Mar 17 2016

Like Zach Honig I flew gogo’s Boeing 737 test plane on Monday. I had flown the aircraft to test their new satellite internet speeds back in November, but since I was home in Austin and they were in town for Southby I made my way to the airport for a 90 minute flight with a few other bloggers and journalists.

We had 51 devices connected on our flight which is 3 times as many on a typical flight and which matches or exceeds the highest volume use flights like San Francisco – Boston. And there was really no latency to speak of, I was using the internet like I was on a typical wifi connection on the ground.

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Mar 17 2016

Donald Trump’s sine qua non is dealmaking. He declares he doesn’t just make deals, he’s the authority on making deals because he literally wrote “the Art of the Deal.”

Here’s a bit on the inartful deal making that went into Trump’s purchases of an airline and The Plaza — both of which came within 12 months of “literally writing The Art of the Deal.”

He paid more than anyone else ever had for a hotel, and too much cover his debts. Ultimately Trump lost much more than his original investment in the airline: he forfeited over $100 million he had personally guaranteed.

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Mar 17 2016

Even as US airline programs are devaluing their points and restructuring the (relatively small) portion of earning that derives from flights, loyalty programs are expanding.

Loyalty marketing is increasing in importance as companies are better able to: track consumer behavior through technology and communicate effectively with consumers electronically.

The crux of loyalty programs is that consumer behavior can be driven through recognition and reward.

Loyalty programs aren’t going anywhere.

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Mar 16 2016

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.

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Mar 16 2016

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.

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Mar 16 2016

The narrative about air travel has been that basic economy fares get less and less, and pay for more and more things. About 8 years ago the trend began charging for checked bags in economy.

On the other hand, it’s usually expected that premium cabins get more. There’s more perks for people who pay more.

That’s not always true. And continuing the trend of taking away from premium passengers, American shared with me today that they’re eliminating the 3rd free checked bag from domestic first class and international business class.

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Mar 16 2016

Back in November Starwood brought their 11th brand Design Hotels into the SPG program.

Now Starwood is letting you earn free nights when you stay at their ‘Deisgn Hotels’ properties.

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Mar 16 2016

With American AAdvantage devaluing its award chart March 22 there’s a ton of last minute requests for space.

And for the conspiracy theorists out there expecting American to remove all award space until March 22 arrives, I’ve pointed out fantastic space to South America. There’s decent Asia availability come the end of the year. And here’s a route to try when nothing else works.

You can go to Europe for the holidays as well.

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Mar 16 2016

Last month an Alaska Airlines a passenger brought their own booze onboard, drank it, and screamed “we’re all gonna die!” This was deemed a customer service issue. (Just like with their frequent flyer program, they do things a little differently up in Seattle.)

Because a mere few weeks later, another drunk passenger forced an Alaska Airlines diversion.

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Mar 16 2016

With American AAdvantage devaluing its award chart March 22 there’s a ton of last minute requests for space.

For quite some time American has been really really tough with award space on their own international flights. However American has been going to lengths to improve their premium cabin award availability. At the end of last year American finally opened pretty good award space on their new Sydney flight. I covered the floodgates opening for award space on London routes. And how they opened up China flying. That was just the start. And they opened up space to Auckland, too.

It seems though that right as the window is about to close to book at current prices, American has shut the window on availability for many of its own flights. But that’s not true in every market. Want to redeem premium cabin miles at current pricing? Look to South America.

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