Should Airlines Offer Paid Wine Choices In First Class?

by Gary Leff

wine bottle on cart
Oct 09 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?

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Genius Hack To Bring An Extra Carry On Onto Your Next Flight

by Gary Leff

Oct 09 2021

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.

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Always Check For Price Drops Even After You’ve Booked Your Travel

by Gary Leff

Oct 08 2021

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!

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Where Will Anti-Vax Crew Go When American Airlines Fires Them?

by Gary Leff

Oct 08 2021

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?

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Chase Launches New Hyatt Small Business Card, Strongest For Earning Elite Status

by Gary Leff

Park Hyatt New York Proves Why Hotel Loyalty Makes Sense
Oct 08 2021

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.

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Philadelphia Airport Starts Curbside Delivery, Get Airport Restaurant Food To Go

by Gary Leff

Oct 07 2021

I’ve never once said what I really want for dinner is what they’re serving at the airport. That’s because the constraints of selling food in the airport – bringing everything through security, usually cooking with electricity, lacking storage space, high rents and a need to serve the median consumer taste quickly – means that airport restaurants are bad. And you pay through the nose for the privilege.

Still, at Philadelphia airport they think you might want curbside pickup of your dinner from the airport, and they’re now set up to do just that.

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