My bottom-line take is that American’s basic economy — fewer benefits and less flexibility at the lowest ticket prices — is going to be very similar to United’s and go farther than what Basic Economy pioneer Delta has done in taking away travel benefits.
That’s not surprising because American Airlines President Scott Kirby became the United President and was involved in United’s basic economy decisions. No doubt the work he did at American influenced those choices.
Via One Mile at a Time, and confirmed to me by American Express, a new Centurion lounge will be coming to Philadelphia later this year.
It will be in Terminal A West (international departures) above the current British Airways lounge. Construction is expected to start at the end of next month and they’re targeting an early August open.
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.
Etihad will no longer allow through checking bags when traveling on separate reservations for tickets purchased February 1 onward.
Reportedly separate tickets that are sold into the same reservation will continue to allow through-checking of bags. Most separate tickets have separate reservations, but a competent travel agent can manage to include them in one PNR.
A report from Reuters suggests that Etihad could buy a 30% – 40% stake in Lufthansa and then eventually consider a “full blown” merger of the two airlines.
When codesharing between the two airlines was announced last month it was hinted that it could be the first of ‘deeper links’ to come.
When I was a kid I knew that “whether you’re going to heaven or hell, you’ll have to connect in Atlanta.”
It wasn’t until 1971 though that the airport got its first international flights (Mexico and Jamaica on Eastern Airlines). The first non-US airline to fly to Atlanta was Sabena in 1978.
Air New Zealand business class award space is wide open, you can book these seats with miles you likely already have, and this surely will not last.
Australia and New Zealand are among the toughest awards out there. So while May through September isn’t peak season for travel to New Zealand, many will want to take advantage and of course it’s easy to hop over to Australia from New Zealand and some will want to use these flights as part of a broader Pacific Islands trip.
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.
There’s a post on Flyertalk detailing ‘leaked Marriott Rewards 2.0’ and as of this writing it’s generally being assumed to be what the program becomes after Starwood Preferred Guest gets absorbed (“This does look like a devaluation for most SPG Platinums too.”)
It’s not the new program..
JetBlue Vacations has $150 and $250 off coupons with no minimum spend, packages that are less than the coupon amounts are free.
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 »
