IHG’s New Gamified Promotion is Out — What’s Your Offer?

by Gary Leff

outside hotel
Apr 27 2017

The next IHG Rewards Club promotion is in the process of going live. It came right up for me, though if I use Google Chrome’s incognito mode I get the ‘promotion ended’ page from their last offer.

They’re coming out with ‘Accelerate’ again for stays between May 15 and August 31 you earn even more points. And in some ways it’s my favorite hotel promotion — not as much for its richness as much because it is sort of fun. It’s tough to get a thrill over double points for stays you’re going to make anyway.

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United Unveiled Its Response to the Passenger Dragging Incident and Plan to End Involuntary Denied Boardings

by Gary Leff

Apr 26 2017

United has announced the results of reviewing its procedures in the aftermatch of Dr. David Dao’s bloody removal from a flight earlier this month. There are several policy changes and they tell me their goal is to reduce involuntary denied boardings to zero.

When a man was dragged off a United Express flight from Chicago to Louisville and bloodied after refusing to give up the seat he was sitting in so that employees could travel on the flight and operate a flight back to O’Hare, it was a cultural moment of sorts.

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Etihad’s Airbus A380 First Apartment Really Is the Best In the Sky, Its Critics are All Wrong

by Gary Leff

Apr 26 2017

Etihad offers my favorite first class in the world onboard their Airbus A380 — the “First Apartment.” There are two apartments across the cabin with a single aisle between them upstairs on the A380, in contrast on the same plane Emirates — known as one of the world’s best airlines for first class — has four suites across.


Etihad First Apartment — Single Aisle

There’s an onboard shower, an onboard chef (generally a flight attendant with real restaurant kitchen experience who can customize your meals as you wish), solid internet and good amenities.

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Why Delta’s Hype is Wrong on New Blade Helicopter Partnership

by Gary Leff

Apr 26 2017

Delta is promoting its new New York JFK – Downtown helicopter transfer partnership with Blade as though it’s especially innovative.

Airlines have offered helicopter transfers for years, for instance Continental used to offer free helicopter transfers with paid business tickets out of Newark and even let you redeem 10,000 extra miles for a helicopter transfer on business class awards.

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