KLM Is Expected To Suspend All Long-Haul Flights From Tomorrow
Although it is yet to be confirmed by the airline, it is being widely reported that KLM will temporarily halt all long-haul operations from tomorrow, 22 January 2021, following the introduction of new travel restrictions by the government of the Netherlands.
Singapore Airlines Introducing “One-Stop Online Solution” For Pre-Departure Testing
Singapore Airlines is partnering with Collinson to trial an online portal that will allow its customers to arrange a pre-departure COVID test, receive their results and have evidence of their results ahead of any flights they may need to take.
Is Hyatt About To Lose 22 Properties In The United States?
Two of the more interesting bits of fallout that we've seen from the current crisis have been IHG losing over 100 North American properties in August 2020 and Marriott losing 122 properties in North America in October 2020 and both of those events had one thing in common - the owner of the hotels. Now it looks like Hyatt may be going down a similar (if slightly different) road with the same owner.
United Airlines Follows The Rest And Bans Emotional Support Animals
It started with Alaska Airlines towards the end of December, and then American Airlines and Delta banned emotional support animals in statements issued last week. Now the last of the 'Big 3' US airlines has come into line with United Airlines changing its terms and conditions to reflect that it too will no longer accept emotional support animals onboard.
Emirates Brings Back Flights To Three US Cities (And Boosts Flight To Two Others)
As things stand, Emirates offers non-stop services between Dubai and six major US cities. Starting from next month, Emirates will start to bring back a number of its previously-operated Americas routes which will see the airline will serving nine US destinations by the beginning of March. In addition, two of Emirates' existing US routes will see services boosted.
British Airways Makes Real Improvements To Short-Haul Economy Class Catering
British Airways has today announced an unexpectedly good update to its short-haul Economy Class catering that sees the airline pulling back further from the cuts that it began to implement just a few years ago.
Now Delta Bans Emotional Support Animals
First Alaska Airlines banned emotional support animals at the end of December, then American Airlines announced a ban earlier this week and now Delta has announced that it too will no longer ticket emotional support animals from Monday, 11 January.
Marriott Adds A New Boutique Hotel In Tuscany
These may not be the best of times in which to be opening a new hotel but that hasn't stopped Marriott from unveiling a new Autograph Collection property in Tuscany, Italy. The Grand Universe Lucca, a former 16th Century Palazzo, opened its doors yesterday and joins the Marriott Bonvoy program as a Category 4 property.
Qatar Airways Brings Forward Its Flights To Seattle
At the beginning of December, Qatar Airways announced that it would be launching a new service between Doha and Seattle in the Spring of this year as well as entering into a frequent flyer partnership with Alaska Airlines on December 15. Now the airline says that it will launch its Seattle service a lot sooner.
American Airlines Is The Latest Airline To (Mostly) Ban Emotional Support Animals
American Airlines has today said that it's following in the footsteps of Alaska Airlines and effectively banning most emotional support animals from its aircraft from next week.
Standby For More Points Confusion From Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic used the cover of New Year's day (a day when a lot of people aren't paying attention to the miles & points world) to cynically increase the cost of a significant number of awards for travel with Delta without any notice whatsoever. Now, it would appear as if Virgin may be about to backtrack on some of the changes and that we may see entirely different award costs (for some routes) appear at some point this week.
Qatar Airways Says Its 10% Bonus On Travel Vouchers Is Permanent
While a significant number of airlines spent most of 2020 doing their very best not to refund monies that their customers were entitled to (the behavior of some airlines when it came to refunds was nothing short of despicable), some airlines chose to incentivize travelers not to request refunds by offering bonuses to those who accepted a travel voucher instead.
Emirates Refreshes Its A380 First, Business & Economy Class Cabins
Earlier today, Emirates unveiled the new Premium Economy cabin that has been installed on its newest Airbus A380, but that wasn't the end of the news the airline had to share. The latest Emirates A380 to be delivered also comes with First, Business, and Economy Class cabins that have been retouched and refreshed.
Emirates Finally Unveils Its New Premium Economy Cabin
The only things that feel like they have been around longer than the pandemic are the rumors surrounding the new Emirates A380 Premium Economy cabin, but those rumors have finally been put to rest with today's unveiling by the Middle Eastern carrier.
Alaska Airlines Changes How Elite Status Is Earned & Announces Oneworld Status Levels For...
Alaska Airlines is set to join the oneworld alliance from 31 March 2021 (it had originally hoped to join in 2020) and today has seen the airline confirm the oneworld status levels that each of Mileage Plan’s elite tiers will be receiving once the airline’s membership of oneworld is complete. Today has also seen the airline make a small (and positive) change to how elite status is earned.
Delta Eliminates Change Fees On Select International Bookings
Back in November, American Airlines announced that it was eliminating change fees on most international bookings that originate in the United States and now, three weeks later, Delta has followed suit with a similar announcement of its own.
Qatar Airways Adds Seattle To Its Network & Will Partner With Alaska Airlines
Qatar Airways has confirmed that it plans to operate flights between Doha and Seattle from the first quarter of next year taking its tally of US destinations up to 11. The airline has also said that it also plans to enter into a frequent flyer partnership with Alaska Airlines (headquartered in Seattle) ahead of that airline's entry into the oneworld alliance.
Hyatt Says It Will Add 20+ European Properties By The End Of 2023
Hyatt has said that it plans to add over 20 European properties to its portfolio by the end of 2023 which will represent a 30%+ increase in the number of hotels that operate in Europe under various Hyatt brands.
IHG Announces A New Kimpton For Europe
IHG's Kimpton brand has a staunchly loyal following (one that dates back well before the brand was purchased by IHG) but it has long been a brand with a very US-centric portfolio. In recent years, however, Kimpton has been expanding outside of the United States and the latest property to be announced is a second new Kimpton for Spain.
Marriott Now Has One Fewer Hotels In Central London
Back in the summer, news broke that Marriott would be losing one of its properties in the heart of London this fall and, as of a few days ago, the Le Meridien Picadilly is no longer part of the Marriott network.
Great News: London Is Finally Getting A Park Hyatt
I'm an unabashed fan of most Park Hyatt properties so I'm always especially happy when news of a new property drops into my inbox. Last year saw the announcement of a new Park Hyatt for Los Angeles and now we're getting details that London will be getting a new Park Hyatt within a couple of years.
Alaska Airlines Swaps Airbus A320s For New Boeing 737-9 MAX
In the past few days the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its ban on Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft (other jurisdictions have yet to follow suit) and we're already seeing airlines lining up to give support to the beleaguered aircraft. Alaska Airlines is the latest US carrier to provide a show of faith to the MAX as the airline confirms that it is swapping a number of its Airbus A320 aircraft for new Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft.
United Airlines Brings Coronavirus Testing To Houston
United Airlines may have been the first US airline to announce Covid-19 tests for travelers heading to Hawaii and it may have been the first US airline to announce measures to test transatlantic passengers for coronavirus before their flights, but it was American Airlines that was first to act when it comes to testing on routes to Latin America and the Caribbean. Now, United is making moves in those regions too.
American Airlines Eliminates Change Fees For Select International Bookings
The major US airlines have recently been rolling back some of the fees that they have introduced over the years as they stumble towards the conclusion that they're going to have to be ultra-competitive in the coming years if they're not to lose out on market share to their closest competitors. Now, in the latest fee-cutting exercise, American Airlines has announced that it is eliminating change fees on select international bookings.
Qatar Airways Returns To Miami And Adds Flights To Chicago & New York
Qatar Airways has announced that it is restarting operations to seven of the destinations that it served before the coronavirus intervened and turned the travel world upside down, and the airline has confirmed that it will be boosting services on two of it key US routes from as early as this weekend.
Is This More Bad News Regarding The Qatar Airways Unbundled Business Class Fares?
As I noted yesterday, Qatar Airways has revamped its fare codes and, in the process, has introduced an unbundled Business Class fare that offers customers less than what most Business Class fares offer. The Qatar Airways website has now been updated to show the new fare options (on most routes) and in researching the latest changes, I noticed something that I wasn't expecting to see.
Virgin Atlantic Will Operate Just 14 Routes During England’s Lockdown
Virgin Atlantic has now published its flight schedules for the rest of November as the airline responds to the month-long lockdown that the British Government has imposed on England. With at most 14 routes operating between now and 2 December, Virgin Atlantic's schedule has been pared to the bone.
Bad News: Qatar Airways Is Set To Offer Unbundled Business Class Fares
Back in June 2019, Emirates dropped the bombshell that it would start to offer a 'Basic' Business Class fare that stripped out a number of benefits that we have all come to expect from a Business Class ticket and, earlier this year Finnair announced that it planned to introduce a 'Business Light' fare on select routes. To most readers, those announcements weren't especially bad news, but they were a clear indication of a direction the airline industry is taking. Today's news, however, could be more serious.
British Airways Is Suspending These 46 Routes Starting Tomorrow
Yesterday, a letter sent out by Mark Muren, BA’s head of global sales, gave a very strong indication that the airline was about to start canceling a significant number of its routes following England's descent into its second lockdown of the year. Now, courtesy of a document shared with another blog, we know that at least 46 routes will be suspended during the coming month with a number of suspensions kicking in as of tomorrow.
Warning: Get Ready For A Stream Of British Airways Flight Cancellations
England went into lockdown for the second time today and with all outbound travel being discouraged and with airlines already at the mercy of England's ever-changing quarantine rules, this is a body-blow to the likes of Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. So far, there hasn't been too much evidence of deep route cuts from the UK's primary long-haul carriers but, based on a letter just sent out by BA's head of global sales, a significant number of cancellations appears to be on the way.
Virgin Atlantic Announces A New Caribbean Route
Virgin Atlantic may still be fighting for its very existence (alongside a host of other airlines) but that hasn't stopped it from announcing a new route between the UK and the Caribbean that, all being well, it plans to launch next summer.
Is This The End Of The Etihad A380?
The Etihad Airbus A380 is home to the most opulent way of traveling on a commercial airliner (The Residence), one of the world's best First Class seats (the Etihad First Class Suite) and it's only one of two commercial aircraft to offer an onboard shower. Sadly, if you were hoping to try out any of these indulgences you won't be doing so any time soon.
Alaska Airlines Will Join Oneworld On 31 March 2021
Originally it was meant to happen by the end of this year, but when Alaska Airlines realized just how complicated joining a global airline alliance can be, the date for it to join oneworld was pushed back to "not before the end of the first quarter" of 2021. Well, as vague deadlines go, that one turned out to be remarkably accurate because Alaska Airlines has now announced that it will join the oneworld alliance on 31 March 2020.
Big News: Alex Cruz Replaced As British Airways CEO
International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, has announced that Alex Cruz is stepping down as CEO of the UK's flag carrier and, following a transition period, will be relinquishing his role as chairman too. All of this comes towards the end of a year which has seen the airline industry brought to its knees by Covid-19 and thousands of employees losing their jobs at British Airways.
American Airlines Announces Its Switch To Beijing Daxing Airport
Before the current travel crisis, all American Airlines services between the US and Beijing used Bejing Capital Airport (PEK). All of American's passenger services to China are currently suspended but the airline has just announced that when it resumes operations between Dallas Fort Worth and Beijing, it's aircraft will be landing and taking off from the Chinese Capital's newest airport - Daxing International Airport (PKX).
Qatar Airways Confirms That It Will Bring Its Qsuite To San Francisco
Qatar Airways currently operates eight routes between Doha and the United States and from the end of the year, the airline will add a ninth - San Francisco. The West coast gateway has been part of Qatar Airways' plans in the past (back in 2018) but the planned service never materialized. This time around, however, there's a lot more reason to expect the new route to go ahead.
Amazing. Marriott Just Lost 122 Properties In North America (Including a Major Hawaii Resort)
Service Properties Trust, a company that owns over a hundred properties that are currently operating under various Marriott brands, has announced that it is terminating all of its agreements with Marriott effective 31 January 2021. There doesn't look to be any going back so from 1 February next year, Marriott's North America portfolio will have noticeably fewer properties in it than it did the day before.
United Airlines Brings Back Non-Stop Service To Shanghai
For most of this year, only a limited number of flights have been permitted between the United States and China with United Airlines and Delta being the only US carriers offering services to Shanghai. Up recently, both airlines have been serving Shanghai via Seoul but with Delta planning non-stop service to Shanghai during the upcoming winter season, United Airlines has now announced that it too will be resuming non-stop service to Shanghai from later this month.
Hilton’s Has Updated Its Flexible Cancellation Policy – It’s Not Good News
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Alaska Airlines Will Add Another Five New SoCal Routes This Winter
Alaska Airlines is continuing to build on its new friendship with American Airlines by adding a number of routes out of Los Angeles and Palm Springs as well as increasing the frequencies on a further three routes that it already operates out of LAX. Coming on top of the airline's previously announced expansion at LAX, this is another big bit of positive news for travelers based in Southern California.
Emirates Will Offer Its A380 On Just Seven Routes This Winter
Emirates operates the largest fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft in the world and it's safe to say that without the investment Emirates put into the A380 program, the aircraft would have gone out of production a lot earlier than this year. Still, even a behemoth like Emirates isn't immune to the current travel crisis and few things highlight that fact better than the airline's plans for the Winter 2020/21 season which will see it operating its A380 on just seven international routes.
United Airlines New Hawaii Routes Now Open For Reservations
A little under three weeks ago, United announced a number of new international routes to Africa and India as well as two new domestic routes that the airline said would “make it easier than ever to travel nonstop to Maui and Kona for the 2021 summer season”. Following a weekend schedule update, the new Hawaii routes are now in the systems and United.com is taking reservations.
Delta Eliminates Change Fees On Most Domestic Award Bookings
Delta Platinum and Medallion members have long been able to change award bookings without incurring a penalty but now, with immediate effect, everyone else can feel a little bit more like an elite flyer with Delta after the airline announced that change fees on domestic award bookings are now (mostly) a thing of the past.
Emirates Cuts Capacity And Delays Restarts On Routes To The United States
As I seem to keep saying, if you think that we're anywhere the end of this current crisis you just have to look at the various plans the airlines are making to see that we're not even close. We're seeing a lot of airlines eliminating routes and cutting capacity on routes seemingly every time a new set of schedule changes is released, and the latest airline to post less than optimistic schedules is Emirates.
KLM Cuts Service To 3 US Cities & Reduces Capacity To Others
In the last 24 hours, KLM has updated its schedules for winter 2020/21 and when you compare the services the airline plans to offer to the services offered pre-Covid, it doesn't make for pretty reading. Three US cities are set to lose service altogether, while even major partner hubs like Atlanta will be seeing reduced capacity.
The “New” British Airways First Class Seat Is Nothing To Get Excited About
It all started yesterday when an over-eager British Airways employee put out a tweet (now deleted) that let the world know that British Airways would be offering a new First Class option in the not too distant future. Earlier today, British Airways emailed staff to let them know that a "modified First seat experience" is on the way (this has been widely leaked already) but the reality behind the news is far less exciting than most had probably hoped.
EL AL Set To Resume New York Service In October
As with all of the world's airlines, EL AL has effectively been on hiatus for most of the year so far but unlike a lot of its competitors, EL AL is yet to resume passenger services on its international routes. From October, however, that's set to change with the airline scheduling a return to New York JFK as well as to three other international destinations.
British Airways Responds To Virgin Atlantic: Adds New Route To Pakistan & Accelerates Another
At the beginning of September, Virgin Atlantic announced that it would be launching three new routes to Pakistan from later this year as the airline looks to move away (at least temporarily) from its heavy reliance on transatlantic traffic. Now, less than two weeks after Virgin Atlantic's announcement, British Airways has responded and it's not good news for the smaller carrier.
Alaska Airlines’ Admission To Oneworld Delayed (Good News For Some?)
When the news that Alaska Airlines was planning to join the oneworld alliance broke last February, it was news that very few people had expected to hear. The airline followed up that surprise with another one when, earlier this summer, it suggested that its membership of the oneworld alliance may be complete before the end of this year. Sadly, that's a target that the airline no longer expects to meet.
JetBlue Announces 24 New Routes (Includes Latin America & The Caribbean)
JetBlue has announced that it plans to add 24 new routes to its network from later this year with a view to concentrating on leisure destinations served from the airline's focus cities around the United States. With multiple new flights to cities across the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean, this is the airline's attempt at shoring up its finances while, business travel continues to show little sign of recovery.
United Airlines Already Forced To Improve Its “No Change Fees” Policy
United Airlines was the first of the major US airlines to announce that it would be eliminating change fees for most fares booked for travel within the United States, to/from Puerto Rico and to/from the US Virgin Islands but Delta and American Airlines quickly followed with their own announcements and, in American's case, its announcement went further than United's and now United has been forced to play catch-up.
United Airlines Announces Seven New Non-Stop Routes (International & Domestic)
Yesterday, United Airlines used social media to run a teaser trying to get customers (and potential customers) to guess what new routes the airline was set to announce today. If you didn't see that teaser or if you failed to guess the new routes, this latest announcement will tell you all you need to know - United Airlines will be flying five new international routes to Africa and India, as well as offering two new routes to Hawaii.
What Are Your Rights If An Airline Cancels Your Flight (Covid-19 Edition)
This post aims to inform readers with bookings to/from/within the United States and/or the European Union (and select associated nations) what their rights are when an airline cancels their flight(s) in the era of Covid-19.
Marriott’s Secret Website Will Tell You What Services Its Hotels Are Offering During The...
Marriott has built a website that is designed to show travelers what services and amenities its properties are offering during the current crisis. The site isn't yet official and its contents are not yet complete, but with in-house offerings varying wildly from property to property (even for properties in the same town or city), this can still be an invaluable resource for anyone trying to decide what Marriott to book for their next trip.
Owed A Qantas Refund? The Airline Is Now Offering Incentives To Passengers Accepting Credits
One of the bigger consumer stories that has emerged during this pandemic is the story of tens of thousands of travelers struggling to get their canceled trips refunded by airlines all over the world. Qantas is one of the airlines that has been less than stellar when it comes to returning customer funds and now the airline is offering customers incentives if they choose to accept a credit for future travel over the cash they're owed.
Virgin Atlantic Will Offer Its New Business Class To Barbados
For the Northern Hemisphere Winter Season, Virgin Atlantic has scheduled one of its new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to operate its route between London and Barbados. This means that customers flying in the airlines Upper Class cabin will be treated to Virgin Atlantic's best Business Class seats.
American Airlines Plans To Restart Flights To Australia This Year
Qantas says it doesn't plan on restarting services to the United States before July 2021 and Australia is still a country that's off-limits to most of the world, but that's not enough to discourage American Airlines. Starting later this year American Airlines plans to resume service between Los Angeles and Sydney and it plans to offer four flights per week.
[Updated] Virgin Atlantic Plans Three Routes To Pakistan From December 2020
Virgin Atlantic has today announced that it plans to offer three new services between the United Kingdom and Pakistan from December 2020. To some, this may seem like an odd path for Virgin Atlantic to choose, but the fact is that what we're witnessing is an airline coming to terms with a very key weakness and looking for ways to mitigate the risks that weakness brings.
United Airlines Will Operate 40% Of Its October Schedule Next Month
United Airlines has just announced its planned schedules for September and October and the airline has confirmed that when its routes are taken as a whole (i.e. international + domestic routes together), it is expecting to operate 34% of its full schedule in September and 40% of its full schedule in October. These figures are in comparison to the routes operated in the same months last year.
Hawaiian Airlines Is The Latest US Carrier To Eliminate Change Fees
One of life's rules has always been that when an airline pushes through a change that's negative for customers all of its competitors rush to follow suit. Rarely have airlines rushed to copy a change that's positive for customers, and yet here we have the fifth US airline in a week announcing that it is eliminating most change fees for is customers. This has been a good week for flyers.
Now Alaska Airlines Eliminates Change Fees Permanently (Is There A Hidden Bonus?)
Well, this has certainly been a good start to the week for US flyers. First, we have United Airlines announcing that it would eliminate most domestic change fees, then Delta followed suit, and American Airlines rounded off the news from the "Big 3" by improving upon United's change fee announcement and improving its Basic Economy fares too. Now Alaska Airlines has joined in by confirming that has eliminated all change fees on most domestic and international bookings.
American Airlines Improves Basic Economy & Eliminates Select Change Fees
United Airlines may have started the ball rolling by being the first of the major US airlines to eliminate change fees on domestic itineraries, but American Airlines has now taken the ball further by eliminating change fees on more routes than United or Delta and by making some significant improvements to its Basic Economy fares.
Warning: IHG & Marriott Flexible Cancellation Policies Are Ending
IHG and Marriott are the first major hotel chains to confirm that they're ending their flexible cancellation policies which have been available on all bookings since the beginning of the current crisis. At the time of writing, Hilton, Hyatt, and Radisson have not yet followed suit, but with their current policies expiring at the same time as the Marriott and IHG policies expire, there's scope for these three chains to go down the same path.
Delta Follows United’s Lead & Eliminates Domestic Change Fees
United Airlines caught a lot of people off guard when it announced that it would be eliminating most change fees for domestic itineraries with immediate effect and, not all that surprisingly, Delta has followed suit and confirmed that it has also eliminated most domestic change fees with immediate effect.
United Airlines Is Eliminating Select Change Fees Permanently
With the travel industry in a state of crisis, airlines are being forced to try and find new ways to persuade travelers to choose them over their competitors. So far we've mainly seen airlines playing the "who's aircraft are cleanest" game with airlines sometimes appearing to claim that they've found a new and better way to sterilize an aircraft every week. Now, however, we've seen United Airlines fire the first new salvo for a while - the airline claims it's elimination change fees permanently.
American Airlines Schedules New Shanghai Service From Seattle
Back in July, American Airlines announced plans to move the service it operated between Los Angeles and Shanghai to Seattle and, subject to government approval, that's what American Airways has done. The route is now in the schedules and is open for reservations.
Incredible: IHG Is Set To Lose Over 100 Properties In North America
The next time you're searching IHG.com for accommodation in North America you may find that a number of properties you've been used to seeing in the past are no longer there. This isn't a glitch or a temporary system error, it's because IHG has just lost over 100 of it's North American properties to a considerably smaller operator.
Virgin Atlantic Will Only Be Flying To Five US Destinations By October
Virgin Atlantic has been fighting for survival for most of the summer and it's only recently that the airline has been back in the skies and flying back and forth across the Atlantic. A recent schedule update published by the airline confirmed that, for September/October 2020, it will offer customers flights to just five US destinations.
Delta & United Airlines Add More Flights To Shanghai
Delta and United currently operate two weekly flights each between the United States and Shanghai with both airlines routing their operations through Seoul Incheon Airport. An agreement announced yesterday between the United States and China to increase the number of flights between the two counties from four to eight will now see both carriers doubling the number of flights they offer to Shanghai.
Japan Airlines (JAL) Increases Services To The United States
Right now, Airlines are making alterations to their schedules on a daily basis as they attempt to adapt to the ever-changing entry rules that various counties have been introducing. Recent restrictions introduced by the likes of the UK, Vietnam, and Thailand have seen numerous flights to those countries cut from the schedules so it's nice to be able to report that JAL will be increasing services to the US from September.
Qatar Airways Boosts Services To JFK & LAX And Returns To Two More US...
Back in June, Qatar Airways announced its return to four major US cities and, as of today, the gulf carrier now operates on six transatlantic routes to the United States. Starting tomorrow, 12 August, Qatar Airways will begin boosting frequencies on its existing US routes and, from September, the carrier will restart services to two more US cities.
British Airways Schedules Club Suite Service To Los Angeles (Finally!)
After months of waiting, Los Angeles-based oneworld flyers will soon no longer have to choose between a great Business Class seat combined with poor service (American Airlines) or a poor Business Class seat with pretty good service (BA) as British Airways has finally scheduled a Club Suite equipped aircraft to serve LAX from later this year.
Cathay Pacific Will Only Serve Three US Cities In September
Before the travel world came to grinding halt, Cathay Pacific offered flights between Hong Kong and eight US airports across 7 US cities but, in a further sign of how slowly travel is currently recovering, the carrier is only set to operate to three of those cities in September 2020.
Air France Is Now Replacing The A380s In Its Schedules
It has been over two months since Air France announced that its A380s wouldn't be taking to the skies again (at least not as a part of Air France's commercial operations) but it's only now that Air France has updated its schedules to show what aircraft it will be using on the routes that the A380 once operated.
RIP BA1 – British Airways Retires Its All-Business-Class A318
IAG, the parent company of British Airways, has published its latest quarterly results and alongside the news that the airline group made a loss of €1.3bn ($1.55bn) between April and June of this year, IAG announced that it was "exiting" the A318 fleet as part of its response to the current crisis and, with that, signaled the end of the all-business-class service that British Airways operated between London and New York.
British Airways Won’t Fly From London Gatwick Before November
If anyone you know needs a reminder that the current crisis is far from over, point them in the direction of an airline schedule. While some airlines are clearly doing their best to ramp up operations and restart routes (e.g. Qatar Airways), a lot of major airlines are still running vastly reduced services and are pushing back the dates for planned service resumptions.
American Airlines Schedules Dreamliners On 4 Domestic Miami Routes
I've been known to get a bit over-excited when I've managed to book a Business Class seat on a widebody aircraft on a domestic route (after having expected to be booking a standard domestic First Class cabin), so I'm expecting the news that American Airlines is going to offer its premium cabin flyers yet more opportunities to fly to/from Miami in comfort, to go down very well.
Air France Is Reintroducing More “Normal” Meal Services Onboard
Now that airlines are trying to get their schedules back on track and tempt people back into the skies, we're seeing more and more carriers announcing the return of a little more "normality" onboard and Air France is the latest airline to confirm that passengers can expect to see improved service levels and offerings from this month onwards.
KLM Will Operate More Flights To Select US Cities in August/September
KLM has recently updated its worldwide schedules and in the months of August and September, the European carrier will be increasing the number of fights it offers to select cities in the United States with some destinations getting twice as many flights as they're currently seeing.
British Airways To Retire ALL Boeing 747s With Immediate Effect
In an email sent out to employees a few hours ago, British Airways effectively announced the end of the road for its Boeing 747s. With the travel world still in turmoil and with recovery not expected for a number of years, the viability of BA's least efficient aircraft was always going to be called into question, so it's not altogether surprising to read that the 747 has flown its last commercial flight for British Airways.
Big News: American Airlines In Surprise Tie-up With JetBlue
American Airlines and JetBlue have today announced that they are entering into a strategic partnership that will see American Airlines launch new international services out of New York JFK, JetBlue expanding at all three New York airports, and members of both airlines' loyalty programs enjoying reciprocal elite benefits.
London Hotels Not Passing On Tax Savings To Guests
As of today, 15 July 2020, the level of VAT being charged on UK hotel accommodation is 5% (down from 20%) and as VAT is a tax on the consumer and not the hotelier (VAT is a sales tax so the hotelier is only acting as a government tax collector), it would be reasonable to expect the cost of a hotel night to drop in proportion to the drop in VAT...but this isn't necessarily the case.
Air France USA Routes & Frequencies For Sept/Oct 2020
Most airlines have been operating skeleton schedules for most of the past few months but, over the past few weeks, we've slowly started to see a few airlines announcing plans to increase the number of flights they offer. The latest airline to announce increased routes and services to/from the US is Air France.
American’s Seattle – London Service Is Open For Bookings
American Airlines will be starting service between Seattle and London from the end of March 2021 and the plan was to have the service bookable from early May of this year. The crisis that unfolded since the original route announcement saw American Airlines delay the opening of reservations for its newest route but, following a recent schedule update, tickets are now on sale.
Delta Has Restarted Select Beverage Services On Domestic Flights
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Qatar Airways Now Requires Masks AND Face Shields For Economy Class Passengers
In a move that's almost certain to polarize opinion, Qatar Airways has modified the health and safety rules enforced onboard its aircraft to include a requirement for Economy Class passengers to wear both a mask and a visor for the duration of the flight. Business Class passengers will continue to be asked to wear a mask and/or shield at their own discretion.
Emirates Starts To Reopen Lounges & Restarts Services To 11 Destinations
Emirates has announced the reopening of one of its lounges in Dubai and has confirmed that its Chauffeur Drive service is once again being offered to customers with select premium bookings. In addition, the airline has continued to restart routes to countries around the world and will offer services to over 50 cities in July.
Qantas’ Recovery Plan Could Mean That It Never Operates Its A380s Again
Qantas has unveiled the 3-year recovery plan it will be following as it navigates its way out of the current crisis, and the details shared by the airline show Qantas cutting a significant number of jobs, keeping a large proportion of its fleet grounded, retiring its 747s earlier than planned and admitting that the days may be numbered for in A380 aircraft.
Qatar Airways Suggests It Will Introduce A New First Class Cabin
Qatar Airways offers arguably the best all-around Business Class product in the world and it's a product that's better than a number of First Class cabins that I can mention. It also currently only offers its own First Class product on its Airbus A380 aircraft which the airline has already said it will be retiring...so will Qatar Airways really introduce a brand new First Class cabin?
Emirates Brings Back Its A380 To London & Paris
The Airbus A380 may be the world's largest commercial aircraft but in an era of economical aircraft like the A350s, the A330neo, and the Boeing Dreamliners, the A380 is an uneconomical dinosaur. None of the airlines that operate the A380 have been flying them during the current crisis and some airlines have gone as far as to say that they'll never fly their A380s again...but for Emirates that's not an option.
Qatar Airways Expands Services To Offer 270+ Flights To 45+ Destinations
Qatar Airways has grown to be the largest airline in the world during the current crisis, primarily due to the fact that it has continued to serve a variety of routes while most other large airlines have dramatically shrunk their capacities. Now, as airlines around the world begin to ramp up their services once more, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it now offers over 270 weekly flights to over 45 destinations...and the numbers keep growing.
Virgin Atlantic Plans To Be Flying To 23 Destinations By October
Virgin Airlines has been living on the edge ever since the current crisis first hit the headlines as, unlike a lot of its competitors, it found itself unable to access the aid on offer from its home government. In its fight for survival, we have seen the airline cut over 35% of its workforce and abandon one of its hub airports and we have seen multiple pleas for help from the UK government go unanswered...but the airline keeps soldiering on.
Malaysia Airlines Introduces Hand Baggage Only Economy Class Fares
Malaysia Airlines has announced that it has introduced "enhanced Economy fare options, putting customers’ needs as priority" which, in normal everyday language, means that it has introduced "hand baggage only" Economy fares which offer customers very little in return for no price decrease at all. Regardless of how Malaysia Airlines tries to spin this news, this isn't good for passengers.
Etihad Plans Increased Services To Chicago & New York
Etihad has joined the growing list of airlines that are scheduling increased services between their home hubs and various cites in the United States and, in some cases, restarting routes that have been mothballed since the start of the current crisis. Etihad's latest schedule changes seen the airline planning to significantly increase services to Chicago and New York in just a few weeks' time.
American Airlines Is Trying To Raise $3.5bn From Equity, Bonds & Loans
American Airlines chose to use Sunday afternoon to announce that it is looking to raise at least $3.5 billion through a combination of a public stock offering, the issuing of loan stock, and a new secured credit facility.
Qatar Airways Announces Its Return To Four Major US Cities
Qatar Airways has been the only big Middle Eastern carrier that has kept a number of services operating to the United States throughout the current crisis and now, as the airline enters an eight week period during which it hopes to get as many as 70% of its routes back online, it has announced plans to resume flights to four major US cities.
JetBlue Launches Mint At Newark & Announces 30 New Routes
JetBlue has offered a nice distraction from the current travel crisis to announce a series of new routes out of nine East Coast/Florida airports and the introduction of its acclaimed Mint Business Class cabin to two new transcontinental routes out of New York Newark airport. Additionally, the airline also announced that nine temporarily closed cities and several summer seasonal destinations will reopen in early July.
Emirates Returns To Washington DC And Nine Other Destinations
Emirates has announced plans to boost flights to 14 of the cities it currently serves and it has confirmed the dates on which it plants to recommence services to 10 destinations it dropped when the current crisis took hold. It won't be all plain sailing, however, as some of the planned destinations are currently closed to overseas visitors, but Emirates has a plan for this.
Qatar Airways Is Canceling Aircraft Orders & Pushing Back Deliveries By Up To 10...
The CEO of Qatar Airways gave a live interview to a British news channel yesterday afternoon and, as is always the case with Akbar Al Baker, he didn't mince his words and he wasn't short of a few opinions. The interview covered a broad spectrum of aviation issues and Al Baker revisited some old ground, but one of the more interesting revelations to come out of the interview is the fact that Qatar Airways wants to push back deliveries of new aircraft by up to a decade. That's incredible.
Good News: California Will Get More A350 Service From Virgin Atlantic
In a recent schedule update, Virgin Atlantic has reversed a decision taken back in February which saw California lose the prospect of getting a new A350 route and it has added a further A350 flight to a city already served by the airline's flagship aircraft. If the schedules don't change again (admittedly that's a very big "if"), California will be getting a lot more A350 service from Virgin Atlantic starting from this fall.
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