In September 2014 American and legacy US Airways harmonized their catering — and the results were not good. American took the overwhelming feedback of customers — and from embarrassed crew — to heart and introduced better meals in August 2015.
American ostensibly introduces all new meal service each year. We got a new set of meals in November 2016, and last month they began to rotate new dishes in as they overhaul the domestic first class menu.
Since the federal government took over airport security they’ve consistently missed 90% or more of the dangerous items going through checkpoints, but we’ve learned that two inch plastic guns that come attached to stuffed animals might be used to take down planes.
Apparently though you can’t even make a gun with your fingers.
On December 29, United Airlines flight UA809 flew from Orange County California to Denver. The Airbus A320 took off from runway 20R and climbed safely to its cruising altitude.
However a fuel cap fell off the plane and down ‘a few thousand feet’ out of the sky, ‘smashing’ onto the hood of a car driving down Park Avenue on Balboa Island.
The US Department of Homeland Security released a new policy on border searches of electronic devices along with a privacy impact assessment.
Paul Wall has been rapping for 20 years. He used to release albums with Chamillionaire. He’s had a modest acting career and some video games. And apparently he flies regularly on a friend’s buddy pass.
And he got his friend fired.
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.
Two weeks ago I wrote that British Airways is introducing seats with 29 inches of pitch and no recline. That’s an inch less space than Ryanair offers from seat back to seat back.
Since word of BA’s new seats without recline came out the buzz word has been that they’re pre-reclined, a phrase I first heard from former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza. It’s a silly statement, but it’s also true that their seats aren’t completely upright.
The idea of compensating customers onboard is hardly new. You can contact customer relations after a flight, you can even get a proactive email from an airline after a flight, but the immediacy of onboard compensation can quell problems while you’re still stuck in a metal tube and frustrated.
American Airlines is rolling out this capability next month, loading iSolve software onto flight attendant tablets.
American Airlines status challenges cost money to sign up for and include a minimum spend requirement although the airline also occasionally will directly status match a United or Delta top tier elite member.
In a rare instance of Delta following American (although to be fair Delta was first with minimum spend for elite status) their elite status challenge program requires minimum spend not just minimum travel. And there’s on other change as well.
IHG folded Kimpton and its Karma Rewards program into IHG Rewards Club. In the process they sanitized the benefits offered to elites, although they’re maintaining Kimpton’s top ‘Inner Circle’ level as an invitation-only program similar to Intercontinental properties and Royal Ambassador, with no public criteria for how members will earn it.
The upside to all of this is supposed to be for IHG Rewards Club members generally, more nice and interesting properties to use there points at. And that is now live on the IHG website.
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 »
