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Tag Archives for american.

Dropping Elite Tiers or Losing Status in 2014? Do You Care?

As you’re undoubtedly aware, it’s nearing the end of the qualifying year for 2014 airline and hotel elite status with December 31 quickly approaching. And for the first time in, well, forever, I’m either dropping tier levels or losing status completely in all of my travel loyalty programs. If I were reading this post, say,…

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Premium Transcon Bonus Mile Offers from American and United

Both American Airlines and United are offering up to 15,000 bonus award miles for each paid roundtrip on premium transcontinental nonstop flights between New York’s JFK airport and Los Angeles (AA and UA) or San Francisco (UA only). Besides American excluding San Francisco, both offers are effectively the same where tickets purchased for travel January…

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American’s 3-Cabin Premium Transcon A321s Now Appearing Online

The first American Airlines flights between LAX and New York-JFK featuring the new 3-cabin Airbus A321s are now showing up online. As I mentioned yesterday, American begins taking delivery of their A321s this November, with the first scheduled Airbus flights on the premium transcontinental route between Los Angeles and New York operating January 7. Via…

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American Airlines A319 Cabin Specs: Coach Recline Exceeds First Class?

American took delivery of its first Airbus A319 this week and has published the cabin specs (and more) on their website. What strikes me as odd is that first class recline is only 3-inches, whereas regular coach offers 4-inches with Main Cabin Extra getting 6-inches. Is that an error? United, by contrast, offers 6-inches of…

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Notable Airline News: June 24, 2013

Here are a few news items from the airline industry that caught my attention today: Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic received clearance for their joint venture from EU and U.S. regulators, bringing with it reciprocal frequent flier benefits for SkyMiles and Flying Club members. Starting on July 3, members of both programs will have…

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Rumor: Did American Airlines Leak Its New Elite Status Requirements?

The “big” news this week so far has been United’s addition of a revenue requirement to achieve or maintain elite status beginning in 2014. I wrote a quick summary of the new policy in this post, and I followed it up with my thoughts on why I think it’s only the beginning of revenue-based changes.…

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United’s Revenue Model for Elite Status Is Only the Beginning

Earlier today, I quickly posted the news that United Airlines will introduce a new Premier Qualifying Dollar (PQD) revenue requirement in 2014 to maintain or achieve elite status, in addition to the normal mileage requisites. It didn’t come as a shock to me and I promised to share more of my thoughts about the change.…

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United Nears 100% Lie-Flat, American Launches Dublin Route With Bonus Offer

Here are a couple of quick airline updates from press releases issued by American and United today. United Offers Flat-Bed Seats on “All†Long-Haul International Flights United Airlines now features 180-degree flat-bed seats and personal on-demand entertainment in the premium cabins on all scheduled, long-haul international flights from the airline’s eight North American hubs and…

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The Evolution of Airline Logos and Branding

Here’s an interesting look at the evolution of various airline logos, some going as far back nearly 90 years. My favorites are Air France (1970-2004), American Airlines (1960-2013), Monarch (2002-2009), Qantas (1984-2007), Swissair (1981-2002), and the Saul Bass United Airlines design (1974-1993). Which are your favorites? Thanks to @AirlineSector for tweeting this out yesterday, as…

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Alec Baldwin Gets His Own American Airlines Boarding Group

This is absolutely hilarious. Ellen DeGeneres yesterday “explained” the new American Airlines boarding process in a public service announcement on her show. In addition to Alec Baldwin getting his own boarding group, it appears American is adding several new classifications. 😉 (Hat tip: AAdvantageGeek) – Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel…

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