Maybe it’s unlikely that you’ll need Air Tahiti Nui elite status? But this one is free, takes very little effort (just fill out their form) and you never know when having elite status with an airline other than the one you fly most could come in handy for status matching to another carrier. Can’t hurt!
In 2012 I wrote that wifi would eventually be free, once there was enough bandwidth on board so that one customer’s use didn’t trade off with another’s. That’s largely happened. JetBlue and Delta offer free wifi. United is moving to Starlink (enough bandwidth) which will be free. And it looks like American is being pushed there – dragged kicking and screaming, perhaps, but they have to get there.
It’s people who fly the most who (1) understand the difference in product [they are repeat buyers!] and (2) are willing to spend more to get the experience they want. They suffered from degraded product and service – less legroom and seat padding both in the front and back cabins, less food and lower quality meals on board (again in both cabins) and myriad cuts across the board.
These reputational issues have now gone mainstream, beyond just frequent flyers.
We need to talk about the decline in American Express Centurion lounges. They were once great. They aren’t any longer – they aren’t as good as they used to be, and both Capital One and Chase offerings are better.
No checked bag fees has been a sine qua non of Southwest Airlines. Customers choose Southwest because of this. It makes them appear friendlier and more flexible. And there are strong economic reasons why this is a great choice for the airline. It also differentiates them from other airlines, in an otherwise mostly homogenous industry. And free checked bags may be on the way out. Departure Of Chief Transformation Officer Signals Change Ryan Green has been in charge of the Southwest Airlines transformation. Under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, they’ve been making changes – and becoming more like the rest of the industry – but not fast enough for the fund that’s taken control of nearly half the Board of Directors. Green is leaving, and the news followed the announcement of the upcoming departures…
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.
Delta Air Lines will be announcing new service from Atlanta to Marrakech, Morocco. It’s not clear what aircraft they will use for the flight, or what frequency they’ll offer.
British Airways just treated its high-flyers like a bunch of proper numpties, saying, ‘bugger off, muppets.’ Lufthansa said hold my (German) beer, declaring: ‘Hau ab, ihr Trottel!’
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.
This week’s guest on the Airlines Confidential podcast was flight attendants union head Sara Nelson. Since retirement, Doug Parker has been taking victory laps with her over their ability to work together to secure three rounds of massive subsidies during the pandemic.
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 »
