As Airlines Lay Off Thousands Of Workers, They Get Rid Of The Best And Keep The Worst

by Gary Leff

Jul 12 2020

Early in the pandemic I warned you to be indispensable in your job, that we were in recession and work from home couldn’t be an excuse to let up at work. A lot of jobs would be lost and you needed to position yourself so that yours wouldn’t be one of them.

In normal times performance matters at work. That’s not true at airlines, and certainly not true during these times. Non-union workers are being let go en masse, and at a scale where it’s difficult to separate the poor performers from the stars. And union employees mostly see jobs preserved or lost based on seniority alone – performance and value creation for the company have literally nothing to do with the decision.

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Flight Attendant Goes On Worst Date Ever, Winds Up In Dubai Jail

by Gary Leff

Jul 12 2020

On June 21 an Emirates flight attendant was arrested in Dubai while on a first date.

UAE police raided the man’s apartment while they were both there, and found two joints of marijuana. Police took them both into custody, and she’s been held ever since. Reports are that the 23 year old British expat, Derrin Crawford, has fallen ill with septic tonsilitis while in jail.

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Passenger Blasts United Airlines Telling Her To Fight Through Crowded Gate Area If She Wants To Fly

by Gary Leff

Jul 11 2020

An announcement was made for people to keep their distance from each other at the gate, but no one did.

United told her that she should just “push your way through” when it was time for her to board, she says. She objected, everyone is supposed to be social distancing to reduce contact and limit the spread of COVID-19. And the airline is supposed to have procedures to make sure travel is safe. She says she was told, “if you don’t like it then don’t board.”

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It Looks Like Hawaii Tourism Won’t Re-Start August 1 After All

by Gary Leff

hawaii
Jul 11 2020

Travel doesn’t just face risk from COVID-19, but from the response to COVID-19, and more importantly from changes in that response. In other words regime uncertainty.

The Lt. Governor says the August 1 re-opening date will be pushed back, even though people have bought their tickets and made plans. Instead he says it’ll be postponed indefinitely, until a time that gets announced two weeks prior to re-opening. But it’s ultimately the governor’s decision, and he may or may not have made it yet.

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American Airlines Account Shutdown ‘Victim’ Lawyers Up, Asks To Withdraw DOT Complaint

by Gary Leff

Jul 11 2020

It was big news this past week when American Airlines responded forcefully to a complaint about shutting down a member’s account for opening various frequent flyer accounts in different names as part of a technique to generate several Citibank credit card signup offers.

Now the person filing the complaint has done two things in response to American’s filing.

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I Earned 55 Marriott Elite Nights Without A Single Stay This Year

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Jul 11 2020

I haven’t spent a single night with Marriott so far this year, but I now have 55 elite nights in my account. Others have even more elite nights than I do without staying once. What a strange year this is (and this is perhaps the least of the reasons why).

These bonus elite nights count towards lifetime status. And by earning over 50 nights I should receive a Choice benefit that would even give me 5 more free elite nights too.

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