Commentary

Category Archives for Commentary.

Hotel Owner Beats Fraud Charges After Disputing Victoria Secret Model’s Tax Bill on His Amex

by Gary Leff

credit cards
Apr 12 2019

HABITAS hotel and hospitality management group co-founder Oliver Ripley was charged with “grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and falsifying business records” over what appears to have been alleged as a fraudulent charge back on his American Express card. He has pled to a mere misdemeanor and claims it was all a misunderstanding.

He says that his then-girlfriend Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio refinanced her Manhattan condo and was left “with a $48,000 tax bill” which he put on his American Express card. Then she left him.

Continue Reading »

Delta is Reducing Seat Recline – and That’s a Good Thing on Short Flights

by Gary Leff

people walking through airplane cabin
Apr 12 2019

Delta plans to cut recline by 2 inches in both first class and economy on their Airbus A320 aircraft. They say this is a move to increase passenger comfort, and I actually agree with this.

We shouldn’t celebrate the need for less recline, because it goes along with less comfortable seating overall. Nonetheless Delta essentially failed to make this change earlier and is coming back and doing something necessary to correct that failure.

Continue Reading »

Dallas Fort-Worth Needs a New Terminal. Will American Airlines Let Them Build It?

by Gary Leff

airport map
Apr 12 2019

American Airlines executives have come to love DFW, because they say it’s in their top tier of profitable hubs. They are the dominant carrier by far, and have incredible scale. They’re on their way to operating 900 flights a day from the airport. And with that many flights adding a new city is easy to make profitable as a result of connecting feed from all over the world.

The future of the airport is being hashed out now. Next year the airport’s 10-year use agreement is up, and a new deal is being negotiated. That’s where the broad plan for the future of the airport gets set — what is the airport going to invest in, how much will airlines pay for the space. The biggest airlines get the biggest say. American Airlines is in the driver’s seat.

Continue Reading »

Can Brands Turn Away From Social and Get You to Communicate Directly Through Their Own Channels?

by Gary Leff

Apr 10 2019

Companies are frustrated dealing with social platforms, too. They used to invest heavily in building bases of followers, thinking it would pay marketing dividends for years to come.

I remember airlines giving out miles just for following them on twitter or Facebook. What they didn’t realize at the time but seems obvious in hindsight is that it’s tough to make money long term on someone else’s platform. Instead of having an annuity stream of permission-based marketing, those followers are no longer free to communicate to. Platforms can charge to get a message out to followers companies have already paid to accumulate.

Continue Reading »

Why Eliminating Award Charts Puts Frequent Flyer Programs on a Collision Course With Themselves

by Gary Leff

insideairplane
Apr 07 2019

Airlines have historically been able to offer outsized value to consumers through their frequent flyer programs. Instead of merely offering a rebate on spending, where points are a modest currency that can be used to buy tickets at retail.

A problem arises, however, when there just aren’t many unsold seats. With airline consolidation and capacity discipline, load factors are at historic highs.

Continue Reading »