US Airways used to be the ‘official consolidator of Star Alliance premium class inventory’, a role since taken up by Avianca LifeMiles selling points cheap so members could book awards on partner airlines. They make money selling other airlines’ seats at a discount, but for more than they pay for inventory that would otherwise go unsold.
When US Airways management took over American they brought the mileage sale philosophy to AAdvantage.
The New York Hilton and Grand Hyatt New York are both re-opening, the former on October 4 and the latter November 1.
While there was a logic in providing services to travelers during the summer, preparing to do so as a hotel heads into Northeast winter – traditionally a down time for business to begin with – may seem odd. The decision to do so now has nothing to do with anticipated return of business travel. Instead, there’s a simple reason to re-open now.
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.
A guest showed up at a Marriott Hotel in DC to check in. It was the Residence Inn Courtyard by Marriott. Yes, there are two different Marriott brands at the same address in downtown Washington DC at the Convention Center.
The problem is that the man wanted early check-in. And it wasn’t available. At 1 a.m. So the guest, Armin Zeyafatzadeh, went to sleep in the lobby to wait for a room to be ready. He was going to be waiting awhile.
There are great stories – some of them apocryphal – about product names and marketing slogans that don’t work when translated into another language.
Apparently Airbus really did have a problem with its name when selling planes in China in the 1990s. because Chinese airlines thought they sold buses.
A passenger on American Airlines flight 920 from Cali, Colombia opened the aircraft’s emergency exit door after the plane landed in Miami around 7:16 p.m. on Wednesday. He then left the Boeing 737 MAX and walked on the wing as the aircraft reached the North terminal’s gate D22.
Based on an interview with Chief Revenue Officer Vasu Raja, changes to American AAdvantage seem likely to shift away from frequency and more towards revenue (remember – United awards elite status on spending and not miles flown) and to reward buying up to Main Cabin Extra or first class more than the program does today.
United elites striving for status will find this card valuable, though, and those who would pay for a club membership are better off doing so in most cases via this card’s annual fee in my view anyway. The rest of the add-on benefits are gravy.
Bali’s Vice Governor has announced that tourism will re-open in October, limited to visitors from four countries. Americans are included.
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.
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 »
