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.
All non-refundable tickets will earn fewer points going forward. And elite bonuses of 25% for A-List members and 100% for A-List Preferred become less valuable too since those bonuses will be off of a smaller base.
Southwest Airlines just laid off 15% of its corporate staff, letting workers go for the first time in its history. But they’re not done with cost-cutting. They revealed inside the company today that they will be closing two flight attendant bases – in Austin and Fort Lauderdale. In January, the company cancelled employee rallies. Maybe these weren’t the best way to engage staff and drive the culture, but there’s not a new plan to replace them either. And the messaging was that this is part of cost-cutting in the important “fight to return to excellent financial performance” which they plan to do by “enhancing efficiencies, and capturing value throughout the Company.” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan Southwest isn’t done cutting personnel costs, though. In a memo to employees today, the airline announced that they will eliminate…
Usually flight crew stick together. Here, a United flight attendant saw their colleague’s behavior as so far out of bounds that they encouraged a passenger to report it. United’s discipline of other flight crew suggests this might get some management attention. However, it might carry even more weight coming from another employee than from a customer.
The most famous Delta Air Lines flight attendant is Katherine Hinton, the former Katherine Lee, known as Deltalina. It was the finger wag in a safety video 17 years ago – “smoking is not allowed” – that did it.
This isn’t a function of lower room rates earning fewer points. That’s already built into the model where points-earning is based on the amount of money spent at the hotel. The lower earning rate per dollar is reflective of Marriott pushing down what they charge owners.
It’s a long shot for the Court to take the case, but if they do American stands a good chance. And the fact remains that American, as a competitor in New York, considers itself ‘too big to quit, too small to win’ while JetBlue is desperately seeking partners (including domestic ones). Lifting restrictions on these could be great for customers.
Airlines should charge for guaranteed overhead bin space. Most tickets come with a ‘license to hunt’ for space, rather than overhead bin space proper. And customers who believe they are entitled to bring a carry-on bag on board get stuck gate checking their bag and wasting time at baggage claim at the end of their flight.
Two American Airlines passengers tried to force their way onto a flight from Miami to Cancun since they were running late. It appears they rushed the gate.
Their family of four had seven total carry-on bags but were told by the gate agent that their children had to carry their own bags – parents could not help! – or else the bags would have to be checked.
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 »
