It is time to end differential tax treatment for airfares versus fees, since that creates a perverse incentive to shift customer spending from fares into fees. Any politician who rails against airline fees without addressing the role they have in legislating the tax code is unserious.
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.
There’s been a tremendous increase in interest in Brisbane, a major Australian city near the Gold Coast. About a year and a half ago, United Airlines launched a non-stop from San Francisco – and then in the past two weeks we got announcements of new Brisbane service from both American Airlines (Dallas) and Delta (Los Angeles). That will mean a huge increase in seats between the U.S. and Brisbane. Competition is going to get bloody. How can this make sense?
The man who cooked baby back ribs in a hotel bathroom and garlic shrimp in a Delta Air Lines lavatory is now making nachos for dinner in a hotel bathroom sink.
He calls it “Dump Dinner Nachos.”
Air China, which currently owns 30% of Cathay Pacific, is considering taking control of the Hong Kong-based airline. The Chinese flag carrier and Star Alliance member could cause a realignment of global airline alliances, moving Cathay from oneworld (American Airlines, British Airways) over to Star (United, Air Canada).
“Don’t cut in line” really only doesn’t apply when you’re trying to make a connecting flight. Here everyone was polite and maintained standards of civility – something all too rare in modern air travel!
There’s something special about flying an international widebody plane like a Boeing 787 on a domestic flight. That’s doubly true when you’re flying up front. A lie flat seat in business class for a shorter trip is a real indulgence.
One passenger was upgraded on a 787 flying domestically within Canada and was given one of the two seats in the center section of the aircraft….
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.
Just a few months ago, JetBlue had a big plan for growth. Now they’re shrinking quickly. They offered buy out packages to non-union employees to reduce staff count. And now they’re offering to pay pilots not to fly.
When American Airlines announced the AAdvantage Business program, an odd quick was that you would only be able to earn in AAdvantage Business if you booked directly through American Airlines. But travel agents could still add an AAdvantage Business number to the reservation. This was.. odd?
And then the big reveal that AAdvantage Business customers would be exempt from the ban on mileage-earning for tickets booked through many third parties. But signing up those customers for AAdvantage Business is meant to be the undoing of those agencies.
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 »
