Research shows us that the ban on travel from China by non-U.S. residents didn’t work. I had thought it came too late because the virus was already here, but looking at details of the virus itself it appears that wasn’t true. The virus cases that actually spread came after the ban. So the ban didn’t work.
A new investigation shows why the travel ban failed, and it isn’t the partisan reasons many people think.
While it makes tremendous sense for airlines to cut back their operations significantly in the face of reduced demand, if there was one airline that didn’t do this to nearly the same extent they could benefit in an outsized manner as travel began to return.
Since they’re still paying employees anyway, still making lease payments on planes (or own them), and fuel is cheap the variable costs of flights are fairly low. If one carrier could aggregate the bulk of demand it could be a better financial strategy than shrinking.
American Airlines is building is schedule back up domestically for July, re-opening Admirals Clubs, and improving its change fee waiver – while re-asserting one element of restrictions attached to its basic economy fares.
Never sell your miles, never lie on a credit application (that’s a crime, though only the main perpetrators are charged here), and look skeptically at people contacting you to participate in schemes, there were even multiple assumed names apparently being used here.
The indictment by the way tells us how much a bank was paying airlines for frequent flyer miles…
American Airlines is shrinking with a goal of at least 30% fewer management and support staff. That runs throughout the airline, including Vice Presidents and Senior Vice Presidents.
Over the past two days rumors have been swirling about which members of top leadership will depart, as the airline offers buy out packages. (At this level buy outs are richer than what’s been publicly reported for management staff.)
Very soon we’ll know which members of top management are leaving. I’ve heard whispers of top names all day.
With British Airways terminating all of its cabin crew and offering to re-hire about 70% for as little as half what they were making before, the U.K. parliament is taking up my suggestion that the BA shouldn’t be able to keep its free gift of London Heathrow slots – their most valuable asset, which protects them from competition.
Hyatt has extended their free cancellation policy. Reservations made directly with Hyatt for travel through July 31, 2021 are refundable as long you as you cancel the booking at least 24 hours in advance.
You actually have to watch during the booking process to make sure this flexibility applies though. Here’s why.
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 Trump administration has announced a plan to stop Chinese airlines from flying to or from the U.S. beginning in June 16. This comes after the Chinese government has prevented United and Delta Air Lines from restarting their own services to China.
The Chinese are currently limiting airlines to service levels based on frequency in late March, when U.S. carriers had already suspended Chinese operations. The Chinese government has offered one flight per week.
A year ago Aeroplan accidentally announced a partnership with Etihad Airways. That deal wasn’t ready for prime time, but now it’s live. You can earn and redeem Aeroplan miles for travel on Etihad, which is huge in my opinion – especially with no fuel surcharges.
You can combine Etihad flights with Star Alliance airlines in a single award and travel to India, the Mideast, the Maldives and more.
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 »
