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.
A Canadian traveler pled guilty to attacking two TSA employees at the Miami airport in a rampage caught on surveillance camera.
American Airlines flight attendants are selling their seniority again. The company is cracking down on them for it, and the union isn’t protecting the cabin crew.
Flight attendants get to ‘bid’ on trips based on seniority, choosing their schedules which are most convenient to them and which take them to the best destinations. That’s a perk that has real value. Want to fly to Rome? You’d better be super-senior… or be willing to pay someone who is to trade their trip with you.
At first blush it seems like United got the better deal in its partnership with JetBlue. JetBlue’s flights really don’t get United that much, and the airlines aren’t codesharing. United gets back into JFK – by gaining 7 takeoff and landing slots from JetBlue, and the carriers are exchanging a handful of flight times at Newark.
It might be hard to see why JetBlue chose United as a partner. However, the deal makes sense when you read between the lines to what hasn’t been said about the partnership.
A Frontier Airlines check-in agent admitted to a customer, “Yes, I am discriminating.” And they proceeded to charge a wheelchair passenger for transporting their medical equipment.
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.
Airlines now charge you more if you’re traveling alone than if you’re part of a group of two or more passengers. This isn’t on all routes or all flights. Instead, they’ve quietly introduced new fare rules that require at least a second passenger to be eligible for the cheapest fares.
JetBlue’s CEO admits that the airline hasn’t felt like it’s winning – and that’s caused morale issues across the company. Flight attendants are demoralized, pilots are demoralized, and so are corporate employees: “We’re in a very challenging situation.”
I’m completely blown away by the American Airlines Boeing 787-9P, their new premium-heavy aircraft with business class suites and an all new premium economy. The truth is that even coach is improved. There’s way more attention to detail throughout the cabin than in any plane I have seen from American Airlines, ever, or frankly from a U.S. airline in the past several decades.
Back in January I reported that United Airlines and JetBlue were in talks over a partnership. Today the two carriers made it official with a “Blue Sky” partnership that is frequent flyer linkup, slot trade, and long-game move in New York.
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 »
