Tag Archives for coffee.
Bilt Rewards has opened a cafe on the ground floor of their headquarters. It offers really good coffee and pastries. But this is more of a to go place, there’s no space for lounging, and they don’t have staff to talk to you about their program or credit card. So I’m not sure what the value proposition is?
American Airlines stopped catering the espresso machines on board their Boeing 777, Boeing 787, and Airbus A321T aircraft during the pandemic. The “frothing wands, cups, saucers, brewing pods” were taken off of planes, according to the airline.
This returned to some aircraft in spring 2022. However, Boeing 777-200s didn’t get catered, and Boeing 777-300ERs only got espresso in first class. That’s changed!
It’s a 41-room 1930s-era motor lodge with neon sign that attracts locals to its pool with day passes. And, since Austin really isn’t centered around a downtown, it’s actually quite a good location for tourists. The property maintains the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ vibe of the early-2010s (from long before the Californians arrived during the pandemic).
You have heard about the woman who sued McDonalds and won $2.7 million after spilling a cup of coffee in her own lap. It became an exhibit in how we desperately needed tort reform. And yet the judgment made a lot of sense to anyone who actually went and learned the facts of the case.
Korean Air has a lot to learn from McDonald’s.
While coffee in the air faces too many challenges to be really enjoyable, it’s perhaps the most important tool in the toolkit for solving inflight problems – and it can keep a flight from becoming miserable.
Now, the idea that Starbucks somehow signals quality is strange. And the brand alone doesn’t matter most, when United served Starbucks it was a special light brew because too many passengers were overwhelmed by deeper flavors. They worked to serve the lowest common denominator taste. But any issue you may have with Delta now serving Starbucks should really be about would you like a cup of it on board?
American Airlines stopped catering the espresso machines on board their Boeing 777, Boeing 787, and Airbus A321T aircraft during the pandemic. The “frothing wands, cups, saucers, brewing pods” were taken off of planes, according to the airline. Fortunately espresso drinks are back!
On Friday American Airlines confirmed they were removing espresso machines from their Airbus A321T, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft. A spokesperson explained this was intended to “help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered.”
This decision generated a surprising amount of comment and interest. However American now says that the machines will actually stay. They have removed supplies, but expect the espresso service to eventually return to premium cabins where the machines are offered
American Airlines used to have espresso machines on board Boeing 777, 787, and Airbus A321T aircraft. They don’t anymore. The airline has removed the machines from these aircraft, a spokesperson confirms to me, “to help conserve fuel and prevent confusion about what services are currently offered.”
My gut feeling is that there’s something wrong with complaining when others are suffering so much, though people are suffering all around the world during ‘normal times’ and I don’t have an issue talking about ‘first world problems’. Does this shift during COVID times make me, on some level, a hypocrite?
How are you handling customer service complaints now, and is that different than it was at the start of the year? And if there’s a change, will it last past the coronavirus pandemic?
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 »
