Marriott Rolls Out High/Low Season Award Pricing Next Month Along With Other Changes

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Aug 15 2019

When Marriott first announced their new program they told us they’d be adding a new highest redemption category 8 and also adding peak and off peak pricing for 2019. They put off category 8 until March but postponed peak and off peak pricing even further.

They’ve been silent on when to expect it until now, giving us a month’s notice before the new top redemption price could go as high as 100,000 points per night. Effective September 14th they’re making some other changes to the program as well.

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United Will Put Seat Back Video Screens on Some New 737s, Could Force American to Do the Same

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Aug 14 2019

Delta continues to double down on passenger entertainment not just for international flights but across its domestic fleet. They’re now over 700 aircraft offering seat back entertainment screens.

United and American have been moving in the opposite direction. They have eschewed screens to save money – about a million dollars per aircraft – offering streaming content that customers can view on their own devices. In most cases this means passengers watching movies on phones.

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Standing With the Protesters in Hong Kong

by Gary Leff

philips center
Aug 14 2019

Tell me you can watch Hong Kong airport protesters since “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Miserables without crying. The song, by the way, is banned in China.

It’s not clear what the U.S. can do, or any of us can beyond paying attention, outside intervention could just as easily play into Chinese hands dismissing and minimizing the moment as some sort of external plot, delegitimizing the grassroots nature of the protests.

We may not be able to do very much, but we have our sympathy to offer and we can be inspired by what people will risk for freedom and not be so cavalier about giving away our own.

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Airline Drops Wheelchair Passenger at the Wrong Gate, Makes Her Buy New Ticket After Missing Flight

by Gary Leff

plane on runway
Aug 14 2019

Norwegian is cheap flying, but when things go wrong it isn’t known for great customer service. Mistakes happen, but the test of an airline is how they respond when they do.

When they delivered an 82 year old woman in a wheelchair to the wrong gate she missed her flight. And they told her she’d have to buy a new ticket as a no show passenger.

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American Sues Its Mechanics Again, This Time Seeking Damages

by Gary Leff

american airlines hangar
Aug 13 2019

Airline CEO Doug Parker says he wears a wrist band “that says CECFTM, which is a terrible acronym because it doesn’t say anything, but it stands for Create an Environment that Cares for our Frontline Team Members. That’s what our mission is. Every day one of our officers sends a note to other officers about what they did that day to create an environment that cares for frontline team members.”

On Tuesday what they did is sue their employees again.

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Man Videotapes the Best Day of His Life as the Only Passenger on a Delta Flight

by Gary Leff

delta plane runway
Aug 13 2019

Last week a man documented the experience of flying Delta from Aspen to Salt Lake City by himself aboard Delta Express flight DL3652 operated by SkyWest. Boarding was announced at the gate as being for him. He captures the surreal experience of a predeparture announcement being made over the PA system by a flight attendant when he’s the only one in the cabin. He gets to meet the pilots. He’s sitting up front, with a predeparture beverage.

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