Delta Air Lines announced two changes to the SkyMiles program this morning. SkyMiles award tickets for travel on Delta, which first began counting towards elite status in 2021, will become a permanent feature of the program. And, in an effort to incentivize customers who buy the most expensive tickets, there will no longer be a cap on the miles earn for travel.
Doug Parker steps down today as CEO of American Airlines. He’ll become non-executive Chairman, but consistently describes this as “retiring.” Airline President Robert Isom becomes CEO in his place.
Parker has been a staple at the top of U.S. aviation for more than two decades, and more than anyone is responsible for changing the entire industry by kicking off consolidation. He’s been a genial leader willing to dress up for Halloween and sing to employees. He’s been personally successful – as successful as anyone can possibly be in the airline industry – while leaving customers, shareholders, and employees all worse off.
Kimpton Hotels is providing free therapy to guests. They’re providing “up to 1,000 complimentary video therapy sessions with licensed counselors to any guest over the age of 18 staying at one of Kimpton’s 60+ participating properties.”
And the deal on mental health treatments extends even beyond the stay.
Odesa International Airport has a rather remarkable presentation in which it begins by reviewing its 2021 results, and pivots to outlining what happened to it during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Airport leadership laid out lessons on “sav[ing] an airport on initial stage of war” – not something most airport authorities need contingencies for.
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 best benefit here is lounge access. oneworld sapphire members of frequent flyer programs other than American AAdvantage and Alaska’s Mileage Plan get access not just to American Airlines Admirals Clubs and Alaska Lounges but also to American Airlines Flagship lounges even when traveling domestically. That means nice bar setups and buffets at New York JFK, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles and in a few weeks once again at Chicago O’Hare.
Turkish Airlines offers one of the very best business class lounges at its home airport in Instanbul, complete with library, billiards area, and golf simulator. Now they have a new feature: virtual flight simulator. It’s called the “Hezarfen Flight Simulator Experience” after the first person in Turkish aviation history to take flight.
Delta held a ribbon-cutting for the terminal 2-3 headhouse at LAX today. It opens to passengers April 20.
There was something striking about the event. The audience was well-masked, per federal regulations. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Delta CEO Ed Bastian? Not so much.
It’s particularly galling to send flight attendants to collections and threaten termination over their dues within days of reporting to those same flight attendants that their former union president misappropriated their dues for personal gain. And doubly so since the union flight attendants are paying for is so weak.
Air Tahiti Nui is launching non-stop Papeete – Seattle service and a new partnership with Alaska Airlines. This is in addition to its partnership with American AAdvantage.
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 »
