How Airlines Can Make Passengers Love Them Even During Flight Delays

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines plane
May 04 2019

If an airline doesn’t arrive on time, customers will be unhappy. That’s simple enough, right? As American Airlines ties the attempt to improve their operation to the happiness of customers, it’s arriving on time that they find matters (“A14” or arriving within 14 minutes of schedule) rather the merely departing on time. Customers won’t be ‘likely to recommend’ if they landing early and find they have no gate for half an hour!

But is that all that matters? Obviously people want to get where they’re going, but they may still be unhappy. And several airlines can deliver well on performance, that’s not enough to distinguish one airline from another.

Continue Reading »

American Airlines Business Class Saver Award Space to Europe for Up to 6 Passengers

by Gary Leff

flight chart
May 04 2019

American Airlines isn’t known for making business class award seats available on their own flights, so this is notable. And since awards on their primary transatlantic British Airways incur huge fuel surcharges, the ability to fly at the saver level in business class and no fuel surcharges with American AAdvantage miles is notable. You can also use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for these flights, of course.

Continue Reading »

What Do Airline Two Letter Codes Stand For?

by Gary Leff

ANA plane
May 04 2019

I recently shared the strange story of how Baltimore’s Friendship Airport (“BAL”) became BWI even though that code was already taken by Bewani, Papua New Guinea.

A lot of aviation codes have unique histories. Southwest Airlines couldn’t have SW — that belonged to Seaborn World at the time (it’s now Air Namibia). So they took WN which approximates Western and ultimately works nicely because it can be said to stand for We’re Nuts! Although sadly Southwest no longer serves peanuts.

Continue Reading »

It’s Possible to Have a Fantastic Meal on a Domestic Flight! (Just Fly Alaska Airlines)

by Gary Leff

airplane food
May 03 2019

I’d have been happy to have this meal for dinner at home, constraints of an aircraft galley aside. I cannot remember the last time I said that about a meal on a domestic flight.

It’s a shame that Alaska is scaling back on the quality of its first class hard product as it standardizes its fleet after the the Virgin America merger. However on board catering they’re doing right — more so than my experiences in the past year with American, United, and Delta.

Continue Reading »

Korean Air’s ‘Nut Rage’ Vice President in New Legal Hot Water

by Gary Leff

flight attendants in airport
May 03 2019

Cho Hyun-ah, Korean Air’s Vice President for inflight services and daughter of the airline’s Chairman, flew New York JFK – Seoul four years ago and had an altercation with a crew member. She was flying first class, and a flight attendant presented her with an unopened bag of macadamia nuts, rather than serving them on a plate.

Ms. Cho scolded the flight attendant, and dressed down the purser. She apparently hit the flight attendant. She ordered the purser off the plane. The aircraft, then 56 feet toward the runway at this point, returned to the gate to offload the purser. The incident delayed departure by 20 minutes. And the world went ‘nuts’. Now she’s back in court on new charges.

Continue Reading »

Does Southwest Give Lower Boarding Priority to Customers They Know Will Pay Up?

by Gary Leff

airplane cabin
May 03 2019

Southwest Airlines doesn’t pre-assign seats. Instead it’s “first come, first served” so how early you board the aircraft determines what’s available for you to pick from.

A reader who found themselves with boarding order C11 asked how this is possible — and wondered if they stumbled onto Southwest giving this to them because they’re likely to ‘buy up’ at the gate to A1 – 15 boarding.

Continue Reading »