Suzanne Rubin Leaving as President of American AAdvantage

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

I was genuinely sad to learn on Monday that Suzanne Rubin is planning to leave American Airlines in early summer. She shared with the AAdvantage team that it’s to care for immediate family, and my thoughts are with certainly with her.

She ran the largest loyalty program with over 100 million members, and took it through turbulent times (a bankruptcy and a merger) and successfully managed the integration of AAdvantage with the Dividend Miles program — with barely a hiccup.

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Two Senators Think Airlines Can Fix Security Lines By Eliminating Checked Bag Fees

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

Two US Senators — Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal — want airlines to drop checked bag fees for the summer to reduce TSA checkpoint lines.

The idea is that passengers would be willing to check bags if they didn’t have to pay to do so, and lines would be shorter at security checkpoints with fewer bags to be screened there. I’d point out three things, however.

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Woman Arrested for Molesting Another Female Passenger on Flight from Vegas

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

It’s usually either male TSA agents that are sexually molesting passengers or a creepy male passenger molesting the woman beside him (or molesting a flight attendant).

But make no mistake — women can behave just as badly in an airport or on a plane as men can. Whether it’s actress Lara Flynn Boyle flashing her breasts and crawling into bed with a male stranger in British Airways First, or a drunk realtor exposing her breasts inflight as she refuses to put out her e-cigarette.

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American Launches Bonus Up to 25,000 Miles Per Europe Roundtrip

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

American launched a big transatlantic mileage bonus today up to 25,000 miles per roundtrip (up to 50,000 miles for two roundtrips).

Roundtrips on American Airlines, British Airways (including OpenSkies), Finnair and Iberia between May 9 and July 31 will earn bonuses based on fare class. Registration for promo code NAS16 is required prior to travel, but tickets purchased prior to registration are eligible for earning the bonus.

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American AAdvantage Bares All to the SEC: Here’s What We Learn

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

American Airlines shares extensive information about their frequent flyer program in their SEC filings. So their 10-K always makes for an interesting read — especially when comparing data that can be found in prior year filings.

2015 had another jump in miles issued, and at the same time a decrease in the percentage of miles sold to partners. Doing the math, the number of miles sold to partners stayed about the same (actually increased by about 1.6 billion or one-third of one percent).

The increase, then, came from miles printed by the program for travel on American. This gives us a window into the increased miles stemming from American’s premium cabin bonus.

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Alaska Airlines Adds Japan Airlines as Awesome New Partner

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

Alaska Airlines partners with many of the airlines both in oneworld (like American, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, LAN) and Skyteam (like Delta, Air France, Korean) and also non-alliance airlines like Emirates. You cannot book first class awards on either Air France or Korean (business is the highest cabin offered).

I really like Alaska Airlines miles because they offer one-way awards on nearly all of their partners and most booking functionality is available on their website. One way awards allow an enroute stopover. So booking roundtrip allows two stopovers in addition to your destination.

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A Boeing 767’s “Perilous Journey on the High Seas” to Become Resort Apartments

by Gary Leff

May 09 2016

Workers spent 6 hours loading a Boeing 767 onto a barge at Ireland’s Shannon airport.

The 767, which had been operated by defunct Russian airline Transaero, was headed for a new resort in Inishcrone, a seaside town in Ireland, that will offer ‘glamour camping’: Quirky Nights Glamping Village (“The resort will see other modes of transportation such as buses, taxis and a train also turned into accommodation for visitors.”)

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