United has revised their refund policy for reservations where they impose a schedule change three times in the past week. They are more draconian than competitors, and the changes to published rules apply even to tickets purchased prior to the changes. This points to how United is viewing holding on to customer cash in the short run – over taking care of their customers in the long run.
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.
The union that represents flight attendants at Canada’s WestJet Airlines expects layoffs “of more than 50 per cent of its staff.”
The Trump administration’s ban on non-U.S. residents entering the country if they have been in European Schengen Area countries, which went into effect overnight on Friday, will be extended to include the U.K. and Ireland at midnight on Monday night.
The President says he’s “working with the states” and considering domestic travel restrictions as well.
Four years ago American shared on an earnings call that 50% of its revenue was coming from once a year flyers who made up 87% of its customers, with more frequent customers representing just 13% of flyers and the other half of revenue.
Now once a year customers are contributing an even greater share of American’s revenue – even as people fly more often.
Airlines are facing an existential crisis in their business, as bookings dry up and customers stay home. Other businesses, often smaller businesses, are facing a crisis too. People aren’t going out to local restaurants. Other businesses are closing down, and not all of their employees are being paid.
But airlines are politically well-connected. Delta, United, and American have all spent time lobbying for government handouts this week. Here’s the form subsidies are most likely to take.
The TSA has relaxed its liquid ban to allow up passengers to bring up to 12 ounces of hand sanitizer through security checkpoints, rather than the 3.4 ounces they typically permit.
Of course the larger limit for hand sanitizer calls into question why other liquids remain limited.
United Airlines has to be the one of the most remote work-averse employers in the country, at least based on this e-mail from Kate Gebo, Executive Vice President Human Resources and Labor Relations at United Airlines, that was sent at the end of the week.
American Airlines will accelerate the retirement of its Boeing 757 and 767 fleets (and won’t have reason to extend service of their Embraer E-190s). They’re cutting flights, including much of Europe and even some service to London. And they’re promising that actual quarantined employees won’t be fired for taking sick time.
Norwegian Air says they may run out of cash in a matter of weeks. Their long haul business is between several European countries and the U.S., but Europeans largely cannot travel to the U.S. for the next month. Bookings are down anyway in the current environment, and this was a troubled airline to begin with.
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 »
