Delta is going to cap the number of seats they sell in each cabin of their aircraft through June 30, to promote social distancing. Delta will also require customers to wear face masks starting May 4.
To show how quickly things are changing – the modern day equivalent of one being as a thousand years and a thousand years one day – it was only Monday that American announced flight attendants would be required to wear masks and that starting May 1 they’d begin to roll out complimentary masks for customers as an option, subject to supply chain and operational constraints.
Indeed it was just six weeks ago that American still disciplined flight attendants who wore masks.
Trivago, which is majority-owned by Expedia, along with 7 other companies wants Google to stop trying to collect on first quarter ad spending. These companies bought advertising, sold travel, but in many cases the trips didn’t happen – so they aren’t seeing revenue from those sales.
These companies are looking to the German government for bailouts, and want a bailout from Google as well because these companies would otherwise “be forced to use government loans to pay their debts.” German taxpayers would, in effect, be sending money to Google.
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.
We’re in a recession. We’re not traveling. Rewards credit cards that are optimized for travel may not be top of wallet. Cards that are optimized for heavily travel customers may also not match current spending patterns. We’re beginning to see brands and issuers adapt.
American Airlines lost over $2.2 billion in the first quarter, even though things didn’t begin to go south until March. They’re pulling in new cash everywhere they can, cutting costs, and expect not to have any difficulty securing not just payroll protection grants from the U.S. treasury but also subsidized loans.
Those financial metrics aren’t what I’m most interested in at this point, nor the $40 billion in debt they could soon be carrying. Those issues are well covered elsewhere. I wanted to highlight 6 other things last may get less play in broader coverage.
Airports across North America – 22 in the U.S. and one in Canada – will be bringing you JetStreamFest, the JetStream Music Festival, on Facebook Live beginning May 6 at 6 p.m. Eastern time. The event, hosted by my home town Austin airport which features live music throughout the year during normal times, will feature local musicians from each participating airport’s city. “Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World. Typically, we have 31 live performances across 7 stages in our terminal. Live music and supporting our local artists is who AUS is, even during the difficult times,” said Jacqueline Yaft, Chief Executive Officer of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “Airports are known for bringing people together, and we want to continue doing so even when you can’t travel. Virtual music is a great way to…
As part of raising funds on the private market and from the U.S. government, the airline had its unencumbered assets appraised. Parker reported that the value of these assets came back at $10 billion “excluding the AAdvantage program.”
During the airline’s earnings call Parker was pressed on what appraisals found the AAdvantage program to be worth.
Star Alliance carrier TAP Air Portugal has filed $1 each way base fares between New York JFK and Barcelona with a connection in Lisbon. This translates into roundtrip airfare starting at $168 including all taxes and fees.
Delta lawyers submitted a filing to the Department of Transportation in which they make the case that travel is unsafe and flights should be limited if at all possible.
That’s not the position Delta takes in public or emphasizes with employees. But it’s a convenient argument to make when they’re trying to reduce their service obligations under the federal airline bailout.
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 »
