New and notes from around the interweb:
- Singapore Airlines is redesigning their lounges in Singapore. The Private Room, first class, business class, and Gold lounge will be renovated in phases as well as enlarged with work scheduled starting in August and running through 2021.
Singapore Airlines The Private Room - The Qantas Frequent Flyer earn and burn partnership with Rockpool restaurant group ends August 16. For 22 years Australian celebrity chef Neil Perry has attached his name to Qantas menus and does so not just inflight but in premium lounges. That larger relationship continues, though oddly the mileage earn and burn at his restaurants lasted only a year.
Salt & Pepper Squid in Qantas First Class Lounge, Sydney - Washington Dulles has the highest domestic airfares. So, despite being a high cost airport (somewhat mitigated by new subsidies), it’s remained attractive to United. And for passengers at least the airport will soon get a new lounge that could be an Amex Centurion and a United Polaris lounge.
- Air France has hired McKinsey for a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses Opportunities, Threats). I don’t know any airline that’s ever hired McKinsey and gotten advice that was implemented with success. For instance for years they were touting that major carriers needed new low cost airlines within an airline.
- Flying into the weekend like…
Presumably McKinsey will do a lot more analysis than just SWOT. Perhaps the first weakness listed will be “Air France’s reliance on outside consulting firms for critical strategic analysis and decisions.” LOL. Air France will probably have to sell one of their aircraft to pay McKinsey’s (or any other firm’s) consulting bill, which should have the side benefit of alleviating excess capacity.
Amex is long overdue for a Centurion lounge at IAD or DCA. Platinum card holders in D.C./Virginia (and Maryland) only have Priority Pass lounges and restaurants to visit (wait/oops/bummer, Amex pulled access to PP restaurants), which CSR and other premium cards already offer access to.
McKinsey coming in is NEVER a good sign for employees or customers in my opinion. And just when I was making AF my primary program 🙁
I used to think consulting firms were just full of idiots. As I’ve gotten older I recognize their real role is to tell management it is OK to do whatever bad idea they have in mind.
@Blue – What company could argue against the final report of a consulting firm? You’ve just paid them a ton of money, so can’t let it look like it was a total waste.