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.
This is an exceptionally interesting development, if true, both for the recovery in travel but also beyond that for understanding how the U.S. is responding to the Covid-19 epidemic as it progresses.
During Thursday morning’s United Airlines third quarter earnings call, airline CEO Scott Kirby reiterated his view that we won’t see full recovery of air travel until there’s a widely available vaccine, which he anticipates in the second half of 2021. However the airline also said that there appears to be a decoupling of travel bookings from the course of the virus.
While the FAA hasn’t signed off on the plane yet, Europe’s safety regulator has gone ahead and publicly stated it is approving it first. That’s huge.
Given the embarrassment of the FAA over the past year and a half over how the MAX was initially approved, and their resulting decline in international prestige, it’s important for world acceptance that the FAA isn’t the only one approving the plane. It’s an even bigger deal that they aren’t even first to say they’ll do so.
While there are huge limits on international travel, domestic travel in China is now back to pre-pandemic levels. In fact there are now more domestic flights than there were a year ago, and passenger volumes are back up too.
HEPA air filtration seems to be one of the reasons that Covid-19 doesn’t appear to spread very much on planes.
Many smaller planes, including 50 seat regional jets, do not usually have HEPA air filtration. That’s one reason why I’ve suggested staying away from small planes during the pandemic. However Piedmont Airlines, a regional carrier owned by American Airlines, now has FAA permission to change that.
There’s a huge sale between the U.S. and Europe on Delta starting at $1500 roundtrip for travel throughout most of 2021 through end of schedule (early September next year).
Meanwhile American Airlines is running a New York – Italy business class sale with $1900 roundtrip.
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.
On August 30 someone in a jetpack was reported by pilots of an American Airlines flight near LAX. Now it’s happened again. China Airlines flight 215 crew inbound from Taipei reported another man in jetpack at LAX Wednesday afternoon.
At first they flagged a “flying object” but wasn’t sure if it was “a UAV or was it a jet pack?” It was a man in a jetpack flying at 6000 feet over Century City.
WestJet says customers will get travel credits, and since it may be years before they return to a customer’s city they “will extend the travel credit expiry date” beyond 24 months. WestJet may never return to some cities, may never return with service that works for a customer, and years into the future the name of the game is breakage. Indeed, customers may actually die while waiting to use their WestJet credits.
Yet the airline “notes the Canadian Transportation Agency has deemed acceptable given the realities of COVID-19” to offer flight credits and not refunds. Perhaps this brazen move will challenge that earlier guidance.
Star Alliance member Scandinavian Airlines has a shareholder program open to anyone who owns at least 4000 shares in the carrier. What’s most interesting is the benefit for those who own 100,000 shares, that those shares cost just 27 cents apiece, and that they’ve already received a government bailout which may protect downside.
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 »
