American Airlines today has increased first check bag fees on flights between North American (or Central or South America) and Europe on basic economy fares from $60 to $75.
For hotels to attract guests they’re going to need to be responsive to these customer demands. They need to give guests confidence to stay, and hotels will compete to offer a product that appeals to these sensibilities.
Marriott has now outlined their plans for increased health and safety for both employees and guests. But even more change will be coming to the industry.
American is out with a new video, You Are Why We Fly. That’s not one of American’s new slogans (e.g. “caring for people on life’s journey”) but does harken back to one of the airline’s more important messages of the past: we know why you fly.
‘You are why we fly’ speaks to why they keep going in the face of unprecedented challenges, why they continue the business with fares so low and planes so empty, why employees travel from place to place and continue to interact with customers at the airport and on board even in the face of the global pandemic.
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.
Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program has suspended redemptions even though it is a separate company and not included in the administrative restructuring. The frequent flyer program had been spun off in 2014, but reacquired.
The program’s 10 million members apparently had been redeeming points for “gift cards, electronic goods, and wine,” according to the airline, while members weren’t redeeming for travel. There was a ‘run on the bank’ as members questioned the viability of the program with the airline in trouble.
There’s a great idea to dive into the frequent flyer hobby – from the craziest of schemes, to the oddball personalities, to the ethics – either as a movie or television short season. Many folks have tried it. I’ve sat down with several of them, given thoughts and interviews. It’s never quite come to fruition.
One has made it to the stage of a trailer for their documentary. Lots of familiar faces here.
The airline bailout provided cash to continue to pay employees. They aren’t allowed to involuntarily lay off employees or reduce rates of pay through September 30. However one U.S. airline found a workaround: requiring unpaid time off. That way they keep the money to protect shareholders at the expense of employees.
It appears these account shutdowns were based on a belief that they could be the victim of hacking. In this case, accounts that were suspected to have been hacked are being replaced by brand new accounts with miles transferred – though apparently the transfer of elite status, systemwide upgrades, and the like is not instantaneous.
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.
Frequent flyer programs have done an amazing job of turning marketing from an expense into a profit center. But without travel, members are less engaged in the programs. And that means less spend with credit card partners, too.
It takes creative effort to get members continuing to earn in the program when they aren’t likely to redeem right away. But that earning means cash now – and is even more valuable than ever both because of the premium on cash for struggling businesses and because the redemption expenses won’t come until later.
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 »
