View from the Wing - Page 1439 of 3111 - Thought Leader in Travel

The Star Alliance Routes to Asia That Have 4 Business Class Award Seats Every Single Day

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

people in airline seats first class

Sep 01 2018

If you want to go to Asia with the family in business or first class, there’s one airline that’s got you covered and even one best route though there are several good routes.

Star Alliance member Asiana simply offers fantastic award space. The United website is great for seeing this quickly at a glance. Their award calendar will show you which dates have availability — in this case non-stop availability from Los Angeles to Seoul for four passengers. Dates with solid lines have coach award space and dates with dotted lines have premium cabin award space.

Alert: United Business Class Saver Awards Wide Open to Australia (May/June)

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

shot from helicopter

Sep 01 2018

One of the toughest award redemptions for US-based frequent flyers is Australia. It’s a long flight. It’s a premium route. Airlines are loathe to make saver award space available up front. So when it opens up I try to alert you.

United is Raising the Price of Checked Bags, But What Do We Get for Our Money?

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

hand holding hundreds of dollars in cash

Sep 01 2018

It seems to me that if checked bags are going to be separately charged, then customers should be refunded if their bags are lost and offered compensation if their bags are delayed. But it’s a special type of gall to raise the price of checked bags and not offer such basic assurances in return.

Marriott Updates: When They’ll Fix New Loyalty Program IT Issues

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

outside marriott hotel

Sep 01 2018

At the beginning of the week I spoke with Marriott’s Senior Vice President for Loyalty David Flueck for an update on the integration of Starwood accounts onto the Marriott IT platform as they launched their new loyalty program on August 18th.

I reached out to Marriott for another update on where things stand fixing issues.

Chase Now Selling Points to Mazda and New Washington National Priority Pass Restaurant

by Gary Leff on September 1, 2018

virgin airplane

Sep 01 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.

Google Now Tracks Your Offline Credit Card Purchases and Ties Those to Online Ad Clicks

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

credit card wallet

Aug 31 2018

A couple of weeks ago we learned that if you have an Android phone, Google tracks you even when you turn location history off. Although Google says that when you turn location history off “the places you go are no longer stored” an Associated Press investigation found that isn’t true and “turning off your Location History only stops Google from creating a timeline of your location that you can view. Some apps will still track you and store time-stamped location data from your devices.” Now we know that Google has a deal with Mastercard – and possibly with other payment networks – to track retail purchases and compare those to online ad clicks in order to help determine the effectiveness of online advertising beyond immediate online purchases. Google then shares date with a test group…

Atlanta Says Don’t Drive to the Airport After Passengers Stuck for Hours in Traffic Jam

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

planes docked

Aug 31 2018

In 2010 a traffic jam in China lasted for two weeks and stretched 60 miles. There were drivers stuck in the jam for five days, with some cars moving no more than a single kilometer per day.

Perhaps the closest we come to that in the U.S. was Wednesday night at Atlanta airport’s north terminal parking garage.

American Airlines Says They Love Unionization, But Unions Don’t Love Them

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

american airlines hangar

Aug 31 2018

As we enter Labor Day weekend, it’s important to remember that union shop or not management cannot abdicate its responsibility to select and retain the best talent while transitioning out employees who aren’t a good fit for the company — ensuring that everyone inside the business is able to respect the contributions of their colleagues. And management has to set a vision that inspires employees to be their best.

United Becomes First Big US Airline to Increase Checked Bag Fees

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

united plane

Aug 31 2018

At the beginning of the week JetBlue increased checked bag fees to $30 for first bag. At the time I suggested that the larger US airlines were certainly looking at it, but that a major airline especially Delta needed to do it before we could say everyone would.

United turns out to be the large US airline to go first.

Airline Now Calls Flight Attendants ‘Sky Angels’ and Everyone Has a Reason They’re Fired at Delta

by Gary Leff on August 31, 2018

sky angels

Aug 31 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.

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 »