Like many pilots, he has a side job. (The most common side business seems to be insurance.) So it’s odd to suggest that a vaccine mandate forces him to make a choice about whether to feed his family.
One American Airlines employee out on the ramp stopped to comfort animals as they were being loaded onto an aircraft. It’s the little gestures when you think nobody is looking that make all the difference in the world.
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Both United and American Airlines sell basic economy tickets which are non-changeable. If you get sick and do not fly you lose all value of your ticket. That’s a huge incentive to fly sick. (Delta makes basic economy tickets changeable through December 31, 2021.)
I don’t want to drink the swill that many airlines serve on board, and would love an option to pay for something nicer. I’m not sure it would work, though, as a business proposition because of the cost to source a niche product, taking up scarce galley space, when the market for this might be limited.
Airlines might also worry that a paid upcharge in a premium cabin might cheapen the experience. On the other hand they don’t seem to worry that serving cheap wines cheapens the experience! So perhaps they should give it a go as a test to improve the product while generating incremental revenue as well?
Backpackers for years have stuffed their clothes into pillow cases to make pillows to sleep on. But Anya Iakovlieva takes that efficient packing tip to new heights by using the pillow case as an extra carry on bag. Just stuff all your items inside, instead of using it for a pillow. This video has been viewed over 17 million times on TikTok. A pillow case with a zipper works best.
There are simply too many seats chasing too few passengers right now and that’s driving down price. And that means many tickets that have already been purchased would be less expensive if you were buying them today.
The great news is that with no change fees for non-basic economy tickets you can get a credit back when prices fall on tickets you’ve already purchased – but you have to stay vigilant!
An inconsistent product may be dictated by market conditions with a connecting product – but airlines still need to take efforts to treat the customer seamlessly. The last thing you want to do is nickel and dime your most premium customers, simply because they connect onto a flight that operates with different service standards.
American Airlines promised employees they wouldn’t mandate vaccines. President Biden intervened, and now anyone who doesn’t get vaccinated by November 24 is being told they’ll be fired.
A group of American Airlines employees protested outside of company headquarters on Thursday. Some of the 4000 unvaccinated pilots are saying they’ll leave rather than get a jab. Where will they go?
The Hyatt program is smaller than many of Chase’s co-brand partners, but it hits above its weight because it’s a good program and members know it. A small business card is going to be a small slice of the smaller program pie. But Chase has been willing to do smaller portfolios – we’ll be seeing the Air Canada U.S. credit card soon, they are introducing an Instacart card.
By narrowcasting it’s possible to really target what a small group of consumers want, delivering things that group values without spending to build a card that delivers well for everyone. In other words it should be possible to deliver greater subjective value at lower cost. That was my frame as I walked into an event Chase and Hyatt hosted to announce the card.
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 »
