Delta and United are raising money in private markets against their loyalty programs. American Airlines is using its AAdvantage program to securitize a subsidized government CARES Act loan. These moves underscore that the frequent flyer programs remain one of the most attractive assets held by airlines, even during the pandemic.
Raising money on the programs though means disclosing much more information than they’re using to offering.
Singapore Airlines isn’t selling international first class anymore on most routes, at all, for the next year. What’s going on? And what does it mean for the future of first class?
I’ve been overall a pessimist about business travel, but Southwest’s CEO takes it too far, arguing that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see business travel languish for a decade before it gets back to 2019 levels.”
Sure, he’s signaling that with their relatively strong balance sheet and largely domestic travel exposure they’re better-positioned than rivals to withstand a long travel recession. But we’re already starting to see cracks in the ‘indefinite work from home’ model.
With India rounding towards 5 million lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19, hundreds of millions of cases based on antibody testing and where lockdown may have increased virus spread, and most foreign nationals banned from entering the country, the government has chosen an odd time to care about the scourge of… inflight photography.
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.
While the government announced the backing of a $370 million loan to the airline as part of its bankruptcy restructuring, a Colombian court has now blocked the government aid. This matters to Americans invested in the LifeMiles frequent flyer program, which provides access to cheap purchase of miles and reasonably priced awards on Star Alliance airlines.
San Antonio airport was at the forefront of a nationwide trend to ban Chick-Fil-A over its political beliefs.
While it would be permissible for an airport to have a policy that all of its food outlets must be open 7 days a week – there is limited space in the airport and they need to use it to feed passengers, especially on busy Sunday – statements made advancing Chick-Fil-A bans have clearly indicated the decision is made on the basis of animus towards the chain’s past support of charities which are inconsistent with LGBTQ equality.
You even get a free drink at the bar, and you do not need to have a social following or call yourself an ‘influencer’.
In a shrinking industry airline unions become akin to a Ponzi scheme, benefiting the first in at the expense of those who joined later. When American Airlines took payroll support money from the government, they paid senior flight attendants to stay home while making junior cabin crew work all of the flights. And while neither Southwest nor Delta are furloughing any flight attendants, it’s the junior crewmembers at American and United that are losing their jobs at the beginning of October.
One British Airways union is even appealing to the company to furlough workers – from a rival union.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau is planning to raise the price of Global Entry, making it $120, and raising the price of other similar program so that they match as well. However children under 18 whose parents are part of the program (or who apply together) will be free, and CBP plans to expand Global Entry to immigration preclearance facilities (or at least make the rules consistent with practice) and to U.S. territories.
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 »
