General

Mar 28 2016

American has made it pretty clear they want to win Los Angeles, the way that Delta has worked to win New York. Both are major US markets, and hyper-competitive.

American has grown both with its own flights — they recently added a Sydney flight (with an improved inflight service), they’re adding Auckland, New Zealand, and they’re adding Tokyo Haneda service and Hong Kong as well not to mention Shanghai with a 787 — and those are all international routes that face competition.

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Mar 28 2016

There’s been speculation about JetBlue, Delta, and Etihad as Virgin America investors.

Now we know that there are two bidders and we know who they are: JetBlue and Alaska Airlines

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Mar 28 2016

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.

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Mar 28 2016

The deal for Anbang — instead of Marriott — to acquire Starwood – may be back on.

I wrote on Saturday that the door was open for the consortium led by Chinese insurer Anbang to make another offer for several reasons.

Things could ultimately now work out for Starwood to remain independent!

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Mar 28 2016

We often talk about the what airlines are serving but more important than the what is the taste.

I know that sounds like an oxymoron, the idea of airline food that’s good. Passengers complain that they aren’t served food anymore in coach most of the time. When i first started traveling for business (and certainly growing up), passengers complained that they were served food. Because airline food was a joke.

There were efforts to improve on that, of course. Back when United’s premium cabin meals were branded with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin (so long before Charlie Trotter’s first appearance with the airline, the celebrity chef whose meals were largely derided as giving passengers ‘the trots’), they actually had economy meals which were chef-branded. United’s chef in economy was Sheila Lukins.

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Mar 28 2016

The airport’s Executive Club has hot food, but no bathrooms. It’s non-descript and was busy while I was there. I didn’t stay long. Instead, I grabbed my Priority Pass card and headed down to the middle of the terminal, and later to the end of the terminal, to check out two other lounges.

What’s especially strange is that terminal D itself has both a KLM lounge and an Air France lounge — two separate lounges operated by Air France KLM. In the same terminal. An easy walk from each other. And with overlapping lounges. Even if they’ve got both on long term leases it seems gratuitous to staff and supply them both. Now, Air France’s Paris flight usually leaves just an hour after the KLM Amsterdam flight most of the time. But even if they needed both lounges to support the two overlapping flights it’s strange that they keep the lounges open throughout the day.

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Mar 27 2016

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.

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Mar 27 2016

Hair stylist Bridget Nhire has been banned for life by British Airways after getting up to stretch her legs through a flight from London to Dubai.

In her version it was all about staving off deep vein thrombosis.

Apparently the crew ‘moved her to the front of the plane’ because off her ‘aggressiveness’. She was also strapped to a seat. She admits to drinking “two glasses of wine with my meal” but claims not to have been drunk.

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Mar 27 2016

Major changes at the company in a Marriott deal will include customers (as they ultimately create a single loyalty program for the combined companies), owners of some hotels (as they consolidate brands), and Starwood management (which is where job cuts will predominantly fall).

Don’t feel badly for the executives at the very top of Starwood, however. A Starwood SEC filing on Friday in connection with the Marriott acquisition revealed the payouts that the company’s officers will receive as a result of the transaction.

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