American Makes Etihad Awards Bookable Online. Will It Last?

by Gary Leff

first class cabin
May 03 2019

One of my most frequent and best uses of American AAdvantage miles over the past 7 years has been booking first class awards on Etihad. I’ve used them to fly to the Maldives four times, to India, to the Gulf region and from the Mideast to Australia to name just a few.

Etihad awards have just become bookable on the American Airlines website. There’s no need to search the space on Etihad’s site if you’re using American Airlines miles, or call to book. That’s brand new.

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Do You Care About Your Luggage, or Just the Contents Inside the Bag?

by Gary Leff

luggage
May 02 2019

Luggage, to me, protects the contents and makes them portable. Ideally a bag is durable, easy to maneuver, and the right size — if it’s a carry on bag then it should fit in airplane overhead bins (ideally even large regional jet bins).

Your bag should be sturdy enough to withstand the beating it gets from continued use and the abuse of being overstuffed. If checked it should be able to withstand the abuse it gets from baggage handlers, weather outside on the tarmac, and the TSA.

How do you feel about bags: cheapest possible, pay more for something agile, or invest in designer luggage?

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American Airlines is Field Testing New Uniforms

by Gary Leff

flow chart
May 02 2019

American Airlines rolled out new uniforms but was met with employee complaints about toxicity and physical effects. Testing couldn’t confirm this, but complaints mounted.

It’s something that’s happened at other airlines before, with large numbers of employees some have reactions to what they’re assigned to wear. However the number of complaints were large, and so American first offered alternatives for employees who believed they were having medical issues with their uniforms, and then began another redesign.

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Delta Now Charging More Than Half a Roundtrip for Many One-Way International Awards

by Gary Leff

delta plane
May 02 2019

Ever since removing their award charts from public view, Delta has seemed to go out of their way to find more and more ways to stick it to their SkyMiles members like imposing basic economy restrictions on the least expensive awards and eliminating high value upgrade awards.

Now they have a new trick to charge you more miles — and since they don’t tell you how their pricing works you might never even know it and wind up spending more miles than you have to for the same itinerary! Delta now charges more than 50% the roundtrip cost of an award for many international redemptions.

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Wyndham Now Offers Room Service Via DoorDash, and Points Whenever You Order Food Delivery

by Gary Leff

hamburger and fries in box
May 02 2019

Wyndham Rewards members receive waived DoorDash delivery fees when ordering food to any Wyndham Rewards hotel with promo code WRD. In addition they’re offering 250 Wyndham Rewards points per order, whether delivery is to a hotel or not by starting the order through Wyndham’s site.

It’s an interesting partnership and if you order via DoorDash anyway, you might as well collect Wyndham points when you do.

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American Airlines Plans Three Key Inflight Improvements

by Gary Leff

airplane seats
May 01 2019

American Airlines is planning to make three changes that involve listening to customers, revisiting past decisions, and fixing pain points. That’s great news.

The plan is to make changes to their new domestic first class seat to offer greater comfort and more underseat storage. They’re going to improve their international wifi, moving towards the quality improvements they’ve made domestically. And they’re going to install working dividers between center seats in business class to provide passenger privacy.

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