Category Archives for General.
A reader noticed something funny happening with United miles (plus cash co-pay) upgrades. If the first segment of the itinerary didn’t clear, the miles and co-pay would get credited back even if the first segment was a short flight and the long international flight was upgraded to business class.
China is North Korea’s primary sponsor state. But North Korea is also a problem for China. Kim Jong Un’s saber rattling leads to the militarization of South Korean and potential re-arming of Japan, challenging Chinese hegemony in North Asia.
Meanwhile, as the U.S. antagonizes North Korea, if China plays a role containing them they gain prestige on the world stage — equal to or in excess of the United States.
The new Qatar Airways cargo flight to Pittsburgh will receive subsidies… from the region’s airport authority.
Pittsburgh is also subsidizing Alaska Airlines, Wow Air, and Condor.
American Airlines surveyed their workforce in a major endeavor called “American Voice.” And it took responses from 59,197 employees or 53% of mainline American to learn what I’ve been saying for some time: more pay doesn’t translate to better service or happier employees.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The Airbus A380 is popular with customers for its spaciousness, although airlines are just now starting to really squeeze passengers into it like never before. However it’s never been popular with very many airlines.
Conceived of as a plane for ferrying large numbers of people between major cities, flying between the largest slot constrained airports where passengers might connect onward, the industry has gone in another direction entirely: point-to-point flying with smaller more fuel efficient jets that bypass additional connections entirely.
With Delta introducing lie flat premium cabin seats on New York JFK – Seattle and New York JFK – San Diego effective April 1 and New York JFK – Las Vegas May 1 current rules are that those flights will not be eligible for elite upgrades. (They’re getting the planes by flying domestic equipment transatlantic from New York to Ponta Delgada, Portugal; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Shannon, Ireland.)
However Delta intends to introduce day of departure elite upgrades for domestic flights with lie flat business class marketed as ‘Delta One’ effective April 1. That will include New York JFK – Los Angeles and San Francisco as well.
There’s a loophole American uses to get out of honoring 24 hour ticket cancellations/refunds in certain cases.
If you use credit from a previous cancelled ticket to pay for your reservation American tells me that they will not honor 24 hour cancel/refunds. They claim that when you pay for a new reservation using the residual from a cancelled ticket (whether partial or full payment) then it “isn’t a new reservation” so DOT rules under 14 CFR 374 don’t apply. Even for cancellations made less than 15 minutes after purchase, and for reservations that were newly created.
Star Alliance member Avianca’s LifeMiles program is selling miles with a 145% bonus (so 1.35 cents apiece) through November 27.
This time it’s not a tiered offer, it’s a straight-up bonus.
United Airlines is introducing a number of new regional carrier routes. One that really stuck out to me though is Chicago – Fresno season service because of the sheer length of the flight. It clocks in at 1731 miles!
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 »
