Tagged With "business"
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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.
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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...
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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.
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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.
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Re: United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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...
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Re: Coming soon: Adjustable-width airline seats?
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.
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Re: Coming soon: Adjustable-width airline seats?
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.
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Re: Coming soon: Adjustable-width airline seats?
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.
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Re: Coming soon: Adjustable-width airline seats?
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...
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Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
As an Airbnb user, and also a host, again I have the feeling that the company, while tooting their "community" horn, has again proceeded with changes to the site with no input from users, but rather as conceived by the designers working in their own little world. Particularly as a host, it regularly becomes a case of "you can't get there from here". This interview is an example, telling us that corporate users will be directed only to entire properties, rather than all properties available...
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Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
I definitely agree that the interface has become more difficult to use in many ways, although easier in a few. In particular, some parts of the filtering and some information...more difficult. But I do think that the point of what McCabe was saying was that the corporate travel departments want to place restriction on what their employees can rent, and that Airbnb will help them do that...for their employees. Independent business travelers, or those who work for corporations with a more...
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Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
My point, more succinctly, is that while I have no problem with Airbnb expanding it's customer base, a surprising number of my guests are first-time users and I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to extract them from dead-ends they've gotten themselves into on the site. Until the booking process is a straight line, easily negotiated by new users, I believe their efforts would be better spent serving the customers they already have, before heading in new directions.
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Re: Airbnb's plans for business travelers
They were fortunate to have a guide like you! There was a time when it was easy to say what part of Paris you wanted to stay in, and what rent range you were willing to pay, and what type of place, as well as desired amenities. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that these days you have to settle for some of those criteria and waste time hunting through the rest. Honestly, as much as I've had good experiences, my business is ripe for the picking if anyone could match the selection and...
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Re: Why Spending a Business Conference in Cyprus Is a Great Idea
Cyprus sounds great, never actually considered the possibility of picking an excellent business conference venue, I'd often just look out for something functional.
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Lufthansa: Name your own upgrade...
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...
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United's Award Chart: Premium Award Cost Goes UP
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
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Airbnb's plans for business travelers
Airbnb has become so pervasive in the leisure travel market, you just know there must be business travelers using it, too. And not surprisingly, Airbnb would like to encourage that. In an interview with Business Travel News, Marc McCabe, the company's...
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New technologies for de-icing are in the wings
OK, I apologize for the double pun...but it's true in both ways. The ritual of de-icing planes before winter take-offs is costly, time-consuming, and known to be effective, so while many companies are working on ways to do it faster, cheaper or...
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Roses are red, violets are blue...and UPS will deliver 110 million of them
Valentine's Day is this Saturday—only Mothers' Day rivals it in the flower business—and UPS expects to be handling 110 million flowers for the occasion. You may think of UPS as the brown truck that brings your Amazon package, but...
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Lufthansa Rolls Out Upscale Restaurant Treatment for Business Class
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...
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Boeing, Alaska plan 'cheap and green' at Seattle
Boeing and Alaska Airways have figured out a way to both reduce carbon emissions at Seattle's SeaTac International Airport, and save the airline money while doing it. And it doesn't even require new equipment or investment. The two...
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Your Health, Business Travel, and Taking Advantage of a Hotel Spa
Jessica Kane offers some suggestions on how to take some of the stress out of a demanding business trip
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Coming soon: Adjustable-width airline seats?
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...
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A Book Review for Writers
As I was putting the finishing touches on my last post, '50 Years Later, Paris' I'd just begun reading a book that sounded intriguing somehow, 'Between You & Me, Confessions of a Comma Queen' , by Mary Norris, a copy editor for The New Yorker magazine. I was attracted to it because commas have always been a mystery to me, not helped by the fact that a friend, Bill Moore, a poet and poetry journal publisher, commented once on the dearth of commas in my writing. He said I needed more and...
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Gear up Chandler’s, Apps for Pitching High
Gadgets have become the best friends for the people around the world. A survey states that 85 percent of the population does have a cell phone for themselves. It is not just a cell phone which we are talking about, the tablets, laptops, iPods, and smartphones. In today’s generation, things are getting done by staying at one place with the help of the gizmos. Business people want to know the ways in which they can get their work done in no time. Now, everything has started to become digital,...
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Why Spending a Business Conference in Cyprus Is a Great Idea
Choosing the location of your business conference can be difficult, as you want a place that screams “professional!” while – at the same time – you want your guests to enjoy their time. You are looking for a place that is only a few hours away from almost every continent for convenience; where professionalism goes hand in hand with genuine hospitality; where the weather is nice; and a location that has something new to offer. You may not know it yet, but are looking for Cyprus. This...
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Top Cities to consider when living in Philippines
The Philippines has 7,107 islands, the country is rich in biodiversity and has a multicultural community. The number itself says how hard it is to pick the location and to build a home. Most of us consider living in the city maximizing opportunities both career and leisure . On the boost developments around the metro, people choose to settle to a place where they can live the best lives. With that, here are the top cities you can consider to live: Paranaque offers urban living with less...
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The Signs of Williamsburg, Virginia
Jonathan L takes us to Colonial Willaimsburg to explore the use of art in the historic business signs
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'Premium Economy' in, First-class out?
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.
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Re: A Book Review for Writers
I think you've just sold me another book (although I'm married to someone who has been accused—by me—of causing a world comma shortage). I think Mary Norris is nudging us all to the place I've arrived at: the two purposes of punctuation are clarity of intent, and to indicate emphasis for speaking. If the ancient rules don't accomplish that, and sometimes they don't, toss 'em! As for me, I'm addicted to em dashes...hangover of my typographic career.
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Re: A Book Review for Writers
Regarding, "...to indicate emphasis for speaking," you'll hear more than one argument from her on that point, often depending on the writer. I think you're going to enjoy it.