Air Canada was one of the worst actors of the pandemic. They took customer money for tickets, and then when they cancelled flights they kept the money.
So it should come as no surprise that the airline has a new trick up its sleeve. They’re flouting Canadian passenger compensation rules for cancelled flights by claiming that their lack of staffing which causes a cancellation is a safety issue.
Europe has strong airline consumer protection rules, at least in theory. In practice even when an airline owes you money for a delay, it’s tough to collect. We’ve seen customers literally send bailiffs to airline offices to collect and airlines even cancel flights to avoid having their aircraft impounded over $300.
Now they may even eliminate the protections in EU regulation 261 (2004) which requires airlines to compensate passengers between €250 and €600 cash for flight delays of over 3 hours, for cancellations, and for involuntary denied boardings due to overbooking.
CLEAR is currently trialing a curb-to-gate VIP escort called “CLEAR Premium” in Orlando at a $79 price point.
Clear provides an “Ambassador” that assists passengers through check-in and baggage check, then security and then through the terminal to the gate. It’s the kind of thing, at this price point, I’d consider for my in-laws at crowded airports.
Eventually Hong Kong (and mainland China) will lift pandemic restrictions. The city has focused on its relationship with Beijing, and the Peoples Republic of China has kept draconian Covid restrictions because much of its population has remained immunologically naive and they’ve been unwilling to using mRNA vaccines (since those represent failure of Chinese science compared to the West) and other key treatments.
China needs to keep Covid-19 in check until getting past the 20th Peoples Congress at which President Xi is expected to break with convention set by Deng Xiaoping and receive a third term. Uncontrolled spread of Covid (and invasion of Taiwan, for that matter) represent too much risk to take on for the Chinese leader before that.
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.
IHG One Rewards is pricing many hotels at about half their usual award rate. This isn’t true everywhere or for all dates, but does appear to be worldwide.
You’ll find some Kimptons at 45,000 points; Intercontinentals between 35,000 and 45,000 points; Crowne Plazas from 25,000 points and Holiday Inns from 20,000 points. Again, not everywhere, but there are reports of Maldives and Bora Bora properties showing up at just 35,000 points.
European airports have been a disaster this summer. The Dublin airport doesn’t want to be embarrassed by long security wait times. They argue they’re better than peers with creative measurement. The claim: that 99% of passengers make it through security in less than 30 minutes, and no one takes more than 45 minutes. That’s a lot of waiting, but much better than some other airports. How do they deliver this result?
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.
Philadelphia is a generally poor airport. Some airline employees even call it Filthadelphia. And the airport can’t seem to even provide basic services to passengers without an upcharge – like outlets?
I started helping readers book their award travel with an award booking service, Book Your Award, in 2009. Ten years ago Steve Belkin came on as my partner. Steve literally wrote the book on large scale mileage exploits. He’s been famous in mileage circles for 30 years, we’ve known each other for 20 years, and for a decade now he’s helped redeem billions of miles.
I can’t do it all myself. There’s too much at stake. And there are very few people that I trust to deliver at the level I’m committed to. Steve, my partner and friend, has decided to step back from award booking after 10 years.
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 »
