The July 9 issue of Time magazine carries a piece (subscription required) on summer air travel reading. It begins with a paean to the Kindle, but offers my dissent: “I always bring a hardcover,” says Gary Leff of frequent-flyer community Milepoint. “I don’t use an e-reader because flight attendants get snippy during takeoff and landing.” Though it also goes on to explain that I will discard books as I go along to stay as light on the road as possible, leaving books behind in places where others may fortuitously stumble upon the best reads. Some hotel lounges have places where folks leave behind and pick up books, other times I’ll leave them in airport clubs. Occasionally I’ll carry home a book that I’ll want to reference later, but that’s rare, usually once I’ve read it…
General
Category Archives for General.
The Future of Mobile for Travel Providers
I spoke to an airline industry group last month about the future of social media as a revenue stream. Most industry folks know that they have to have a presence on Twitter, on Facebook, some of them are starting Pinterest pages (I’m still not on Pinterest). They have mobile apps. But one of the best quotes of the weekend from another event I spoke at back in March was, “An app is not an online strategy.” One of the folks on the panel was a top executive from LivingSocial, and he didn’t like one of the first points I made. So far travel providers have seen online distribution channels as a means to segment their customers, offering deep discounts to Twitter followers or Facebook fans, dumping excess inventory to a minority of engaged customers while…
Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy
Here’s some great perspective, a three-year old clip from a Louis C.K. appearance on Conan. “Everything’s amazing and nobody’s happy.” Great insight about life, drawing on telephones, banking, and starting two minutes in half the clip is about the ‘annoyances’ we experience during flying. Roughly speaking, since I couldn’t find a full transcript, here’s what he has to say: I was on an airplane and there was high speed internet on the airplane… it’s fast, I’m watching YouTube clips, I’m on an airplane. It breaks down, they apologize, and the guy next to me is like “This is bull…” Like how quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only 10 seconds ago? Flying is the worst one, people come back from flights, they tell you their story and it’s a horror story. They…
Up to 50% Bonus on Alitalia Flights Through End of Year
The Alitalia Millemiglia program is offering up to 50% bonus miles for flights taken through the end of 2012. Receive a 15% bonus on your 4th through 7th Alitalia segment credited to the Millemiglia program, a 30% bonus on segments 8 through 19, and a 50% bonus on your 20th segment and beyond. I haven’t found the offer listed in English, and oddly enough the Google translate of the Italian page suggested that the bonus was on Air France segments. Perhaps Google remembers when Air France was trying to buy Alitalia? I’m not a big fan of accruing points with Alitalia without specific, near-term uses. One of the ‘quirks’ of the program, I’m told to comport with Italian law (though I do not know if this is a law that Alitalia has pushed for, or…
US Airways 50% Bonus on Shared/Transferred Miles
During the month of July, US Airways is offering up to a 50% bonus on one share miles transaction. Offer valid for your FIRST Share transaction (purchaser or recipient) made between July 1, 2012 00:00:01 AM PT and July 31, 2012 23:59:59 PM PT. This bonus is only applicable for Share Miles and the offer does not apply to Buy or Gift Miles transactions. Bonus amounts will be awarded upon completion of the transaction. Bonus miles will be awarded to the recipient of the Share. I interpret this as saying that you can only transfer points out of your account to generate a bonus once, and you can only receive a bonus once. It’s an open question whether you can do both with the same account, though a literally reading of the terms and conditions…
American Automobile Association (AAA) Hotel Discounts
Heels First Travel describes getting AAA membership just for the hotel discounts. And that’s exactly what I do. Hilton sometimes has decent AAA rates, though I usually book their MVP rates. At Hyatt, where I stay somewhat frequently, AAA rates are usually approximately the same as prepaid rates but which are cancellable. I’m nearly allergic to non-cancellable hotel rates, unless I’m getting a monster discount such as order of magnitude 50% off via Priceline. I’m usually not willing to book a non-refundable rate for a mere 10% off unless it’s exceptionally close to check-in. So the AAA rate deal is worthwhile to me, I capture the savings while maintaining the flexibility. And after 3-5 room nights booked this way I break even on my annual membership. Now I can’t say I’ve ever been ‘carded’ or…
American Website Now Supports Booking Qantas Award Space
Via Milepoint, and as promised a week ago by AAdvantage President Suzanne Rubin, the American Airlines website is now capable of searching for Qantas (and its Jetstar subsidiary) award space. This is especially useful because while the Qantas website itself is one of the great tools for searching award availability — if you want to search for awards on oneworld airlines, American AAdvantage members sign up for a Qantas frequent flyer account (free for folks outside Australia), and it’s great for finding flights on partners like British Airways and Iberia but which does not include Japan Airlines — there is more Qantas award availability offered to Qantas’ own members than to partners. The Qantas website will often show award seats, for instance from Los Angeles to Sydney, that are available to Qantas members but not…
Coach Pre-Sale for International Portion of Star Mega DO IV Now Available
At the beginning of the month I blogged about the Star MegaDO launch party in DC, that was where details of the upcoming event were revealed for the first time. It’s the ultimate frequent flyer adventure, where 150-200 enthusiastic folks get together, charter an aircraft, and go on behind-the-scenes tours of airlines and aircraft, while picking up swag and tons of miles and elite status along the way. To get a feel for what a MegaDO is all about, you can read a sample of some of the past media coverage. January’s oneworld MegaDO was featured on the front page of the business section of USA Today and also in an Associated Press story that hit about 70 papers. The January domestic charter portion of the trip sold out in under 20 minutes. It’s a hot ticket. This upcoming event in…
8 TSA Agents at a Single Airport Fired for Sleeping on the Job
Just your average Wednesday: The employees were captured on videotape failing to follow standard operating procedures for screen checked bags, the agency said, adding that some of the screeners were videotaped sleeping in the bag room. Unlike security checkpoints where passengers are screened, bag rooms are out of public view. The investigation is continuing, and action may be taken against additional employees, the TSA said. They were caught on videotape, but their union plans to appeal the dismissals and seek their reinstatement. This is the same airport where a TSA agent was placed on paid leave for stealing a CNN camera and selling it on eBay. Still, we should remember this represents a few bad apples who in no way undermine the hard work that thousands of men and women at the TSA do to keep…
Media Coverage for My Award Booking Service
In Sunday’s New York Times travel section, Michelle Higgins writes about services that will help you get the most out of your miles. ANY traveler who has tried to use frequent flier miles for a free ticket knows how frustrating that process can be. On top of the blackout dates and limited availability, there are fees for everything from fuel surcharges to last-minute bookings. Spotting an opportunity, a handful of frequent flier fanatics are using their expertise to hunt down and book those award seats for you. “When you do this all day you begin to know which routes have availability, and the ins and outs of the computer systems,” said Gary Leff, a mileage hound who started BookYourAward.com about three years ago. Business has been so brisk he recently took on a partner. She…
