This week American Airlines introduced “trip credits” which are automatically generated and sent by email for the unused value of a ticket. Trip credits have a ticket number and are valid for a year from date of issue. They work just like the old eVouchers did… with a catch.
Cruise line CEO, on an earnings call, says it’s crazy for their customers to be booking cruises – and he wouldn’t do it, “who would book? It’s crazy,”
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.
LOT Polish airlines flight LO8625 was supposed to fly from Poznan, Poland to holiday destination Palma Mallorca in Spain on Tuesday. But try as it might it couldn’t catch a break. It kept trying to take off, and every time it did it hit a bird and hard to start over.
In re-opened clubs a full bar is offered where permitted by local regulation, and packaged snacks are offered. They’ve added plexiglass shields at reception and at service desks, and in some cases foot-operated door openers for restrooms. There are also hand sanitizer stations and floor decals to promote social distancing.
American Airlines lounges will re-introduce hot food August 12 and food for sale August 19.
Southwest Airlines has a problem with passengers bringing their own booze on board. So too, it seems, does United Airlines.
There’s a reason why liquor stores were considered an ‘essential business’ during coronavirus lock downs, and that same impetus has people bringing booze with them now that they can’t get any on a plane.
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.
A couple of readers have asked me for a simple summary of the reasons it’s a bad idea for the federal government to offer another round of payroll support funding. This will duplicate much of what I’ve already written, but in a manner that might be more easily shared with legislators and opinion leaders.
The federal government picked up the tab for a majority of airline payrolls during the pandemic, but that money runs out September 30. The argument initially was this would be a bridge to recovery, and it was important to keep workers attached to their airlines so they would be ready to support economic recovery once Covid-19 was over. Now we know, though, that the pandemic will have longer-lasting effects, airlines won’t need all of their employees again for several years, and they’ve already started to shrink their payrolls.
Sixteen Senate Republicans have signed onto a proposal for a second airline payroll bailout. The measure, which would give U.S. carriers a second $25 billion injection, likely has enough votes to pass – but that doesn’t mean it’ll be in the next coronavirus relief package.
The stock market response to the news shows this is really a subsidy for airline owners. Meanwhile the funding is unnecessary, too late, and too much money to address the stated desire to protect workers.
The two major Taiwanese airlines, Star Alliance member EVA Air and SkyTeam’s China Airlines, are running flights to nowhere in August. Both carrier’s flights instantly sold out.
New carrier Starlux Airlines has applied to start offering these flights as well.
Taiwan has been one of the real Covid-19 success stories. Part of the price of their early lockdown is that they’ve cut themselves off from the rest of the world for longer than most.
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 »
