edgewood49

So how is everyone faring with the lockdown and lack of travel ? I can imagine that " hot turkey" sandwich of AS fame would look pretty good at 30K feet right about now
'

jrl767

I would be willing to bet that some among us would even settle for polenta, as long as it represented a chance to create cutlery art

ctporter

I miss the hot towel service, I miss getting glasses (who has just one?) of wine along with my bottles of water. I miss a meal that is more than just the delipak and a few rounds of the snack basket. I miss finding out that my seat mate has a cool job, or has an interesting tale to tell. I even miss checking to see if I got or am likely to get an upgrade on the next couple of upcoming flights. I miss watching my status miles for the year accumulate often. Since I still read my Kindle or watch a movie on my iPad, that activity is not impacted by social distancing so I do not miss that activity on a plane. I also miss being able to go to a restaurant for a decent meal with wine when I travel, getting take out is just not the same at a hotel. I miss being able to enjoy waiting for a flight home when I have finished early at airports without lounges but that do have places like VinoVolo. (hmm. there seems to be a wine theme going on here). I miss chatting with others in the lounges, either the AS staff or fellow passengers. (a bit like the scene in Up in the Air). All my speaking engagements have been cancelled or delayed so I miss the in person interactions. I have used Zoom, Teams, and Skype are all ok on a limited basis but just don't work as a forever way of meeting for me.

edgewood49

Or how about eating dinner with ice cold silver ware ?

Eastbay1K

Only if it bends back to warmth.

edgewood49

Often thought hot breakfast ice cold silverware, ok.

edgewood49

Looks like we are about to get screwed again folks. It appears there is a rumor floating around that EK is looking to partner with one of the "Big Three" in that article talks about the doubtfulness of American since they are in One World with Etihad airlines, if that is so then we are screwed with getting EK awards which I used as a paying and redemption passenger since the beginning,

Again I ask Alaska what were they thinking hooking up with American in the beginning and now this? Parker appears not to be going where anytime soon.

This sucks really sucks if true

scubadu

Etihad is not a oneworld member, they actually aren't currently a member of any alliance. You can earn/redeem AA miles on Etihad, but they are not in oneworld.

Furthermore, just like AS, AA provides the opportunity to earn/redeem miles on several partner carriers that are not oneworld members and has for a long time. I'm not saying what you are proposing isn't true or possible, but rather I'm not sure there is enough information to draw that conclusion just yet.

Regards

edgewood49

I liked the post card I got yesterday from Alaska hand written by a FA ! Nice touch

BOB W

According to USPS Informed Delivery, I will be getting my personalized postcard today. Funny thing is that I have flown twice, May 27 & June 8.

ctporter

Mine came while I was in Kalispell, looking at my calendar I realized that Ive flew only once in March to GRR, no flights at all in April, but in May I have flown to CHS, PDX, AUS, FCA, and yesterday to PSC and back. The biggest difficulty in each flight was the scheduling due to cuts in service and changes as a result of the cuts.

edgewood49

No flights as of yet, lots of cancelled flights !!

Eastbay1K

Aaaaaah. I can't get this bloody song out of my head now. So, I figured I'd ruin your weekend, too, as it will play incessantly. I figure it is also a good song to sing, internally, or very quietly, behind the mask, when things aren't going perfectly onboard.

♫♫ You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have
Alaska flights, Alaska flights.

There's a time you got to go and show
You're flyin' now you know about
Alaska flights, Alaska flights.

When the service never seems
to be livin' up to your dreams
And suddenly you're finding out
Alaska flights aren't all about you, yooo oooh oooh ooo. ♫♫

edgewood49

Did anyone read Live and let's Fly" post today on Boarding Area.com?
Home » Travel » How We Could See Only Five U.S. Airlines Survive Our Dystopian EraTRAVEL

HOW WE COULD SEE ONLY FIVE U.S. AIRLINES SURVIVE OUR DYSTOPIAN ERA

MATTHEW KLINT JULY 17, 2020 17 COMMENTS

COVID-19 cases are surging in the USA, antibodies are now thought to only last 2-4 months, and the efficacy of a potential vaccination doubtful. Let’s imagine a world in which things do not get better. What will this pandemic mean for U.S. airline survival?

My Airline Pandemic Survival Predictions For A Worst-Case Scenario

I hate to be grim on a Friday afternoon, but let’s be honest. It is increasingly looking like COVID-19 is here to stay. And since we, the USA, botched the initial response, we are stuck with a problem of rolling economic calamity or rolling death counts and economic calamity. Whatever happens in November will not change that overnight.

Some scientists are linking COVID-19 to brain damage. Let’s imagine a more virulent strain this winter that impacts more people. Hospitals fill up. Death counts pile up. A subset of the population, mostly younger healthier people, is able to fight on with it. Business travel dies. Leisure travel remains restricted with limited air bubbles and a huge overall backwards step in our ability to freely travel between nations even internally within the United States.

Then what? What if 60-90% reduction in airline demand becomes the new norm, not a temporary problem?

Well, news this week suggests a path forward in which the strong become stronger and the weak band together or die. I think five major airlines would survive:

• Delta – the strongest airline in the USA today will survive as a stand-alone airline
• American + Alaska + JetBlue (the new American) – American would solidify its partnership with JetBlue and Alaska to offer a more comprehensive route map across the USA.
• United – United is already the strongest international carrier and will become the primary international airline of the USA, serving six continents in a much more limited capacity than it did pre-pandemic. Domestic flights would be whittled down.
• Allegiant + Frontier + Spirit + Sun Country (The new Spirit Frontier) – a combined ultra-low-cost airline that would offer cheap fares on point-to-point routes across the country appealing to leisure travelers
• Southwest – also a strong airline, Southwest would survive as a stand-alone airline and preserve much of its current route map.

I’m not including Hawaiian Airlines in this list, but expect it would survive under subsidies from the Hawaiian government.

If things get even worse we could see the nationalization of carriers, a return to regulated routes and pricing, and a divvying up of route maps to keep each airline shielded from the sort of intense competition that has marked air travel in the preceding decade.
REALLY ? American he is purporting a merger with AA

Eastbay1K

I don't read many of these bloggers' posts, but when I do, I am often reminded of that South Park episode where they eat through their anuses and the poopoodoodookaka comes out of their mouths.