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.
Politicians are claiming this is going to be a boon for travelers. Florida Democrat Senator Bill Nelson declares “Relief could soon be on the way for weary airline passengers facing smaller and smaller seats.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. These regulations will either do nothing, or they’ll help protect the major US airlines from low cost carrier competition. They won’t help travelers.
There have been issues with inventory with certain hotels not bookable on points, others withholding most of their inventory from award redemption. Some General Managers at legacy Starwood properties have been upset by Marriott’s award availability policies and pricing — and have pushed back.
However the ability for hotels to play games with inventory is on the way out. And there will be at least a 3 week period before award prices go up next year when availability should be at its best.
South African received a bailout a year ago to help with a new CEO’s plan to stabilize the airline by convincing banks they would continue to exist. Despite government cash infusions the airline’s debts now exceed their assets.
A report to the company’s board says the airline faces “rampant corruption, low pilot productivity, a significantly weak balance sheet, liquidity problems, loss of confidence from suppliers, a lack of critical skills and fragmented IT systems.”
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.
Singapore Airlines usually makes premium cabin awards available only to their own KrisFlyer members. You can transfer points from Chase, American Express, and Citi into the KrisFlyer program, so their miles are relatively easy to get.
If you want to fly Singapore’s business or first class on more than an intra-Asia flight you aren’t going to be able to use miles from United, Aeroplan, or other Star Alliance programs — most of the time.
Six years ago there was a brief window where Singapore Airlines awards were bookable by partners but there hasn’t been anything like it since.
Three years ago American Airlines and Qantas announced an expanded joint venture. American was launching Sydney and Auckland service, Qantas Sydney – San Francisco. And they indicated there would be more new routes in the offing as a result of the partnership.
They proposed to extend their partnership to coordinate schedules and pricing and share revenue on Pacific flights (but not Hawaii routes). The Obama administration said no.
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one the Fair Fees Act isn’t a part of FAA reauthorization that will be voted on this week.
The FAA reauthorization bill includes a number of provisions other than ‘Fair Fees’ that are worth noting.
I stayed 100 nights with Starwood in 2016 and was assigned an Ambassador for 2017. My Ambassador was excellent.
However members certainly have had varied experiences. Different Ambassadors provide different levels of service. Each person has different skills. The program itself provides guidelines but some go above and beyond. And workload matters. Now that the program is scaling to support top elites at Marriott too, Marriott’s metrics are being put into place.
At an employee Crew News session this past week a pilot asked American Airlines President about weight restrictions flying Hawaii back to the mainland of the U.S. using Airbus A321 aircraft. American cannot fly as many people back to the mainland as they fly from the mainland to Hawaii.
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 »
