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.
Amazing Cathay Pacific Business Class Award Space for 4+ Passengers
What’s striking is how much availability exists on Cathay’s routes between the US and Asia. In fact with so many ways to get to Hong Kong there’s usually a means to do it for the family with some flexibility if you’re booking far in advance.
25% Discount on Turkish Airlines Domestic Awards
Citibank added Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles as a transfer partner last year. That means plenty of people have access to Turkish frequent flyer miles.
As a result it’s worth sharing that Turkish is running a 25% discount on domestic award tickets for booking and travel through the end of the year.
As Marriott Workers Strike, Guests Stuck With the Full Bill But Less Service
8,000 Marriott employees are on strike in 8 cities. That encompasses 23 hotels in Boston, Detroit, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Hawaii out of about 6500 Marriott properties worldwide and includes housekeeping, bartenders and others represented by union UNITE Here.
Marriott’s position has been that hotels are open and they’re ready to welcome guests. Guest reports suggest otherwise. And Marriott won’t waive cancellation rules or notify guests in advance about the ways in which stays will be disrupted.
Amazing Airfare: $880 British Airways First Class Roundtrip , South Africa – Spain
Right now you can book British Airways first class from Johannesburg or Capetown, South Africa to Barcelona or Madrid, Spain for $880 roundtrip. That’s incredible. In fact it’s a base fare of just $111.20 in each direction plus taxes and fees. For international first class.
Great Airfare Deal: Business Class to China for $1500 Roundtrip
Right now there’s a fantastic business class deal from Los Angeles to Beijing or Shanghai on SkyTeam member China Southern (which is part-owned by American Airlines). You can book one-stop roundtrip for less than $1510 to either destination. That’s an incredible fare.
When fares are this low you don’t want to spend miles for an award ticket.
Marriott Adds Bonus For Staying at Different Brands to New MegaBonus Promotion
Last month Marriott launched their first promotion of the ‘new’ program. There was a companion game 29 Ways to Stay for each of Marriott Rewards’ 29 participating brands. It was supposed to launch October 4. It finally launched today.
And Marriott has added on to their MegaBonus promotion, bonus points for staying at their different brands.
30% Bonus on Transfers from Marriott Points to United (And Other Hotel Points, Too)
When Marriott combined programs on August 18th they took all Starwood points balances and tripled them. And they kept the basics of the Starwood points transfers to miles system. So miles transfer 3:1 with most airline partners (instead of the old 1:1, but it’s effectively the same) and transfers into 20,000 miles earns 5000 bonus miles.
In other words, transferring 60,000 Marriott points yields 25,000 airline miles. When you transfer to United you also get a 10% bonus because of the Marriott-United RewardsPlus tie-in. And right now United is offering a 30% bonus on Marriott transfers up to 25,000 extra miles.
American Sends Bigger Planes to Chicago – Because They’re Taking Business Seats Away From Smaller Planes
American Airlines is taking business class seats out of their Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Those planes are going from 28 business class seats down to 20, so that the “mini cabin” at the back of business class can be used for premium economy.
Chicago is American’s 787-8 city. The airline likes to base a specific aircraft type in each city to the extent possible, because it makes their operation simpler. When a plane goes mechanical, they have more of that aircraft. They have people used to working on those planes all the time. And they have the parts. They also have more crew qualified to operate the aircraft.
How Airports Turn Passengers Into Products Instead of Customers
In writing about New York’s $13 billion plan to renovate New York JFK airport I pointed out that the redesign wasn’t about serving the passenger, it’s about serving investors.
Airports aren’t being designed with passengers as the focus, they’re being designed with selling to passengers as the focus.