Yesterday morning my flying day started super early in Yakima, Washington. I had a 6:35 a.m. flight on Horizon Air to Seattle. On the way to the airport I stopped at Starbucks.
By the time I made it to the check-in counter I was almost done with my coffee. I placed it on the counter to hand the agent my ID. And it tipped over and spilled.
The agent played a practical joke on me, poking fun at how uncoordinated I was I suppose…
Last week’s Airline Weekly included third quarter profit margins from 48 airlines that had reported thus far. Here’s the top 10:
Delta reported a 21% margin (16th), Southwest and American 20% margins (19th and 21st respectively), and United a 19% margin (22nd). A 10% operating margin only placed an airline (Finnair) 34th out of 48 reporting airlines. What’s surprising is the top 10.
Traveling a good deal I accumulate status — some useful, some less so. I value my American AAdvantage Executive Platinum, Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond, and Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum. I much valued my Avis status when I had it.
Not all status is brings meaningful benefits, however. I wouldn’t go out of my way to earn Hyatt Platinum or Hilton Silver, for instance.
There’s one status that’s below them all, that fails to deliver anything of meaningful value, and thus truly stands out in a world of overinflated metals.
It can be really hard to get seats together for flights during the holidays. Flights are full. More families are traveling together so more people are trying to sit together (compared to solo business travelers). And more and more airlines are holding back the number of seats they assign for ‘free’.
For most passengers, your ticket doesn’t come with a ‘seat’. Obviously that isn’t literally true, since safety rules require all passengers to be seated. But there’s a limited number of seats on the seat map that airlines will let passengers reserve in advance.
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.
The romance of miles and points: A true love song. “I have waited, and waited… to one day be upgraded..”
Alaska Airlines baggage handlers in San Jose, California were taped tossing luggage. Apparently… for half an hour while other employees cheered them on.
They may have been inspired by these Air Canada baggage handlers. But at least they weren’t planting bullets in luggage. And they weren’t stealing from luggage. Like these folks.
Amsterdam airport will unveil a test of ‘Spencer’ – a robot designed to help passengers navigate the airport. Amsterdam is one of the easier airports to get around, in my view, so I’m not sure the urgency that led KLM to dedicate funds toward its development. However, it’s at least believed “[n]avigating it is so challenging…many of its customers were getting lost and missing flights.”
The one week trial begins Monday, and an official roll out of the technology is planned for March.
Premium economy is an important product throughout the world, positioning itself between business class and economy. It’s usually offered on long haul flights and depending on the carrier approximates domestic first class in the US perhaps with foot rests. There may be an upgraded meal and beverages as well.
US airlines on the other hand have extra legroom sections with generally the same seat width. But American Airlines CEO Doug Parker hints that they could be the first US carrier to change all that.
United Airlines – despite dropping service to New York JFK – is trying to compete in the Los Angeles market with a dedicated phone line for Hollywood.
That’s fairly weak sauce for an airport and market that has gone from Worst to First, with the best airline lounges, premium services, and best inflight airport products in the nation.
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 »
