American Airlines has said that they believe their path to profitability is doubling down on their current approach which hasn’t worked so far. They should be changing their approach to invest in better service and a better product, especially domestically and in economy, and to build up their route network in key business centers, because that’s how they’ll grow the key profit center of their business – co-brand credit cards.
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.
Airline President Glen Hauenstein says the model works like this: Fly Delta -> like the experience -> join Delta programs -> like them even more.
They believe the “relevance of [their] offering and how much people like you” determines allegiance and spend. The implication is that brand experience and scale matter more than value proposition of the card.
Korean Air says they’re making significant changes to their frequent flyer program, but only giving us the briefest sketches of what that might be. A new distance-based award chart is available in Korean and pricing for premium cabin awards, especially long distance premium cabin awards, because much more expensive.
Korean says they’ll be testing cash and miles awards, shifting to more revenue-based mileage-earning and distance-based redemptions, and revamping the elite program. That distance-based redemption chart is what I’m disappointed in.
The ubiquitous blue vans will be no more after the end of the year. They’ve been pulling out of several airports in recent weeks. Now they’re pulling the plug worldwide.
Qantas announced today that they have selected the Airbus A350-1000 for ‘Project Sunrise’ ultra long haul flights such as Sydney – New York JFK and Sydney – London.
The news here is that they’ve deferred a decision, not that they are doing anything. And their aircraft selection just means they’ve tentatively decided not to order the Boeing 777X. It doesn’t mean they’ve ordered ultra long haul planes. And it doesn’t mean they’re going to fly these routes.
United’s Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet – the latter which flies United’s longest flights to places like Sydney, Singapore, and Capetown – have still had the old Diamond 2-2-2 seats that most passengers with a choice avoid.
We finally have a look into United’s retrofit plans for these aircraft, and it isn’t pretty.
The return of the 737 MAX is like every other delay on American Airlines. You show up at the gate before scheduled departure time, because the flight board says you’re leaving on time. But there’s no aircraft at the gate, so that’s impossible.
The plane pulls up, passengers flood out into the terminal, and you stand there waiting. American updates your new departure time, but it isn’t until after that time passes that the departure time gets updated again. You have a mechanical delay and American keeps pushing your scheduled departure out 10 minutes at a time, updating with a new time only after the last one passes.
Earlier today I noted Lewis Lazare‘s Chicago Business Journal story that a new American Airlines memo to flight attendants was aiming to rein in their inflight credit card marketing.
The piece said American was telling flight attendants not to market the card when passengers are trying to sleep, or during emergencies, and to read the card announcement script verbatim. However an American Airlines spokesperson tells me that Lazare got it wrong, he didn’t have a new memo to flight attendants, just their standard training.
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.
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 »
