Jan
09
2020
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.
Why You Need To Protect Your Marriott Account — From Marriott
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Offers Free Night Awards Again, Can We Win Over Andaz Maui Too?
Jan
09
2020
The Hyatt Regency San Francisco has been a long-time, repeat scofflaw of Hyatt’s loyalty program. They have played games to avoid offering rooms to program members for points. However they are once again making award nights available.
Back in 2015 their strategy was to only make standard rooms available as part of ‘packages’ (such as with breakfast or parking included) and thus those rooms were not available for points stays. I pushed and got that fixed, but it’s a game of whack-a-mole and they were back to their old tricks.
American Is Now Retrofitting 737s AGAIN To Fix Poorly Thought Out First Class Cabin
Jan
09
2020
American created ‘Project Kodiak’ to tweak first class: Fixing row 1’s legroom, fixing underseat storage, improving separation between first and coach, and adding tablet holders and USB power to first class.
Kodiak retrofits are underway. One surprise is that it appears there’s a plane with seat back video in for retrofit, ripping out TV screens. American had previously said that these planes would receive their retrofits last so that customers could keep screens as long as possible. That appears not to have been accurate.
American AAdvantage Is Keeping Award Charts, And More Backstory From The Program
Jan
09
2020
Brian Kelly from The Points Guy interviewed American AAdvantage President Bridget Blaise-Shamai and got some interesting tidbits from her – that they don’t plan to eliminate award charts like Delta and United have – and some answers that I’d, shall we say, take issue with.
Customer Missed Birth Of Their Child After Being Downgraded By American Airlines
Jan
09
2020
n America Airlines passenger tells the story about buying a paid transpacific business class ticket on American Airlines but being downgraded for their Chicago – Tokyo flight a few weeks ago when their inbound Boston – Chicago flight was delayed.
The passenger says their Boston – Chicago flight was running late due to crew availability (a flight attendant “had woken up late and was on her way”) and that meant arriving into Chicago 45 minutes late. They had to run to their connecting gate, but they made it while the Tokyo flight was still boarding.
Willie Walsh Retiring As Head Of IAG, and British Airways CEO Doesn’t Get The Job
Jan
09
2020
Willie Walsh is stepping down as CEO and from the board of of IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling effective March 26 and retiring June 30. He’s 58 years old and has talked about retiring by 60, though this is ahead of schedule. He’ll be replaced by Luis Gallego, CEO of Iberia – and not by the CEO of British Airways.
Three Changes To How Hilton Points Are Earned Starting January 9
Jan
08
2020
Hilton is making it easier to earn points for hotel stays starting Thursday, January 9. Specifically three things are changing.
How Resort Fees Trick Consumers
Jan
08
2020
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.
Wow Air Is Opening… A Cafe in Downtown Washington DC?
Jan
08
2020
The first real, tangible move from Wow Air 2.0 seems to have been spotted: a Wow Air Cafe in D.C.’s West End.
Icelandic media reported that the nascent airline planned to offer “a sales office and a facility where people can sit down, have a coffee and browse the possibilities.”
In Leaked Employee Address Southwest Airlines CEO Promises To Never Adopt Basic Economy Fares
Jan
08
2020
Southwest though has a long history of profits and margins that have eluded much of the industry, and they haven’t gone down the same fees and restrictions rabbit hole. They are the largest domestic airline in the country. They do not have change fees or checked bag fees (for up to 2 bags per passenger). They don’t have seat fees, without assigned seats, but they do charge to be at the front of the boarding queue which means earlier dibs at seat selection.
