A look at the inflight service standards from airlines around the world gives us a sense of things that can be done during a flight — that do not cost an airline anything at all — to make passengers feel more comfortable, more valued, and even… welcome.
US airlines have the tools to do these things, with simple standards. They just need to make it a priority.
Did you know that there’s a card which earns 1.5 American miles per dollar on all spending, and it isn’t issued by Citibank? It has a 50,000 mile signup bonus and appears to come with full Priority Pass membership which gets you access to most United Clubs. All for a $195 annual fee…
Via Baccarat_Guy, KLM has a brand mascot for children. It’s Bluey, “a ‘mini’ 747-400, and is friends with another airplane that FARTS! (when nervous, of course!)” Bluey is the theme for KLM’s kids meal. They’ve put together a short animated movie featuring Bluey. I’m terribly frightened, but I couldn’t help but watch.
An flight from Reykjavik to Denver was struck by lightning. It was only on arrival in Denver that anyone realized there was a gaping hole in the nose. Icelandair flight 671 was responding normally and there was apparently no indication of a need to divert. Lightning strikes aren’t uncommon, and planes are built to withstand them, though seeing the actual damage is striking. A little speed tape and should be good as new..
Delta is running an award sale for spring travel on certain domestic and Caribbean routes where you can save 2500 miles each way on economy redemptions.
Slipped in there, though, is listing “12,500 miles” (25,000 miles roundtrip) as the new, special ‘sale price’ on some domestic award tickets — which require 21 day advance purchase and have blackout dates.
Just when I thought Delta couldn’t hide the ball even more on program changes, they appear to have moved forward…
Last day for 1000 free Hilton points, register for 7500 bonus miles per Tokyo roundtrip on any fare, Uber introduces the anti-Uber services where you pay cash for a rickshaw, and other stories to keep you quickly up to date on miles, points and travel..
Cranky Flier had a great piece on the Department of Transportation’s ruling on Delta’s Seattle – Tokyo Haneda flight.
There are a limited number of permissible flights between the US and Tokyo’s close-in airports. One of the slots is currently held by Delta for Seattle service, but it was hugely unprofitable so Delta has just been sitting on the route.
Delta didn’t really fly it, so American filed to take it away. The DOT sided with Delta, but on the condition they actually operate the route. Now Delta has filed an argument claiming they shouldn’t have to actually provide service to customers in order to have the exclusive right to provide service to customers…
Silvercar offers a great rental car experience – nice cars, inclusive pricing, good service — and they have lucrative referral bonuses. The program was pretty clunky though, so they’ve revamped it. Here’s how Silvercar works and how you can benefit.
IHG Rewards Club — the hotel loyalty program for Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and related brands — is introducing an auction for experiences redemption site next month.
Poking around at their beta offering it looks like there will be some cool offerings to start, and these types of projects usually wind up offering great deals at the outset. Those don’t last more than a few months or a year before they become overrun with members who bid up the winning prices, and the offerings themselves usually become stale.
But for now you’ll want to pay close attention and come away with some steals..!
This isn’t good. The letter doesn’t specify the violations, but those terms could mean issues like aviators not undergoing requisite, periodic check rides overseen by examiners within the required time, or the airline lacking records to document completion of such proficiency checks. The letter also cites problems with scheduling, which could include flying longer than the FAA allows. The FAA approves airlines’ systems governing such matters, and carriers are required to comply with those rules. …In this case, according to the FAA letter, voluntary reports of 12 apparent violations in 13 months stemming “from the same or similar set of circumstances” indicate a “systemic” hazard, requiring United to conduct “a complete review of your processes associated with crew member qualification” and develop an “action plan…to mitigate this hazard.” As a result, the FAA stopped accepting…
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 »
