American Airlines has sent out its annual gift to its Concierge Key customers. Reader Alex shared his. A year ago the chocolate company that provided the Concierge Key gift published that American AIrlines had ordered 11,300 of them. That’s consistent with the 10,000 to 15,000 estimate I’ve been using since 2014. The first thing to note is that this year’s chocolates are provided ‘in partnership with Barclays’. That means American made Barclays pay for the chocolates. The chocolates have artistic packaging featuring various cities. There’s also a drawing Concierge Key members can enter to win (1) 100,000 AAdvantage miles, and (2) an Admirals Club membership they can gift (Concierge Key members receive complimentary Admirals Club for themselves). There are (5) prizes, and only residents of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and the District of Columbia…
United Puts New Premium Plane On New York – DC Shuttle 10 Times a Day
Starting March 29 United will run 13 daily flights between the two cities. Ten of those flights will be using the airline’s new premium-heavy regional jet they’ve dubbed the ‘CRJ-550’ and 3 flights will be on larger Embraer 175s.
United can offer more flights – frequency is attractive to business travelers – offering fewer seats per flight on average. And they’re offering a product on 10 of the flights where they’re putting just 50 seats on the plane that’s designed for 40% more than that. Plenty of space per passenger is attractive, too.
Boston Is Now A Bigger Hub For American Airlines Than New York JFK
American Airlines has 9 hubs: Dallas Fort-Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Charlotte, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, New York JFK, and Washington National. Given recent service changes perhaps they should drop New York JFK and add Boston.
Fare Alert: $255 Roundtrip to Europe (!) on oneworld Airlines Finnair and Iberia
Currently flights are available from New York, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco to Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Madrid starting at just $255 roundtrip. These are available on American Airlines joint venture partners Iberia and Finnair as well as codeshare travel on American.
United Airlines Getting Rid Of Bag Sizers At The Gate
United Airlines will remove bag sizers from boarding gates by January 23. They say they will be more aggressive at check-in and that sizers will remain at security checkpoints, but that at the gate agents are supposed to ‘use their judgment’.
United Eliminates Contract Lounge Benefit For Star Alliance Customers
United has been inviting its business class customers to contract lounges in about 30 cities, and they’ve extended this option to Star Alliance members are well even though they aren’t required to.
Now United has mostly eliminated the practice. Except at two airports United no longer invites Star Alliance Gold members (who aren’t flying business class) to use contract lounges. This move (naturally) follows one made a few years ago by Delta.
This Is What Noise Cancelling Headphones Are For
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.
Meat Loaf Is Suing The Hyatt Regency DFW For Ending His Career
Meat Loaf is suing the Hyatt Regency DFW airport, saying he hasn’t been able to perform since he broke his collarbone there – and had to spend 42 days in the hospital.
He was willing to do anything for love – but it turns out when he said except for ‘that’ he meant suffering personal injury.
Air India On The Verge Of Collapse, Can’t Even Replace Engines On Grounded Planes
Air India hasn’t made payroll for December yet. The airline has an Airbus narrowbody grounded because it needs an engine replacement. The airline owns the engine. It can’t afford to send the engine to where the plane is.
The First U.S. Airline Has Raised Checked Bag Fees To $35, Offers Prepayment Discount
A year and a half ago JetBlue was first to raise its first checked bag fee to $30 and other U.S. airlines followed. Now they’re a leader in fees again, raising their first checked bag fee to $35. However they’ll still charge $30 as long as the fee is paid online in advance (prior to the online check-in window opening).