If you’ve ever seen the tremendous video of the poor “Zone One” boarding pass guy waiting to get on a plane, you might understand where I’m coming from with this piece. For those who don’t know it or don’t have time right now to watch it via this link, the skit involves a fellow who eagerly bounds to the front of a gate lineup as he’s holding a precious “Zone One” boarding pass. Of course, he waits for First Class, and then Business, and then elite rewards members and kids and folks in wheelchairs and is still standing in line. Read more
JetBlue
A new airline satisfaction poll puts Southwest, JetBlue and Delta at the top of the charts. But Canadian airlines came away with below average scores. The annual J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study 2023 finds Southwest on top among Economy/Basic Economy airlines with a score of 827. Delta was number one for Premium Economy, totaling 848 points. For First Class/Business Class, JetBlue scored the best mark with 893 points. Air Canada was fifth out of six airlines in First/Business, with a mark of 830. That’s below the average score of 846 in the category. For Premium Economy, Air Canada Read more
U.S. airlines expect strong travel demand that drove record fourth-quarter revenues to continue into 2023, but economic uncertainty and burgeoning labor and operations costs could cloud their rosy outlooks, Reuters reports. JetBlue Airways, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines last week all forecasted full-year earnings that were better than expected, the agency said, adding that “airlines are cashing in as consumers snap up tickets following a pandemic-induced slump.” HOLLAND AMERICA SETS WAVE SEASON RECORD In an early sign of a successful Wave season, Holland America Line bookings in the third week of January were the highest on record for any January Read more
It’s another day filled with cancellations and delays for U.S. airlines. Canadian airlines are doing better than some of their American counterparts, but WestJet is still having some problems. The website flightaware.com reports a whopping 54% of flights scheduled to go in or out of Washington Reagan Airport have been cancelled today. For Baltimore Washington airport it’s 31%. Both Southwest and JetBlue were listed as having 13% of their flights cancelled today. Flightaware.com reports that 47 WestJet Encore flights have been cancelled, 23% of their total. For WestJet itself, the numbers were 38 flights cancelled, or about 13%, as of Read more
With some states and provinces starting to open up after long spring lockdowns, and with some countries loosening travel restrictions, there’s no shortage of travel news for my regular FUTURE OF TRAVEL series. Today I look at everything from re-opening plans for Las Vegas to Hawaii hotel renovations, California tourism and cruise restrictions. VIVA LAS VEGAS MGM Resorts is talking about when they can safely re-open. Officials say they’ll likely start their re-openings with New York-New York in Las Vegas as it’s a good size (2,000 rooms). The Bellagio also is on their list, but they say they’ll consult health Read more
