Airlines

Category Archives for Airlines.

United Tells Employees They’re Cutting Service Levels in Business Class (You Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse)

by Gary Leff on November 6, 2018

flight attendant pushing cart

Nov 06 2018

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.

Lesson Learned: Always Tell the Airline About Damaged Bags Immediately

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

wet clothes

Nov 05 2018

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.

Service Animal Does His Business on Plane, Passenger on Next Flight Told to Clean It Up

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

delta plane

Nov 05 2018

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

An Airline Can’t Be All Things to All Passengers

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

trade down chart

Nov 05 2018

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.

American Top Elite Status Changes: Higher Spend Requirement, New Choice Benefit

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

back of airline seats

Nov 05 2018

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 Orders More 76 Seat Regional Jets

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

american eagle plane

Nov 05 2018

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.

Icelandair Buying Wow Air: End of Low Cost Europe Fares Coming?

by Gary Leff on November 5, 2018

wow plane

Nov 05 2018

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.

Here’s the Seat Map for American’s New Airbus A321neo That Crams in Up to 15 More Seats

by Gary Leff on November 4, 2018

seat map

Nov 04 2018

At the end of September I revealed that American will be squeezing more seats into their Airbus A321 fleet, not just their Boeing 737s as well as adding more first class seats.

They accomplish this with less distance between seats, less padding for each seat, and smaller lavatories.

How Much You Need to Spend to Earn American Airlines ConciergeKey Status

by Gary Leff on November 4, 2018

concierge key

Nov 04 2018

ConciergeKey is American’s revenue-based top level, given to very high revenue customers and those who influence significant business for the airline.

It’s the ‘super secret’ level that George Clooney had in Up in the Air. The program began mostly for corporate travel buyers and folks in their old VIP program back in 2007, and gradually expanded to individual high revenue customers.

Finally Proof That Customers Make Decisions on Brand, Not Just Schedule and Price

by Gary Leff on November 4, 2018

british airways plane

Nov 04 2018

It’s become all too common to believe that the only things customers care about are schedule and price. This idea has been at the core of the ‘race to the bottom’ where legacy airlines strive to become more like ultra low cost carriers and then fail to understand why customers are unhappy.

Now that British Airways parent company IAG is telling investors that a quarter of the buying decision is based on brand, can we put to rest the notion that what customers think of their travel experience doesn’t matter for a full service high cost airline?

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 »