United Diverts to Rescue a Passenger Stuck in Lavatory

united
Sep 27 2019

You’re supposed to be at your seat for takeoff and landing of course, and there’s no seat belt in the lavatory. However on Wednesday’s United Airlines UA1554 non-stop from Washington National to San Francisco, the flight had to divert to Denver when a passenger got stuck in the lavatory.

The passenger had to sit on the throne for landing, and United mechanics were sent in for a rescue.

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OMG: Delta Buying 20% of LATAM, Steals American’s Potential Joint Venture

plane on tarmac
Sep 26 2019

Delta announced that they’re taking a 20% stake in LATAM, the largest airline conglomerate in South America comprised of LATAM Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Perú.

American Airlines had worked towards a joint venture with LATAM but it was rejected by Chile’s Supreme Court this spring. LATAM will exit the oneworld alliance, although no plans have been announced for their entrance to SkyTeam.

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American Releases Schedules for New Tokyo Haneda Flights: Look Out for Awards and Order the Japanese Meals

Sep 26 2019

A week ago American’s Vice President of Planning, Vasu Raja, told employees it would be “in the next several weeks” that the airline would announce their new Tokyo Haneda flights. The holdup was coordinating with joint venture partner Japan Airlines so that the two carriers could together so that in Los Angeles they could offer “a really separated pattern where every 2 or 3 hours there’s an American flight or a JAL flight much like what we have at JFK – Heathrow today.”

The airline did not wait for this and is instead out with details of their two new flights to Tokyo Haneda

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Singapore Airlines To Stop Serving Its Iconic Lobster Thermidor

fancy food on plate
Sep 26 2019

Singapore Airlines offers perhaps the best main meals of any airline in premium cabins, although I’ve always found their snack service to be lacking.

The best feature is “Book the Cook” which isn’t just pre-order something that’s going to be on the plane anyway, but an extensive menu of specialty items to choose from in advance that the airline will have on board for you.

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Marriott Reveals It’s Stuck With the Name Bonvoy: “It Is What It Is.”

bonvoy
Sep 25 2019

Rebranding a loyalty program just doesn’t make sense when you start with both a recognizable name and a good reputation. You wind up spending nine figures on advertising, merchandising, printing, and education — all to get back to where you started, at best, which is that the median consumer doesn’t even identify which brands are part of the program.

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Barclays Eliminating Travel Protections and Other Benefits From Several Cards

steward on plane
Sep 25 2019

When Citi eliminated ancillary benefits like trip delay from their cards, including their American AAdvantage cards, several readers picked up the Barclays-issued American AAdvantage card to still earn American Airlines miles while also being able to take advantage of trip delay coverage. That turns out not to have been a good strategy.

Right after American Express announced the introduction of trip delay and cancellation benefits for some of its premium cards, I’ve learned that Barclays is eliminating trip delay and other benefits from its Aviator AAdvantage card – and similar benefits from other cards too.

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