News and notes from around the interweb:
- Restaurants re-imagining their loyalty programs less ‘buy X, get Y free’ and more experiences and elite benefits.
- Premium lounge tipping: I shared comments from American’s Senior Vice President for Los Angeles that tipping is not permitted in Flagship Dining. I didn’t understand then why at the end of the meal they presented a thank you card that looked like a check, since it felt like it was encouraging tipping.
- The John Kasich first class seat scandal has made it into a cartoon. Oddly no mention that his father was a mailman though.
- Willie Walsh is ‘very confident’ there will be a post-Brexit aviation deal with Europe
Matthew Klint notes that United Polaris lounge bartender positions are advertised as ‘non-tipped’ though apparently bartenders are permitted to accept tips, they just have to quickly remove them from the bar.
- Drunk passenger has to pay airline’s fuel costs for the diversion
- Complaints that UCLA students are using Uber and Lyft to get to class “11,000 trips a week to get from one part of campus to another” in my day it wasn’t uncommon to drive your own car though, it’s a really sprawling campus. The challenge was parking though I could usually find a space in front of what was then called Kinsey Hall (most of my time was spent in Kinsey 356).
- British Airways premium economy passenger disgusted with breakfast Well, duh…
The airline’s website promises a “traditional full English breakfast or a delicious continental breakfast accompanied by a selection of fruit juices and tea or coffee”.
…His pictures, posted to British Airways’ Facebook page, appear to show a very small, dry-looking croissant in plastic wrapping, a stodgy cereal bar, and a small coffee in a disposable cup.
- American Airlines has received it first A321neo. Gorgeous new plane. Too bad what they’re doing to it.
Look who just landed @PITairport and secured newbie status in our fleet fam… our new @Airbus A321neo! 😍 pic.twitter.com/ElbXRJMSwa
— American Airlines (@AmericanAir) February 1, 2019
Tipped $5 @AA Flagship First JFK dining recently. Do JFK AA employees know about no tipping policy for Flagship dining? Fake receipt/bill at the end of meal, per yr post pic is confusing.
Hello AA Executives. Q. Tipping is or isn’t permitted at Flagship First dining? Do you lounge servers know the tipping policy? #americanairlines