The Etihad 3-bedroom first class Residence was apparently just a trial balloon. Word has leaked from the Pan Arabia Enquirer about the new 9-bedroom villa: Passengers flying with Etihad Airways soon won’t have to worry about baggage allowance – they’ll have an entire house to fill thanks to the Abu Dhabi-based airline’s luxurious new first class offering. Located on the upper deck of Etihad’s newest fleet of planes, The Villa comprises a double bed, en-suite shower and nine-bedroom villa with living room, kitchen, study, maids room and infinity pool with Jacuzzi. This 3000 square meter villa also features a 24-seat private cinema and “underground parking facility with space for up to 10 cars.” This puts Meridien Airlines’ first class hot tub to shame. Let’s see what Emirates announces today in response! (And whether the Dubai-based…
Department of “Oops” – American Airlines Scheduling Department Edition
When mistakes happen “to infinity” you know it’s bad…! DFW – PVG Schedule Error Issued: 2May14 Be advised that American Airlines flight 127 DFWPVG and 128 PVGDFW were cancelled in error with our most recent schedule change on May 4, 2014. The flights will be reinstated on Sunday, May 11, 2014. American will reinstate the flights following the reloading of the flight schedules. Flights impacted are: Flight 127 DFWPVG departing on Tuesdays and Thursdays from August 17, 2014 through infinity Flight 128 PVGDFW departing on Wednesday and Fridays from August 19, 2014 through infinity Please do not cancel 127/128 WK segments in the passenger itinerary until the replacement segment has been added. American will reaccommodate the flight(s) in the original inventory. Please check your schedule change queue from May 4th notification. The agency is responsible…
How to Secure First Class on a Qantas A380, the $3.7 Million License Plate, and Another Reloadable Card that Earns Miles (Bits ‘n Pieces for May 7, 2014)
News and notes from around the interweb: Qantas is moving from daily service between Dallas and Sydney (with a stop in Brisbane on the flight from the US to Australia) on a Boeing 747 to 6 times weekly service on an A380. That’s fewer flights by dropping Tuesday service, though more total seats. Here’s How to Redeem Miles for Qantas A380 First Class Between the US and Australia. VisaBuxx is a reloadable card meant for parents to control their kids’ spending. There have been options for loading these cards via mileage earning credit card, treated as a purchase, for quite some time. It’s a manufacted spend technique that has lasted for over a decade. The Free-quent Flyer shares where to get them, and current monthly limits. And remember not to use a Citibank-issued card, as…
American Express Adds a 5th Domestic Centurion Lounge to Its Pipeline: Welcome to Miami!
Last month I mentioned that American Express was adding a new Centurion lounge in Miami’s North Terminal where American Airlines operates. That turns out to be true, as American Express is now confirming Miami as a 5th lounge in its domestic US pipeline — after Las Vegas and Dallas Fort-Worth which are both open and San Francisco and LaGuardia which are on the way. American Express Platinum lost access to American and US Airways lounges at the end of March and lost guest privileges at Delta lounges May 1. But they’ve got a growing network of their own lounges, which are generally better than airline offerings. And the card comes bundled with Priority Pass Select, which provides access to a variety of airline lounges (such as Alaska Airlines lounges in the U.S.) and independent lounges.…
Air France Reveals Its New First Class Suite!
It doesn’t even come close to the just-announced Etihad A380 First Class Residence, but Air France has just unveiled its new La Premier First Class Suite. It has curtains. Curtains. It’s not even a suite with doors. I suppose I didn’t take this rendition seriously enough. I like the lighting, though, something that British Airways already does quite well up front. The colors are nice. They’re going with Sofitel bedding. And they’ll have caviar. While it does seem very ‘Air France’ it also doesn’t seem very revolutionary, or for that matter better than what other airlines that continue to invest in their first class experience offer. They’re nowhere near the standard of better Asian or Middle Eastern carriers — though no paying passenger will likely ‘route around’ Air France in favor of Lufthansa or British…
Prince William Flies American Airlines Coach!
Prince William didn’t clear his upgrade for Memphis – Dallas on American this week. Onboard one of American’s new pimped out Airbus A319s, Prince William had a bulkhead window seat for the 1 hour 40 minute flight. The Prince could certainly have bought first class, or purchased miles and paid a cash co-pay… So either it was a publicity stunt or just the effect of moving from MD80s with 16 first class seats to these new planes that have only 8. It certainly wasn’t frugality as one imagines that he did not continue in coach for his connecting Dallas – London flight on British Airways. Royal or no, I’d personally take American’s new 777-300ER product that’s flying to London over BA’s forward cabins. It should be noted that there’s a reasonable likelihood the Prince obtained…
Why Didn’t We Get a True Revenue-Based Frequent Flyer Program From Delta.. and What Comes Next?
At Frequent Traveler University, several of us were on a panel about the future of the hobby and what to expect next. The big elephant in the room for many has been revenue-based frequent flyer programs. I worry about them less on the earning side (although it will mean fewer miles for me from flying but I expect that non-flying activity will remain a significant part of the hobby and a hedge against these changes) than I do on the burning side (I want to continue to leverage the value of my miles by getting deeply discounted premium cabin international awards). Randy Petersen talked about the Delta Skymiles changes – where they are shifting next year to accumulation based on the cost of a ticket, but merely adding award redemption categories rather than going revenue-based…
The State of Frequent Flyer Programs: Is it The Best of Times or the Worst of Times?
Whether the frequent flyer miles game seems to be historically rewarding, or in dire straits, depends on your perspective and – I think – your time horizon. If you got into the game any time in the last 6 years, the current state of affairs must frustrate indeed. You got in at one of the most generous times in history. As a result of the Great Recession, the worst economic times in 70 years, hotels leveraged their loyalty programs to put heads in beds. It’s hard to even fathom the generosity of Hyatt’s Faster Free Nights promotions (2 stays at any hotel yielded a free night at any hotel) stackable with thousands of United miles alongside. Airlines were printing miles and so were credit card companies, to lure customers and economic activity. Airlines that were…
Who Should Be More Transparent? Stoking Passions of Airfare Pricing.
Airline industry lobbyists are pushing the Transparent Airfares Act. They say that government rules requiring airlines to advertise full final prices, including taxes, makes it easier for government to raise taxes and puts air travel at a disadvantage relative to other industries that have no such requirement. Because of that ruling, the government today is able to hide the outsized, ever-increasing amount that airline customers pay in government-imposed levies. In fact, the government’s ability to conceal such extra costs actually increases the temptation of lawmakers to raise taxes on airlines and their passengers and further puts air travel at a competitive disadvantage to other modes of transportation that do not have to include taxes in their fares, which ultimately hurts our economy and jobs. Matthew from Live and Let’s Fly declares, Allowing an airline to…
20% Bonus on Purchased Hyatt Points is Not a Good Deal Except…
Hyatt Gold Passport is offering up to a 20% bonus on purchased points through June 1. It’s a bit ironic, I think, for the promotion’s tagline to be that free nights are closer than you think… when you’re paying for the points you use to redeem for the night. (“Discounted room nights are closer than you think” might be better perhaps.) Here’s the offer: Purchase 1,000 to 19,000 points and receive a 10% bonus Purchase 20,000 to 29,000 points and receive a 15% bonus Purchase 30,000 to 40,000 points and receive a 20% bonus With a 20% bonus Hyatt is selling you points at 2 cents apiece. I personally value them at not more than 1.5 cents apiece so this generally makes me not a buyer, although you can sometimes get more than 2 cents…
