- The 23rd annual Airline Quality Rankings were released showing passenger complaints have jumped by 20 percent over last year and denied boardings are also on the rise. Also noteworthy are Virgin America taking the “winning” spot for quality and United Airlines coming in last.
- United Airlines will cut its daily nonstop flight from Washington Dulles to Honolulu beginning in August. Service will drop to five times per week at that time and down to once per week in September.
- Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Chase and is now an Ultimate Rewards partner. Points will transfer 1:1 in minimum 1,000 point increments.
- A date and flight has been set for Sir Richard Branson to make good on a bet he lost, whereby he’ll dress as a female flight attendant on AirAsia X and serve passengers. Flight D7237 will depart Perth on May 12 bound for Kuala Lumpur.
- Holiday Inn Express is reviving its “Stay Smart” advertising campaign featuring the tagline, “…But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.” The chain hopes to attract more travelers and will also add healthier breakfast options and upgrade bathroom amenities.
- A hotel booking portal bestowing up to thousands of airline frequent flier miles per booking exited beta and is widely available. Rocketmiles provides generous airline mileage at rates equivalent to what you’d find booking a hotel direct or on traditional online travel agencies. They’re targeting business travelers and only about 15 domestic cities are included with a handful of 4-star and up locations in each.
I flew an int’l r/t on United Award ticket and tacked on one-way, non-stop IAD-HNL for a Monday in Dec 2013. Now United will be limiting non-stops to 1 per week on Saturdays. Although I already started travel on my award ticket, will I be able to change my HNL flight to a Saturday to remain on a non-stop without paying a change fee?
@Frank: I would certainly think United will let you make that change to a nonstop Saturday, as this is a significant schedule change. They may try to loop you in to a connection on the same day, but as is usually the case, more than one phone call might be required to make that happen (it all depends on the agent you get).