American Express is offering a 40% bonus on transfers from Membership Rewards to British Airways through October 1. They’re also offering the same 40% bonus on transfers to Iberia and to Aer Lingus, all of which are owned by the same company. I find that you need to log in to your Membership Rewards account to see the transfer bonuses.
Delta formed a joint venture (and even acquired a stake in) Korean Air and sees Seoul-Incheon now as its connecting hub to Asia.
They’ve wanted to be able to move their entire Tokyo operation to the close-in Haneda airport. That’s because they see Tokyo now as a destination rather than a connecting point. They’ve argued to the DOT in the past that if they don’t get enough slots at Haneda to run their own set of flights, that no U.S. airline should get to fly to Haneda. It was an aggressive position, but it largely worked.
We’ve already been seeing discounted restricted coach awards starting at 5000 miles, and summer business class ‘specials’ (lower priced standard awards to Europe).
We’re now seeing award availability convegring around a penny per point.
Delta complains that Qatar Airways owns 49% of Air Italy and so Italy’s number two carrier is really a stalking horse for the Doha-based airline. Meanwhile Delta owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic, and most of the rest of Virgin is owned by Delta’s partners. Delta is also a huge fan of subsidies but only when the subsidies are going to them.
So is it any surprise that Virgin Atlantic is ceasing its three to four times weekly London Gatwick – St. Lucia flights June 8, 2020 because the island wouldn’t pay Virgin $2.5 million in subsidies?
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.
Citibank hosts an only invitation-only community of American AAdvantage co-brand cardholders. They provide incentives like gift cards for participation. And they’ve just sent out another round of invitations.
A real challenge is that pilots with an alcohol problem may be wary of speaking up and seeking help, for fear of being sidelined, despite programs designed to encourage them to do so.
Pilots hide not just alcohol abuse but mental health conditions and that points to a fundamental conundrum: you want pilots to be open and seek help in order to promote safety, but once they’re open they’re a clearly identified risk and get removed from the cockpit. So the consequences of being open discourage that openness. Or at least that’s the fear many pilots have, not trusting any commitments to help rather than punish.
There are a few aviation photos that are considered trophies. Photo sitting inside an engine?
Check. Photo sitting in the cockpit? Check.
On Monday a Southwest Airlines flight attendant greeted passengers boarding a Nashville – Atlanta flight from inside an overhead bin.
Rapper Busta Rhymes was flying British Airways first class from New York JFK to London Heathrow on Monday on board flight BA112. When he boarded he found that a passenger in the middle of row 2 was using bin space above his aisle seat.
Mr. Rhymes asked the woman to move her belongings out of the bin above his seat and over to the other side of the cabin. He wanted his stuff above his seat. She reportedly broke down in tears. Her husband stepped to, telling Busta not to be so rude. Busta refers to the husband as “home boy.”
Some airlines around the world let business and first class customers select a meal in advance from a variety of options, and then they’ll make sure to have it on board for you. Other airlines – including U.S. airlines – have been letting you choose mostly from what would otherwise be on board but choosing in advance ensures you receive your first choice.
Now that Delta has followed American Airlines offering to let you select in advance – and ensure your first choice of meal – from what they’re offering on board, it’s no surprise that United is rolling out their own test of this as well.
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 »
