News and notes from around the interweb:
- Southwest’s new cash and points option offers low value per point stay away generally. Expect 6/10ths of a cent in value per point when you should be getting more than double that, even after all the devaluations.
- United struggling to fill planes across the Pacific especially to Australia (and Tahiti)
- Hyatt 20% off Asia Pacific sale at 223 hotels. Book by May 10 for stays April 25 – September 30.
View From Hyatt Regency, Sydney - Old MSY airport terminal turned into skatepark for 4th Red Bull Terminal Takeover
- 30% bonus transferring Amex to Virgin Atlantic through May 31
- ‘Put your seat in its upright position’ is not, in fact, a request. (HT: @crucker)
A flight taking off from southern China had a 175-minute delay because a passenger refused to sit in the upright position when the plane was about to take off. pic.twitter.com/Mi5PdDDAxM
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) April 22, 2024
- oneworld’s 25th anniversary cocktail premiered at the New York JFK Soho lounge on Monday and will roll out to other oneworld member first class lounges and to oneworld-operated lounges in Amsterdam and Seoul for May and June. It is similar to a Negroni (meh) with “London Dry Gin, Sweet Vermouth, Bitter, Mezcal, and a unique oneworld and The Connaught Orange Grove essential oil.”
Bar at the Soho lounge - FAA will issue a final rule requiring use of Safety Management Systems by charter carriers and aircraft manufactures
- JetBlue has struggled, and the strategies of its former CEO Robin Hayes left the carrier without a lot of options. When Hayes exited a few months ago, the airline insisted on health problems as the reason, rather than failure. So imagine the surprise when he quickly lands as the new head of Airbus North America with his health ‘much improved’.
Cash and points is for people who failed 4th grade math
United’s struggles on Pacific routes may be related to the prices that they are charging and the equipment that they are using. They seem to be set on often providing narrow seats in their widebody airplanes per a search on SeatGuru. I have generally found United to price several hundred dollars more than the lowest cost seats in coach. The combination of price and cramped seats is not appealing to me and I expect others see the situation the same way. Another factor for travelers from Asian countries is that Asian country airlines are more likely to have flight attendants who are bilingual or even trilingual.
@jns … +1 . JAL , SQ and ANA have better service .
Yea United needs to improve both it’s hard and soft product for long haul flights. Seats are narrow and food is school cafeteria quality compared to other carriers.
Gary Kelly and his band of beancounting buddies should all be fired, and the sooner the better!
Gary took the original Rapids Rewards Program – the very best in the Airline Industry with a free ticket for 8 roundtrips or 16 legs – and ruined it so they could change to the AA type system which gave credits for $$$ spent.
Now, he and his buddies have conjured up (down?) a way to reduce the value of the RR points.
Gary and the current CEO are out of their lane; they should redirect their focus on S*** that matters, like spending $$$$$$$$$ on State of the Art Software and infrastructure which they totally ignored prior to the December meltdown; all so they could prop up the stock price “for shareholders,” which is a lie, and the beancounters all made out like bandits with their lucrative Stock Options. NOTE: The stock is below where it was prior to the debacle.
If the SWA board had any sense left at all, or could even remember Herb’s legacy, they would fire the entire band of them!