When Marriott acquired Starwood they also acquired the Ambassador program which offered a single point of contact for the chain’s top customers, to make reservations, interface with hotels on requests, and act as a concierge more broadly.
First Marriott had mass layoffs of concierges. Now they’ve decided emails to individual concierges can no longer be answered – everything goes into a single customer service pool.
After 9/11 passengers on flights to Washington’s National airport were required to remain seated for the last 30 minutes of their trip, and for the first 30 minutes on any flight departing the airport.
Dubbed by frequent flyers the “no pee rule” it was meant to immediately identify anyone that might be trying to take over the aircraft when it was close enough that it could hit the White House, U.S. Capitol or other high value target. More than 30 minutes out, presumably, the government thought it would be able to shoot down the plane.
I’ve been using a Samsung Galaxy S7 for 5 years. I was going to replace it in early 2020 but the pandemic hit and I didn’t bother. So I’m planning to buy the new Samsung S21 when it comes out in a few weeks. Since I get a new phone only every 4-5 years I may get the S21 ultra.
Back in November I predicted that mask disputes on planes would become more common over the winter and that seems to becoming the case, at least based on social media reports and continued reporting from airlines on the number of people banned over masks. Even tiny Alaska Airlines is now over 300 passengers banned.
Starting January 26 the CDC will require all passengers flying to the U.S. to have received a negative Covid-19 test within 3 days of travel. For everything else that’s been written about the new requirement, it’s likely to accelerate mask disputes since everyone on board will have tested negative on flights to the U.S. already.
As America prepares for January 20th, in the wake of last week’s unpleasantness as electoral votes were counted, businesses across the country are taking precautions. Risk is almost always backward-looking, and the last threat is what’s on our mind most. Some of that is rational, since it means raising an estimate of the likelihood that something could occur based on new information.
Here are the preparations that American Airlines is taking in advance of the inauguration.
A number of videos have been shared on social media claiming airline passengers are being denied boarding because they’ve been added to the government’s “No Fly List” after participating in protests and riots at the U.S. Capitol last week. That hasn’t been true – although it is about to come true, according to Delta Air Lines.
Here’s a story for anyone that’s ever had an airline lose their luggage and then had to deal with indifferent customer service, or layers of bureaucracy just trying to get an answer. A man won a $1.74 million court judgment over lost baggage. The case took 13 years.
I’ve written about buying N95 masks and using them correctly if you’re going to travel. They’ve been expensive, $3+ apiece. However for a traveler putting themselves in indoor congregant settings I think they’re worthwhile.
Quality masks have become much more available, and prices have come down a lot. Over the summer you might have spent $7 to get an N95 mask from the limited places where you could find them.
In 1989 David Hasselhof stood atop the Berlin Wall belting out “Looking for Freedom.” Less than a year later East Germans were finally free.
Thirty one years after David Hasselhof stood between East and West Berlin the East’s old airport finally became Berlin Brandenburg airport. It’s a costly reminder of East German-style planning, with workers still being harmed by the 23 year long project that more than tripled in cost.
Norwegian helped drive low cost transatlantic travel with its Boeing 787s, much to the chagrin of legacy carriers. British Airways even considered buying the airline in order to quash it as a competitor. Now it will focus on domestic and regional flying with its narrowbody aircraft.
None of this is surprising but it’s disappointing for consumers who benefited from the competition, whether they flew Norwegian or not.
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 »
