Nov
03
2019
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.
Elon Musk: Vacations Will Kill You
The FAA Is Not to Blame for Letting Boeing Self-Certify the 737 MAX
Nov
02
2019
Self-certification dates to 1956. It is not part of a deregulatory push. It’s a system that has worked remarkably well. The FAA has approximately 400 engineers to work on aircraft certification. Boeing has 45,000 engineers. The FAA cannot possibly do all of the work themselves and we wouldn’t want to shift the best engineering minds away from creating product to oversight.
Delegation isn’t a strictly-U.S. practice, or one which was limited to the MAX.
Private TSA Facebook Group Mocks Passengers, “I Hope Your Plane Blows Up”
Nov
02
2019
TSA sceeners have maintained a private Facebook group for years, where about a third of the agency’s employees are members, as a as a home for mocking passengers with racist tropes and homophobic rants.
The page is called “TSA Breakroom,” it’s limited to agency employees, and there are 18,000 members.
Why Spinning Off Frequent Flyer Programs is a Bad Idea
Nov
02
2019
On Wednesday morning I debated Stifel Managing Director Joseph DeNardi on whether or not to spin off frequent flyer programs at the Airline Information MEGA event in Florida.
Joe is the best-known face of the argument that loyalty programs are the primary drivers of revenue and value for airlines, and he’s argued that the overall businesses are undervalued because investors don’t clearly see how much good, high margin revenue is coming in from credit card partnerships versus from the airline as old-line industrial. He was charged with defending the idea of spinning programs off into a separate business, and I was charged with arguing against this.
Video: American Airlines CEO Was Billy Ray Cyrus for Halloween
Nov
02
2019
Each year the American Airlines management team does a musical performance – all dressed up for Halloween. This year it was Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ filmed around their new Skyview campus.
CEO Doug Parker stepped into the role of Billy Ray Cyrus.
The Next Annoying Airline Fee: A Charge to Use the Power Outlet At Your Seat
Nov
02
2019
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.
Double Elite Nights at Hyatt’s Soft Brand Through End of Year
Nov
01
2019
Hyatt’s ‘soft brand’ – the umbrella for independent hotels to join Hyatt without matching specific brand standards – is called “Unbound Collection.” The chain is offering double elite qualifying nights for stays at Unbound Collection hotels through end of year. (Registration required.)
There are 20 Unbound Collection properties.
Capital One Launches 20% Transfer Bonus to Air France KLM,
Nov
01
2019
Already on their sixth transfer bonus of the year, having just launched transferable points, and Capital One has shared in the past that “limited-time offers like this will be another major perk for Venture and Spark Miles account holders to take advantage of.”
This month they’re back with a bonus on transfers to Air France KLM Flying Blue, a great program to pool points in, with reasonable redemption rates and good business class availability.
The Airlines With the Most Narrowbody Planes on Order
Nov
01
2019
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.
Marriott Changes Rules for Suite Night Awards (Advance Confirmed Elite Upgrades)
Nov
01
2019
Many Marriott Platinums see their suite night awards expire unused. Nonetheless, when they work they’re great.
Marriott has made two changes to Suite Night Awards, each reflecting problems with Marriott’s own internal systems that they’ve been unable to solve.
