We know now, or at least the latest science leads us to believe, that masks really can make a difference controlling spread of SARS-CoV-2.
The FAA and TSA can’t legally mandate mask wearing. Airlines are mandating them, but not enforcing the mandate. Many airlines are handing out masks for free already. However FEMA went out and purchased 100 million masks for passengers at airports and transit stations.
Hyatt was first out of the box with a lucrative hotel promotion 2500 bonus points for your first stay if you’re elite, triple points starting with second stay for everyone. I took that as an opening gambit, expecting to see strong promotions to put heads in beds across the board.
IHG Rewards Club, the loyalty program for Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, Kimpton and related brands, is next up offering U.S. residents up to quadruple points on stays June 12 through September 8.
Fridays and Sundays are still big travel days. Wednesdays are still slow. And Thursdays – traditionally strong, especially late in the day – aren’t coming back yet because that’s the end of the consultant business week and business travel isn’t returning any time soon.
Seeing the bounce off the bottom has led to a great deal of optimism – too much optimism – about how quickly travel will return.
Showtime’s store has Billions merchandise and the last item on the page for apparel lists a men’s white Axe Capital t-shirt that they personalize for you, with your name or whatever else you enter. It is pricing at $0 plus shipping and tax, which comes out to less than $6… whether you order just one shirt or several.
Taipei’s Songshan normally offers domestic flights as well as international flights to some destinations in Japan, South Korean, and China. On Friday only one flight is expected to arrive at the airport, EVA Air from Shanghai Pudong.
With so little traffic the airport is hosting a “pretend to leave the country” tour. Passengers will board a plane – and get off – without ever leaving Taipei Songshan airport.
Uou can spend 30,000 points per night – same as before – and have all of your dining included, (even room service) booking rooms that run $1500++. The property re-opens in mid-July. It’s a special place, and right now a special value when you can find rooms available for redemption.
British Airways is promoting a new option to book out their entire first class cabin. That may be attractive to households that want to travel by themselves, or even individuals looking to social distance.
The “Charter our FIRST Cabin” British Airways offer is promoted as being at “a fraction of the cost” with prices so low apparently they won’t advertise them publicly – though may depend on route, expected demand, and how far out you’re making the reservation.
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.
Chinese airlines, as state entities, cannot furlough workers because that would admit failure of the Communist Party. And at the province level, declines in employment would reduce political prospects for local leaders.
So even though passenger demand remains around one-third of last year’s levels, airlines will begin operating 96% of domestic flights.
This weekend, both United Airlines and American Airlines updated their schedules for July, whereas Delta jumped ahead of the curve and loaded their July schedules 2 weeks ago. There are now many airports where Delta used to reign that American isn’t just bigger – but bigger than Delta and United combined.
Both American and Southwest are positioned to be far larger than their competitors, which will either position them to become more effective businesses going forward or turn out to be a gamble that burns through substantial cash.
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 »
