A couple of years ago a member of the state legislature went public with threats from Delta: members who didn’t support fuel tax subsidies for the airline could lose flights to their districts. (Delta rewards favored politicians, too.) The special tax break expired.
For those who can earn top tier in the new ‘World of Hyatt’ program (60 nights or $20,000 in spend) the changes going into effect March 1 are probably an improvement such as an upgrade benefit based on availability that no longer excludes suites, the ability to earn more confirmed suite upgrades by staying more nights beyond the minimum required to qualify, and especially having a dedicated concierge to handle all things Hyatt-related.
At the same time it can’t be emphasized enough that the changes to Hyatt’s loyalty program are going to mean big cost savings for hotels.
Female flight attendants for Aeroflot — who call themselves “old, fat, ugly” — have written an open letter to Vladimir Putin complaining that the airline has sidelined them from flying international routes.
Aeroflot is, the female flight attendants women claim, literally sending them to Siberia.
American Airlines remains the world’s largest airline — barely.
In the fourth quarter American Airlines had the lowest net profit (and lowest net profit excluding special items) of the major US airlines. They had the lowest operating margins and the lowest pretax margins.
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On June 1 the oneworld alliance (which includes airlines like American, British Airways, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and more) changed its policies so that member airlines no longer had to check bags to their final destination for passengers traveling on more than one reservation on a oneworld airline.
In December Cathay Pacific realized this was punitive, likely harming exactly the customers they didn’t want to inconvenience, and walked back the policy. Now oneworld member Qatar Airways is rolling back the policy as well, effective March 1.
A video was posted Friday of a woman getting very impatient waiting to disembark a flight that had arrived in Denver.
Star Allinace member Asiana has nearly always been great for award space. I’ve long had good luck with their New York and Chicago – Seoul flights as well as Los Angeles. In fact both New York JFK and Los Angeles are good not just for business class awards but for first class, too.
And if I really need a business class award to Asia, I know I can count on Asiana from San Francisco or Seattle to have space. These are just ‘go to’ flights for using miles.
Miami – Oslo, and connecting flights to elsewhere in Scandinavia — Stockholm and Copenhagen at least — run about $460 roundtrip in premium economy not merely coach. Think domestic first class seats and upgraded service.
But you can get it for even less.
Aerolineas Argentinas was re-nationalized in 2008, and clearly a source of national pride — with a long haul business class that features “a screen of individual video, where you will be able to enjoy four movies” as well as 12 audio channels “with the most varied musical genders.” And there’s a fax machine.
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 »
