The Trump administration has announced a plan to stop Chinese airlines from flying to or from the U.S. beginning in June 16. This comes after the Chinese government has prevented United and Delta Air Lines from restarting their own services to China.
The Chinese are currently limiting airlines to service levels based on frequency in late March, when U.S. carriers had already suspended Chinese operations. The Chinese government has offered one flight per week.
A year ago Aeroplan accidentally announced a partnership with Etihad Airways. That deal wasn’t ready for prime time, but now it’s live. You can earn and redeem Aeroplan miles for travel on Etihad, which is huge in my opinion – especially with no fuel surcharges.
You can combine Etihad flights with Star Alliance airlines in a single award and travel to India, the Mideast, the Maldives and more.
Disney has been using Star Wars storm troopers to enforce social distancing requirements and compliment guest on their face masks at the Disney Springs shopping and dining complex near Disney World, which re-opened May 20. The characters “tell people to ‘stay in your sector’ and ‘move along.’”
This “could indicate how the theme park plans to utilize its colorful cast of characters to enforce safety measures” as theme parks prepare to re-open.
Virgin Atlantic has been looking for – but hasn’t yet received – a government bailout. They’ve presented themselves as insolvent without one.
To conserve cash there are several airline frequent flyer programs that have suspended redemptions, or partner airline redemptions, that would require them to pay out funds. So when Virgin Atlantic’s frequent flyer program went offline due to technology issues, and some bank card transfer partners suspended points transfers (so the points wouldn’t disappear enroute), that raised alarm bells.
The country is especially cautious letting people in, because that risks re-igniting the virus. However there are Chinese nationals looking to return home. This is the story of what it’s like to fly today from Los Angeles to Beijing. Except you can’t actually fly to Beijing. Air China’s CA988 has actually been landing in neighboring provinces – either Shijiazhuang or Tianjin – for quarantine.
This trip cost $4900 one-way in coach on Air China, plus $1400 for hotel and food during a 14 day stay prior to release.
Airlines have cut back inflight food and beverage offerings both for social distancing (to reduce passenger – flight attendant contact) and for cost savings. I’ve written that post-pandemic I don’t expect inflight product investment to return right away, as airlines work to repair their balance sheets after borrowing unprecedented sums to stay in business.
Soon though airlines are going to have to differentiate the premium cabin experience to recover, or else they’ll be unable to sell premium fares.
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.
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.
Hawaii is set to re-open some travel – but only for its own residents and not other U.S. citizens.
During the coronavirus crisis Hawaii has kicked people off the island who couldn’t possibly have brought the virus there and still be spreading it. They use the virus as an excuse to push out Airbnb rentals which compete with local hotel owners as well as trying to keep tourists segregated in resort areas. They’ve considered requiring anyone coming to the islands have a ticket to leave.
I may be playing Captain Obvious here but forward bookings for domestic leisure travel destinations are picking up steam (for a very low base). While one of the easiest places to cut in a pandemic-driven recession is marketing, it’s also one of the places a brand needs to spend to goose business precisely when facing challenging business conditions.
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 »
