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American Airlines Cuts Back on Special Meals

by Gary Leff

airline food
Apr 25 2019

I told you that ‘simplicity’ was the direction American was headed with their catering, and I’ve also written that the option to pick a good meal seemed too generous. So it shouldn’t surprise that there are significant cutbacks in the special meal program.

The Asian Vegetarian, Hindu, and Muslim meals are all the same thing, they just list the options separately. No more meat, then, with Muslim meals. The diabetic meal won’t get steak anymore, now it’s chicken. And meals will be frozen rather than fresh with a one year shelf life. Yum!

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American Airlines Seat Coupons (and Seat Coupon Challenges) are Here

by Gary Leff

airplane cabin
Apr 25 2019

Two months ago I wrote that American would be introducing ‘seat coupons’, so that non-elites and Gold members could earn preferred seat assignments on American Airlines instead of having to pay for these seats.

Seat assignments — even the most undesirable ones, if a non-elite wants them in advance — can come at a premium. So ‘coupons’ to get them without cost or at a discount at some level have value.

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THIS is What Delta, American and United are Running to President Trump Afraid Of?

by Gary Leff

qatarplane
Apr 24 2019

At some level if a US airline cannot compete against an Italian one, a ‘government-controlled’ one no less, they probably shouldn’t be in business. And shouldn’t they worry about how about half of their passengers feel when they’re flattering the President as election season heats up?

What they’re so worried about – and running to the President for protection from – is an airline in Italy with 15 planes that’s just suspended winter service from Los Angeles and San Francisco – and that cancelled Chicago service before it even began.

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American Will Still Protect You If You’re Flying on Separate Tickets and Things Go Wrong

by Gary Leff

american airline plane
Apr 24 2019

It’s usually risky to fly one itinerary on separate tickets. That’s because when you’re on one ticket, if you face a flight delay or cancellation the airline responsible for the irregularity has to get you to your final destination. But if you’re on separate tickets they usually don’t have to do anything more than get you as far as the end of the ticket you’re flying on.

Fortunately — in a world where little seems to go the way of the customer — American Airlines has a policy of taking care of customers connecting on separate tickets as long as one flight is with American and the next is with either American itself or a oneworld partner. And I’ve confirmed that this policy is still in force.

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American Airlines Charcuterie Plate: A Great Pre-Order Option You Should Consider on Your Next Flight

by Gary Leff

airplane food
Apr 21 2019

Regular readers know that it’s almost always a good idea to pre-order your meal in American Airlines domestic first class, if you’re in the cabin at least 24 hours prior to departure. They have special meals you can order in addition to the two choices that’ll otherwise be on board. For lunch I’ll often take the kosher meal or the muslim meal (I do not like the kosher meal at breakfast).

Since launching a partnership with Zoës Kitchen American Airlines has introduced a pre-order charcuterie plate.

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Airline Goes Out of Their Way to Help Ungrateful Family (The Perils of Basic Economy)

by Gary Leff

airplane cabin
Apr 20 2019

What obligation does a passenger have to understand their fare, and how what they’re buying will meet their needs (or not)?

And while It’s fair to blame airlines for a lot of how we experience travel, don’t we also have to take some responsibility for ourselves? The whole experience would be better for everyone, all around, if we’d practice gratefulness.

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Why Eliminating Award Charts is the Wrong Way to Do Revenue-Based Redemption

by Gary Leff

flight chart
Apr 19 2019

There’s a real problem that programs are facing, how to deliver award seats in a world where planes are full and airlines aren’t growing faster than the economy? If there aren’t unsold seats on desirable flights the model breaks down. The answer though isn’t to move towards low value redemptions where a mile is worth a penny. That’s giving up.

Fortunately it’s not really an either-or proposition. In fact United’s own experience with revenue-based redemptions shows that this new model can easily co-exist with award charts.

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