Between Hyatt and American this new partnership should net me an additional 25,000 points per year and I’m impressed by the speed at which these partner points are posting.
Video was posted on Chinese social media network Weibo where the delayed passenger isn’t getting much sympathy. One commenter suggests he be banned “from taking planes for the rest of his life, then get him to kneel if he wants the ban to be lifted.”
Customers certainly ‘have a choice of which airline to fly’ on this domestic hop with 16 peak daily departures offered by six different carriers. None however are likely to make staff kneel in apology when delayed by weather.
Last week I wrote that the FAA would be trying to convince the world’s regulators to re-certify the Boeing 737 MAX. American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said he expects the plane to fly in ‘weeks, not months’ but that the FAA would want a critical mass of other world regulators to sign off on the plane as well as part of convincing the public that it’s safe to fly — however several countries would likely be recalcitrant for political reasons.
Now the head of standards-setting trade group the International Air Transport Association says he expects the Boeing 737 MAX to return in 10 to 12 weeks – at the earliest..
Singapore Airlines has a new mascot for its KrisFlyer frequent flyer program, but the mascot doesn’t have a name. They’ve asked the internet to name it for them. You can submit your recommended name and they’ll pay out 30,000 miles if they select it.
What do you think of Miles McMilesFace?
Here’s a search of available first class award space for two passengers in November. I searched Los Angeles – Sydney, but it brings up Los Angeles – Melbourne space where there’s connecting availability to/from Sydney, and Dallas Fort-Worth – Sydney where there’s connecting availability on American between LA and Dallas.
Some space appears to exist October through February, in other words when Americans want to travel to Australia.
Citibank pulled out of advanced negotiations with Apple to be the new issuer of a co-brand card that will now launch from Goldman Sachs this summer. According to a report “J.P. Morgan Chase, Barclays and Synchrony, also bid on the business.”
One bank staffer is said to have texted a Goldman Sachs executive, “Dude, if that portfolio ever makes money, I’m buying you a beer.”
Mark Brugger, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamondrock Hospitality, spoke about how Marriott’s new loyalty program is affecting his hotels during the company’s earnings call.
When asked by analysts to provide color on the Bonvoy transition, he noted lower costs and some positives and negatives depending on the property but where he zeroed in on a problem it’s providing breakfast at resorts to elites.
Regional jets have been stuck with slower internet speeds. In particular, they cannot be upgraded to Gogo’s 2Ku satellite system, the internet provider tells me, because “the radome is too large.” Still there’s a need to improve the inflight experience on regional jets.
Gogo announced today that it “will build a 5G network for aviation.” This is a new air-to-ground network regional jets and smaller mainline jets operating in the US and Canada, and for business jets.
Prince Harry was flying from Rome to London on British Airways in Club Europe this week. Since he had the bulkhead he had access to more legroom than you find on a Ryanair flight, something that British Airways doesn’t otherwise offer its business class customers.
American Express confirmed that Priority Pass cards they provide to customers will no longer provide a dining credit at airport restaurants effective August 1.
That naturally leads to a great deal of speculation about whether other card issuers will do the same thing. Here’s what I’ve uncovered.
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 »
