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.
Hawaii has awarded a new tourism marketing contract for a campaign that lays out what kind of travel they want to attract. In particular, as they’re desperate to drive a resurgence in Maui visits, they want Europeans to be more respectful and spend more.
Delta explains that, as a Diamond member, customers are already hitting $20,000 in spend on tickets. So just spend $150,000 on their $550 annual fee credit card and “You may not be that far off in your ability to reach Diamond status for 2025.”
A Kenya Airways business class passenger who had “a few drinks” stayed behind after the rest of the passengers had deplaned in Paris. He’s sprawled out across two seats. But at a time when passenger behavior slouches towards Gamorrah on a daily basis, this one has an innocent explanation?
Video was shared Tuesday evening of a man walking through the Dallas – Fort Worth Airport naked near the gate C30 TGI Friday’s. He notices a passenger filming him, and gives them a shout out before continuing on his journey.
Passengers stormed a Brussels Airlines Airbus A330 out of frustration after their flight was cancelled on Friday and then again on Saturday. Once they learned of the second cancellation, they made a dash for the plane anyway and tried to board!
A brand new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 had a piece of its tail fall off enroute from Seattle to Chicago on Monday. The plane landed at 6:13 p.m. local time and remained on the ground overnight. It had only been in revenue service for four days, made sixteen passenger flights, and had been registered to Alaska for just a week.
A reader shared his experience Monday night renting from Hertz at Dallas – Fort Worth. He’d reserved an SUV but was happy to take any car. They had none they’d rent. He’s a Presidents Circle member and was behind 15 others in that top public elite tier line waiting for a car. He reports about 20 people deep in line for Five Star elite. I feel sorry for those without status.
Worse, they actually had cars they wouldn’t give out to customers who’d reserved them. They were premium vehicles available for additional upgrade.
After breaking up the American Airlines – JetBlue partnership which competed against Delta Air Lines, Delta sees a clear path to dominating in the Northeast. That’s bad for airfares and consumer choice. Now the government has taken another step to limit choices and raise fares.
The ultimate takeaway from Hilton’s announcement, and Marriott’s need to do something here, is that hotels see being prepared for EV’s – whether for road tripping guests or those renting the vehicles – as an important must-have in the future.
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 »
