The future of in-flight shopping is digital. And it will consume passengers’ attention throughout a flight. This is the hope of marketers everywhere and the underlying concept driving the launch of SKYdeals, the new in-flight “shoppertainment” platform now flying on Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines.
ancillary fees
Delta Air Lines makes most domestic SkyMiles awards fully flexible
As the US carriers continue to tweak their new “no change fees” policies Delta Air Lines made a major move for its SkyMiles members. Effective immediately most domestic SkyMiles awards will be fee-free for changes or cancellation. SkyMiles rewards are now a spectacularly flexible method for booking travel on Delta Air Lines.
United drops change fees. Forever.
United Airlines is ready to change. Or, perhaps more accurately, the company is ready for passengers to change their plans more often. In a major policy shift the carrier will no longer charge travelers a fee to change their booking on most domestic tickets. And, unlike the temporary waiver of this fee in place over recent months, this change is set to last forever.
Connections and Connectivity: The Weekly Wrap
This week we’re talking about a big new partnership connecting passengers JetBlue and American Airlines, as well as how Middle East Airlines will be getting connected with Panasonic Avionics.
Better, cheaper inflight wifi rates launch on Air Europa
Air Europa is leaving megabyte packages behind, switching to full-flight pricing for inflight wifi connectivity as it resumes services this week.
Retail inMotion, Bluebox team up for touch-free inflight sales
Reducing contact between crew and customers is good for safety but bad for inflight ancillary revenue sales. A new partnership between Retail inMotion and Bluebox hopes to bridge that gap.
Norwegian set to restart European services from 1 July
Norwegian is the latest airline to announce plans to put its planes back in the skies over Europe. The carrier will add several routes from its hubs in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen as it seeks to meet growing passenger demand.
Slivers of normalcy: Air New Zealand lounges reopening
Demand for air travel is up significantly in New Zealand, though still massively below 2019 levels. And now some passengers will have a slightly more comfortable travel experience as the carrier’s airport lounge network begins to reopen.
Inflight social distancing will kill short-haul LCC travel: IATA
Blocking middle seats or even sitting passengers every other row is not a problem when load factors hover in the mid-teens, occasionally peaking at 30% for an especially busy flight. But if social distancing rules remain in place IATA executives believe the LCC market could collapse as a financially unsustainable endeavor.
Delta, United extend elite status by a year, adjust other benefits
Frequent flyers at two of the world’s largest airlines received a reprieve over the weekend. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines announced major changes to their loyalty program, extended previously earned elite status and other benefits. The moves are dramatic, affecting millions of program members. [A]s coronavirus continues to dramatically impact travel across the globe, […]