How to Get Around in Austin Now That Uber and Lyft are Gone

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

In the fall Austin passed new rules on ridesharing companies including fingerprint-based background checks, a requirement for signage, and limits on where ridesharing vehicles could pick up and drop off customers.

Proposition 1 failed this past Saturday by a margin of 56% against and 44% in favor and only 17% turnout. Austin’s Sheriff supported prop 1 because the introduction of ridesharing has driven down DUIs in the City. The proposition garnered a majority in downtown Austin, while losing outside the downtown area where people drive more regularly.

When prop 1 failed, Uber and Lyft suspended service in Austin. I went in search of alternatives.

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Dangerous New Study Gets Frequent Flyer Programs Exactly Backward

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

Each year, for 7 years now, IdeaWorks has published a study (.pdf) on which airlines offer the best award availability. And each year it is so fatally flawed as to give consumers almost the worst advice possible.

Roughly speaking this year’s piece — just like last year’s — finds that overall airline award availability is getting better and low cost carriers are better for flyers looking for award seats than legacy airlines.

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Suzanne Rubin Leaving as President of American AAdvantage

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

I was genuinely sad to learn on Monday that Suzanne Rubin is planning to leave American Airlines in early summer. She shared with the AAdvantage team that it’s to care for immediate family, and my thoughts are with certainly with her.

She ran the largest loyalty program with over 100 million members, and took it through turbulent times (a bankruptcy and a merger) and successfully managed the integration of AAdvantage with the Dividend Miles program — with barely a hiccup.

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Two Senators Think Airlines Can Fix Security Lines By Eliminating Checked Bag Fees

by Gary Leff

May 11 2016

Two US Senators — Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal — want airlines to drop checked bag fees for the summer to reduce TSA checkpoint lines.

The idea is that passengers would be willing to check bags if they didn’t have to pay to do so, and lines would be shorter at security checkpoints with fewer bags to be screened there. I’d point out three things, however.

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Woman Arrested for Molesting Another Female Passenger on Flight from Vegas

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

It’s usually either male TSA agents that are sexually molesting passengers or a creepy male passenger molesting the woman beside him (or molesting a flight attendant).

But make no mistake — women can behave just as badly in an airport or on a plane as men can. Whether it’s actress Lara Flynn Boyle flashing her breasts and crawling into bed with a male stranger in British Airways First, or a drunk realtor exposing her breasts inflight as she refuses to put out her e-cigarette.

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American Launches Bonus Up to 25,000 Miles Per Europe Roundtrip

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

American launched a big transatlantic mileage bonus today up to 25,000 miles per roundtrip (up to 50,000 miles for two roundtrips).

Roundtrips on American Airlines, British Airways (including OpenSkies), Finnair and Iberia between May 9 and July 31 will earn bonuses based on fare class. Registration for promo code NAS16 is required prior to travel, but tickets purchased prior to registration are eligible for earning the bonus.

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American AAdvantage Bares All to the SEC: Here’s What We Learn

by Gary Leff

May 10 2016

American Airlines shares extensive information about their frequent flyer program in their SEC filings. So their 10-K always makes for an interesting read — especially when comparing data that can be found in prior year filings.

2015 had another jump in miles issued, and at the same time a decrease in the percentage of miles sold to partners. Doing the math, the number of miles sold to partners stayed about the same (actually increased by about 1.6 billion or one-third of one percent).

The increase, then, came from miles printed by the program for travel on American. This gives us a window into the increased miles stemming from American’s premium cabin bonus.

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