Ultimately basic economy isn’t how American and other airlines will attract more of the travelers that are out there – it is how they will give those travelers less than they used to, in order to charge more money to people that aren’t as price sensitive.
Delta Air Lines won’t be furloughing any flight attendants this year, even as its largest competitors lay off thousands.
Last Labor Day Delta gave its non-union workforce a big raise. This Labor Day their flight attendants get to keep their jobs. Delta has made a strong argument to its flight attendants not to unionize.
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 note a disgruntled passenger passed to an American Airlines flight attendant has gone viral. In the note, the passenger objected to being told their mask had to cover their nose and called the crewmember “a glorified MAID” a “mask nazi” who should be “cleaning motel rooms for $2 tips and meth” and that her life is “a waste.”
The change isn’t about being ‘customer friendly’ and it wasn’t about share shift – which won’t happen, because major airlines quickly matched each other on this – it’s about modernizing the pricing model and getting rid of a tool that wasn’t relevant anymore, while at the same time making those non-basic economy fares more attractive to less price-sensitive buyers.
American Airlines is surveying some top elites on how they might reorganize systemwide upgrades, the upgrades American’s top elites and million milers receive that can be used to secure a seat in a higher cabin than what you purchase any time after booking. They’re looking at how they might replace at least one of these upgrades with other rewards. Here’s what they seem to be testing, according to reports I’ve seen:
Demetria Poe, a kindergarten teacher from Minnesota, shared a story about Delta Air Lines on Facebook about the seat mate from hell – that Delta told her would be banned from the airline – and about how other passengers around her reacted to the incident. The story ends in an upgrade, and a gift bag from the airline.
An American Airlines flight attendant received a note from a passenger last this week that may be about the worst thing I’ve ever read. The woman who wrote the note had been asked to wear her mask over her nose.
The passenger apparently complied – but later decided to share what she thought of the flight attendant, who had simply asked her to follow airline policy, which was agreed to as a condition of flying. The note contained words that may haunt this passenger for a very long time.
Delta, Southwest, Alaska and JetBlue all limit the number of seats they’ll sell on a flight to varying degrees, promoting some on board social distancing. United, American, Spirit, and Allegiant do not.
Contra journalist Seth Kaplan, there’s no clear connection between blocking middle seats and a need to furlough airline employees. If anything there’s an effect in the opposite direction.
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.
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 »
