When United’s CEO Jeff Smisek was pushed out last fall, he received a golden parachute.
It turns out though that he walked away with even more than many realized. In fact he received $36.8 million since his ouster.
A week ago 25 rowdy Scottish passengers had to be removed from a Jet2 flight. Some had apparently broiught their own alcohol onboard which is a real no-no.
Flying a European low cost carrier can be an… experience. Fellow passengers aren’t median business travelers like you’ll find on national flag carriers in the morning at the beginning of the week and early evening at the end of the week.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Wednesday’s easyJet Belfast – Barcelona flight 6671 led to two women being taken away on arrival after they “allegedly swore at crew and joked about having a bomb on board, with one reportedly yelling ‘we are all here for a f***ing party’.”
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.
You can join the $150 Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club for free.
Leaders Club is the first tier of paid elite status, with ‘Unlimited’ costing $1200.
The Biltmore, a participating property, is giving away the $150 level.
Starting tomorrow Delta will no longer prioritize full fare over status for upgrades.
This leaves United as the only airline privileging full fare tickets above elite status in ordering the upgrade list. Upgrades will still be hard to get, with Delta attempting to monetize every last first class seat. But it’s a step in the right direction towards recognizing value over the course of a year and not simply a single trip for Delta.
From January 1 through April 30 Hilton offered double points with no properties excluded. Hilton co-brand American Express cardholders got an additional bonus of 1000 HHonors points when paying for their first stay with the card during the promotion period.
For May 1 through August 31 they’re again offering double points, this time called “Unlimited Bonus” — Registration required.
American Airlines CEO Doug Parker’s employment agreement was terminated at his request, and he continues in his position. Priceline’s CEO has been terminated over an impermissible personal relationship with an employee, he does not continue in his position. And more of the latest news in travel.
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue program should be interesting to U.S. frequent flyers for several reasons.
They offer one-way awards. They are an American Express Membership Rewards and a Citi Thank You points transfer partner. They have far more award space on their own flights than Delta has access to. They have most of their partners available for online booking.
Unfortunately their call centers are frustrating, their website can be too (and has been known to show ‘phantom’ award availability, seats that look available but aren’t really here to book).
Whether or not you think Donald Trump should be President, he did up his qualifications on Wednesday night by staying at a Holiday Inn Express.
Trump, it turns out, has a thing for reviewing Holiday Inn Express properties.
I live in US Central time. My job is on the East Coast.
I keep my computer set to Central time, it’s that way all the time when I travel except… When I go to DC for work, when I’m in the office, I reset my computer to Eastern time.
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 »
