Category Archives for Airlines.
SkyTeam member airline KLM, based in Amsterdam and acquired by Air France in 2004, sees Germany as its most important market but discovered that 46% of Germans don’t know what a KLM is.
The airline created a German ad campaign: We are an airline. But since their research showed that people assumed KLM was either a bank, radio station or restaurant, they opened those things.
Delta debuted a new ad today, and it runs only today. It’s about inclusion and Delta’s bringing people together — through travel — and offers meaningful thoughts to an electorate that says they’re frustrated with anger, division, and partisanship.
And I almost believe it.
I’ve watched flight attendants move customers’ belongings in the overhead. If a passenger speaks up, afraid their computer for instance might disappear to camera equipment could get damaged, the passenger is immediately put on notice: are we going to have a problem? In other words sit down, shut up, or you’re off the flight.
Since the David Dao dragging incident on United last April there’s been more attention paid to the problem of airlines turning customer service problems over to law enforcement.
Starting February 1 business class entrees will be plated in advance in order to reduce flight attendant workload and allow them to reduce flight attendant staffing in the cabin by one position.
Where any of their competitors fly with fewer flight attendants, United will too. The goal, apparently, is to offer the lowest levels of service among peers American and Delta. And that’s not just limited to business class, Boeing 757 international routes lose a flight attendant in coach too.
A reader who lives not far from me shared his story of arriving at the Austin airport on American Airlines and finds his checked bags wet and contents damaged.
They went home late on Friday night and he filed his claim with American Airlines first thing Monday morning — so the immediate next business day. American denied his claim because he didn’t file within 24 hours. And without that timely-filed claim, he’s out of luck with his credit card coverage too.
Last year comedian Nicole Byer went on Conan and told a story about finding poop in a sealed blanket on Delta. She was flying from Louisiana to Atlanta enroute to Los Angeles when she pulled her first class blanket out of sealed plastic and “brown crumble falls on me” then she saw a “brown thing” and the smell hit her. She says she found poop in her phone a week later since the phone was in her lap.
Now comes word that a service animal ‘became ill’ on a Delta flight
At Friday’s Investor Day for the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, IAG management has come to the recognition that you cannot be all things to all people.
That’s a lesson that Southwest Airlines understands but American Airlines does not.
When United announced at the end of September that earning 100,000 mile flyer ‘1K’ status would also require $15,000 in spending starting next year it was almost a foregone conclusion that American AAdvantage would do the same thing.
Meanwhile they’re introducing a new choice benefit for Executive Platinums who fly beyond 100,000 miles as well as adjusting mileage and status-earning when flying on their closest partner airlines or on ‘bulk’ or special fares.
American Airlines is buying 15 more Embraer EMB-175 76 seat regional jets.
These aircraft will go to American Airlines wholly-owned regional carrier Envoy Air (formerly American Eagle) and are expected to be delivered starting in 2020. Likely for reasons of fleet commonality and price they did not opt for the potentially more comfortable E-2 variant of the plane.
Low cost transatlantic carrier Primera has gone out of business while Wow Air cuts routes. Norwegian is selling planes and could still be acquired by British Airways parent IAG.
The market for flying passengers across the Pond at low prices is being shaken up. There was too much capacity pushing down prices too far especially as fuel prices rise. Now it looks like we’re seeing some actual consolidation in this market.
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 »
