American Airlines will debut its new Boeing 787-9P aircraft – new delivery planes with all-new interiors – in about a week. It will initially fly Chicago to Los Angeles and then Chicago – London, before being added to routes from Philadelphia.
And we now know the stats on seats in the cabin. I’ve been sent a copy of the mockup for this page that’s expected to go live on June 1 for the new 787-9P by an insider.
Delta now sometimes charges you more if you’re traveling alone – add a second passenger and the fare drops. It’s written right into the fare rules for some of their least expensive fares, that you must be accompanied by someone else on the itinerary to be eligible for their lowest price.
United’s brand-new Brooks Brothers uniforms hit airport concourses on Wednesday. Thousands of navy blazers, suiting pieces, and pilot epaulettes just became obsolete overnight. So why won’t those old threads pop up on eBay or in a thrift shop? It isn’t because a shirt or skirt unlocks the jet bridge by itself—but airlines, the marketplaces, and the TSA work to restrict crew uniforms from ending up in civilian closets.
Now that the new rule has gone into effect (May 28), there’s another wrinkle. It’s only supposed to apply to tickets purchased going forward. But people making a change to their tickets are seeing this, too. It’s concerning if someone bought a ticket that came with unlimited same day confirmed changes and no travel credit expiration, but now gets just one change that forces a six month expiration.
About an hour into the five hour flight, flight attendants were alerted that a dog was in distress. A call for medical assistance produced an onboard veterinarian who stabilized the animal, but the assessment was that the dog needed professional treatment. The Airbus narrowbody with 181 customers and six crew aboard made a 300-mile detour to Delta’s Minneapolis–St Paul hub.
Underrated doesn’t mean something is the best, just that it’s better than commonly appreciated. Overrated doesn’t mean it’s not good — or even great — just that it isn’t as good as people in general seem to think.
Overrated or underrated is about lowering or raising the status of things. It’s about whether you think people in general regard it too highly, or not highly enough, relative to its actual worth.
This lets you skip the physical ID at eligible airport security checkpoints, by linking photos you’ve already provided to your identification. TSA has facial recognition devices, and they usually just verify you match your ID. But with this opt-in you skip the ID because they verify you match what they know about you already.
Hilton’s Hampton Inn brand has promoted a ‘100% Satisfaction Guarantee’ for years. The commitment that ” If you’re not 100% satisfied, we don’t expect you to pay. That’s our promise and your guarantee” dates to the 1990s.
But is it even real? Hotel chains no longer see guests as their customers. Hotel owners are the customers and the goal is to sign on more rooms under their umbrella. Guests are the product they market to owners.
United Airlines crew are wearing old uniforms for the last time, as frontline employees debut their new Brooks Brothers uniforms on Wednesday.
The end of Southwest Airlines as a brand is Tuesday, May 28th. They begin charging for checked bags on all tickets sold beginning tomorrow. What’s amazing is that they refused to even tell customers what they’d be charging. They were too embarrassed – having built their entire reputation on being a customer-friendly airline, with ‘bags fly free’ as the centerpiece.
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 »
