Category Archives for Airlines.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
American Airlines seemingly spends an awful lot of time talking to employees about my blog posts whether it’s Vasu Raja responding to what I write about New York JFK or Doug Parker getting defensive about the 737 MAX.
The airline is clear in its financials though that they lose money flying planes and all their profit is accounted for by the sale of frequent flyer miles. American is telling their employees not to worry though despite the way “some online commenters have tried to oversimplify” the airline’s financial results.
In October Qatar Airways threatened to leave the oneworld alliance, a threat that their CEO Akbar al-Baker has repeated several times.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker was asked about his plans to stay or leave oneworld and he’s indicated that they’ll announce a decision in a month or two.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker promised a “revolutionary” economy seat. And that would be hard to do for an airline whose CEO has already claimed in the past that they don’t need to offer premium economy — because their economy product is already premium economy.
When American Airlines introduced Basic Economy fares — new restrictions on the cheapest tickets that prevented customers from upgrading, making itinerary changes, or even getting a seat assignment at booking — they offered the ability to ‘buy up’ to the regular economy fare.
That way if someone realized they had purchased such a restrictive fare in error, they still had a do-over possibility by giving the airline more money.
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.
American and Hyatt have announced a partnership. It doesn’t yet appear to have a name, but it’s similar to what Starwood executives built for Crossover Rewards, and Hyatt’s loyalty program is now largely run by ex-Starwood executives.
Some airlines will provide you with special treats just for letting them know that it’s your birthday. Here are two that will provide cake for birthdays (anniversaries, too) for free, and two that charge for the request.
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.
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.
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 »
