Since it’s been two years since Marriott bid to acquire Marriott so it’s easy to forget that the merger only closed 14 months ago.
They were never going to be fully integrated in 2018. The most optimistic assessments suggested a minimum of 18 months’ work. And there are two major constraints.
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.
The Associated Press‘s David Koenig asks American Airlines President Robert Isom about Basic Economy.
There’s a bit of hand waving in his answer, and a claim that is demonstrably false.
Airlines sometimes have a hard time keeping the behavior of their crew in line while traveling in — and out of —
uniform on overseas trips.
One airline had to warn pilots to stop filming when flight attendants had sex onboard. Air India had to warn flight crews to stop stealing from hotel buffets.
Delta owns a stake in China Eastern, the country’s most subsidized airline giving them a presence in Shanghai especially. They’ve become even more linked, with Delta and China Eastern buying into and taking a board seat with Air France KLM along with Air France KLM taking an ownership stake in 49% Delta-owned Virgin Atlantic.
China Southern based out of Guangzhou has been left as something of a redheaded stepchild in Delta and Air France-driven SkyTeam. And American has gone ahead and invested $200 million in China Southern, giving them their own foothold into mainland China.
I don’t know about you, but I’d just assume take a connecting flight on Southwest. Better yet, take Spirit Airlines non-stop and buy up to ‘the Big Front Seat’ and save a couple hundred bucks compared to that American Airlines middle.
There are many US cities to Auckland, New Zealand from the $300s roundtrip with travel available January through September. Meanwhile Australia roundtrips start at $444 which is amazing.
United will let you book roundtrip economy saver awards to Hawaii today for just 36,000 miles — 20% off the usual price of 45,000 miles. MileagePlus describes it as their way “of saying “mahalo” for our 70 years of service in Hawaii.”
But here’s what you should do instead.
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.
I was flying Hong Kong – Boston after arriving from Singapore and spending some time in The Pier first class lounge.
We boarded on time and one other passenger came onboard with me at the front of the queue. He was the other first class passenger for the evening, and as we boarded he apologized to me.
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 »
