Update: American’s new award change and reinstatement fees have been pushed off from June 1 to July 1. That’s an extra month where you can take advantage of waived change fees, booking before the potential for big new costs go into effect.
Yesterday British Airways announced a change to its frequent flyer program purporting to preclude members from taking it to court or participating in any class action lawsuit.
However that would seem to run directly contrary to the express provisions of 14 CFR § 253.10. In other words, it appears that British Airways may be breaking the law.
Working as a flight attendant has been transformed over the last 40 years from high status to much lower status in American esteem. One day a year though we’re supposed to re-elevate the role. Yet somehow I’ve never really internalized that May 31 is international Flight Attendant Appreciation Day.
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.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker was flying Southwest Airlines out of Dallas to end the week, an airline he’s called ‘the cattle car’. A flight attendant notices the book he brought on board, but not who he is. He’s not her CEO, after all.
Parker was reading White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism. During the trip the flight attendant sat down next to him, he was in an empty row, and she asked him how the book is.
For people not quite ready to go back to the way things were, there’s a restaurant that’s opened for only one guest a a time. In the middle of a field.
When a guest arrives they’re “greeted with a sign and a rope.” The rope leads to a table in the middle of a meadow. The restaurant asks you for a list of your closest friends, and they solicit a note from someone you know. The note is at the table, so the meal begins with ‘social interaction’.
In response to American’s decision to shed 30% of its management and support workforce along with similar moves by United and Delta, industry analyst and former Pan Am, TWA, and American Airlines executive Bob Mann asks why management and support roles scale up as airlines grow in the first place. This is an interesting question and I’d like to suggest an answer.
Lufthansa was given slots at congested airports – a huge government subsidy. Those slots were made perpetual property rights of the airline. That’s a barrier to competition. The E.U. has rules against subsidies. To waive them, and allow Germany to provide a $9.8 billion injection into the airline, they wanted competition, but they’re unlikely to get it.
Greece will begin opening to tourists June 15 and then open up to the world starting July 1. And once you can enter Greece, you can probably visit most of Europe.
And with no more than the possibility of random coronavirus testing, there won’t be many hurdles to visiting – although that doesn’t offer the assurance that everyone else you encounter has been tested.
It’s important to define who you are, and tell that to your customers. It’s also important to tell that to your employees, so they know how to make decisions inside the company.
Apple can focus on creative types, empowering them to pursue their missions and dreams. Nike can celebrate great athletes. Very few companies have been able to create a clear purpose that customers associate the way American Express has. Without that brand American Express might as well be Discover.
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 »
