General

Category Archives for General.

Emirates Launching Premium Economy in 12-18 Months

emirates plane boarding
Dec 09 2016

Emirates expects to be offering premium economy within 18 months.

Some might argue they already offer premium economy, only they call it business class. Emirates offers an angled business class on its Boeing 777 aircraft. Only their A380s have fully flat seats. They’re introducing a new flat business class seat on new 777s, but not retrofitting existing ones.

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RUMOR: American Express Created New Rewards Abuse Team

Dec 09 2016

Frequent flyer programs all have corporate security, and so does American Express. I’m not sure whether this is a ‘new team’ and even if it is whether that means a new charge. We’ve certainly seen reports of accounts being frozen and investigated when using targeted links that weren’t intended for public use, and we’ve seen points clawed back from those accounts when violating American Express terms to achieve bonuses (such as meeting minimum spend with gift cards).

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DOT Proposes Trigger Warnings for Inflight Cell Phone Use

older gentleman taking a selfie with smartphone
Dec 08 2016

The Department of Transportation announced a proposed rule today to require airlines to disclose to consumers in advance if their flight will permit passengers to make voice calls using wireless devices.

This is a strange regulation to open comment on for a number of reasons. Not least of which because there’s no inflight cell phone calling allowed in the US today.

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Delta Will Status Match a Lot More Airlines

delta plane
Dec 08 2016

Here’s an overview of status matches, asking a loyalty program to give you status based on the status you hold with another program.

Travel providers are interested in acquiring their competitors’ best customers, but elite status has a lock-in effect. Sure, you might want to defect from United to American or from Delta to Alaska, but it’s pretty tough to do that and start from scratch with a new airline. You’re well treated as an elite, and it’s rough out there often times flying without any status.

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Flying Economy is Actually Getting Better: Delta Introduces New Snacks Next Week

Dec 08 2016

While frequent flyer programs have gotten less competitive over the past three years, and many blame airline consolidation, in many ways airline product has gotten more competitive.

The major US legacy airlines have even been improving the experience in coach with better snacks and inflight entertainment. Delta takes their next step December 15.

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