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.
Traditional managed business travel has returned to about 75% of what it was prior to the pandemic. And a return to 100% wouldn’t even be a return to trend. Before the pandemic business travel was growing. Yet it’s remained stubbornly stuck, three and a half years after companies sent everyone home.
Hilton is offering double points in all markets, and triple points in select cities, September 6 through December 31.
You should register even if you don’t have any Hilton stays planned this year because one might crop up, and you will never remember to go back and register later.
A week ago United Airlines made an announcement about its flights to China that is not true. They said they would add 10 weekly flights between the U.S. and China. They will not do so.
Delta announced that it would add six weekly flights between the U.S. and China. It probably won’t do this either.
Last month American Airlines took a teenager into a security room and interrogated him, eventually banning him from flying the airline for using Skiplagged.
His parents bought him a ticket from Gainesville, Florida to New York via Charlotte, when he only planned to travel to Charlotte. He didn’t plan to use his connecting flight, but the New York trip was cheaper. Now American Airlines is suing Skiplagged.
United Airlines pilot Kenneth Jones was arrested in a Denver Airport employee parking lot after a “bizarre ax attack” against the lot’s exit gate. He says he got tired of waiting for the arm to go up. The uniformed pilot is shown on video taking an axe out of his trunk and swinging the axe at the gate more than 24 times and finally got it up.
West Maui is in shambles. Lahaina has largely been destroyed. 111 people are confirmed dead, with as many as 1,000 still missing. Over 2,000 structures were damaged – most of them residential. But slowly life is being put back together. Verizon cell phone service was just restored. Yet Maui already needs tourism back.
He paid 63,000 points for a stay at The Grand Victoria Hotel in Lake Como. His father passed away, and the funeral conflicts with this stay. So he can’t go, and he’s been charged $5,500.
That’s how Hyatt’s (and Marriott’s) rule works. It’s also unacceptable. Most people assume that they’ll lose the points, not the cash, but that isn’t the rule!
An American Airlines passenger bought a seat for her 18 month old child. A flight attendant refused to allow them to use it, saying children under two weren’t allowed in seats without a car seat. This was wrong. The passenger is suing, because American wouldn’t refund the seat they’d purchased but weren’t permitted to use. And One Mile at a Time reports that the airline is making two claims in response to the suit, They’re only required to transport a passenger, not to transport them in a seat. Since the toddler flew, they got the full value of their ticket. The flight attendant, who threatened to kick the passengers off the flight and who denied use of the seat all based on a misunderstanding of policy, was within their rights to do so even though…
While this is a buildup in seasonal Europe, it’s a way to give transpacific winter jets a place to go as Senior Vice President of Network Brian Znotins explains. Philadelphia gives more single connections to competitors than other Copenhagen, Nice and Naples flights. Philadelphia – not New York – gets growth with this announcement, and that follows moving New York JFK – Doha to Philadelphia. Znotins describes Philadelphia as a connecting hub, versus New York as a focus for local traffic.
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 »
