Qantas’ top frequent flyer has 20 million frequent flyer miles — apparently mostly earned with butt-in-seat flying rather than by running up high credit card bills. The article has a few inaccuracies, for example domestic US carriers don’t have a business class, much in the way fast-food franchises don’t carry “small” drinks and burgers United does sell business class seats domestically on all of its 3-class aircraft. American certainly sells business class on 3-class planes from New York, Boston, and Washington DC to Los Angeles You can’t buy tier points by spending money on your credit card. Carriers don’t give them away in promotions. Actually, you can earn tier points by spending $25,000 on a Delta Skymiles American Express. America West is currently offering a deal where by flying and using its partners you can…
5000 Free American, Delta, or Continental Miles
Tell Fortune about all the meetings you plan for work and you’ll get to choose which airline you’d like miles on. I pass this one along, but let me offer a caution. This one does sound a bit too good to be true. I did this one myself, although I notice a few things fishy about the site: They misspell resort as restort. This offer is on the front page of a website, as opposed to being a targeted offer. While they claim at the top of the page that “Fortune magazine invites you to qualify for 5000 Frequent Flyer Miles,” it’s unclear how (if at all) this is associated with Fortune magazine. There isn’t even a link to Fortune. The “Browse” link doesn’t work/do anything. There’s no “About Us” feature on the site. If…
I Think This Was a Law & Order Episode
A former Northwest Airlines flight attendant has been charged with assault for spiking a 19-month-old girl’s apple juice with a depressant to stop her crying during an international flight.
I Think This Was a Law & Order Episode
A former Northwest Airlines flight attendant has been charged with assault for spiking a 19-month-old girl’s apple juice with a depressant to stop her crying during an international flight.
I Think This Was a Law & Order Episode
A former Northwest Airlines flight attendant has been charged with assault for spiking a 19-month-old girl’s apple juice with a depressant to stop her crying during an international flight.
Can Two Sentences Really Explain What’s Wrong With the Airline Industry?
The CEOs of the major airlines make easy targets for criticism and derision these days, what with the billions of dollars in shareholder value they were entrusted with rapidly turning into absolutely nothing. And yet they (or more specifically, Continental CEO Gordon Bethune) keep opening their (his) mouth. Joe Brancatelli explains how two recent sentences by Gordo shed light on just how wrong the major airlines’ business models are.
Going to the Freddies
I just made plans to go to the Freddie Awards, the annual award ceremony for airline/hotel/credit card loyalty programs. Thanks to the generosity of this website’s host, Randy Petersen, attendance is free. The event is being held at the Wyndham in Colorado Springs on April 24th. I even nabbed a room at that hotel via Priceline for $32. (There’s a special Freddie Awards rate of $79 night, as well.) Anyone care to join me there?
You Know You Want to Belong
Air Tahiti Nui has announced that its frequent flyer program is no longer restricted to residents of Tahiti. Woo hoo! And it must be good, since they charge for membership.
Covering My Butt, or First They Came For the Bloggers…
My professional life rarely intersects with my travel opinions (even when those opinions are formed while traveling as part of my professional life). And it’s a good thing, too, according to a recent article in Human Resources Executive. I’d hate to get zetzed by an ill-fated corporate blog policy! By the way, Disclaimer The opinions expressed on this web page belong to the author alone and in no way represent the opinions, beliefs, inclinations, or hunches of his employer. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, are unintentional, purely coincidental and really, really, not the fault of author . . . This website’s author, his employer, its service provider(s), equipment manufacturers, owners of networks this data may have passed through, red quarks used to bring you this page, and the telephone company that spawned…
Sofitel Hotels Takes Down French Flag, Fears American Street Rioters
The Sofitel Hotel in midtown Manhattan is no longer flying a French flag. CNN reports this as protecting the safety and security of staffers at the hotels. Seriously. They fear American street riots or other retaliation for their being French. While Americans may not think highly of the French generally (Tom Palmer once appeared on ABC News referring to the country derisely as an amusement park, Franceland, where there are castles to see and cheese to eat but no innovation), and even less now that they are standing in the way of U.S. action against Iraq, this hardly seems a realistic threat. It may make good business sense, though. Immediately after 9/11, the lcal Chinese restaurant that I order from started sending me chopsticks with pro-U.S. statements on the wrappers. Since these are mass-produced wrappers,…
