News and notes from around the interweb: Earlier this month Delta announced that flights on Korean Air would no longer count for elite qualifying mile, despite Korean being a member of the Skyteam alliance. They said at the time that each airline chooses their own level of participation with Skyteam. Cranky Flier says that isn’t what happened at all, that it wasn’t Korean’s choice but rather a unilateral decision by Delta possibly to try to force Korean to join a joint business venture. Bad, Delta, bad but the sort of untruthfulness we’ve come to expect from an airline that claims it isn’t legally allowed to tell its members in advance when it will be increasing award prices. Through June 27 American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 20% bonus on transfers to Hawaiian Airlines. Decent…
Did You Win a Briggs & Riley @work Bag?
There were over 1000 entries this week to give away a Briggs & Riley @work bag. Since Briggs & Riley offers a pretty unparalleled lifetime guarantee on their bags, I asked commenters to answer, “Do you worry something is going to happen to your luggage?” The winner is Alex who wrote, Yes! I’ve had at least 4 handles broken off of my checked luggage. The @work line epitomizes the business market that’s right up the middle as far as folks choosing Briggs & Riley. And Alex gets to choose his preferred bag/color! You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
How Many of the Good Seats Will American Be Getting Rid Of?
The Dallas Morning News Aviation Blog reports that American will add seats to its 737 and MD80 aircraft. American says they haven’t determined how many seats will be added, and we don’t yet know whether this will be accomplished by removing Main Cabin Extra (coach seats with extra legroom) or First Class seats. If I had to wager I would guess that a row of first class seats would be removed (American’s domestic fleet generally has more first class seats than US Airways’ does) and that they will also shrink the main cabin extra cabin. American did reiterate its commitment to an extra legroom in coach product; something that United manages to make money on. Adding seats to the 737-800s that currently seat 150 will require an additional flight attendant. They obviously think the revenue…
Alaska Airlines Adds Online Award Search for Several More Airlines Including Emirates
Back in March Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan introduced the ability to book one-way and mixed partner awards online and for some partners. Initially you could book one-way awards on American. You could also book one-way at full roundtrip price on Delta, or mix and match American and Delta in a roundtrip. Then in April they introduced one-way and online booking for British Airways awards. Now as flagged on Milepoint, it’s possible to book more partners online as well. The Alaska Airlines website lists the following carriers as searchable: Alaska Airlines Aeromexico Air France Air Pacific American Airlines British Airways Delta Air Lines Emirates Era Alaska KLM PenAir Qantas It’s interesting that they have KLM and not their partner Air France. I’m especially happy to see though that many awards can be booked one-way (that the…
Free Virgin Atlantic Silver Status: Get Better Service on Delta
When Delta acquired a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, lots of change was expected — such as reciprocal lounge benefits, and reciprocal mileage earn and burn. Not a whole lot has been implemented yet, but Virgin has a page dedicated to the changes (HT: Head for Points). Virgin Atlantic’s silver status isn’t the most rewarding, but it will provide some priority benefits when flying Delta in the very near future. And though I don’t expect this offer to last, you can sign up for Virgin Atlantic’s program at the silver level. Generally this should provide priority airport services, and I have to imagine that Delta will wind up waiving checked baggage fees for Virgin silvers. Of course this will usually require entering your Virgin Atlantic frequent flyer number into your reservation. I suppose my strategy…
Bits ‘n Pieces for June 12, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Roms Deals finds an offer for the Fairmont Visa with a $0 annual fee the first year. Online Travel Review says that 50,000 point Southwest Visa offers are back. Nicholas Kralev has a new web TV show focused on diplomacy. In the most recent episode he interviews the U.S. assistant secretary of state for consular affairs on U.S. visa policies. Lucky notes that American AAdvantage discounted domestic award tickets for Citibank co-branded credit card holders will switch up eligible cities monthly instead of quarterly and now permit one-way redemptions (no longer requiring roundtrip to get the discount). There’s one more day left to comment to enter to win a Briggs & Riley @work bag. You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day…
Bits ‘n Pieces for June 11, 2013
News and notes from around the interweb: Saudi Arabia’s first female pilot And yet she still can’t drive a car in her home country! More movement in the Las Vegas loyalty program affiliation space. Venetian linked up with IHG’s Priority Club. MGM M Life has done a deal with Hyatt Gold Passport encompassing 12 properties. Hilton lost their Vegas flagship, but has apparently now gained the former Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas which of course is 20 miles from the Strip. (HT: S.) 25,000 US Airways miles for laser eye surgery While I noted a week and a half ago that Virgin Atlantic is reducing fuel surcharges on coach awards and Iberia was bumping up those charges (from a previously reduced level), there was no word yet on British Airways — Iberia’s partner in the Avios…
How Do You Feel About Bare Feet on a Plane?
I believe — deeply — that male toes shoes never be seen in the office. On Friday I tweeted that the same applies to airplanes. I don’t ever want to see male toes on a plane. Thank you. That was Friday. On Sunday I realized that women can take “comfy feet on the aircraft” too far as well. Do you agree with me — does this go too far? Or are you one of the folks that do this, and would you care to enlighten me about what makes it ok?
Comment Here And You May Win a Briggs & Riley @work Bag
I’m a Briggs & Riley fan, my usual carry on is their Baseline CX bag. They’ve made a splash over the past month with a new bag, and I’ve arranged a giveaway. As I explained last week, I have two different Briggs & Riley bags to give away (different bags for different reasons, they’ve “got your business and leisure covered” as it were). Last week I gave away the hot new TORQ bag. Of course Briggs & Riley is all about functional luggage, as much as I like the look of the new bags their bread and butter is the business market epitomized by their @work line. Which of course comes with Briggs & Riley’s unrivaled lifetime guarantee. Here’s how you can enter to win by commenting on this post. Given the strength of reputation…
The Nicest Taco Bell on the Planet
Yesterday I asked you to guess where these two photos were taken: Answer: Taco Bell, Pacifica California The San Francisco Chronicle calls this the nicest Taco Bell on the planet. Jaunted dubs it the world’s nicest Taco Bell. I hadn’t eaten Taco Bell in years. But I could not resist. The food is as it ever was, with some new strange additions like Fritos in the burritos. But the view is likely unmatched by any fast food restaurant, anywhere. A destination Taco Bell. Who knew? You can join the 30,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. Don’t miss out!
