Gary Leff

Mar 01 2019

For many years there’s something that’s been referred to in airline parlance as the ‘flat tire rule’ — if you show up too late to get on your flight, your airline will put you on the next one without a penalty. After all, you may have had a flat tire on your way to the airport, why punish you further? Little is free in today’s airline world any more. In fact “standby” or wait listed travel is no longer free at most US airlines (and not all international ones offer it to begin with). At American Airlines only full fare passengers and elites can stand by for free, and that’s generally only for US travel — otherwise it costs $75 to stand by for an earlier flight. But what about when you miss your flight?…

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American Airlines Fined $1 Million for 13 Illegal Long Tarmac Delays

by Gary Leff

airplane on tarmac
Mar 01 2019

It used to be that an airline would focus more on getting each flight to its destination as quickly as possible, believing it’s better to get passengers and aircraft where they’re going than cancel flights and let passengers off. That equilibrium was shifted in law, and airlines are now supposed to let passengers off of planes rather than holding them on the aircraft — even though it may mean more flight cancellations and mean people don’t get where they’re going as quickly.

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