A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Trump hotels are nice, though the DC property reportedly fails to change bathrobes between guests.
That’s good practice, it would seem, for Trump Hotels to launch a midscale brand, a category which includes Best Western, Baymont Inns, Knights Inn, and Quality Inn. And apparently that’s the market they’re going for, to Make La Quinta Great Again.
Donald Trump proposed to reform air traffic control today, and reaction to it seems to break down largely along party lines (except that the air traffic controllers union is supportive).
US air traffic control is antiquated, leads to delays and fewer flights, and is one of the major things creating frustrations about air travel today though most passengers don’t realize it.
On Thursday a pilot for Cathay Pacific subsidiary Cathay Dragon (formerly Dragonair) was flying a charter from Hong Kong to Komatsu airport in Ishikawa, Japan when he turned flight KA8348 around just over Taiwan.
Etihad operates a Boeing 777-200LR, rather than an Airbus A380 — which means no First Apartment — it’s a far more convenient flight for me to take living in Austin than flying up to New York (although since Etihad went double daily with the A380 out of New York JFK a few days ago it will be easier to connect there).
There are some evident cutbacks in Etihad first class, mostly the menu, the cabin remains gorgeous and the suites are comfortable so it’s still one of the top 10 first class products in the world.
Wyndham Rewards has become really lucrative at the same time. They introduced elite benefits a year ago, and new benefits on award nights. An award redemption costs 15,000 points per night regardless of property, and that now includes timeshares and individual homes.
Now they have a great new partnership with Caesars and a new brand announcement.
Emirates, Etihad Airways and flydubai are suspending flights to Qatar. Egypt has closed its airspace to Qatar Airways.
Yesterday I flew United and we were delayed a few minutes by a passenger who wanted to self-upgrade.. from one economy seat to another.
A flight attendant for South Korean Star Alliance member Asiana has been suspended after bringing her middle school-aged daughter into the crew rest area on a flight from Seoul Incheon to Rome.
My wife and I went to the BottleRock festival in Napa over Memorial Day weekend, and it was notable for several reasons. I had never stayed at the Westin Napa before. Napa Valley is home to some of the best wineries around and the festival had drawn everyone away most of them were deserted.
And it’s a great example of an experiential points redemption opportunity — I’m not a huge concert-goer but I definitely can enjoy watching from a Starwood American Express suite rather than from the the packed grass.
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 »
