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.
With Asia opening back up, it’s a great time to grab some awards. SkyTeam member and all around great airline, Taipei-based China Airlines, has outstanding business class award availability from North America to Taiwan and beyond.
New Jersey passed a law requiring daily housekeeping during the pandemic. It goes so far as to require that sheets are changed daily. Hotels have become a dirty mess to save costs – checking guests into rooms that haven’t been cleaned and letting trash pile up in the hallways.
Yet the justification for New Jersey’s law was always absurd.
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.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence National Intelligence Manager for Aviation has introduced a new logo and it includes a UFO.
American Airlines confirmed UFO contact over New Mexico last year. Last summer the DNI Office submitted a report to Congress on what the federal government knows about unidentified aerial phenomenon. And it seems like we don’t know much. Something is out there, and we cannot explain ‘it’.
American Airlines and JetBlue entered into a partnership they refer to as the ‘Northeast Alliance.’ They have a frequent flyer partnership and they codeshare in and out of New York and Boston. American has moved some of its domestic flying to JetBlue, and JetBlue’s customers have made it possible for American to grow internationally out of New York. Now the government lawsuit to stop it starts today, even though the federal government had previously approved it.
Airlines and travel agencies (including online travel agencies) will be required to display passenger- and itinerary-specific fees. Airlines will have to provide those fees in a format usable by agencies.
I read through the entire underlying document, to find out what’s actually in it that the press summaries might not offer. It’s always the details that determine whether a proposed rule will benefit consumers or inhibit innovation that might make them better off. Here it looks like something of a mixed bag.
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 weeks ago the prospect of trying to coordinate changes to Europe awards would have given me heartburn. There was simply very little award space, save for a handful of airline and routes that I used as ‘worst-case scenarios’ when helping people to redeem their miles. And I didn’t want worst-case scenarios traveling with my wife and daughter.
Fortunately things are really looking up for those of us looking to use points for travel abroad, especially to Europe.
Garuda has now filed for bankruptcy in the U.S.. A Chapter 15 filing prevents any creditor lawsuits here, as well as seizure of assets. Garuda restructured $9.5 billion in debt this year, and has $5.1 billion remaining. Boeing did not participate in the restructuring in Indonesia.
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 »
