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.
Just last week Delta told investors that their operation was so good only weather could snarl it. I suggested this was hubris along the lines of American’s Doug Parker claiming his airline would never lose money again — and I suggested that the Atlanta-based airline, known for IT meltdowns, had better hope as well that “all of their pilots stay happy” because pilots can bring down any airline.
Today Delta was scheduled to fly its last-ever Boeing 747 departure from the U.S., Detroit to Seoul. And one of the plane’s four pilots didn’t show so Delta had to cancel the flight.
Marriott will give you 1000 points for answering a simple question on Twitter.
And here’s the answer.
Atlanta’s airport is experiencing a significant power outage. Passengers are trapped on planes, as jetways can’t move. People are stuck on escalators, not allowed up or down. And TSA agents are yelling.
On Friday I wrote that flight attendants had shamed American will photos of dirty vents and as a result the airline would start cleaning the vents on Airbus A330 and A320 aircraft.
There’s even more good news to report.
Ultimately I consider business class to be primarily about the seat, and that’s just where American shines. I prefer them over British Airways, Lufthansa, Delta (I haven’t yet flown the new Delta One suite headed mostly to Asia), KLM, and I prefer them of course over Air France’s angled A380s though not their reverse herringbone direct aisle access 777s.
They offer really good seats and functional internet. And my main meal really surprised me by how good it was. They’re also improving the bedding.
The major US legacy airlines have gone to great lengths to destroy their brand this year. And not only because a United Airlines passenger was dragged down the aisle and bloodied back in April because he wanted to travel home on the ticket he purchased when he was already in hit seat.
In October the story of JetStream Ground Services employee Kyran Ashford went viral. He was discovered having fun directing planes on the tarmac as a Southwest Airlines flight departed Rochester for Nashville.
Now a Southwest Airlines passenger says that on Monday morning’s Southwest Airlines flight WN268 from Phoenix to Albuquerque “she was woken by scorching hot coffee soaking through her heavy sweater and onto her skin.”
The passenger reports that a flight attendant “yanked off her sweater and rushed her to the bathroom.” The woman “was completely exposed” and the “front half of the plane could see [her] completely exposed” while she cried.
I rarely use miles for domestic travel. And most of the time I recommend strongly against it. Spending for a saver award, 25,000 miles roundtrip, you’re rarely going to get better than 2 cents a point in value. Any time tickets are more expensive are you even going to find saver availability?
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 »
