JetBlue is winning Hollywood. Not the studio contracts, of course. If you have a deal with Paramount, you’re flying American on the lucrative Los Angeles – New York route. But the ‘real’ Hollywood. The actors and directors and producers and independent talent who work for a living, aren’t traveling on a studio’s dime, but view the world through the lens of those who do. One of the best sources of clients for my award booking business has been Hollywood – recognizable actors who have had many small roles in film, or recurring roles on cable TV, comedic directors whose shows we know but that we wouldn’t recognize in an airport. They travel in circles with actresses and actors who fly private, or who are flown in international first class all over the world. They want…
Revenue-based Frequent Flyer Programs are Good for Flyers — and Not for the Reason You Think.
Revenue-based frequent flyer programs are good for consumers — just not in the way airlines would have you believe. Frequent flyer programs are the most successful marketing creations ever. And as such they get consumers to behave irrationally. Customers buy more expensive tickets than they otherwise would. And not even for the elite benefits, non-elites do it too and low level elites who may not get much incremental value from their status. Frequent flyer programs turned airline seats, which were otherwise commodity products, into differentiated products, and differentiated products consumers were willing to buy at a premium. But when you commodify the relationship, and you turn the frequent flyer program into a straight rebate there’s little advantage to choosing one program or another. What’s more, the leader in the revenue-based space — Delta Air Lines…
Your Fellow Passengers are Generous, Polite, and Well Behaved. The Data Says So.
Back in August, the knee defender guy touched off a media firestorm. The fight started when the male passenger, seated in a middle seat of row 12, used the Knee Defender to stop the woman in front of him from reclining while he was on his laptop… A flight attendant asked him to remove the device and he refused. The woman then stood up, turned around and threw a cup of water at him, the official says. That’s when United decided to land in Chicago. The two passengers were not allowed to continue to Denver. For about a week there was a ‘national conversation’ about how bad things have gotten with air travel, whether there’s a right to recline your seat, and the need to be polite (“we’re all in this together”). There were even…
Would You Pay 50 Cents More So That Flight Catering Workers May Eat? Plus Lufthansa First Class News and United Lounge Renovations!
News and notes from around the interweb: United is renovating its lounges with “improved wi-fi, more power outlets and more comfortable seating” — even redoing the incomparable B18 lounge at O’Hare. Here’s the renovation schedule. Unions representing SkyChefs and Gate Gourmet workers want a federal 50 cent per ticket tax to supplement their wages. I’m surprised there’s as much catering spend still: Airlines spent $3.62 per passenger on food in 2013, according to federal statistics, down from $4.79 in 2001. Lufthansa’s Munich flights now all have their new first class. If this doesn’t scare you off of Global Entry, nothing will! (If you have any outstanding warrants, that is..) SAS sells a London Heathrow slot pair to Turkish
You Get the Devaluations You Deserve
Commenter Dan writes, I used to do Strategy and Analytics for an [Online Travel Agency] and had an offer for a similar title [tp General Manager, SkyMiles Strategy & Analysis] at United Mileage Plus. This is much more an analytics role than a strategy role. At all these firms, they need a business person who can run data models to tell them what is making/not making money. Sometimes I was able to put together small changes or run promos that helped the bottom line (my biggest was probably an international fare sale on select foreign carriers), but the overall direction of the program is guided by the higher-ups. This person would just tell the higher-up how much money they would be making off the decision. That being said, 100% of the decisions made come down…
Frequent Flyer Miles Replace Cocaine for Investment Bankers, Automate Your Delay Compensation, and the First Air Force One
News and notes from around the interweb: For a few days only you can get $100 off top quality luggage while benefiting charity at the same time. For God’s Sake Shut Up About Credit Cards and Airline Miles (HT: Barry P.) The author complains that talk of miles has replaced doing lines of cocaine off of fax machines for investment bankers. I’m at lunch with this consultant and this investment banker. One is a brilliant young man who aced his SATs and went to a well-regarded private university, somewhere like Duke, where he led the debate society, and tutored at-risk children, and helped build houses for the poor, and earned a 3.8 grade point average. And the other is just as brilliant, and he went to a college that’s just as prestigious, somewhere like Georgetown,…
And It Only Cost This Man $1668… (Worst Seat Mate EVER)
The details of what this passenger did are probably not safe for work. So before continuing, for those reading the story on the front page of my blog, I’ll require you to…
Airlines Can Do Better During Long Delays. Here’s How.
An Air France A380 stranded passengers in Manchester for nearly 7 hours. The New York – Paris flight carrying 460 people suffered a 4 hour de-icing delay on departure. As a result of the four hour delay, crew exceeded their maximum flying hours. This was a fact that Air France knew would happen prior to departure through simple math. If no one at the airline was paying attention, the crew themselves were certainly aware. And Manchester was 2 hours past allowable hours, but the final leg to Paris would have apparently been too far over. The aircraft touched down at 11:30 am (UK time) and that is where it happened. Six and a half hours on the grounded plane with reported no food or water. Air France had originally told passengers it would send a…
Delta Encouraging Their Elites to Act Like DYKWIAs Using a New Hashtag
In frequent flyer circles, probably the worst possible behavior — worse than anything you see from ‘the kettles’ (Ma and Pa Kettle who fly maybe once a year) or ‘gate lice’ (people who crowd the boarding lanes before their zone is called) are the ‘DYKWIAs’…usually elite passengers who think they’re entitled to whatever it is they want because they are so darned important. But I am a Diamond Guest! Often the ‘DYKWIA’ declares their elite status, or throws down their elite membership card, along with their tantrum. It seems that Delta is actually encouraging this, with their elite bag tags this year. They’ve even created a hash tag, #BragTag. #StayClassy
Another Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Program Expected to Launch!
Star Alliance carrier COPA is launching their own frequent flyer program this coming summer and exiting from United’s MileagePlus. But it appears they’re not the only Star Alliance airline that may leave a coalition program to strike out on their own. Now it appears that Brussels Airlines may go it alone, apart from Lufthansa’s Miles & More… at least based on this job posting. (HT: Delvind H.) Brussels Airlines will soon launch an innovative frequent flyer program (FFP). We are building a new loyalty competence centre and are looking for an entrepreneurial team that will successfully drive the development of this program. I don’t have a sense for what the program will look like, though as a European program I’d bet that it will add fuel surcharges onto the cost of award tickets though I…
