Report: Hyatt Gutting Cash and Points Awards, Adding Premium Suite Redemption

by Gary Leff

warf
Oct 19 2018

Members are going to have different views of these reported changes, which have not been confirmed by Hyatt.

My own view is that while I like the value cash and points offers now at the category 2-6 level, now that full points redemptions earn elite night credit cash and points is no longer as crucial a part of my arsenal.

Meanwhile premium suites is huge — the major constraint on my travel is time rather than points. Since I’m not working hard to stretch each point I’d rather use them for the best experience possible.

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American Airlines President: We Didn’t Mean It When We Promised Free Texting

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Oct 19 2018

Delta, Alaska, and Southwest Airlines all offer free inflight texting. In September 2017, at American’s Investor and Media Day, the airline announced they would offering free inflight texting however that never happened. Last month I asked them about it and was told they aren’t doing it after all.

American got its media for improving customer experience, and then didn’t have to actually improve customer experience.

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Blood-soaked Towel as Passengers Hospitalized After Turbulence On Miami-Buenos Aires Flight

by Gary Leff

airplane cart spill
Oct 19 2018

When the seat belt sign is on, wear your seat belt. When the seat belt sign is off, but you’re in your seat wear your seat belt.

Yesterday’s Aerolineas Argentinas flight AR1303 from Miami to Buenos Aires provided a strong reminder of this important lesson. Our of 192 passengers on board 15 were injured in turbulence after the plane reached cruising altitude, including 8 who were taken to the hospital on arrival in Buenos Aires.

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British Airways Launching Service to… Charleston, South Carolina?

by Gary Leff

house on hill
Oct 18 2018

British Airways announced new London Heathrow service to Charleston, South Carolina. The flight goes on sale tomorrow and will operate twice weekly between April 4 and October 24.

It’s seasonal service. It’s just twice a week. And it will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 with 35 business class, 25 premium economy, and 154 coach seats. Boeing 787 aft fuselage parts are manufactured at Boeing’s North Charleston site.

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Passenger Lawyering Up After American Airlines Refuses to Accommodate His Smoking as a Disability

by Gary Leff

american plane
Oct 18 2018

It is reasonable to be frustrated by a three hour delay. It is reasonable for a smoker to be itching for a cigarette after going without one for several hours, though that’s something to plan for and there are myriad strategies for managing this. It is not reasonable to ‘lawyer up’ and claim civil rights have been violated when an airline employee wasn’t willing to escort a passenger out of the post-customs inspection section of the terminal.

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American Express Introduces Premium Cabin Airfare Discounts via Online Chat

by Gary Leff

amex promo
Oct 18 2018

For years American Express has had an ‘International Airline Program’ for Platinum and Centurion cardholders which amounted to 2-for-1 business class tickets provided you were buying full fare.

This has had limited usefulness for many cardmembers, often full fare business class is about twice as much as discounted advance purchase business, at most you’d save a few hundred dollars buying business class for two passengers. A limited subset of cardmembers, though, found this very useful.

Last June they revamped the program and made it much more useful. And now you do not even need to call to use it.

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4 Takeaways About Airfares and Passenger Experience From United’s Earnings Call

by Gary Leff

lounge
Oct 18 2018

United is sticking to its guns as the only airline refusing to let passengers bring carry on bags onboard when buying basic economy fares. They’re opening two more Polaris lounges and may re-evaluate the number of business class seats on board some aircraft. And airfares have a lot more room to rise — and passengers will pay up and keep flying.

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