Swiss first class awards are a unicorn, and people go to sort of crazy lengths for it.
Swiss first class is usually only available using miles for elite frequent flyers in the Miles & More program. The ability to use United, Aeroplan, and other Star Alliance miles — or even Miles & More miles without elite status — ended in 2014.
When you see new plane orders they’re usually announced with the list prices for aircraft that no one actually pays. Roughly you should divide that number in half.
Aircraft manufacturers try to keep secret actual purchase prices, because they don’t want to broadcast to all potential buyers how much of a discount they’ll really give. Plus big numbers make for great press releases. At the same time it’s hardly a secret that no one pays list.
United Airlines President Scott Kirby says people only care about price and that is why the airline offers such a bad product. Customers say they want a better product but whenever given the choice they choose the cheaper price.
But Basic Economy fares are premised on the exact opposite — that customers will choose product over price.
I booked myself onto American’s inaugural Boeing 737 MAX 8 this morning from Miami to New York LaGuardia to see what American’s new tighter seating was like up close and personal.
It turns out the seats themselves are no worse than American’s current coach product. The power and overhead bin situation is an improvement. The problem was the lavatories.
The lounge is bright with fantastic views, which is really the only great thing you can say about it. There aren’t any servers to assist you, though plenty of staff are around to bus tables. And there aren’t any ‘plus’ features to speak of either.
The lounge was fine for what it was, a nice bright atmosphere to catch up between flights and a place for a shower. But it’s really more of a business class lounge that’s not too crowded than a first class lounge.
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Earlier in the month I needed to be in Singapore. I booked Korean Air first class Houston – Seoul – Singapore for 95,000 points that I had transferred over from Chase.
Unfortunately Korean cancelled their Houston – Seoul flight. They were super accommodating though, and offered to buy me a flight out of Houston to connect to their Chicago flight. Even better I got them to buy me American Airlines first class Austin – Chicago.
Air Canada today announced what can reasonably be called a revolutionary lounge product for paid business class passengers: the Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto. Last night I had the opportunity to tour the suite.
In order to come up with comparisons I have to talk about Qantas first class lounge, Etihad and Emirates first class sit down dining in their hubs. Those are first class experiences, and this is business class.
What’s truly deserving of derision is a hotel that introduces a new kind of resort fee into a market where they didn’t previously exist. So the title for either the dumbest fee, or the most underhanded management, goes to the Hilton New York.
They can’t really call the Hilton New York a resort. So they have an “Urban Destination Charge.”
My own take is that if you’ve got cash in your pocket then $5 for a 15 minute spa treatment is appropriate, and a buck or two per drink unless the bartender is going out of their way for you and doing something special.
If you think my approach to tipping generally is wrong, you should feel free to tip more, but American Express says you’re not expected to.
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 »
