Oct
20
2023
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.
Cathay Pacific’s New First Class “Halo Suites” [Roundup]
The Airlines That Stayed: El Al’s Survival In Tel Aviv Amidst Terrorist Attacks
Oct
20
2023
Cirium’s Diio Mi shows both scheduled flights and actual performance. Their data between October 7 and October 19 is interesting for Tel Aviv flying, with most airlines suspending operations.
El Al, which normally operates 22% of flights in and out of Tel Aviv, has completed 97% of its schedule since terrorist attacks began.
Worst Airline In The World Can’t Pay Fuel Bills, Limits Flying
Oct
20
2023
The government’s oil company won’t provide fuel to the government’s airline unless they pay up front and they have limited funds to pay with.
Navigating the Gray Zone: Air Canada’s Lawsuit and the Future of Award Search Tools
Oct
20
2023
Air Canada has sued award search website Seats.Aero in Delaware court for pulling award availability from its website. They claim (1) trademark infringement for use of its marks, and (2) violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for accessing its systems without authorization.
There may be a real problem for Air Canada here, but their legal claims appear weak – and certainly bad from a public policy standpoint. They have deeper pockets, though, and sometimes that’s enough to prevail.
From Superhost to Homeless: How Airbnb Left Pregnant Woman With $300K Debt
Oct
19
2023
Airbnb says they cost hosts up to $3 million. One San Francisco host shares what that coverage actually looks like in practice, when a guest clogged a toilet and created a leak from a separate upstairs unit into the whole home – causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. After six months, they want the owner to settle for about 10% of the costs.
U.S. Issues Alert For All Americans Traveling Abroad
Oct
19
2023
The U.S. is “advising…increased caution” for U.S. citizens while overseas. The State Department is a bureaucracy, and how would it look if bad things happened and they didn’t warn people? Now that they’ve done so, bad things aren’t their fault.
The State Department advises that you register your travel with them and… follow them on Facebook and Twitter. That’s hardly advice that, for now, is going to scare me off from travel.
Customer Service Blunder: How Hyatt Charged An Elite Guest $137 For A ‘Free’ Gift
Oct
19
2023
A reader stayed at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay for his wife’s 50th birthday weekend. He’s a “Globalist,” a top elite with Hyatt for the past decade or more. And one of the benefits of this status is a dedicated ‘concierge’ who helps with reservations, upgrades, billing and points issues and other hotel matters.
Since his concierge knew that it was a special weekend, she contacted the hotel about delivering something to the room for the occasion. The hotel did. And they charged the guest for it, at full room service prices.
Fake Airline Reps Respond To Customers In Social Media, Costing Them Thousands [Roundup]
Oct
19
2023
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.
[UPDATE: Now Live] Hyatt Launching Homesharing Platform Like Marriott Homes & Villas
Oct
19
2023
Marriott has an affiliate commission-earning business, and they rebate part of that commission in the form of points.
Hyatt is getting into the homeshare marketing business too with Homes & Hideaways by World of Hyatt. It will launch “in the coming weeks” with domestic markets “like Hawaii, Florida and Colorado,” and eventually expand to international markets as well.
Flight Takes Off With Plane’s Door Still Open
Oct
19
2023
We’ve seen belligerent or drunk passengers try to open the door of a commercial aircraft while inflight. And unless the plane is at sufficiently low altitude, or a door’s seal fails, it will almost always be pressurized such that this is impossible.
What I don’t think I’ve seen before is an flight that takes off with a door that’s still open!
