oneworld member air berlin filed for bankruptcy in August after Etihad withdrew its support. The German government extended a loan guarantee (subsidy) to keep the airline flying while a sale of assets was arranged. Key pieces go to Lufthansa, leading to consolidation in the German market.
The airline itself is ceasing all operations October 28th. However the final transatlantic flight landed in Dusseldorf yesterday.
New Zealand’s national bird is the kiwi, and it’s Air New Zealand’s symbol as well. After all, New Zealanders are often referred to as Kiwis.
The irony for the airline of course is that kiwis can’t fly. But Air New Zealand has turned that on its head, creating a video showing that in order to fly a kiwi can fly on Air New Zealand.
A man was arrested and fined after flying from Antalya, Turkey home to Ufa, Russia. He was swearing loudly and ‘becoming violent‘ before punching his 26 year old female travel companion.
Here’s video of the man being ‘handled’ by other crew and passengers.
A man who remembers only drinking ‘at least’ 4 rum and cokes at an LAX bar and then landing at Newark was met by law enforcement when his United flight arrived.
That’s because his seat mate for United flight UA1871 reports that he was urinated on.
In Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker asks the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi why he claimed Luke’s father was dead — when at the end of Empire Luke learned that Darth Vader was his father.
And in Delta’s earnings call they make claims about Basic Economy and about SkyMiles.
Airbus has taken a majority stake in the Bombardier CSeries program. And they plan to build planes in the U.S.
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.
United and Chase renewed their credit card agreement two years ago and there’s already talk of the next extension, which suggests that they made a 5 year deal which historically was standard although we’re seeing more 7 and even 10 year deals in the co-brand space.
The financial analyst most bullish on credit card revenue for airlines now believes that United’s bargaining position may have slipped as a result of Chase’s success with its own products and American Express’ investments in its Platinum card in the broader competitive space.
The Partnership for Fair and Open Skies is putting out a statement against Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar in response to Emirates pointing out just how many Boeing aircraft they buy — a direct contrast with Delta.
However Delta at the very same time is directly at odds with Boeing over subsidies, with Boeing arguing that Canada shouldn’t be able to subsidize aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, and Delta arguing that they should be able to benefit from these subsidies.
These two things are not at all inconsistent.
In the biggest case for loyalty programs since Northwest v. Ginsberg, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Ohio v. American Express, reviving an anti-trust case brought by retailers and 11 states which argued that American Express violates anti-trust rules in its merchant agreements.
At issue is whether benefits to consumers — like rewards and credit card protections — count when determining whether the market is competitive (do we look at both sides of a two-sided market, or only the merchant-network relationship)?
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 »
