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.
During the United Airlines second quarter earnings call on Thursday morning, CEO Scott Kirby laid out his belief in how economic forces will drive up airline industry revenue. In response to a question by J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Baker, Kirby explained his belief that mean regression alone will mean higher fares.
Initially the flight delay was due to maintenance. A passenger reports that it was a “door issue.” Mechanics responded, and it appears that maintenance determined they could defer fixing the issue. The captain, though, told passengers he wouldn’t fly the plane in that condition.
Domestic first class will reportedly be called “Mini Mint” and be introduced in 2026. It’s currently expected that they will use the Collins Aerospace MiQ seat. They won’t reduce total seats on planes, so they’ll squeeze legroom from coach to make room for first class.
Twenty years ago Alaska Airlines seriously considered eliminating first class altogether, but determined that they could better monetize the product instead. Now they’re betting more heavily on premium.
They don’t have lie flat seats even for cross country flights, and they eliminated Virgin America’s superior first class product after the merger, but they’re planning to add a row of first class to Boeing 737-800s and add a row of extra legroom coach (“premium class”) to their 737-900ER and 737 MAX 9s.
The first Standard Hotel property – The Standard Hollywood – was opened on Sunset in 1999 and closed during the pandemic. The original investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Benicio del Toro.
Current hotels include New York in the Meatpacking District and the East Village; Miami Beach; London; Maldives; Ibiza; and Hua Hin.
Former American Airlines Chairman Doug Parker shared how he championed his airline’s cause using the federal government to try to take out a small competitor. In March he went on the Airlines Confidential podcast and shared that a year earlier he and Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson button-holed David Pekoske, asking him to stop allowing JSX from operating out of private terminals without TSA screeners.
JetBlue is selling summer non-stop business class from New York and Boston to Paris for less than $2,000 roundtrip.
What does your airport routine say about your personality?
Whether you show up super early ‘just in case’ or cut it close says something about how they ‘manage anxiety’. But I’m not sure it says what the experts think it says.
The Big Mac is so ubiquitous The Economist developed a price index for the burger as a way to measure purchasing power parity across economies.
McDonald’s changes its offerings to meet local demand. For instance there’s no beef in Mumbai McDonald’s but they do offer several different fry dips. However my reason for going there has nothing to do with the food.
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 »
