In the 60’s and 70’s the original Diplomat was frequented by Rat Pack types. The hotel closed in 1991 and was acquired by the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters in 1998, torn down, and rebuilt at a cost of ~ $800 million in construction costs and $40 million for the property. That’s about what it was sold for last year – without adjusting for inflation.
Delta has stopped serving hot meals out of Detroit. Aviation watchdog JonNYC confirms what I expected, that the issue is listeria.
While Delta downplays the significance, suggesting a ‘food safety issue’ was discovered during an inspection, reportedly the crew of a Detroit – Amsterdam flight got sick suggesting the explanation from the airline is misleading even if technically accurate.
Bear in mind though that after gutting awards on Delta and devaluing ANA business class awards up to 26% without notice, Virgin Atlantic plans to move to dynamic award pricing in just two weeks. You know it’s bad when the change is about to happen and they won’t give concrete details for what to expect.
Throughout 2023, American Airlines was promising that anything you wanted to do with the airline could be done digitally – with the few remaining features to be delivered by the end of the year. I kept asking, just as a glaring example of what was missing, what about upgrades?
Boeing’s 777X widebody program won’t see commercial service until (at least) 2026. And Tim Clark is on a warpath over what’s now a six year delay. He offered, “I fail to see how Boeing can make any meaningful forecasts of delivery dates” at this point. Just last year he increased the carrier’s order book to 256 777X widebodies – adding 55 -9s and 35 -8s at the Dubai Air Show.
Now, he says, unless the aircraft manufacturer can raise the $10 billion it’s seeking in new equity, “I see an imminent investment downgrade with Chapter 11 looming on the horizon.”
A reader flew Delta business class from New York to Europe where he had a run-in with a flight attendant at the end of the trip – and now he’s worried about being banned from the airline. Yet he says he’s the one that was mistreated!
Elliott has been talking to institutional shareholders. I can’t imagine they call for a vote they don’t think they can win. And that would mean that Southwest ousts its CEO and more closely follows Elliott’s prescriptions which turn the airline into JetBlue and American Airlines – more fees, fewer perks.
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.
A Frontier Airlines passenger flying from San Diego to Las Vegas left her cell phone in the gate area. She and everyone else boarded, and the flight pushed back. The woman wanted the captain to return to the gate to assist in getting her phone.
And the airline really needs to comply because she’s been a loyal Frontier customer for eight years – and she’s the sovereign ruler of the government, owning seven continents. Anyone who mocks her will be shipped out on a boat – or “expired.”
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 »
