Skift: "The Qatar Airways Group has acquired a 25% equity holding in one of Africa’s largest regional airlines. On Tuesday, the Doha-based company confirmed the stake in Johannesburg-based Airlink."
"The carrier’s primary focus is South Africa, but its route network stretches into 14 other African nations. More than 45 destinations are served by Airlink on a scheduled and charter basis."
View From The Wing: "Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines has quietly received Department of Justice approval. After two extensions of the deadline for DOJ to file an anti-trust suit, that looked as though there were ongoing negotiations that would have led to a possible settlement – and DOJ filing an appearance in court in Honolulu in case there wasn’t – the government allowed the time to file to lapse."
One Mile At A Time: "American Airlines has made a minor but noteworthy improvement to first class on its domestic redeye flights, which I’m happy to see."
"Going back many years, it was standard to have a pillow and blanket in first class on virtually any domestic flight. Over time, the scale of this was greatly reduced, and then the pandemic caused even more cuts."
"Since the start of the pandemic, American hasn’t offered pillows and blankets in first class on any “standard” domestic flights (the exception is “premium” domestic routes, as well as flights to Hawaii)."
The Points Guy: "United Airlines will renovate and expand its Polaris Lounge at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD), adding more space to the first premium lounge it opened in its now-extensive network."
"The expansion and renovation will add more seats — including relaxing 'premium' spaces — along with more restrooms and amenities such as private seating and workspaces, United said in the memo."
Loyalty Lobby: "According to the email sent by FlightAware yesterday, they have potentially exposed pretty much all customer data, including user ID, password, email address, full name, billing address, shipping address, IP address, social media accounts, telephone numbers, year of birth, and the last four digits of your credit card number."
The Points Guy: "As of Aug. 12, Capital One increased the entry fee for non-Capital One cardholders from $65 to $90. Children under the age of 2 still get in for free with a parent or guardian."
Two Capital One cards are also losing their two annual lounge passes as of January 1, 2025.
Reuters: "A U.S. judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block Alaska Airlines’ plan to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, a deal the consumer plaintiffs said would cut routes and raise prices."
One Mile At A Time: "In 2025, American Express will be opening a Centurion Lounge at Salt Lake City Airport. This is an exciting development, given the airport’s current lack of lounge options. This is in addition to plans for a second Delta Sky Club, as well as a United Club. I’m looking forward to learning more details closer to when the new concourse opens."
Skift: "Delta is currently undergoing what it describes as a “Wi-Fi transition period.” Put simply, it means massive improvements are coming, but there are still gaps in its global coverage. Additional satellites are being positioned to boost the reach of the service, but connectivity could be patchy until then."
"To manage expectations, Delta is launching free international Wi-Fi on a route-by-route basis. The carrier is mirroring its successful domestic rollout strategy where select city pairs were prioritized."
Loyalty Lobby: "ITA Airways is currently offering a summer “Out of Office” promotion, providing a 20% discount on flights departing from Italian airports to nearly all destinations (domestic and international) in their network."
"The discount applies to all classes of service, including Economy Light fares, for travel between September 15 and December 15, 2024."
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