Just like the airline’s inconsistent messages over whether they’re a premium carrier (Flagship lounges) or Allegiant (no seat back video, tiny lavatories, 30 inch pitch with reduced recline seats, and Basic Economy) they offer inconsistent messages on pay (bonuses but reduced profit sharing) and expectations (no enforcement of overhead bins, but more work when it matches an airline – rather than customer – priority).
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.
IHG Rewards Club has been offering discounted hotel night redemptions for just 5000 points per night for more than a decade.
At the beginning there were some high value hotels included in the discount properties list. Over time there have been fewer and fewer premium hotels. The ‘good ones’ are almost always swept up and disappear from the list within a couple of days. These deals have been so good that in China people were automating PointBreaks bookings and reselling them.
After American’s earnings calls the company’s executives meet with employees and take their questions. One of the questions was about the restoration of the most important element of an interline agreement between American and Delta, the ability for each airline to put their passengers into empty seats on the other carrier during irregular operations.
And Doug Parker, American’s CEO, wound up and took a swing at Delta…
After American’s earnings calls the company’s executives meet with employees and take their questions. One of the questions was about the airline’s internal employee survey which revealed significant discontent.
Mergers create a brief window where customers are largely protected from devaluations. Airlines are distracted by merger integration, and don’t want to make customers feel like the merger will be bad for them right away. Once American Airlines moved to a single reservation system in October 2015 we learned about a gutting of AAdvantage the next month both for elite status qualification and benefits and for their redemption chart, and then the rollout of basic economy the next year.
Alaska Airlines right now has by far the most lucrative US airline frequent flyer program. Their award chart is far more attractive than that of their competitors. And they’re a better airline to fly. That may change.
American’s policy is vague, but they do not ask flight attendants to enforce seating with a cabin. If there’s an empty seat with more legroom and you move to it, flight attendants aren’t expected to stop you (let alone charge you, the way United might).
During United’s investor call airline President Scott Kirby reiterated his belief that the largest airline a market will sign up customers for their credit card. If they grow in a market they’ll get more credit card signups and make more money from Chase.
Nowhere in the discussion is there anything at all about the features or benefits of that credit card.
What happens when your cross the worst baggage handlers with the US mail? You get computers stolen from rural school children.
These brain surgeons used a a Ravn truck to move the items they were stealing from the post office to the employee parking lot where they moved goods straight into their cars, and then gave items to family members and co-workers and kept other items in their homes.
In The Gods Must Be Crazy, a tribe which lives off the land believes that the gods have provided for them until a Coke bottle is thrown out of a plane and comes to earth unbroken. They see it as a present from the gods, and make use of it as a tool, but since there’s only one Coke bottle the tribe descends into chaos not knowing how to share 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 »
