Hertz Went After Another Reader For Stealing Car They Returned, Says “Oops”

by Gary Leff

May 01 2022

Hertz has become known for broken systems that don’t track their cars properly. It seems that just because a vehicle is returned, and gets re-rented, that doesn’t mean Hertz knows it ever came back. And though they claim otherwise, they seem to have a hair trigger for reporting cars stolen (or at least threatening customers that they will).

The rental giant argues that this is rare (a small percentage of total rentals) and a thing of the past (they’ve made process improvements). But it seems to keep happening. And though it may represent a small portion of transactions, readers of this blog keep reporting that it happens to them.

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Qantas Will Announce Non-Stop New York And London Flights, New First Class And Other Cabins

by Gary Leff

sydney opera house
May 01 2022

Qantas is poised to announce its largest aircraft order ever, including the ultra long range Airbus A350-1000 which will fly non-stop to both London and New York. The planes will be outfit with four classes of service, including new seats. That means first class will survive. And Qantas will have one of the most generous economy products in the world.

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United Flight Attendants Union Gaslights Delta’s Cabin Crew Pay Increase

by Gary Leff

Apr 30 2022

Delta’s decision to pay flight attendants for the time boarding aircraft sent shockwaves through the industry. Traditionally flight attendant union-bargained contracts pay flight attendants a higher wage for the flight itself, and don’t calculate time spent boarding. Thus, many flight attendants feel they ‘don’t get paid’ for that time.

I’ve heard from cabin crew at several airlines envious of their counterparts at Delta, who are seeing this new pay on top of raises that started right before the pandemic, on top of special profit sharing bonuses announced earlier this year, and on top of raises that go into effect May 1.

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Hertz Goes After Another Reader Claiming They Stole A Car

by Gary Leff

Apr 30 2022

Hertz’s CEO admits mistakes and promises false arrests of customers won’t happen again yet it does seem to keep happening. It always seems, though, like ‘something that happens to other people’ rather than something we’d worry about. And Hertz often shows up being the cheapest!

Except it doesn’t just happen to other people, it seems, it happens to readers of this blog. And keeps happening to readers of this blog. At least one commenter on a post this week shares tht it just happened to them.

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Marriott Makes Free Night Certificates More Useful, But It’s Not For Your Benefit

by Gary Leff

outside marriott hotel
Apr 30 2022

As part of Marriott’s move to dynamic pricing of free reward nights which raises award pricing, but will be worse next year, Bonvoy now allows you to add up to 15,000 points when redeeming a free night certificate.

This makes certificates fare more useful, but was done more for Marriott’s Chase and American Express relationships than for you.

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Spirit, Possibly Being Acquired By JetBlue, Showcases New Lie Flat Seat

by Gary Leff

Apr 29 2022

With JetBlue looking to acquire Spirit Airlines, trumping Frontier’s offer, many observers have pointed out how different their business model, product, and cultures are – wondering if his acquisition could make any sense. Others disagree, suggesting that JetBlue buying Spirit ‘for parts’ – planes, gates, pilots, – will allow for more rapid expansion.

But are the products really that different? JetBlue has Mint business class, but in the premium category Spirit has more than just the Big Front Seat.

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