So How Well Did Masks Actually Work Against Covid-19?

by Gary Leff

Jun 27 2021

Masks have been highly controversial and some of their biggest flash points have taken place on planes, from passengers getting ejected over not wearing them to the continued U.S. federal mask mandate for transportation when mask requirements are lifted in most other situations.

Perhaps the best mask study to date shows that just telling people they had to wear masks was a mistake. The policy focus should have been on supplying better masks and teaching people how to wear them effectively.

Continue Reading »

American Airlines Blames The CARES Act For Lack Of Catering On Dallas Flights

by Gary Leff

one world plane
Jun 26 2021

The CARES Act and successor spending bills gave $79 billion from U.S. taxpayers to airlines. But American Airlines is blaming the laws for its inability to catering flights out of Dallas – Fort Worth with beverages and snacks.

At a recent employee question and answer session, a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing, a flight attendant asked CEO Doug Parker about catering problems in Dallas and Charlotte. Parker responded by blaming catering companies who have been unable to to hire employees.

Continue Reading »

American Airlines CEO Says More Passengers Are Bringing Their Own Alcohol On Planes

by Gary Leff

Jun 26 2021

At an American Airlines employee question and answer session mid-month, a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing, a flight attendant asked CEO Doug Parker about unruly passengers and blamed alcohol – not the alcohol on planes, because American hasn’t been serving alcohol in coach, but the alcohol that passengers have been bringing onto the aircraft themselves.

And the crewmember suggested that American’s move to have just a single agent at each gate to board aircraft makes it tougher to notice and do something about these passengers who are breaking the law and causing incidents inflight before they get onto the plane.

Continue Reading »

American Airlines CEO: Why Passenger Mask Incidents May Rise This Summer

by Gary Leff

Jun 26 2021

At a recent American Airlines employee question and answer event, a recording of which was reviewed by View From The Wing, a flight attendant asked CEO Doug Parker about frequent inflight incidents with passengers. Parker acknowledged, “much of it is due to the masks, I know.” Parker predicts that the conflicts over masks “may get even harder between now and September 13th.”

Continue Reading »

Hotel Chain CEO Wants People To Tip More Instead Of Raising Wages

by Gary Leff

Jun 26 2021

The plan is to be “encouraging customers to authorize tips at check-in to ensure staff were recognized for their hard work” and having these charged to credit cards, since customers are carrying less cash. They’re also “considering adding a minimum gratuity to restaurant checks.”

This is a tipping point, according to the chain’s CEO, for consumers deciding whether to retain the elevated tipping levels of the pandemic, when consumers felt bad for hotel workers serving customers or whether they’ll revert to pre-pandemic tipping practices. The chain’s task, he believes, is “to educate customers about how hard staff had been working,” and make sure they continue elevated tipping. Hard work shouldn’t be recognized by higher wages.

Continue Reading »

United Passenger Tries To Break Into Cockpit, Opens Aircraft Door And Jumps Onto The Slide At LAX

by Gary Leff

Jun 26 2021

United Airlines flight UA5365 from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City was delayed 3 hours and 40 minutes Friday night, not arriving until 1:25 a.m. on Saturday, after a passenger tried to enter the cockpit of the SkyWest regional jet prior to departure from LAX. When that didn’t work, he opened the door of the aircraft, popping the slide, and slid down onto the tarmac.

Continue Reading »

New York Legislature Has Passed Credit Card Rewards Consumer Protection

by Gary Leff

Jun 25 2021

At the start of 2020 a New York state Senator introduced a consumer protection bill to protect bank points. It prohibits bank points expiration and requires banks to give consumers 90 days to use their credit card rewards points if their account is closed either by the consumer or the bank.

I noted last summer that the legislation had passed the state’s Senate. Now the bill has passed both the Senate and state Assembly, and awaits the Governor’s signature.

Continue Reading »

From Santorini To South Africa, Hyatt Adds 12 New Partner Properties For Earning And Redemption

by Gary Leff

Jun 25 2021

Hyatt has a partnership with SLH Hotels that lets you earn points and status at those properties (when booking paid rates through Hyatt) and redeem points at these same properties, though not all of the hotels are part of this arrangement.

Shortly before the pandemic the partnership had grown to include about half of the SLH hotels. We hadn’t seen any additions since then, which isn’t surprising since many hotels would have wanted to pause investment in integration during the pandemic.

Continue Reading »