Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly says he – and the airline lobbying group he leads – wants to see the federal transportation mask mandate end September 13 and he also says he believes airline passengers should be able to follow the same guidance set out by the CDC for everyone else – that no mask is needed if you’ve been vaccinated.
Delta has offered up to lifetime Platinum status (’75k tier’), along with an annual gift, for million milers. Now they’ve introduced lifetime Diamond status at the 6 million mile level, including qualifying miles from all sources (including spend on premium credit cards).
A passenger on board an American Airlines flight from Dallas – Fort Worth to Orlando went on a homophobic rant in which she accused Disney of having been “corrupted” by advocates of same sex marriage.. or something to that effect.
The disruptive passenger, who was unwilling to wear her face mask over her nose and mouth, was pulled off the aircraft by the arm by a flight attendant, after the aircraft returned to the gate.
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 question and answer portion of Thursday’s American Airlines earnings call, airline President Robert Isom was asked about the airline’s removal of seat back entertainment screens from its domestic aircraft, and whether they have any regrets since both Delta and United will be offering what many customers see as a more premium product?
When you need your passport renewed, and you have travel within 72 hours, it’s possible to get emergency expedited service. However the State Department has taken the ability to schedule this offline.
The State Department did this because people are using bots to schedule these appointments and then sell them. But this is a cop out.
A read out from an employee meeting at United details the headaches the airline is going to face at Newark over the next few months, and what that means from passengers. They’ve also detailed how they’re using the crisis to get the government to limit competition from other airlines in the Newark market.
“She spent 79 nights of the year away from her bed. Kiczenski traveled so often during the pandemic that a Delta flight attendant thanked her for being a Silver Medallion member and upgraded her to first class; she initially assumed it was a mistake.”
Business travel seems to be coming back, with airlines generally reporting that it’s returned to about 40% of 2019 levels, heading towards 60% in the current quarter, with two primary drivers that will lead to its further return.
United Airlines reports that while frequent flyers still make up a reduced percentage of travelers overall – they are “7 to 8 points below normal” for even MileagePlus members on a given flight – three quarters of elite members have either flown or booked travel this year. They believe those elites who haven’t are primarily people who fly to international markets that have been closed. United also claims that 84% of MileagePlus members are vaccinated.
Tailwind Air will begin selling tickets this week with two round trips a day, growing to four flights each way on August 23. These will be seasonal, running between March and November and will be scheduled at 90 minutes dock-to-dock (75 minutes in the air). Seaplanes don’t operate at night or bad weather.
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 »
