Many Air Berlin Long Haul Flights May Be Discontinued End of September

by Gary Leff

Aug 29 2017

oneworld member air berlin filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago 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. The airline has cumulatively lost several billion dollars.

The airline’s topbonus frequent flyer program has filed for bankruptcy as well. They’re no longer offering earning or redemption. They no longer had the possibility of being repaid debt owed by the airline, or collecting funds from airline mileage accrual.

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LOVE THIS: Pittsburgh Airport Will Let You Go Through Security Without a Ticket

by Gary Leff

Aug 28 2017

Passengers want to accompany friends and family to the gate. Airports want more people shopping and dining, they earn a percentage of the revenue at all the merchants at the airport. And by the way airlines usually share in this revenue, too.

The TSA wants to limit the number of people going through security. They also want to limit the bags they have to screen at the checkpoint. The TSA is the government, so until now they’ve gotten to decide.

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Don’t Get Stuck Like This Passenger, Always Check Your Airline Agent’s Work

by Gary Leff

Aug 28 2017

Last month I wrote about United rebooking a passenger for the wrong year. They landed in Frankfurt and were denied boarding for the flight they thought they were supposed to take, because United had put them on that same flight in June 2018 instead of July 2017.

In that case United’s computers were down. The agent hand wrote the changed itinerary, and didn’t note the new (wrong) month.

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Why Aimia Just Sold Off the Canadian Air Miles Program

by Gary Leff

air canada plane tarmac
Aug 28 2017

Air Canada spun off its frequent flyer program and that new company developed several loyalty businesses. However Air Canada decided that its future is better with a new wholly owned loyalty program, to be launched in 2020 and in May announced plans to cut ties with Aimia.

Aimia’s stock dropped from about 9 before Air Canada’s announcement to less than 2 on Friday (3 years ago it was hovering around 19) — we may see a dampening of enthusiasm for spinning off frequent flyer programs for awhile.

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Flying During Hurricane Harvey

by Gary Leff

Aug 28 2017

Hurricane Harvey has been devastating and I’ve watched the social media accounts of my friends in Houston intently, I’ve appreciated their frequent-ish updates just the fact that they’re updating which tells me they’re ok.

It’s frustrating not to be able to do anything, really, to help. Donations to relief charities are great, and natural disasters are focal for fundraising, but giving to ‘Harvey Relief’ doesn’t really go to immediate rescue.

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