United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby’s Nose Is Growing On Seat Back Televisions

by Gary Leff

back airplane tv
Jun 29 2021

United Airlines didn’t just announce a major aircraft order today, they pitched a plan to offer a more premium flight experience. A symbol of that plan is to offer seat back entertainment screens to all passengers, not just on new planes but retrofitting the existing fleet as well.

CEO Scott Kirby isn’t just arguing that these are important to passengers. He isn’t just saying that he’s had a change of heart, covering not just United’s opportunities going forward but at his previous airlines that haven’t made similar investments. He is throwing shade at other airlines, saying he’s always been a proponent of seat back entertainment but has been stymied. That’s not even close to true.

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NEW: AAdvantage Platinum Pro Members Get Upgrades On Alaska Airlines Starting This Week

by Gary Leff

airline cabin
Jun 29 2021

American Airlines Executive Platinum (and Concierge Key) members have been getting upgrades on Alaska Airlines for the past three months. This benefit is being extended to Platinum Pro members as well.

Platinum Pro (“75K” elite tier) becomes oneworld emerald on Wednesday, June 30th. That means more free checked bags, and better priority check-in as well as first class lounge access on international trips where those lounges have re-opened. Separate from oneworld benefits, and unique to the American partnership with Alaska, it will also mean upgrades on Alaska starting in ‘a few days’.

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American Will Let You Keep Your Current Status For $2000 In Travel Spend Or $15K In Credit Card Spend

by Gary Leff

british tail plane
Jun 29 2021

American Airlines has introduced two new ways to keep your status that you held at the start of 2021. These make it really easy for existing elites to keep status, especially upper tier elites or those who do a lot of credit card spend.

They are in addition to the recently-announced three promotions for earning or keeping status, and in addition to reduced status qualification requirements.

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Throw Out The First Pitch At A Major League Baseball Game, From Just $4000 In Credit Card Spend

by Gary Leff

Jun 29 2021

Cardless is out with the brand new Miami Marlins Credit Card and what’s especially great about this card is both how it offers strong earning for a no annual fee rewards product, but also how it leverages the strong rewards program that the team already has in place. Would you believe it’s possible to throw out the first pitch at a Major League baseball game after just $4000 in credit card spend?

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Blood Started Spewing After A Customer Lost It At The Atlanta Airport Dollar Rent A Car

by Gary Leff

white car with trunk up
Jun 29 2021

A reader shares that the Dollar Rent A Car line was out of control, stretching far enough back that it was going to take well over an hour to get a car. And things were deteriorating because a woman tried to rent a car with a debit card (which is allowed) but was being refused.

The woman became irate, not just at the clerk behind the counter but at everyone around. She reportedly hit something on the counter and smashed it into the Dollar clerk’s head. He started to bleed.

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United Airlines Commits To Huge Aircraft Order, Retrofitting Domestic Fleet With Premium Interiors

by Gary Leff

united plane
Jun 29 2021

United has placed an order for 270 narrowbody planes: 200 Boeing 737 MAXs (50 MAX 8s, 150 MAX 10s) and 70 Airbus A321neos. 200 regional jets will be replaced by mainline aircraft. And they’re retrofitting cabins on their existing narrowbody planes with more premium seats, seatback entertainment with bluetooth for headphones, seat power and larger overhead bins. The retrofit is promised to be 66% complete by 2023 and 99% complete by 2025.

Most of this had already leaked, and I reported that it was expected, but it’s still huge news that it’s happening. The airline clearly sees strong travel growth and a return of business travel to normal levels sooner than competitors.

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Pandemic, Schmandemic: United Airlines Is Profitable Again.

by Gary Leff

united plane
Jun 28 2021

United Airlines was the first to really get the seriousness of the pandemic and scale down its operations accordingly. They furloughed almost as many workers as American Airlines did, and cut deeply into management ranks. They’re also though symbolically coming out of pandemic serving alcohol on more flights than competitors and first class meals too.

Some of the tactics they employed to get through the pandemic were downright despicable, such as illegally withholding refunds from customers and devaluing MileagePlus awards when no one was looking. We’ll see what they announce tomorrow about how they plan to make up for these betrayals.

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