News out of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan that they will be revamping their award charts before the end of the year is certainly not welcome – especially because the airline is providing little detail despite explicitly committing to 90 days’ notice before any changes.
While the federal government’s proposed rules for airlines say it’s not acceptable to disclose even optional fees like those for seat assignments and checked baggage during the purchase process – they must be available at the first instance a price is shown in a search – the government (through the Federal Trade Commission) says resort fees are fine as long as they are disclosed prior to confirming the reservation.
A United Airlines passenger recorded his inflight experience flying from Washington Dulles to Edinburgh, Scotland. The buzzing sound was “endured” by everyone in the cabin for six hours. He complained to United about it, and they responded with a perfunctory customer service offer.
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.
American shares that they have a new pre-order option coming and it’s actually part of the existing James Beard Foundation partnership that launched shortly before the pandemic.
The pre-order program re-launches October 12 “as part of wellbeing menu launch.” Some flights will see these meals as part of the regular choices in the cabin, but it will also be pre-order “on select flights.”
Pakistan International Airlines has laid out a new rule for flight attendants that they must wear underwear not just while on duty but during layovers as well.. What’s more, airline “grooming officers” will be checking, “monitor[ing] cabin crew ‘at all times’” and will have to “report back if there is any ‘deviation’ from the rules.”
Today’s testimony in the government’s anti-trust trial against the American Airlines-JetBlue Northeast Alliance has featured the CEO of JetBlue and the incoming Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Airlines, which prefers not to see stronger competitors (naturally).
It doesn’t seem like the government made any tangible progress demonstrating anti-competitive effects of the partnership, but the answers given on the stand by senior airline executives are interesting to parse.
IHG One Rewards calls their fall promotion ‘pick your points payoff’ for the alliteration but I think of it more as ‘choose your own adventure’. You actually choose which of two promotions to register for, and you can only have one or the other.
Here a passenger films himself traveling alone with a child on board an S7 flight to Russia. Normally traveling alone on a plane carries a whole different connotation, creating a special feeling of finally private with the crew looking after no one but you. This video is different entirely – much more post-apocalyptic.
In March 2019 Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the airline would offer free wifi within “a year or two.” They needed to ensure they had enough bandwidth for everyone to use it, since not charging would mean far greater usage.
Delta’s plan has taken further shape. Domestic ViaSat-equipped aircraft (the ones that have enough bandwidth to support this) will get free internet early next year.
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 »
