A new matching services hopes to connect passengers who need to travel with their kids with nannies to help them inflight in exchange for travel assistance or cash.
The business is called AirPair (pairing up people for air travel, and sounds like au pair).
CEOs of American and United are pumping their fists in the air with news that the Association of Flight-Attendants-CWA has launched an effort to unionize Delta flight attendants. Finally, they’re thinking, their more profitable competitor may be saddled with the same onerous work rules that United and American face – and perhaps the better service flight attendants provide will go away in the long run, too.
Delta flight attendants can choose a union, with the costs and job protections that provides. However they can expect profit sharing to fall, the raises they’re getting without negotiation to go away. They won’t keep these things because the higher cost of unionization will trade off with wages (the value of the wage can’t exceed the value of marginal product) and because Delta will have to signal to mechanics that unionization doesn’t deliver benefits.
Synchrony bank has introduced The Norwegian Reward Card, a co-brand Norwegian Air Mastercard for the U.S. market. This creates a new income stream for the struggling airline that has seemed to turn a corner lately.
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.
At the American Airlines ‘State of the Airline’ meeting with employees following Thursday’s earnings call, CEO Doug Parker explained why he believes American’s shares have performed horrendously.
He’s a momentum investor and he believes the market is backward-looking.
Brexit – and the politicians it has placed in power – are bringing a more nationalist industrial policy to Britain. The latest target is Emirates and their ‘over the top’ first class experience which needs to be taxed, in the view of some, to protect British Airways.
IAG, parent of British Airways, also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and LEVEL. Now for the price of €1 billion they’re acquiring Air Europa (10 times current earnings). The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2020.
They are currently the third largest Spanish airline, behind Iberia and Vueling already owned by IAG. This is a blow to transatlantic redemptions using Delta miles.
While American’s claims against Boeing will likely be settled amicably, the airline has a hard case to make that Boeing ought to reimburse them for any lost profits when it’s more likely that the grounding of the MAX simply averted losses.
According to American Express points are not your asset and points cannot be transferred by the government. Moreover in bankruptcy all points are going to go away.
The Department of Justice, though, prosecuted a woman for redeeming Membership Rewards points despite a government order not to hide or move assets. Who is right?
I finally had my first taste of the Spirit Airlines Big Front Seat. On my way home Chicago O’Hare to Austin after United Airlines Media Day I flew Spirit Airlines. I bought my one-way in a “Big Front Seat” (a domestic first class-ish seat without extra benefits) for $118.29. A coach seat on American or United would have been $225 and I’d have had to wait around the airport two and a half hours longer for either. Spirit seemed like a no-brainer.
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 »
