Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker promised a “revolutionary” economy seat. And that would be hard to do for an airline whose CEO has already claimed in the past that they don’t need to offer premium economy — because their economy product is already premium economy.
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.
At the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation, & Industrials Conference today JP Morgan’s Jamie Baker asked American Airlines CEO Doug Parker about the airline’s poor revenue performance compared to United and Delta.
He noted that Parker had promised that the airline’s new aircraft would help the carrier’s bottom line. In general newer aircraft are more fuel efficient and have lower maintenance costs, that’s good on the cost side, but these new planes were supposed to be more attractive to customers as well.
When American Airlines introduced Basic Economy fares — new restrictions on the cheapest tickets that prevented customers from upgrading, making itinerary changes, or even getting a seat assignment at booking — they offered the ability to ‘buy up’ to the regular economy fare.
That way if someone realized they had purchased such a restrictive fare in error, they still had a do-over possibility by giving the airline more money.
United Airlines President Scott Kirby spoke this morning at the JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation, & Industrials Conference and what’s notable is that instead of just talking about the airline’s route network — talking about earning their ‘natural share’ of revenue just by flying — he talked about earning customers’ business by delivering better service.
Kirby laid out several initiatives, entirely apart from investments in premium physical product like lounges and the addition of premium seats.
American and Hyatt have announced a partnership. It doesn’t yet appear to have a name, but it’s similar to what Starwood executives built for Crossover Rewards, and Hyatt’s loyalty program is now largely run by ex-Starwood executives.
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.
Some airlines will provide you with special treats just for letting them know that it’s your birthday. Here are two that will provide cake for birthdays (anniversaries, too) for free, and two that charge for the request.
I’ve been a long-time opponent of buying travel insurance for small dollar trips. I wrote about the tricks insurers use to get out of paying claims as far back as 2007. And a decade ago I explained why it’s usually a bad deal.
Travel insurance can make sense for a ‘trip of a lifetime’ but the tactics used to sell insurance can be questionable.
Spirit Airlines offers one of the best deals in travel, their ‘Big Front Seat’ which is often very modestly priced above the regular seat. It can be less than $40 more for a recliner style seat similar to what larger airlines offer in first class. They call it ‘Big Front Seat’ for a reason though since all you’re getting is the bigger seat up front, not other services like checked bags bundled in.
The carrier has done as much or more than anyone else to drive down the price of airfare across much of the U.S. and in the last year especially they’ve improved their operation – completing flights and performing on-time. They even joined PreCheck.
However they have one of the worst frequent flyer programs on the planet.
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 »
