JetBlue Founder’s New Airline Launches in 2020 and Won’t Have a Phone Number

jetblue plane
Oct 27 2018

Back in June word leaked that JetBlue founder Dave Neeleman is launching a new airline in the U.S. He has an order for 60 Airbus A220s with options for 60 more.

He says there will no be option to call customer service and no way to check in with an agent at the airport. It’s app-only, but contends the name won’t matter, he “could call this airline crap and people will love it.”

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Hilton Honors is Moving to a New Database, Be Prepared for Outage

toiletries
Oct 26 2018

Earlier today Hilton shared that they are updating the CRM platform they use to run the Honors loyalty program. They’re going to take systems offline October 30 and into October 31 (“depending on your time zone”). This surprises me, loyalty programs almost always make these transitions over a weekend.

Hilton assures that “existing reservations will not be impacted.” Let’s hope everything goes as quickly as Honors expects. But get all of your Hilton business done before October 30 and assume it could take longer than a day before you have access to your account back.

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Wyndham Expected to Double Award Price of Best Properties

wydham on beach
Oct 26 2018

Five years ago most Wyndham properties could be booked for a maximum of 16,000 points. They jacked up award prices to as much as 40,000 points (after pricing some properties as high as 45,000 and 50,000 points).

And then they introduced a new flat redemption rate of 15,000 points per night in 2015. This was hailed as a big decrease in pricing for their best properties, when really is was reverting to what pricing had been just two years earlier — and a big increase in prices for lower-end hotels.

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New York JFK Shuts Down Bathrooms, Tells Passengers to ‘Hold it and Go on the Plane’

jamaica train pass
Oct 25 2018

I don’t know about you but on a flight less than four hours I may not use the lavatory, especially if I’m in a window seat. I’ll just make a stop in the restroom on the way out of the terminal.

That doesn’t always work if you’re flying into New York JFK, though. This morning in terminal 5 a water main break caused the airports to lose pressure and close down the bathrooms.

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Miami Passengers Under Armed Guard, Had Phone Searched Before Flight Was Cancelled

armed police searching mans phone
Oct 25 2018

Yesterday’s 7:05 p.m. American Airlines flight AA257 from Miami to Mexico City was delayed multiple times and then cancelled due to a security threat that was ultimately deemed ‘non-credible’.

When customers were back in the terminal they were guarded by armed officers. Police searched passengers’ phones and swabbed them for explosives residue.

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