Tag Archives for hong kong.
Aircraft make great hiding spots for drugs, like when the nose of this American Airlines jet hid 31 pounds of cocaine.
But what on earth led Hong Kong Customs officers to do a full tear down on an aircraft engine leading them to an incredible haul?
After arriving in Hong Kong, it’s an 8 hour process involving quarantine forms, downloading a tracking app, and registering a tracking bracelet you have to wear – before taking a COVID-19 spit test and awaiting the results. This gripping report walks through it all, step-by-step.
The Hong Kong International Airport is testing a new booth that people can walk through that will take their temperatures and disinfect their clothing and bodies. It does not test for the presence of viruses, though, or whether someone is contagious.
Hong Kong has joined Singapore in not only banning foreign arrivals but banning transit passenger arrivals, too, after several foreigners arriving there tested positive for COVID-19. A doctor screening inbound passengers at the airport has tested positive as well there.
To crack down on intimacy as a source of spread, alcohol is being banned from bars though people can still get meals in restaurants.
When US Airways management took over at American they brought with them a revenue management philosophy of making far less award space available. However they’ve made efforts to make more economy award space available, bidding for space based on a fare value of miles.
International business class is another matter, even on the most lightly booked of flights.
After the airport was closed to departing flights Monday afternoon as a result of being overrun by protesters, people dispersed and some operations commenced again Tuesday morning.
However protesters returned and the airport once again shut down to departures on Tuesday afternoon.
Clashes between police and democracy protesters have escalated. Here an officer arrests a man on Sunday night, pressing his knee into the man’s face pushing him into his own pooling blood as he calls out “Don’t do this. I’m begging you.” There were 45 protesters injured over the weekend. Of those 25 remain in the hospital.
Spurred on by the government’s increasingly violent crackdown, protesters occupied the airport on Monday. Traffic came to a standstill and protesters crossed the roads leading in and out. All departures were cancelled for the rest of the day.
We’re seeing what may be the beginning of the next big restriction on bank-provided Priority Pass cards: American Express has notified Hong Kong cardmembers that effective August 1 Priority Pass cards that come with their Centurion, Platinum, Peninsula Platinum, and Cathay Pacific Elite credit cards will no longer offer “non-lounge airport experiences” such as restaurants, cafes, and bars “where food/beverage credit is offered instead of entrance into a traditional airport lounge.”
This would cut American Express’ costs to issue these cards significantly, and be a huge cut in cardmember benefits. The worry here is that it could spread (1) to other American Express markets, and (2) to other issuers. I have asked American Express what their plans are for this restriction and will share anything that I learn.
Singapore Airlines is introducing fantastic new products for their Airbus A380s. They have 5 new planes replacing 5 that are being returned to their lessor, and those are being delivered over the next year. They’ll be introduced into service with the new first suites and new business class that offers double beds for passengers traveling together.
The plane has flown to Sydney, and now we know its next two destinations.
You can earn triple Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles (August 1 – September 30) when flying from LA or San Francisco to Hong Kong on first, business, or qualifying (Y, B, H, K, L, M, V) coach fares. You could also choose to earn double American AAdvantage miles through August 31 on these flights, but only when flying first or business class (“I” business fares are not eligible for the AA offer). Personally I’d opt for the AsiaMiles, both because coach fares are eligible and because AsiaMiles are hugely valuable — they allow upgrade redemption on Cathay, American, and British Airways and 60,000 AsiaMiles gets you a business class award on BA from the US East Coast to most destinations in Europe (it would take 100,000 BA miles).
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 »
