More than 650 of Delta’s planes are parked, but in another sign that airlines believe their future is going to be smaller than their past – at least for the foreseeable future – the airline has decided to retire its fleet of 18 Boeing 777s.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian sent a memo to the airline’s employees about the decision, and the internal document was shared with me by a source.
Qatar Airways is giving more value to customers than I can recall ever seeing an airline offer without it being a mistake. It even lets you buy a ticket on one of the least expensive routes, and use the ticket on one of the most expensive. And the airline has been pretty clear that this is for real.
After arriving in Hong Kong, it’s an 8 hour process involving quarantine forms, downloading a tracking app, and registering a tracking bracelet you have to wear – before taking a COVID-19 spit test and awaiting the results. This gripping report walks through it all, step-by-step.
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.
At American Airlines some of the required hours didn’t get paid during the mid-May pay cycle, and in fact many flight attendants whose scheduled flights were all cancelled received $0 checks. Others who got some pay appear to be missing hours. Many American Airlines employees will have to wait to get paid because the airline’s pay systems weren’t programmed to handle the way they’re currently paying employees.
Currently Iceland requires 14 day quarantine for everyone arriving into the country. This requirement will be relaxed, with tourists being welcomed back with conditions, in three stages. Starting June 15 Americans will be able to visit, getting tested for COVID-19 on arrival.
According to the Senior Vice President of Air Operations at the American Airlines wholly-owned regional carrier Envoy Air, “all of the E-175s and E-145s that we parked as a result of COVID-19 [are expected to be] returned to service by June 3.”
In addition all of the 20 Embraer 175 regional jets that had been operated by Compass are being brought into the Envoy Air fleet “over the next few months.” The first one, aircaft N208AN, was sent to Abilene for conformity checks by Eagle Aviation Services prior to entering revenue service.
Five Senators want customers to get their money back for trips they voluntarily cancelled, because we bailed out the airlines and because people need the money.
Since this is proposed by 5 Democratic Senators in a Republican Senate, and two are potential VP nominees, the chances of passages are zero.
Travel isn’t returning quickly to China, and if you want to see what two months into our future looks like the Chinese experience is certainly one clue. So is the risk of continued flare ups in the virus, which will scare people even further away from flying.
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 »
