View from the Wing

Over at The Lobby, Starwood Lurker explains various reasons why a Platinum member might not get the upgrade to a suite that he or she wants … even when a suite appears to be for sale on a hotel’s website.

I think that he gives hotels a bit of a pass, because despite the examples offered hotels do lie about available inventory. There are hotels that just do not like to offer upgrades simply because a hotel guest has stayed lots of nights in other hotels that are affiliated through a common loyalty program.

But it’s important reading nonetheless — understanding just what kinds of upgrades you’re entitled to and what bumps in the road might prevent you from getting them is essential to scoring a suite.

Know what room to ask for. Know if it’s available. Offer to wait until it’s available if a current guest hasn’t checked out yet. If it’s important enough to you, go to your assigned room now but ask if you can be moved to a suite later in your stay.

I may be in the minority here, but I find it worth it..

Hooters Air is going bust as a scheduled airline. (Doh!)

The carrier isn’t filing for bankruptcy, it’s ending scheduled air service April 17 and going charter-only.

The Chairman of Hooters learned a basic lesson about the airline industry,

The chairman of Hooters of America … said he hoped to “have a little fun” in an industry that had always fascinated him.

…

“The flying industry is in a terrible mess,” Brooks said. “I’ve got a fair amount of money, but I don’t have enough to fix this animal.”

He could have gotten that just from the old joke that the quickest way to become a millionaire… is to start off with a billion dollars and invest in an airline.

And it doesn’t take much to know not to hub in Myrtle Beach, South Caroline.

(Hat tip to Today in the Sky.)

I don’t usually do politics here, and I’m not going to delve into the substantive discussion of what immigration policy ought to be (though I generally agree with the point that Brad DeLong makes in criticizing Paul Krugman).

But I hate disingenuous arguments, so I thought I’d reproduce this skewering from David Friedman.

He quite elegantly points out how irrelevant national security arguments are to the debate over the Mexican border.

The linkage is absurd for two different reasons. The first is that current illegal immigrants are not Muslims and have no connection with or allegiance to Islamic organizations, terrorist or otherwise. Most of them are Catholics. They are no more likely to support Islamic terrorism than the people already here—probably less likely.



The second is that the U.S. doesn’t control its borders, isn’t going to control its borders, and probably cannot at any acceptable cost control its borders, in the sense relevant to the terrorist issue. In 2004, the most recent year for which I found figures, there were more than eighty million tourist arrivals in North America, presumably most of them in the U.S. Anyone with sufficient resources and ability to pose a serious terrorist threat can get into the country as one of those tens of millions—he doesn’t have to scramble through a tunnel under the U.S./Mexican border. And making it a criminal offense to hire illegal aliens will have very little effect on those aliens who are working for al-Qaeda. They already have a job.

American Express is offering a $250 statement credit with first purchase on the no annual fee Platinum Business Cash Back card. That’s a bribe worth taking!

Starwood loyalists who frequent San Francisco have reason to rejoice with the Argent becoming a Westin and the Park Hyatt becoming a Le Meridien.

I love this quote from San Francisco’s Convention and Visitors Bureau Chairman,

“If the Argent does suddenly better, it’s not because the building’s better but because someone is bribing them with Starwood points.”

Starwood has some outstanding options in San Francisco already, with the new St. Regis, an outstanding W, the Westin St. Francis, and the love-it-or-hate-it Palace. Adding the Park Hyatt is a real coup.

The New York Times carried a piece today on hotel presidential suites.

They have expensive sticker prices but most people staying in them don’t pay sticker price — they’re upgrades from lesser rooms or comped rooms to meeting planners or other VIPs bringing the hotel significant business.

I remember the very first hotel event I booked, they put me in their very best suite. Of course, it was a Best Western and it was their only suite. But it was my first year of work and I was impressed. Had folks over for the jacuzzi, too.

I’ve never stayed in a true presidential suite, the kind they have at the Waldorf Towers in New York. It a matter of luck and I’ve never asked for one either. But I do have an Ambassador Suite booked at the Intercontinental Bagkok in a couple weeks and a Terrace Suite booked at the Mark Hopkins after that. And anyone with a pulse (and a Starwood Platinum card) can score a nice corner suite at the Westin Diplomat (where I’ll be returning shortly as well).

Sometimes that nice presidential suite can even be booked as an award.

Some airlines handle lost luggage well. American isn’t one of them, but apparently Southwest is. Kyle shares what happened to him when he left some personal items on a Southwest plane. He got them back, cost-effectively. Go Southwest!

While waiting for my bags I was discussing with a friend on the phone the records I picked up from the very reasonably priced record shops in Nashville. During our discussion of Prince’s record Controversy I looked down and realized, to my disgust, I had left on the plane my extremely plain looking brown bag of records and CD’s I recently purchased. I forwent a generously offered ride from some friends or friends I bumped into and slumped on over to Southwest’s baggage area where I relayed my story of forgetfullness to the agent. They were quite helpful, but to their and my dismay, the plane with my records on it had already taken off to West Palm Beach. I suppose my music could use a vacation.



The agents at BWI did some of their computer magic and in a few days I got a call from the baggage holders down on the sunny peninsula. I knew that they would have to ship the package back FedEx, but I made sure to comment that being poor due to extremely high housing prices in DC, I would appreciate it if they would ship it back the cheapest way possible. A week after I landed in Baltimore I received a FedEx package at work, my records in tact, and with a relief to my pocket book they were shipped FEDEX express saver. I’m relieved my great XTC record is in my hands and not here.

Some time ago British Airways stopped allowing people to open frequent flyer accounts. Strange, I know.

You had to book a full fare coach ticket to be eligible to join Executive Club (and then discount coach tickets still only earn a fraction of flown mileage).

At the time I advised folks to just go ahead and open British Airways accounts ‘just in case’. You never know when you might need one, such as when Jaguar was offering 10,000 miles for a test drive (and since you can combine 4 accounts in a household, you could earn 40,000 miles from the simple promotion).

It turns out that another way to get a British Airways account is to get a co-branded British Airways Visa. After all, the points you earn from that Visa need somewhere to go.

But apparently they’re also letting Diners Club card members sign up for BA accounts in order to transfer Club Rewards points into British Airways miles. And I can’t imagine there’s any way to check who is and is not a Diners Club cardholder.

Via Hotel Hotsheet, the General Manager of the Renaissance Tulsa was arrested for refusing to give police a list of all hotel guests.

An anonymous report to the police suggested that drugs were in a room number that didn’t exist. So the cops asked for records on everyone staying at the hotel.

“The manager was very concerned about providing a list of all guests’ names and addresses,” Fugazi stated. “The request was so broad and unique, she felt compelled to contact senior management, which she was attempting to do when she was arrested.”

Frighteningly, the police request was apparently consistent with a local law (such things vary by jurisdiction, but it appears to be fairly common).

Following on Dick Cheney’s hotel preferences, HotelChatter points to John Kerry’s demands:

He prefers Starwood’s Heavenly king beds whenever possible, bottled water must be every place JK is, BOOST shakes are a must, and there are to be absolutely no foods containing tomatoes prepared for the Senator. That list bit is extremely odd, with his wife being the Heinz Ketchup queen and all.



By far the most revealing item on the rider?

The phone and ability to order movies in-suite should always be turned on and ready to go for JK’s arrival.

Hmm, exactly what On Command movies does JK need to tune into immediately following check-in. What? We are just asking.

In yesterday’s New York Times, Louis Uchitelle told the story of United Airlines’ Indianapolis maintenance center.

It was hugely productive and brought in revenue from other airlines outsourcing their own maintenance work. Labor relations deterioriated and so did productivity. The airline gave in to union demands for wages, but those wages meant that maintenance costs were far above competitive alternatives. So the airline outsourced work and layed off workers.

But the point of the piece is an interesting insight into job training programs. Very few of them actually funnel people into work, and it’s often the case that what unemployed workers lack isn’t training.

An interesting read.

The Smoking Gun makes public the Vice President’s (frankly rather modest) requirements for his hotel suite when he travels.

Cheney does like his suite at a comfy 68 degrees. And, of course, all the televisions need to be preset to the Fox News Channel… Decaf coffee should be ready upon his arrival along with four cans of caffeine-free Diet Sprite. And when Cheney is traveling with his wife Lynne, the second family’s suite needs an additional two bottles of sparkling water. Mrs. Cheney’s H2O should be either Calistoga or, curiously, Perrier…

Smoking Gun seems vexed by the statement, “[i]f the hotel would like to put a gift in the suite please let the Advance Office know ASAP.”

Presumably they’re unfamiliar with the practice of luxury hotels providing small items of interest or value to their guests. Modest amenities are even part of chain loyalty programs such as Starwood and Intercontinental, and nicer hotels often provide specialty gifts appropriate for the guest and/or occasion.

I imagine the Vice President’s Office isn’t requesting gifts but asking that they be vetted in advance, perhaps for compliance with government gift acceptance policies.

Tim Winship of FrequentFlier.com has an interesting piece in OAG interviewing leaders with the mileage programs at American, Delta, and United.

American’s Kurt Stache comes off especially well — detailed answers, straight answers, and helpful answers. Part of it must be that he’s in an easy position — the American program offers plenty of opportunity for earning and is very good on the redemption side as well. No need to duck questions, though he doesn’t answer everything “for competitive reasons.” Still, I appreciate his candor.

Oddly, United’s Kenneth Feldman relies much more on marketing-speak and evasion. I say oddly because the United program is also a very good one, with much to be proud of.

Jeff Robertson of Delta comes off somewhere in between, he’s obviously in a difficult position with his airline in bankruptcy but he accords himself well with what he has to work with. The Skymiles program is a far lesser program than the offerings by United and American, both for the median member on the redemption side and for the elite member seeking meaningful travel benefits.

Read the whole thing…

Earn 2 Southwest Rapid Rewards credits for installing Ding! by April 3rd and keeping it on your desktop for 30 days.

I first raised Ariana Afghan Airlines safety issues two years ago.

An open secret in Europe has been that the airline is a ticking timebomb waiting for a crash, but nothing was done at the behest of US diplomacy, which wanted to see the Afghanistan carrier succeed.

Now that the E.U. has created an airline blacklist, Ariana Afghan is on it along with 91 other carriers, mostly from Africa.

Some of this is certainly grandstanding, and no doubt politics comes into play in the creation of the list (and just because an airline isn’t on it doesn’t make that carrier necessarily safe).

I notice that North Korea’s Air Koryo is on the list. Readers will correct me if I’m wrong (comments are open) but I’m not aware that Air Koryo flies to Europe to begin with.

I haven’t checked this out, but in addition to about half a dozen domestic routes I only recall the airline flying to Beijing, Moscow, Shenyang, Vladivostock, and Bangkok.

But then my memory on the Air Koryo route network is hardly to be relied upon.

Another striking thing about the list is that 51 banned airlines — more than half of the list — are based in Congo. I know that there are huge numbers of African carriers, most of which I’ve never heard of and don’t participate in Global GDS systems, but I didn’t realize that there were so many airlines in Congo.

(Hat tip to Tripso.)

The Upgrade Travel blog takes on Joe Sharkey’s New York Times declaration that he’s done with airline elite status.

Upgrade Travel blog grants that status isn’t as meaningful as it once was (I wouldn’t grant such a thing, actually), but points out the obvious — the problem isn’t elite status per se, the problem is that Continental doesn’t deliver the goods.

My Star Alliance Gold status still gets me access to nice lounges around the globe, ability to reserve the better economy seats (without a fee a la Northwest), higher baggage allowances, faster checkin, and shorter waits at security lines. (Not to mention the bonus miles, which he says he can’t use.)

And if Joe has problems redeeming awards on Continental (who doesn’t, Skyteam offers poor availability more or less across the board) then his elite status would mean much faster mileage earning — enough to buy out of capacity controls. So elite status, if nothing else, should help with award redemption.

It’s easy to become disillusioned, but comparisons should be made against the relevant alternative. If the choice is elite status or general member, it’s a no brainer. And if the choice is, say, top tier elite status with Continental or Delta… or top tier elite status with American or United… another no brainer.

Hotel Hotsheet reports that Marriott will roll out “Total Trip Pricing” — a commitment to show “all in” costs for their hotel rooms on their website. In other words, taxes, surcharges, and resort fees will be fully disclosed.

Small steps towards a better world…

Hotels have moved to become more like airlines over the past few years, with non-refundable internet prepaid rates and moving back the deadline for cancelling a guaranteed room without penalty (often now it’s 6pm the day before checkin instead of day of — and some resort properties require much earlier cancellations, even weeks).

Airlines themselves have become more like airlines, with most change penalties moving from a pittance up to $100 (though the odd route on some carriers is still $50 mostly as a result of competitive requirements, Alaska is generally $50 across the board and JetBlue is just $25).

It’s remained something of a mystery why rental cars haven’t been able to move to a penalty-laden pricing model. But Hertz appears to be making baby steps towards changing that. They’ve announced their intention to charge no show fees to their U.K. customers. A minor thing to most readers of this website, perhaps, but perhaps a glimpse into the future.

Hertz looks set to establish a worldwide precedent for the car rental industry by introducing no-show charges on its U.K. customers. Hertz UK has written to travel management companies, telling them it will impose a fee for no-shows starting April 1. The fee will be $50 for rentals in the United States, £25 in the United Kingdom, 55 Swiss francs in Switzerland and €35 in countries that use the euro. Renters can avoid the fee if they cancel as late as the day the rental starts, even if it is after the designated pickup time.

Yahoo! Mail is taking requests to beta test its new offerings.

Last week I mentioned that I didn’t think Northwest’s move to charge for ‘premium’ seats in coach (which, outside of exit rows, aren’t in any way actually better) was a big deal.

For infrequent flyers it’s neutral or a positive, the opportunity to access seats — though not meaningfully better — otherwise were mostly available to Northwest elites.

For frequent flyers it’s more or less a non-issue: if you’re regularly flying Northwest and spending much time at all in coach you should be changing airlines. The only positive Northwest has is its domestic upgrade program, which isn’t just complimentary but also something they regularly deliver on.

Still, charging elites for something they used to get for free (without even anything new offered up in return) is never a good thing.

But what really irks me is the poor spin that Northwest puts forward, telling the Washington Post that

its offer matches — or is even better than — similar moves by other carriers. Ebenhoch cited United Airlines, which charges a fee for a seat in its Economy Plus cabin.

Unmentioned even by United is that Mileage Plus elite members get economy plus seats for free. Northwest should be ashamed of themselves for attempting to charge elites for these seats… and doubly so for claiming their offering is on par with United’s.