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.
A reader who lives not far from me shared his story of arriving at the Austin airport on American Airlines and finds his checked bags wet and contents damaged.
They went home late on Friday night and he filed his claim with American Airlines first thing Monday morning — so the immediate next business day. American denied his claim because he didn’t file within 24 hours. And without that timely-filed claim, he’s out of luck with his credit card coverage too.
Last year comedian Nicole Byer went on Conan and told a story about finding poop in a sealed blanket on Delta. She was flying from Louisiana to Atlanta enroute to Los Angeles when she pulled her first class blanket out of sealed plastic and “brown crumble falls on me” then she saw a “brown thing” and the smell hit her. She says she found poop in her phone a week later since the phone was in her lap.
Now comes word that a service animal ‘became ill’ on a Delta flight
When I get on a plane I will nod and smile, if someone nods and smiles at me. I’m usually all business. I get to my row, stow my bag, sit down — and work until boarding finishes.
I’m a “speak only if spoke to” kind of guy on a plane. I’ll never strike up a conversation unless I see someone in distress (“can I help you put your bag in the overhead?” “I overheard you’re worried about your connection…”).
But we’re all trapped together in a metal tube.
At Friday’s Investor Day for the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, IAG management has come to the recognition that you cannot be all things to all people.
That’s a lesson that Southwest Airlines understands but American Airlines does not.
When United announced at the end of September that earning 100,000 mile flyer ‘1K’ status would also require $15,000 in spending starting next year it was almost a foregone conclusion that American AAdvantage would do the same thing.
Meanwhile they’re introducing a new choice benefit for Executive Platinums who fly beyond 100,000 miles as well as adjusting mileage and status-earning when flying on their closest partner airlines or on ‘bulk’ or special fares.
American Airlines is buying 15 more Embraer EMB-175 76 seat regional jets.
These aircraft will go to American Airlines wholly-owned regional carrier Envoy Air (formerly American Eagle) and are expected to be delivered starting in 2020. Likely for reasons of fleet commonality and price they did not opt for the potentially more comfortable E-2 variant of the plane.
Low cost transatlantic carrier Primera has gone out of business while Wow Air cuts routes. Norwegian is selling planes and could still be acquired by British Airways parent IAG.
The market for flying passengers across the Pond at low prices is being shaken up. There was too much capacity pushing down prices too far especially as fuel prices rise. Now it looks like we’re seeing some actual consolidation in this market.
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 end of September I revealed that American will be squeezing more seats into their Airbus A321 fleet, not just their Boeing 737s as well as adding more first class seats.
They accomplish this with less distance between seats, less padding for each seat, and smaller lavatories.
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 »
