Delta Air Lines is now doing temperature checks of passengers at LAX. Anyone departing from their terminal 2 (but not those making a domestic connection) will have their temperature scanned via thermal imaging camera. This is a test that Delta could roll out across other airports.
If the airport were doing this, it would be illegal. And it does very little to catch anyone with Covid-19. There are better alternatives.
Why are airlines calling for a ‘clean extension’ of payroll support? It’s the most expensive unemployment program there is. While Congress and the President wrangle over how much to cover in additional unemployment for laid off workers, airline workers would get 100% of salary not to work and the government would effectively be paying airlines a 100% premium to do it.
It wasn’t enough just to ask customers to wear masks. Part of the reason is how political masks have become, although I wonder if they’re getting less so as people become used to the requirement, the President wears one in public, and Red States are requiring them too.
There are subtleties in airline mask policies, but largely there’s been a six-part progression to airline rules. The latest is to define what kind of mask is acceptable. There’s an exception to the ‘no masks with valve’ rule, though.
A front desk security camera at a hotel in Brazil caught a beat down that occurred between a guest and a check-in agent Saturday night after the 24 year old reception agent insisted on taking the customer’s temperature as they entered the property.
The man, who apparently objected to contactless thermometers the way some airline passengers feel about masks, seemed as though he was going to walk away and leave. He comes back and hits the employee with a pedestal and threw hand sanitizer as well. That’s when the desk agent goes full on Bruce Lee in Fists of Fury on the customer.
Aeroplan is offering 2500 miles for new members after first activity in the account. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but because of a quirk in Aeroplan’s program that can be leveraged into 20,000 miles worth of travel.
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Hotels need to work harder to please guests when they have empty rooms. Delivering less value than before is a recipe for lower rates and more empty rooms. Moving to a no housekeeping standard where it no longer makes sense to compensate guests for no housekeeping is the wrong equilibrium for recovery.
Every basic warning exists because someone has done it before, like Mitt Romney ironing his clothes while wearing them. But an inflight foot massage in economy? This may be the worst thing I’ve ever seen on a plane. This is a whole new entry into “what’s grosser than gross?”
It’s been clear for months that airlines need to continue waiving change fees in order to convince customers to buy tickets. Otherwise their plans are just too uncertain to pull the trigger on travel.
American’s policy has been extended, applies to award travel even next year, and the airline will allow name changes on business travel tickets.
David Harris, Jr., whose book title describes himself as a black conservative, posted a livestream refusing to wear a mask on American Airlines. With a wink and a nod he suggested that a medical issue with a mask was enough to exempt anyone from the requirement. It was clear he didn’t have a ‘real’ medical need. Indeed he had a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a mask.
He’s posted a new video to twitter showing the airline turning him away for his past mask altercation, and he’s shocked that no one from the airline told him he was banned.
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 »
