Mr. Parker’s Mendacious Attack on Middle East Airlines… and Consumers

by Gary Leff

Nov 14 2015

American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker offers an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal calling on the Obama administration to do something about the scourge of low fares and flight choices that consumers have thanks to service offered by Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar.

He sees the big Gulf airlines as an existential threat at a time when his own airline has been earning $2 billion per quarter, is only out to ‘save American jobs’ at a time when aviation jobs are at a peak, and skirts the issue of big subsidies received by his own airline the very week they asked for tax breaks for a new corporate headquarters.

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The Government Should Make American Airlines Do What’s Best For Me (and Not What’s Best For You)

by Gary Leff

Nov 13 2015

The Department of Transportation requires airlines to allow passengers to cancel a ticket within 24 hours for a full refund, or hold a ticket without purchase for 24 hours, if it’s at least a week prior to travel.

But is allowing a 24 hour hold option deceptive? One ‘consumer advocate’ thinks so. I think that for some consumers the option is better and that in any case I like airlines to have different policies, and compete.

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I Just Flew Southwest for the First Time in 22 Years… And It Was Fantastic!

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

I needed a flight from Philadelphia to Austin on Monday evening. Since the US Airways merger American has shifted to a more US Airways-like scheduling practice, with flights varying more by day of week. There’s just not nearly as much Monday night travel as Monday morning or evenings later in the week. So there’s no flight between 5:45pm and after 8pm that I could take on American to get get home. And I had a meeting in Wilmington that would go until 5.

So instead of spending the night in Wilmington, or flying late to Dallas and overnighting there, I decided to get home late with a 7pm Southwest flight. Five days out the one-way cost me $182.

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One Simple Insight Why Award Charts Matter, and Even Delta Doesn’t Go Revenue-Based

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

It’s interesting that as airlines try to re-align their programs to ‘better reward high value customers’ (read: devalue the program for lower revenue customers, and at best remaining neutral for high spenders) they introduce mileage-earning from flight activity based on ticket price but have not yet introduced revenue-based redemptions.

Delta has hidden their award charts but still, more or less, prices awards on the basis of award charts. United maintains award charts. American is expected to as well.

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Design Hotels Soft Launches as New Starwood Brand Today: Here’s What You Need to Know

by Gary Leff

Nov 12 2015

Less than two weeks after news broke that Design Hotels would become Starwood’s 11th brand, Design Hotels is already being brought into Starwood Preferred Guest.

Today is the soft launch for the effort to bring Design Hotels into the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Only 5 of the 287 Design Hotels properties are live with SPG so far. They start with points-earning and limited in-hostel benefits.

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Wide Open Business Class Europe Awards With No Fuel Surcharges for American and Even BA Members!

by Gary Leff

Nov 11 2015

airberlin is a oneworld airline, partner of American and British Airways, that’s largely controlled by UAE-based Etihad.

They have a great business class product for long haul travel, and they do not add fuel surcharges to their fares. That means when redeeming miles, even British Airways miles for travel across the Atlantic, there are no fuel surcharges.

They’ve just announced new service starting in May to 3 US cities and business class awards are available for 2 passengers on pretty much every flight!

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