Cardless’ Post

Once again I'm left feeling very proud of Air New Zealand. Last week I took a Qantas flight from Sydney to Wellington. I flew business (not because I'm a diva but because I am my own worst enemy when it comes to managing my workload). The fare was considerably more expensive than an Air NZ business class fare. The experience? OMFG. The ticketing queue for business was an hour long. I'm not exaggerating. The DIY ticket machines didn't work. I thought their system must have gone down, but the staff in the lounge told me that it was actually pretty normal. The plane - a 737 from the 90's - was located about a 10-minute bus ride across the tarmac from the terminal, and provided a business class seat that wasn't as nice as the economy Air NZ seat I'm sitting in as I write this. The food was terrible. The staff were scruffy. The whole thing was on par with the worst of the European discount airlines. On top of that, they're now being investigated by Australia's consumer commission as they have a practice of selling fares for cancelled flights - a profitable way to bank customers' money deceptively and then charge them for more expensive replacement flights late in the process. From the customer experience to the corporate behaviour, Qantas is the worst. Australians deserve sooooo much better from their national carrier. If this is the spirit of Australia, Australia needs a new spirit.

American Airlines has made no secret of its goal of 100% internet-based bookings and other carriers are showing signs of following suit with varying strategies. Learn more on #PhocusWire: https://bit.ly/4ajQNdI #travelnews #travelindustrynews #travelindustry #americanairlines #airlineindustry

very interesting read about travel loyalty programs. especially worth reading for airlines, revamping (aka making it worse for customers) their loyality program in 2024.

𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐒 - 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐃𝐂 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: The NDC technology was promoted as an enhanced airline shopping experience for buyers, with American Airlines setting a deadline for distribution channels to integrate with it. However, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊��𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔. "We moved faster than we should have and didn’t execute well," said American Airlines CEO Robert Isom. "We regret that and the difficulties it created for our agency and corporate communities."

Take off with 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗤𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀! ✈️ For a limited time, Qantas Business Rewards customers can earn double Qantas Points on every eligible flight when they activate and have their travel booked by 20 June for travel by 30 September 2025. Learn more 👇 Terms and conditions apply. * #corporatetraveller #QantasBusinessRewards #qantas

Heads up, frequent flyers! ✈️ American Airlines is about to make some changes to its loyalty program. We'll unpack the details in an upcoming blog! Till then, read our blog to get the context and know what's the deal with its loyalty program! bit.ly/4bZORaY Avail your loyalty points with itilite bit.ly/3RIhn9H  #AmericanAirlines #loyaltyprogram #travelperks #frequentflyers

Over my three decades of experience, I’ve seen many low-cost carriers (LCCs) flourish and continually evolve. Their strategies for growth can vary, but they remain centered on ways to expand their network and deliver value to customers on their own or with their chosen partners.  Today, at Navitaire, an Amadeus company we have many LCC and hybrid airline customers that have added and continue to increase the number of interline and codeshare services they offer.  They have found that interline partnerships can bring a lot of benefits for travelers, as well as airlines.   For passengers, interlines mean they can book ‘through itineraries’ to more destinations on two or more airlines with less hassle than booking each one separately. They can often check-in through to their destination and don’t need to transfer their bags.   Beyond the opportunity to extend their network via partners, interline deals give LCCs more ways to help them grow, as identified in our Travel Technology Investment Trends research.  For example, 54% of LCCs see access to higher value fares as the leading benefit from such arrangements, and 50% said it would offer opportunities to drive more bookings overall. Other perks included a chance to sell additional ancillary services such as express boarding or extra leg room.   Some 36% of LCC respondents said that they are already partnering or interlining with traditional full-service carriers (FSCs) today. We at Navitaire, an Amadeus company expect this number to increase as the next generation of airline technology makes these connections between business models easier than ever.   Find out more in our full report, here: https://lnkd.in/gX5W8eEp   #AmadeusTechTrends2024 #ModernRetailing #ThoughtLeadership #Aviation #Navitaire 

Twice in just a few months I’ve booked flights where luggage cannot be purchased at the moment of sale. One with Iberia and another with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, with the former not even letting me purchase a bag during the online check-in. The common theme? Booking via a TMC. I know exactly why this is happening and know that the TMCs (two different ones in this case) are not at fault. Instead the airlines are: either trying to be clever by pushing me towards a direct sale, or simply because their technology is woeful. As a fairly frequent business traveller I don’t want to book direct for a great many practical (invoicing, carbon offsetting, tax records, having one point of contact for whole trip, and more) — even when that means paying a higher purchase price. When an airline does this I can’t help but feel that means they don’t value me as a business traveler despite the fact that I buy all the ancillary extra comforts available and often take extra baggage and don’t mind paying lots for it. The technology is there guys, airlines please get your act together! #TravelTechnology #TMC #CorporateTravel #businesstravel

Big move coming from American Airlines today. You're only going to earn miles if you book direct. No more OTA or other channel booking. More than 30% of our airline cardholders come from the checkout flow, so dramatically increasing this channel is going to be the #1 way to drive more uptick in cards. And airlines can shake down the OTA's for money to get on their "preferred list of partners" to still earn miles through specific sights. Basically a new cost of doing business for Expedia Group. My bet is that all airlines follow by EOY.