American announced several aircraft cabin improvements, some which are a really big deal. All but a “handful” of American’s new aircraft will have seat-back video screens throughout. All of the planes in the carrier’s primary jet fleet now have Wi-Fi, with plans to expand to it to regional aircraft, said Joshua Freed, a spokesman. American’s new domestic interior is the new standard. This is what’s being installed in new aircraft. They haven’t announced plans to retrofit existing cabins with the new interior. Interesting is that this is for ‘most’ of the new aircraft. It’s likely that the interiors were already ordered for all of American’s new planes, so one imagines there are some previously-ordered new US Airways aircraft that won’t get the new interiors. What’s also good here, though I believe already expected, is the…
Don’t Be Fooled By Today’s Big Marketing Announcement from Delta (It’s a Devaluation)
Delta is rebranding BusinessElite as Delta One and their extra legroom economy product as Delta Comfort+. Delta One, First Class and Delta Comfort+ are getting new seat covers. Delta 737 first class Over the weekend Delta eliminated free drink coupons for Gold elites and higher checking in online who had not been upgraded. Effective March 1, though, Comfort+ passengers wil receive “complimentary beer, wine and spirits or premium snacks.” In other words, as long as elites have extra legroom seats they’ll still get their drink (although they go thirsty for a four month interim period). There’s still bad news here for Gold elites, though. ‘Or premium snack’ is a plus, but it’s hard to get excited about something they used to give and then took away but are giving back. (Full disclosure: I would get…
American Now Processes Their Own Buy/Gift Miles Transactions
US Airways and American both used to use Points.com to process purchase miles transactions. That meant the transactions were charged by that third party, instead of the airline itself. You would not earn bonus miles for an ‘airline’ or ‘travel’ transaction with your credit card. With American, the third party process meant miles would take a couple of days to post That’s changed (and it can’t be good for the folks at Points.com). American’s FAQ now explains that: What will be reflected on my credit card statement when I receive my monthly bill? Your statement transaction description will vary based on the type of payment: American Express: “American Airlines 001-XXXXXXXXXX Description: Frequent Flyer Fee/Purchase” Visa or Mastercard: “American Airlines 001XXXXXXXXXX Description: Misc” All others: “American Airlines 001XXXXXXXXXX” Is American Airlines charging my credit card? Yes.…
The 12 Frequent Flyer Days of Christmas are Filled With Big Miles and Points Giveaways!
The Milepoint frequent flyer community celebrates the holidays with 100 prizes to give away beginning on December 13. In the 12 Milepoint Days of Christmas, there’s 100,000 hotel points to give out, airport lounge basses, airline miles, elite status, inflight internet passes, and even a Sterling Silver Starbucks card. You can receive a daily entry reminder and prize information by subscribing. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Here’s What Really Got That Turkish Flight Attendant Fired…
On Sunday I noted the story of a Turkish Airlines flight attendant fired over racy photos in a magazine. An Australian travel site shares a video of the flight attendant’s off-duty work (whether or not it’s safe for work depends on the workplace.. it wasn’t safe for Turkish Airlines!). Sort of seems just like what they used to shoot for in the U.S. But that was before Delta and Ellen Simonetti. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
How Much Are Miles Really Worth? Valuations for Each Program
What is the value of miles and points by airline, hotel and credit card program? Miles used to be thought to be worth 2 cents. I think that conventional wisdom developed out of the idea that a cross country flight cost about $500… or 25,000 miles. 20 years ago that was generally true, and award availability wasn’t really a problem either. That was long before: Airline alliances opened up huge possibilities for miles. Mileage programs increased the cost of many awards. Awards became tougher to get with flights full. Plus the 2 cent number probably wasn’t ever true to begin with. Many different folks have taken a stab at how much miles are worth. For this post I’m not going to give you a single number. I’m going to share my own rough and ready…
Lifetime Elite Status Matches?
Reader Jered asks, “Will any airline do million miler status matches?” In other words, if you’ve flown enough or otherwise earned lifetime status with an airline, will another carrier give you that same lifetime status? In general the answer is no. However, it’s a little bit more complicated than that, so I can’t make the ‘no’ claim quite so definitively. Lifetime status is status, so it’s frequently possible to use the lifetime status you have earned to get temporary comped status with another airline. It’s not correct to say that no airline has ever offered lifetime status based on a match. First, Aegean’s terms and conditions used to make their status lifetime and while they don’t generally status match they did offer that match for bmi Diamond Club gold members when British Airways acquired bmi.…
Delta Eliminates Free Drinks for Elites in Coach, Effective Immediately
Four and a half years ago Delta introduced Sky Priority. This big marketing initiative consisted of a whole bunch of signage, existing elite benefits, and the introduction of a free drink coupon for Gold elites and higher that don’t get upgraded and check-in online. They’d be able to print a ‘Have One On Us’ coupon along with their boarding pass. Now — effective December 6 — the Have One on Us coupons have been eliminated and thus the only actual new benefit that came with the introduction of Sky Priority in April 2010 is now gone. Already-printed coupons will be valid through their expiration date. You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to…
When “Home” is Just a Pit Stop
I’m in the middle of over a month with just 5 nights at home. Then I’ll be home for 5 nights, which I’m really looking forward to, before leaving the country again. For me that means key priorities are: Dry cleaning Laundry Haircut I should probably do these more efficiently on the road. For one thing, I’d pack less. But I have my preferences for how each gets done, so I reserve those for home time. Unfortunately I came home and found no food in the refrigerator. That’s good — I wouldn’t have wanted to eat anything that was still there. And it’s good that I had a meal on my last flight, too. Consultants usually get Fridays back at home. But mix business travel with personal travel and it makes for a busier schedule…
Airbnb for Dogs: An Alternative to Boarding Your Pup While You’re on the Road
DogVacay has a network of ~ 20,000 people in the U.S. and Canada that will take in your dog while you’re out of town. They’re new to me, although they’ve apparently booked a million nights of boarding in the past two years. The average price is about $30 a night. Each person sets their own price, you search folks in your neighborhood and pick one that’s a good fit just like searching Airbnb for a home you might stay in yourself. They aren’t just for dogs, although that’s the primary market. Apparently they’ve had other animals including cats, guinea pigs, ferrets and chickens. I have a 12 year old yorkshire terrier named Eddie. Knowing that he’s well taken care of while I’m gone is probably the hardest part of travel for me. He loves the…
