Jan 25 2016

Delta, United, and American have been called “legacy” airlines (since they pre-date airline deregulation) and also “full service” airlines even though they charge most passengers now for things like checked bags and change fees in my professional lifetime have gone up eight-fold. But even as they’re finding themselves more profitable than ever, they’re working to shift their business model to provide less value to the customer at the same price point.

The airline industry is such a strange beast. In most businesses, competition forces companies to deliver more and more value to the customer.

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Jan 25 2016

Two months ago I mentioned an offer where you can get 47,000 IHG Rewards Club points for $47.

Buying 94 notecards, envelopes, and stamps you can register for the IHG Rewards Club Priceless promotion. There’s even a reader who will do the work for you. I received all of my entries on Friday and did better than expected.

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Jan 25 2016

I’m going to visit Al Maha Desert Resort next month. Lucky called it his favorite Starwood Starpoints redemption ever. It’s an all-inclusive with standalone villas and infinity pools in the desert outside Dubai where rates can exceed $1700 per night and is consistently deemed one of the world’s best properties on TripAdvisor.

For bookings made by March 8 Starwood is offering awards there for ‘only’ 39,000 points a night instead of the usual 60,000. And I’m going to use some of my points there.

But you can stay for free.

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Jan 25 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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Jan 25 2016

Andie MacDowell was flying American Airlines Los Angeles to Charlotte to Charleston, South Carolina on a first class ticket on Friday with a pet in cabin. She was downgraded to coach for the short Charlotte – Charleston segment.

She had reserved a bulkhead seat for her Charlotte to Charleston flight. A pet in cabin has to go underneath the seat in front of you, but that’s not possible with a bulkhead seat.

She got very expressive on twitter. And twitter got expressive back.

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Jan 24 2016

An American Airlines flight AA1223 from Cancun to New York taxied to a gate at JFK set up for domestic arrivals this past Monday just two months after the same thing happened last time also to a Cancun – New York JFK flight.

American Airlines has been in touch with passengers to ask them to return to the airport for immigration processing because “it is a Customs requirement that every passenger entering the United States must clear Customs.”

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Jan 24 2016

The Airbus A380 is a special plane for passengers, but has largely been a commercial failure. Airbus simply made the wrong bet on the future of air travel. For passengers the larger plane has meant more amenities and more space — although it was supposed to mean more amenities for everyone, not just bars in business class and showers in first.

Airbus hadn’t had a single order that firmed between mid-2013 and the end of 2015. Only Emirates remains truly enthusiastic about the plane. But now they have a new customer.

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Jan 24 2016

Friday’s Delta flight DL2598 from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, at 37,000 feet 180 nautical miles south of Salt Lake City, diverted with the pilot telling air traffic control that “he wanted to hear from his flight attendants.”

Passenger reports that 3 cabin crew were offloaded as a result of ‘bad behaviour’ and Delta sent this apology note to passengers:

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Jan 23 2016

Airlines and hotels get most of the ink in travel and in terms of getting the best deal. And when I write about rental cars that seems to generate the last interest. But I rent cars, on many trips I’m in the car longer than the plane and if the trip is long enough I can spend as much on airport taxes and gas as on my ticket. Cars shouldn’t just be an afterthought.

When I’m after the lowest possible price, here’s how I approach it.

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