Tagged With "business-class"

I've seen a lot of "award creep" in my days, and I think there's more to come. A "mile" is worth less and less all the time. It's clear that airline miles aren't worth banking for any period of time. Use them when it's logical to do so. They likely will be worth less in the near future. Thanks for the link, PHeymont.

Not sure I agree with the "burn 'em" philosophy. At the premium class end, there's certainly been a lot of creep, but not so much in coach, which is more price-sensitive, even for awards. True, summer awards to Europe have generally gone from 50K to 60K, but on the other hand, off-season at American went DOWN to 40K--and with the flexibility of taking one-way awards and combining them in interesting ways...it's actually a better situation. Also, there are some card-linked sales on flight...

I think you'll find reward trips from the Western USA are harder to get for European travel than from the East coast. But if your schedule is flexible, you could be lucky.

I think for premium travel,it makes sense. It has always surprised me that premium travel is so much cheaper from a frequent flier perspective (2:1) vs economy than when you actually buy the ticket. Just as a side note, aeroplan has recently reduced miles required on some of their reward charts as well.

John's point about the ratio between the two tiers is interesting (we looked at that a little in a forum post this week on value of miles). My guess--and it's just that--is that the same kind of yield-management used to set prices has taken a look at this and is carefully balancing loyalty vs. burn... I can't really compare East vs West availability personally; my school schedules have defined when I can travel well enough that I'm able to start hunting tickets 330 days out, when the...

Looking at the picture, it appears to me that the business class option is a far cry from the direction upper class has been going of late, more and more comfort. Does this mean it will be more comfortable than currently is the case for economy passengers or less comfortable for business class? Maybe the arc has peaked for upper class comfort and this indicates the start of a slide down the other side.

I would presume the wider seat arrangement would more likely be "Economy Plus" rather than business class. Say two large people buying a 3 row seat and the third seat would get squeeze down by the wider adjustment of the above. International business class nowadays is almost universally lie flat bed seats. To not have these would mean a loss of this lucrative market for the airlines.

Maybe the trend will be to 3, rather than 4 classes, with econ+ going by the wayside and the flat bed option called first. Who knows. Business started out looking something like econ+ does now. Four options seems like about 1 too many to me.

Keep in mind that the picture is the patent model...tricked out with real upholstery it may look very different. Other than fitting big people better, I think this may mainly be used on smaller airliners that fly as one- or two-class, as British Air does on a lot of European flights....business class there is pretty much just empty middle. This would allow flexibility. Be my guess...

Yumm!!!! Thanks for the heads up. That could be a fun way to spend a day by the Bay.

Lufthansa has come up with a unique new...well, not sure if I should call it an offer, a game, a fee or a lottery! Economy passengers on Lufthansa's 747-8s is offering passengers in economy to bid on an upgrade to premium economy, or from economy to...

United Airlines has released a new award chart that bumps up the miles required for nearly all business and first-class awards, and (for the first time) makes flights on its Star Alliance partner airlines cost more miles than on United. Details HERE

  It's the dream of many weary business travelers, and just a fantasy for those of us in steerage.  Boeing has developed a concept for a lie-flat business class seat that would let you lie-flat the entire flight if you wanted to, including...

  Lufthansa  starts implementing a more  personal touch for long haul  business class passengers starting this month. Flight attendants will pay more attention to individual passenger needs similar to an upscale...

Delta is replacing hard-to-sell premium seats on some international flights with in-demand coach seats. MORE

Boeing has been granted a patent on what's possibly the answer to several questions: It's an airline seat with movable armrests that could turn 3 economy seats into 2 business-class, or could allow a thin person and a fat person to make a better...

Lufthansa and German food retailer Allyouneed have partnered on what must be one of the most unusual offerings: they'll deliver Lufthansa business-class meals to your home. Considering what most people think of airline food, that's amazing!   So...

I've heard of taking a cooking class as part of a stay in Thailand or Italy, but now San Francisco Cooking School is offering day-long classes, in addition to their very serious professional career curriculum.  From wine to steak to pastry...

Delta is joining American and dozens of international airlines in offering a 'premium economy' section on international flights. The trend is leaving more and more flights with business as the premium class instead of first.

Carnival's newest ship is being built in two widely-separated Italian shipyards. The front, launched yesterday, is on the way to meet its mate.

American Airlines announces some inflight upgrades, including more entertainment choices, meals on Texas-Hawaii flights, and The Pretzels Are Back!

Nice to hear that American is doing something to improve the experience of its economy customers. Now if only they got rid of that annoying checked bag fee.

Regarding "that annoying checked bag fee", the problem is not the fee, it's that you aren't going far enough. Fly internationally and don't pay a fee. Or is that not true between Canada & the US?

Baggage fees apply for most airlines flying between Canada and the USA. The 'free bag' is for intercontinental flights, so far as I can tell.

American Airlines have been giving excellent service since their merger. I've only flown UK to US and back but their cabin staff have been courteous and charming. Must mention Bernie by name - what a wonderful charming man. Not so young, but he came back later into the flight to thank me for complimenting the crew. No charges for luggage - free drinks AND ice cream. I'm flying with them again in 10 days. Then Frontier to Miami. Am I in for a shock ?

Yes, Garry. I expect the last leg of your flight will be somewhat of a shock after your American pampering.

It's only 3 hours but I guess I'll be hammered for my luggage !

Most of my flights on American have been international, and the crews have been excellent (and you get snacks as well as meals.) On domestic flights, they've been just as nice, and usually my credit card has waived the baggage fee. That's never what I hear from people flying Frontier! By the way, one AA oddity: there's no free baggage on some international flights; Mexico City is international, but Cancun is domestic for baggage purposes. Caught me blinking on that one!