View from the Wing

LAX Restaurant Now Serves Free Food to Priority Pass Cardmembers

by Gary Leff on June 9, 2018

Jun 09 2018

Two years ago the Los Angeles Barney’s Beanery chain opened in LAX’s terminal 2 by gate 22. The original Barney’s in West Hollywood opened in 1920. So it fits the trend of airports driving to host brands that are local institutions.

The airport location now offers $28 credits per person for Priority Pass cardholders. This credit is not available before 10:30 a.m.. Of course in the mornings the Virgin Atlantic clubhouse is available for Priority Pass guests albeit with limited service.

How Much Restaurants Get Reimbursed By Priority Pass (and Whether It’s Profitable)

by Gary Leff on June 9, 2018

Jun 09 2018

Last month I wrote that Priority Pass brings huge passenger volume to lounges, at least in the U.S. where so many memberships have been issued to credit card holders. This is big business at an average of $25 per visit.

We now have a little more insight into the economics of Priority Pass for restaurants.

TSA Defends 6 Minute Pat Down of 96 Year Old Woman in Wheelchair

by Gary Leff on June 9, 2018

Jun 09 2018

United then cancelled her flight and she wound up sleeping in the airport.

Southwest Airlines Offering Status Matches

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards has a new campaign to attract other airlines’ best customers. They will give you their elite status right away.

Sprint Unlimited Data, Talk, and Text for $15/Month With Global Roaming

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

One of the most brilliant marketing plays I’ve seen in a long time was Sprint building an ad campaign around bringing on the actor from Verizon’s ‘Can You Hear Me Now?’ commercials?

Sprint is offering what looks like an amazing deal. New customers who port their number over from another carrier get unlimited data, talk and text for $15 per line per month. This even includes international roaming.

Losing My Inspiration and Searching for Lotion

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

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.

Pilot With .08 Blood Alcohol Content Offers ‘8 Hours Bottle to Throttle’ as an Excuse

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

When passengers drink all the booze onboard that deserves congratulations.

When pilots drink, though, that’s serious. Serious enough that when the American Airlines had a photo of two bartenders dressed as pilots in their inflight magazine they had to apologize for the poor judgment that showed.

How Just a Few Bad Employees Can Undermine $3 Billion Invested in Airline Product

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

American highlights a $3 billion investment in products and services. However poor service from the airline’s front line can undermine all the rest of the investment.

A great example of this comes from June 4th’s American Airlines flight AA192 from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. A business class passenger reportedly voluntarily offloaded himself because his experience with a flight attendant onboard prior to departure was so bad.

Bad Idea: Investors Want to Bring Back Midwest Airlines and Make Milwaukee Great Again

by Gary Leff on June 8, 2018

Jun 08 2018

Midwest Airlines, Frontier, and AirTran all tried to hub in Milwaukee. Today, no one does. There are some cities that have been tried and don’t quite work as hubs. America West used to hub in Columbus, for instance.

Old airline brands never seem to die. There’s another attempt to bring back Eastern Airlines. An airline using the People Express name operated again for a few months in 2014. And Pan Am is a name that just won’t go away.

What Airlines Should Learn From Delta

by Gary Leff on June 7, 2018

Jun 07 2018

Paul Jacobson, Delta’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer presented at today’s Deutsche Bank 2018 Global Industrials and Materials Summit.

He laid the airline’s improvement in Net Promoter Score (willingness of its customers to recommend) with growth in its revenue premium — how much extra customers are willing to pay to fly Delta over its competitors.

LAX Restaurant Now Serves Free Food to Priority Pass Cardmembers

How Much Restaurants Get Reimbursed By Priority Pass (and Whether It’s Profitable)

TSA Defends 6 Minute Pat Down of 96 Year Old Woman in Wheelchair

Southwest Airlines Offering Status Matches

Sprint Unlimited Data, Talk, and Text for $15/Month With Global Roaming

Losing My Inspiration and Searching for Lotion

Pilot With .08 Blood Alcohol Content Offers ‘8 Hours Bottle to Throttle’ as an Excuse

How Just a Few Bad Employees Can Undermine $3 Billion Invested in Airline Product

Bad Idea: Investors Want to Bring Back Midwest Airlines and Make Milwaukee Great Again

What Airlines Should Learn From Delta

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About Gary Leff

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