The new Star Alliance credit card, first teased in May of this year, is now live in Australia. Launched in partnership with HSBC, the first of its kind co-brand credit card allows members to earn Star Alliance Points and elite status with seven partner airline loyalty programs.
South African Airways
South Africa rejects Delta’s Cape Town plans
News broke late last week that Delta Air Lines no longer plans to include Cape Town in its plans for service to South Africa. Now we know a key reason: the South African government denied the airline’s application
United announces new long-haul routes for 2021
Airline route networks must adapt to shifting demand and long-haul operations are no exception. United Airlines is the latest player to make a move on that front, announcing seven routes today with service slated to launch between December and Summer 2021. The carrier will be reopening some destinations, expanding others and inaugurating a couple of markets never before served.
South African Airways secures funding, cuts lightly loaded flights
Nearly $240 million in bridge funding should help South African Airways continue its operations. But even with that funding the carrier continues to trim some frequencies from its operations.
South African Airways suspends some flights as losses deepen
Just a day after announcing “flights to all its destinations continue as normal” South African Airways made cuts to its operation. Domestic flights to Cape Town and Durban are affected, as is the Munich route.
Ethiopian evolves on payments, connectivity
Airlines often talk about “meeting consumers where they are” to help drive sales. Digital sales channels are changing the way those interactions occur and for some carriers the pace of that change is dramatis. Ethiopian Airlines recently took a significant step on this front, opening up new digital payments options in two key markets.
PaxEx Premium: Looking ahead to Global Eagle’s earnings
Two stories should deliver a net boost for Global Eagle headed into Thursday's earnings release. They are not both good news (and one remains unconfirmed), but the positive outweighs the negative significantly.