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.
Politics aside Papa John’s is probably the best of the large pizza delivery chains. Thank goodness the pilot didn’t order Domino’s or Pizza Hut, that stuff is just nasty.
So whatever you think about the controversy surrounding the ex-CEO of the chain he’s the ex-CEO of the chain, it’s ok for pilots to order pizza from them in large quantity, there’s no reason to self-immolate with other chains’ cardboard with red paint.
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 June American Airlines CEO Doug Parker told employees, “We’re not going through the whole fleet and adding a bunch of seats to airplanes or taking out larger bathrooms and putting in smaller ones.”
That wasn’t true. Not only is American Airlines taking delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with more seats squeezed into the same air frame than ever before, they’re going through their existing fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and “adding a bunch of seats” (from 160 currently up to 172) and “taking out larger bathrooms and putting in smaller ones” (in order to fit more seats).
The problem airlines face is that charging for things that are included in a ticket now, or raising fees, is really just a price increase. And passengers may not be willing to pay more, some may stay home or drive.
If a price increase meant more money for the airline, airlines would raise prices.
Uber ousted their controversial founder as CEO and brought in the head of Expedia, which alone should have told you consumers wouldn’t be better off.
He’s been on a mission of appeasement, apologizing to governments and drivers. Last year they started letting drivers leave feedback on customers. Now your low rating can get you banned from Uber entirely. in some countries
There are some amazing Hawaii fares out there in coach, such as $246 roundtrip. And the deals aren’t just from the West Coast either.
These aren’t mistake fares, it’s a fare war. Several airlines are in on it, and there are great Hawaii deals from several US cities to several destinations in Hawaii.
The Marriott program is better than I expected it to be when the chain acquired Starwood. But don’t be lulled into complacency that this year’s experience is what you can expect. We know that things are as good as they’ll ever be right now because Marriott told us so.
I love deep discount fares to Hawaii, but it’s a long flight and I’d much rather sit up front. I used to love it when Alaska Airlines $99 companion tickets were valid for first class travel, I’d buy first.
While first class can be cheaper to Hawaii than on similar-distance business routes, it’s rarely super cheap. So sub-$900 first class roundtrips from the West Coast are worth highlighting.
Deals are available on Hawaiian Airlines and on Delta.
TravelZork shares with me data on oneworld airline S7’s co-brand credit card acquisition. The most fascinating statistics center around what’s driving customers to sign up for their credit card. One data point in particular stands out: their inflight magazine is 5 times more effective than flight attendant announcements at getting customers to sign up for their card.
S7 Airlines had to discontinue their flight attendants promoting the credit card because their crews refused to do it.
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 »
