Tagged With "business"

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

  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...

  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...

Jessica Kane offers some suggestions on how to take some of the stress out of a demanding business trip

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...

Jonathan L takes us to Colonial Willaimsburg to explore the use of art in the historic business signs

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.

A fine collection, Jonathan!