Two guys started the United States Mask Company in the fall, set up a factory and got NIOSH certification for their N95 masks. They’ve manufactured 200,000 masks but haven’t been able to sell them. How can you make money manufacturing masks when you can now buy Made in the U.S. N95s on Amazon for $1.16 each with free shipping?
Alaska is no longer blocking seats in first class, or in regular coach. And they’ve taken baby steps at re-opening first class confirmable upgrade (“U” bucket) inventory. Here’s the current upgrade philosophy at Alaska Airlines.
The federal government committed $65 billion in grants and subsidized loans to airlines in 2020, and is now considering a third bailout. While the funds were marketed as protecting jobs, only about one eighth of the second bailout actually went to pay workers who had been furloughed (and airlines that never furloughed anyone received billions).
After bailouts during the Great Recession there was a national conversation recognizing that bailed out companies weren’t really private enterprises and the need to make sure bailouts never had to happen again.
Lavatory ice (‘blue juice’) isn’t the only snow that planes cause to descend from the sky. When aircraft descend through below-freezing temperatures and high relative humidity (saturated air), they can create snow. Planes aren’t causing snowstorms – just a localized event – but under the right conditions they do cause snow to form and fall to the ground.
This requires water vapor that’s below freezing but that doesn’t form ice crystals because it lacks the particulates on which to freeze.
Confirmed cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19 are declining. Vaccine supplies in the U.S. are growing. Though more infectious strains of the virus are spreading, we may be entering a lull in the virus due to seasonality. Summer was a peak in the U.S., but in areas where it gets hot and people head indoors, and the U.S. population hadn’t been exposed to the virus before so there wasn’t much background immunity.
We should be on the cusp of beating the pandemic, with enough vaccines for everyone in the country (there should even be approved this fall for tweens and teens). It’s time to get excited about a return to normal life, right? Not so fast.
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.
We don’t yet know how much transmission is reduced, especially when the second shot has been added into the mix. We do know based on new data that vaccination with at least some Covid-19 vaccines reduce transmission, though. We’ll soon know if they reduce transmission enough to allow those who have been vaccinated to travel more freely.
American Airlines is launching Miami – Tel Aviv in June. This is a route I’ve been expecting ever since they announced the end of their frequent flyer partnership with El Al in 2014.
The new service will operate three days a week with a Boeing 777-200. And they’ve chosen to fly to operate one of those flights on Shabat.
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.
American Airlines is doing something different. They are targeting discounts to try to drive incremental business. They ran a targeted promotion with discounts some months ago, and now are sending out 25% off codes to some members, including for premium cabin travel (purchase by February 20 for travel by May).
Well-targeted promotions can help answer whether discounts can drive incremental business, and whether that’s more travel overall or stealing business from competitors.
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 »
