Two years ago American Airlines provided $200 million in funding for the state-owned carrier whose overseas investments are being used to further Chinese government foreign policy interests.
Four years ago Delta made a $450 million investment in China Eastern which has been called China’s most subsidized airline.
If nothing else, walking on the moon is the ultimate cocktail party mic drop but it’s understandable that some don’t believe it actually happened. After all, without atmosphere how could the flag they planted on the moon be waving in the wind? And what about “the lack of stars in any of the photos, the Van Allen radiation belts that would have killed the astronauts with lethal doses of cosmic radiation”…?
There are supposed travel agents online that will sell you packages, hotel rooms, tickets for activities. They will charge your card. You’ll show up, and they’ve simply taken your money and not booked anything for you. You have a paper confirmation that doesn’t mean anything.
Would you book from a travel agency using Osama bin Laden’s initials?
You may have lounge access if you’re flying international business or first class, have high enough elite status, or a Priority Pass card that gets you into certain lounges.
However connecting through Singapore it’s even easier than that.
With American Airlines opening 15 new gates in the E satellite concourse of Dallas Fort-Worth airport they’ve surged to 900 peak daily departures at the airport and opened a fifth Admirals CLub there.
Charlotte is their second largest hub, and they’re growing it to 700 daily departures. There just aren’t enough rocking chairs there to go around.
This one Hyatt redemption category change – even though the move is not in members’ favor – speaks volumes in favor of Hyatt. In the meantime you may want to book this one amazing value property for future stays quickly.
Creative production company Wondros held a paper airplane contest. Two employees in the editorial department made a plane out of recycled lunch wrappers from the company’s “Falafel Fridays.”
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 reader contacted me several weeks ago about a fairly traumatic situation. She had booked an award stay over the phone at the Andaz Papagayo in Costa Rica for the end of December. She made the reservation by phone nearly a year in advance. Then in May she figured out she couldn’t make the trip work, so she cancelled the booking. A month later she discovered a $7000 charge on her credit card from the property.
While we think of most award reservations as fully cancellable, in fact awards usually carry the same cancel rules as paid rates. So if standard paid rates at a property come with a 60 day cancellation policy, not uncommon for remote resorts during peak season, award stays may also. I do not recall ever seeing an award stay that wasn’t cancellable at all booked 11 months in advance.
A week ago I covered a rumor that American Airlines is considering offering free inflight wifi. Now with additional confirmation from well-placed company sources I can report that the airline expects to offer onboard internet for free.
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 »
