Category Archives for Airlines.
I don’t like to see these increases. I’m saddened by them. But I still see the Mileage Bank as a strategically useful program. Their first class award prices remain better than many competitors, and that doesn’t even get into short haul business awards which are less than US airlines generally charge for coach.
Three years ago I described Cuba flights as a new opportunity for airlines to lose money.
I’m just back from Tokyo and Shanghai. My wife and I flew to Asia on a Virgin Atlantic 120,000 mile roundtrip ANA first class award. It’s one of the better value redemptions in all of travel — United would charge 220,000 miles roundtrip for the same thing, Aeroplan 210,000 miles, and Avianca LifeMiles 204,000. ANA itself charges 150,000 miles roundtrip.
And it turns out the deal is even better than that because most of the points for these two tickets came from American Express Membership Rewards transfers — when there was a transfer bonus. I called up Virgin Atlantic, put the award on a 24 hour hold, and then transferred the points. Not bad for a roundtrip ticket that was pricing at $22,907 apiece.
Ten engine parts fell out of a Japan Airlines Boeing 767 hitting a car and a medical clinic. The plane was headed from Kumamoto airport to Tokyo Haneda as flight JL632.
A left engine blade sustained significant damage. The parts falling from the sky “cracked a clinic window in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, and damaged a car on the premises.”
When a loyalty program becomes less rewarding, it moves the needle with consumers less. That’s a fairly basic proposition.
It’s not any different than the idea that if you raise prices consumers buy less of your product. There are exceptions of course, where some goods become more desirable because they’re expensive, but those are real outliers. This works fairly consistently and reliably.
Delta saver business class awards between US and Europe are supposed to cost 70,000 miles each way unless you’re using SkyMiles to fly on a Delta airlines partner in which case they charge extra miles. At least that’s the theory.
Delta charges what Delta wants to charge sometimes. But you can do something about it when you book.
CLEAR lets you skip to the front of the security line. You use a fingerprint for identification and even if you’re precheck you go ahead of everyone that’s waiting to have their ID checked.
Delta made an investment in CLEAR two years ago. That’s helped CLEAR to expand, and in turn Delta got their biometric technology which they’ve experimented with for aircraft boarding and for SkyClub access. In the future you should be able to check bags based on fingerprints rather than showing ID.
Delta, JetBlue, and even United have expanded cross country flying with lie flat seats. For months American has been expected to do this too.
Back in March American Airlines confirmed privately that they plan to put Boeing 757s with lie flat seats on cross country domestic flights. But we’re still waiting.
Delta announced that they will fly to Mumbai, India next year. They haven’t said where they’ll fly from, but presumably it’ll be Atlanta where they can muster plenty of connecting traffic. New York has competing flights already from United and Air India, great for non-stop traffic, but a less than ideal city for connections.
They’re doing it because they have a great new partner in Jet Airways and a more fuel efficient aircraft in the A350 but they want you to think it’s because of Donald Trump.
Effective June 22 they’re making changes to mileage earning and redemption. This matters to folks in the U.S. because Asia Miles is a oneworld frequent flyer program (earn and redeem on American, British Airways, Japan Airlines, etc.) and because it’s a points transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
To me the most important takeaway is that roundtrip premium cabin long haul awards are getting more expensive.
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 »
