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.
Truth in Advertising, American Airlines Catering Edition
Short premium cabin flights in Europe usually come with lounge access and a decent meal but don’t give you more legroom. In contrast U.S. airlines sell lounge access separately, give you a bigger seat and a bit more room, but the food is often wretched.
I date the beginning of real cuts to domestic premium cabin meal service to early 2001.
Marriott’s Twitter Team Can’t Fathom Anyone Complimenting Bonvoy on Social Media
Twitter used to be the “go-to” way of getting personalized customer service, and with some brands it still is. Many companies assign super competent agents to deal with twitter, and empower them to cut through bureaucracy to solve problems.
Not all do however. And some just follow the ‘first rule of social media’ which is to try to get customers to stop blasting the company as quickly as possible. The easiest way to do that is to get the customer to ‘take it to DM’.
Are Flight Attendants Significantly Overpaid?
Flight attendants respond to emergencies, bear the brunt of passenger frustrations and poor behavior, and staffing levels on some flights have been cut leading to more work. Maybe they’re underpaid.
I want to try out a very unpopular argument: that airlines pay too much for the flight attendants they’re hiring today, but that they should be paying more to attract flight attendants who will provide better service.
What On Earth is This Man Doing to the Seat?
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.
Airlines Need a Brand Purpose (Not a Social Cause)
One of the commercials in the series, though really resonated for its potential – a businessman reclining into his seat and crashing at the start of a long flight, the voiceover talks about what he’s done on his trip. Now he’s headed home.
The airline understands the business traveler. If it makes every decision focused on how to get the passenger where they need to go, when they need to be there, in the most comfortable way possible that’s a brand purpose. It focuses decision-making around schedule and product and it tells customers who they’re going to take care of and how.
Citi Loses a Transfer Partner and United 1K Status Fast Track
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.
Report: American Airlines Tinkering With First Class, Won’t Fix Oasis Coach Seats
There was a rumor swirling earlier in the year that American Airlines would reverse course and start giving back some space to passengers in coach as well as seat back entertainment screens.
While there’s a report confirming some fixes to American’s new ‘Oasis’ first class, it looks like there’s no reprieve in sight for customers in the main cabin — and the fixes up front may even come at a cost to passengers looking for extra legroom economy.
The 10 Best Deals in All of Travel
The best deals at any given time will change, and I always assume that the very best one won’t last. There’s a tendency in travel towards mean reversion, with outlier offers disappearing and new ones popping up. That’s alright — as long as you’re taking advantage of the best deals while they’re around.
Here are what I think are the 10 best deals in travel. What do you think?
What are the Really Unique Benefits of Top Tier Airline Elite Status?
Frequent flyer programs are really two separate and distinct efforts under the same banner: recognition and reward. Reward is mileage earning and redemption. Recognition consists of the (elite) benefits offered.
In the U.S. airline programs are generous by world standards in offering unsold domestic premium cabin seats as upgrades. However they aren’t as generous with service-oriented benefits.