Search Results for "ASIA".
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.
Japan Airlines has a new cost-saving measure they’re testing on Bangkok – Tokyo Haneda overnight flights (JL flight 34): letting customers choose in advance to skip meal service in exchange for an amenity kit.
The sixth edition of CAAC’s Technical Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Epidemics in Transport Airlines and Airports lays out the country’s plan to avoid spreading infection while managing inbound international traffic. Domestic travel has largely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but strict limits are placed on international travel to avoid importing SARS-CoV-2 back into the country.
Wearing diapers and avoiding the lavatory are just one of many strategies – including masks, gloves, goggles, hair nets, and hazmat suits – that are recommended for crew on flights bringing people back from places where the virus is spreading. Planes have quarantine sections of the aircraft cordoned off for anyone who shoes symptoms of infection, in order to separate them from other passengers and crew.
Thailand has managed the Covid-19 pandemic well. Despite identifying early cases outside of China at the start of the pandemic, the country hasn’t seen significant virus activity and 90% of cases have been asymptomatic.
The country has been among the most closed to tourism, like much of Asia, but they’re now offering special tourist visas to people from all over the world – there’s a process to jump through and quarantine on arrival, but it’s now possible for Americans to visit.
When passengers see a messy cabin, they tend to leave it that way themselves and perhaps even in worse condition (Cf. lavatories). It’s the ‘broken windows theory’ of policing applied to an aircraft cabin. Slovenliness begets slovenliness. But the reverse is also true. Hold up your end, keep things looking respectable, and your fellow passengers are more likely to do so as well – and an airline’s employees and contractors will have a much easier time maintaining the plane for the people flying in your seat next, too.
Right now there’s great business and first class award availability on Star Alliance airline ANA from several US cities to Tokyo and back starting in August and running through the end of the current airline schedule (basically, October). That’s great for connecting onward to Asia.
Two passengers can fly from Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose or Seattle using miles from United (or Chase), Avianca LifeMiles, or even better Virgin Atlantic (which partners with several credit card transferable points programs).
At the end of the current Japan Airlines schedule first class awards are wide open for two passengers on the New York JFK – Tokyo Haneda route.
It’s nice to see how much award space is open on Singapore Airlines non-stops from the U.S. While two business class seats are common throughout 2021, in August and September there’s a wide variety of days on the Los Angeles – Singapore route where four business class saver award seats are available.
OAG schedule data shows which airlines and which regions have brought schedules back closest to pre-pandemic levels.
As Covid-19 epidemics spread like wildfire both in the U.S. and Europe, European flight schedules have been pulling back amidst lockdowns while U.S. passenger travel has held firm and grown slightly entering the Thanksgiving period. In fact the entire world’s week-over-week increase of 400,000 seats is accounted for by Southwest Airlines.
SkyTeam’s Korean Air is acquiring Star Alliance member Asiana. Now the Prime Minister of Japan is talking about the need to merge ANA and Japan Airlines as part of injecting subsidies into his country’s two largest airlines.
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 »
