Search Results for "ASIA".
News out of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan that they will be revamping their award charts before the end of the year is certainly not welcome – especially because the airline is providing little detail despite explicitly committing to 90 days’ notice before any changes.
Just a few weeks ago the prospect of trying to coordinate changes to Europe awards would have given me heartburn. There was simply very little award space, save for a handful of airline and routes that I used as ‘worst-case scenarios’ when helping people to redeem their miles. And I didn’t want worst-case scenarios traveling with my wife and daughter.
Fortunately things are really looking up for those of us looking to use points for travel abroad, especially to Europe.
he Bilt Mastercard, the no annual fee card that lets you earn points paying rent at no cost (up to $100,000 per year) and earns double points on travel and triple points on dining, now earns even more one day a month.
Dubbed “Bilt Rent Day,” on the first of every month Bilt is offering up to 6x points, free points, and Virgin cruise discounts.
It’s possible to build a supersonic plane, but efficiencies and regulation killed the Concorde. Boom can presumably develop a plane, and a top engine manufacturer can produce an engine for it. But will it sell to airlines who see themselves able to operate enough of the planes, to enough places, with enough frequency – given a market that will pay a premium for the option – in order to buy enough planes and engines where the whole thing works out as a business? Engines can cost billions of dollars to design and tens of millions of dollars apiece to purchase.
SkyTeam member Garuda Indonesia suffered greatly during the pandemic, including from government policies that banned most foreigners from coming to the country for an extended period of time. But it wasn’t Covid-19 that really did it in. They were forced to restructure $9.5 billion in debt earlier this year, citing in part “leasing costs way above the industry average” according to the country’s State Enterprises Minister. Unmentioned, of course, are the charges that were brought against the airline’s former CEO over money laundering and millions of dollars worth of bribery in connection with overpaying for Airbus aircraft. Such things are common in South and Southeast Asia, especially in connection with government-backed carriers. The airline has a new business model. They’re going to focus on domestic travel, and give up most international routes. That means reconfiguring…
The former Rwandair Express is 20 years old and Qatar Airways agreed to purchase a 49% stake in the historically loss-making airline last year. They operate a dozen aircraft including Airbus A330 widebodies and Boeing 737 narrowbodies. They serve Brussels and London in Europe; Dubai, Mumbai and Guangzhou in the Mideast and Asia Pacific; and nearly 20 destinations in Africa.
United Airlines used to partner with Emirates, and after a period of time trying to convince the U.S. government to keep Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways out of U.S. markets they’ve rekindled the love. They’re re-launching their Emirates partnership.
This new United – Emirates partnership isn’t just about providing connecting feed to Emirates flights in the United States – bringing passengers to and from Emirates gateways for travel to Dubai and beyond to the Mideast, India and South Asia, and Africa – but is also going to be about providing connectivity for United beyond Dubai.
Starting Monday, September 12th American Airlines systemwide upgrades will work on itineraries that include British Airways transatlantic and intra-European flights within Europe.
That means if you book an American Airlines flight across the Pond, and upgrade it, you’ll also be able to upgrade your connecting flight on BA within Europe. And it means as long as you have a domestic American Airlines flight in your itinerary, you can use a systemwide upgrade to move up a cabin on British Airways across the Atlantic.
Sam Bowman reports that he was flying Virgin Atlantic in economy. He reclined his seat, he says, in order “to sleep and the grown man behind me started violently shaking and kicking my seat.” After the violent passenger was told to stop, “his wife loudly declared that I was a sociopath.”
The important point to make here, aside from the obvious “don’t physically shake the seat of the person in front of you” is that a passenger whose seat reclines gets to decide whether to put that seat in the upright or reclined position, outside of takeoff and landing where the government makes the decision for them. It’s not always appropriate to recline, but the decision belongs to the passenger whose seat it is.
Saudi Arabia is starting a new, second national airline with plans to compete – and beat – Emirates. They are going to invest $30 billion in the effort.
It’s likely to be called RIA and will be based out of Riyadh. And their goal is… transit passengers.
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 »
