The TSA has literally only fired one executive in 5 years. It’s easier to get fired as a teacher in the New York City Public Schools system.
Of all the TSA executives who have left the agency in the last 5 years, only one was fired. That’s the same number of executives who died while still employed by the agency.
Delta introduced ‘basic economy’ fares to compete against Spirit Airlines where Spirit is offering super low fares on non-stop routes Delta is flying. They introduced fares that stripped out things like advance seat assignments and used those fares when matching Spirit’s prices. Customers could spend more to get more, or spend less and get something akin to Spirit but still with better legroom and free carry on bags.
United and American will follow suit this year while Delta spreads use of the fares beyond routes where they compete with ultra low cost carriers and into international markets even.
The Economist calls this “a class below economy and tries to tie it into issues of class divide. But there’s a ton of misinformation out there about these fares.
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.
Marriott is out with their new global promotion. You have to log into your Marriott Rewards account to see it.
It is, as regular readers are familiar with the expression my grandfather used to use, “better than a hole in the head.” Here are what other chains are offering right now as well.
Whether or not you receive a tax statement for funds you receive doesn’t actually affect the tax you owe. It’s a big deal in frequent flyer circles that Citibank has in the past reported bank bonuses on a 1099. The IRS knows that value and so consumers have no choice but to report it on their taxes.
This is a big issue for on-demand platform companies like Uber and Lyft, and it’s one reason that some drivers prefer Lyft over Uber: less tax reporting.
Indian low cost carrier IndiGo is the largest airline in that country, carrying more passengers than Air India or Jet Airways. Their all-Airbus A320 fleet serves 40 destinations with over 600 daily flights.
Back in February the pilots of IndiGo flight 237 from Ahmadabad to Jaipur “mistook a road running parallel to the Jaipur airport” and tried to land there.
United is bringing complimentary midflight snacks in economy back to international and improving economy pre-arrival breakfast on Eastbound transatlantics.
It’s one more step United is making, albeit this is one that only brings them up to par with the offerings of their major competitors.
It seems interesting that United releases details on meal improvements now, though, rather than saving them for Oscar’s Big Day next week.
I haven’t posted about the tragedy of EgyptAir flight MS804 — an Airbus A320 with 66 people onboard from Paris to Cairo last week — that disappeared shortly before scheduled arrival.
Items from the wreckage are being recovered, but the fuselage and cockpit voice and data recorders haven’t yet been found. So we really do not yet know very much. There are plenty of people jumping to conclusions. Some of the speculation is reasonable extrapolation from limited data, and much of it is simply confirmation of bias. And some of it is just… bizarre.
That’s largely because I have so little to add to the discussion. I’ve been contacted by media about it, with the huge news coverage it’s received plenty of outlets want someone on the issue all the time. And I’m someone.
Marriott Rewards is testing offering rewards for food and beverage spend while not staying on-property as a guest.
This is as much about generating useful data about you as it is about rewards.
I’ve gotten value from ‘Thanks Again’ earning miles at brick and mortar retailers when I didn’t expect it. They’ve given me signup bonuses, and mileage-earning with them has counted towards larger partner bonus promotions. But I realized I didn’t actually understand their business model as they’ve moved from local dry cleaners and spas a decade ago to near total penetration across large US airports.
So I spoke with their CEO Marc Ellis, who explained a lot about the business that surprised me, and also shared that people are earning a lot more miles than I thought.
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 »
