Hyatt Clarifies Andaz Minibar, As Part Of Brand Refresh: Scottsdale Property Was Just Non-Compliant

by Gary Leff

Dec 09 2022

I asked Hyatt about the Andaz Scottsdale providing only complimentary water as their free minibar offering, and charging for other non-alcoholic beverages and for snacks. They told me that the brand is rethinking its minibar offering, and in the meantime “properties can determine what minibar selections are offered on a complimentary basis.”

However they’ve since followed up to clarify that – in fact – it turns out that this flexibility is only meant to apply to “the specific types of non-alcoholic beverages and snacks that reflect their destination” and they are still requiring “items beyond complimentary water.”

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Etihad Confirms Airbus A380’s Return!!

by Gary Leff

Dec 09 2022

Etihad Airways parked its 10 Airbus A380s during the pandemic, and its CEO said they’d likely never fly again. That’s sad because their best passenger experience was on this aircraft. Indeed, many airlines had their best seats and amenities on the world’s largest passenger jet.

Despite appearing that the planes would never comes back the airline has announced their return, and the Etihad A380 features some of the best seats in the world.

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Time To Mask Up On Planes Again?

by Gary Leff

Dec 08 2022

We’re entering another Covid wave. Peak will probably come in mid-January. In the meantime there’s a lot more Covid in the U.S. We can see that in case numbers, but most cases go undetected. Perhaps the best data source is wastewater measures. Flu and RSV are rising at the same time!

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American Airlines Tells Flight Attendants: Don’t Hold Flights For Missing Entrées Or Dessert, Just Apologize

by Gary Leff

plane docked
Dec 08 2022

There’s been a lack of clarity for years over whether customer experience matters, or just operational metrics, and whether American is trying to be a premium carrier or a Spirit and Frontier competitor.

So I’m not surprised to see an internal memo going out to flight attendants telling them not to worry about missing catering, customers just want to depart exactly on time and that crew does passengers a disservice when they ensure long flights have food on board.

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