Etihad has been posting odd clues in advance of a Wednesday announcement. One of those, discussed below, surely had to be trolling given the past speculation about the carrier joining Star Alliance. I do not know what tomorrow’s announcement entails, but I am told officially by Star Alliance that it is not their joining the global partnership.
Roughly speaking you’ll get 1.5 cents per point against base fare, rather than 1.2 cents per points, under this offer. They’ve offered this deal in the past, most recently in March and it’s a good way to provide a good deal while filling up planes, and at the same time not cannibalizing higher fare paid travel that Southwest would otherwise generate – so wins all around.
Capital One is announcing a new lounge concept, in addition to its pipeline of Capital One lounges. The first two airports will be New York LaGuardia and Washington National.
These will be called Capital One Landings, and will be culinary-focused. José Andrés Group is designing a food and beverage menu focused on Spanish-style tapas.
Regional carrier Mesa Airlines is rumored to be considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy, or as they say Chapter 22 because this would be the airline’s second trip to the courthouse. They last used the bankruptcy process to shed aircraft obligations in 2010.
The Biden administration declared that they would stop enforcing the mask mandate. They said they’d appeal… if the CDC said it was important to do so. They swung at a pitch in the dirt, because the CDC then said it was necessary to defend a broad scope for their authority. This put the Biden administration in the position of having to pursue a mandate in court that they themselves no longer wanted to enforce. But they were in no rush. Oral arguments have been scheduled for… next year.
Hilton is making two changes to Honors Gold and Diamond upgrades. Starting today they will be selling upgrades through the app. Beginning November 18 they will process automatic complimentary upgrades at Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn hotels with the technical ability for them to do so.
American Airlines hasn’t had an ongoing status match or challenge program since launching Loyalty Points as the new way to earn status, where most AAdvantage activity counts and no longer just flights.
However they’ve brought back status challenges, called Instant Status Pass, and these will now be based on how many Loyalty Points you earn (whether from credit card spend, online shopping etc.) and not just how many trips you take.
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.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is raising its pet in cabin fee from $200 to an incredible $1500 on October 15. This fee can be paid in cash or miles at a per-mile value of just below $0.007 (which is itself awful). And even if you buy a separate seat for the animal, you still pay the pet fee. That extra seat is even mandatory in premium cabins.
Just before 2 a.m. on a recent Thursday night the fire alarm went off at the Park Hyatt Washington. There was substantial smoke near the hotel’s gym. Guests fled the building to the street. And while no actual fire took place, everyone was out of their rooms for a full hour.
Does a hotel owe anything to guests rousted from their beds for an hour in the middle of the night, and of course also losing however long it takes them to fall back to sleep? I didn’t ask for something, but still felt that a follow up letter of explanation and apology the next day would have been appropriate. What say you?
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 »
