General

Jan 12 2016

The results of airline profitability over the most recent 12 months reported are interesting. American and Delta have brought in over $40 billion each in the last year. And by revenue Lufthansa Group (which includes several airlines) is actually bigger than United.

What’s amazing is that airline profits are located primarily in North America, and yet the US airlines claim to be underdogs. The low cost carriers are surging in both the US and Europe. That’s where the threat to the majors lies (not from the Gulf).

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Jan 12 2016

Ireland is a fantastic place to connect between Europe and the United States. That’s one reason British Airways bought them and is bringing them into oneworld. From anywhere except London it can make good sense for BA to send connecting passengers through Dublin. It’s strategically located, makes for an easy connection and features US immigration preclearance. (BA also gets slots at London Heathrow out of the deal.)

Roundtrip business class flights originating in Dublin are pricing over the holidays for less than $1000.

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Jan 11 2016

One of the awards that hasn’t changed in price for travel October 1 onwards is US – Europe roundtrip.

Despite Delta making unannounced changes to their secret award chart, US – Europe in economy remains 60,000 miles roundtrip.

There does seem to be a pattern when the airline faces bad news coverage over SkyMiles changes that they then offer an award sale.

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Jan 11 2016

You can fly Chicago – Belgrade as low as $1602 roundtrip in LOT’s fully flat Boeing 787 business class across the pond. Other destinations are available from Chicago and New York consistently under $2000 throughout the year.

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Jan 11 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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Jan 11 2016

Bird strikes are a real problem for aircraft, and despite the first recorded bird strike happening to Orville Wright over 110 years ago we haven’t figured out how to avoid them.

They’ve downed planes, like Ethiopian 604 from Bahir Dar to Asmara in 1988. 2009’s ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ US Airways 1549 may have run into a flock of geese shortly after takeoff. And even The Space Shuttle suffered a bird strike in 2005.

They’re tough on planes, of course, but when they happen you should see the other guy…

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Jan 10 2016

I gave a pretty comprehensive answer to this question three years ago. But it comes up all the time. In fact, cancelling a card just the other day the retention specialist (whose job it is to convince me not to cancel) threatened that I would lose my American Airlines miles if I canceled my co-brand credit card. That’s just wrong.

Under almost all circumstances you will not lose airline or hotel points earned through a credit card when you cancel the card. That includes both signup bonuses and points from spending on the card. However, if you close a bank’s proprietary rewards card, you’ll generally lose those accumulated points.

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Jan 10 2016

Whether the frequent flyer miles game seems to be historically rewarding, or in dire straits, depends on your perspective and time horizon. The game is different than it was 2 years ago, very different than it was 5 years ago, and orders of magnitude different than it was fifteen years ago.

If you got into the game any time since 2008, the current state of affairs must be downright depressing. You got in at one of the most generous times in history. Programs have gotten smarter, and loopholes close. But on the whole they haven’t gotten simpler, so outsized opportunities remain.

The programs are like the casino house — they set the rules, so over time and across the majority of their customers they’re the ones who should win. The game though is still fun to play, and a small percentage of players can still win. That small percentage, of course, is us.

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Jan 10 2016

Starting in March (and continuing through the fall) there’s really strong business class award availability on American’s Los Angeles and Chicago – Shanghai flights.

Interestingly the same cannot be said for Dallas – Shanghai, or American’s Beijing flights. So it’s not China generally, just Shanghai and just from Los Angeles and Chicago.

Availability is in both directions (although somewhat limited for Shanghai – Los Angeles). And the Chicago flight often has 6 or more seats open.

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