Via Miles Remaining, Scottevest founder Scott Jordan has a plan to revive SkyMall. Here’s the sordid tale that led to SkyMall’s bankruptcy My favorite SkyMall item Jordan’s observations are: Skymall is as much entertaining as selling It needs a strong content partner It needs to be fresh So he’s got a content partner and wants to print different versions of the magazine concurrently so travelers see different pages on different flights. (That would seem to reduce the prices he can charge for advertising products, since each ad would have less reach.) And he wants to do more tech gadgets than kitsch. I wonder if that makes them Brookstone and loses the entertainment value. And tech items easily purchased elsewhere — even in real-time through inflight internet — will be harder to price at a premium…
Giving Away All My Worldly Possessions
The next frequent flyer gathering I’ll attend in a small ‘FTU Advanced’ session in San Diego at the beginning of March. April’s Dallas event will be the only major Frequent Traveler University this year. Just a little window into my personal quirks. One of the things I do as I prepare for these is clean out my closet. I pick up lots of swag I am a strong minimalist at heart I prefer not to take ‘stuff’ from vendors in any case So these events are a way to give things to people who will value them more than I do, while letting me remain comfortable in not taking ‘stuff’ that would open me to criticisms. And it keeps my wife happy. It’s also an opportunity to clean out expiring coupons like lounge passes. I…
Etihad Airways Offering Status Match to Their Gold Elite Level
Etihad Airways is offering to status match elites from other airlines to their Gold level. Status matches are of course common though increasingly airlines will only give you status for a limited period of time, if at all, until you first fly a certain amount with them. Etihad on the other hand offers straight-up status matches, but only irregularly and they can take some time to respond. They also limit the total number of matches at any given time (or say they do). The program is most beneficial for folks flying Etihad (bonus miles and extra baggage) and in particular in economy (with lounge access, expedited immigration, etc). But it’s increasingly useful given that the airline has been buying stakes in other carriers around the world and also is a points transfer partner of Citi…
SkyMiles Technology Update Coming: What Will it Mean for the Program?
Delta has announced that SkyMiles systems will be unavailable early Saturday morning. What will this mean for the SkyMiles program? Possibly nothing. Technology maintenance is common. I feel like it happens to the Chase website and to the Hyatt website constantly. And yet when Delta removes award charts from its website, makes changes to technology to eliminate stopovers from pricing correctly online (and then eliminating stopovers on awards all together), and effectively imposes a 21-day advance purchase requirements on saver awards in most Delta markets — all without giving members notice, let alone advance notice — it’s hard not to get concerned any time Delta says their technology for the program is changing. Delta would go a long way towards establishing trust by simply announcing its intentions in advance even when it’s taking important things…
Airline Fuel Surcharges May Be Illegal. Here’s Why It Won’t Matter.
I regularly hate on fuel surcharges. They’re bogus fees that have nothing to do with the cost of fuel. A full transatlantic flight – or even one 3/4ths full – will generally cover more than the full cost of gas at current prices with the surcharges alone. And surcharges are ostensibly just meant to cover the increasing cost of fuel, not the total cost and certainly not to generate a profit. Who Should Care About Fuel Surcharges — and Who Shouldn’t The only people who should worry about fuel surcharges are corporate travel buyers and award passengers. The median passenger pays a price for their ticket that’s based on supply of available seats and demand for those seats, not based on cost. Fuel surcharges are being used as a mechanism to raise and lower prices…
One Woman Who Deserves a Place in Aviation History and Another Who Attacked a Flight Attendant, Plus the Most Important Meal of the Day and Where I Really Want to Go
News and notes from around the interweb: I’ve always wanted to go here. I’m genuinely not sure why I haven’t (including when there was a $61 mistake fare..). How An Ohio Housewife Flew Around The World, Made History, And Was Then Forgotten Breakfast is the most important meal of the day… for hotels. (HT: Alan H.) For business destinations, access to quick breakfast, ideally that you can take back to your room so you can work while you get ready is ideal. For resorts, one GM that I much respect told me the first thing she does at a new property is work with the chef to plot out breakfast because it’s an indulgence people don’t get to enjoy in their daily lives. A passenger onboard a Delta flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles apparently…
New Company Will Buy Your Miles for 1.5 Cents Apiece… in Bitcoin
I’m a fan of Bitcoin, more generally though of block chain technology. It has a lot of interesting future applications that haven’t been fully fleshed out yet. Bitcoin gets a bad name when used to facilitate illicit transactions. Merely using the currency, however, doesn’t mean that illicit transactions are safe to engage in — especially once they intersect with the real world. So this piece about a new service, BitcoinForMiles.com, seems like a very bad idea. They say they’ll buy miles at 1 to 1.7 cents apiece, and that their average price so far is 1.5 cents. That’s higher than what you’ll get from most brokers. And while I believe strongly in the ‘first sale’ doctrine with respect to intellectual property, and am open to the idea that it ought to be permissible for loyalty…
Delta’s Looking for Someone New to Lead SkyMiles Strategy
A reader tweeted, Indeed, Delta’s job postings include a listing for “General Manager, SkyMiles Strategy & Analysis” … It’s understandable that someone might think, ‘they’re looking for someone to come up with a new strategy’ since the current the current strategy of slipping in changes and hoping that members don’t notice or don’t know the difference is so ill-advised. Indeed, the way I’d sum up Delta’s moves over the past year is that they seem to believe the old adage ‘no one has ever gone bankrupt by underestimating the American people.’ They believe their customers can’t do math, don’t pay attention, and won’t know the difference if they’re continually less rewarding than their competitors. The reasons to fly Delta, though, remain the same. I’m going to suggest though that attempts to read tea leaves at…
The Newest Business Class Product, Delta’s Baggage Guarantee is Only Temporary (!) and New Inflight Pillow..
News and notes from around the interweb: The most popular link I posted yesterday was the very first review of the new SAS business class, interesting because it’s a Star Alliance partner of United and will be a great new redemption option. Less than convenient (thank goodness for Google Translate) it wasn’t in English. Fortunately there’s a great English version of this review you’ll want to read. Delta has a temporary baggage delivery guarantee, through March 31 you get 2500 miles if your bags take too long to arrive, something arch-frenemy Alaska Airlines has done since July 2009. Presumably this is a test to see if Delta can deliver and if the commitment is too costly to them to make. If they can pull off matching what Alaska has done for years, it should put…
Free $25 Uber Credit for Existing Users
VNA Flyer reports that promo code ‘roamlikehome’ will add a $25 credit to existing Uber accounts. Usually credits are either: For first time users only, or City specific This one appears to work for existing users, independent of location, although no guarantees how long it will continue to work. So existing users just add promo code roamlikehome to your account. If you aren’t a current Uber user, sign up for a new account using a referral link because both you and the person referring you will get a free ride worth up to $20. Then add promo code roamlikehome to your account for another $25 to use. I’m not putting my referral link in this post, it’s pretty easy to find one if you’re interested. Normally I’d suggest readers put their own in the comments,…
