Lufthansa Business Class To Get Needed Catering Upgrade

One Mile At A Time: "Lufthansa’s new Allegris business class seats will be debuting soon. Just ahead of that, the airline has announced a series of minor improvements to its long haul business class soft product, which will be rolled out in the coming months."

"While I don’t think any of these changes will individually be a game changer, I’m delighted to see some thoughtful improvements to catering."

Points Wire Note:

I've always wondered why Lufthansa hasn't matched the catering quality of Austrian Airlines which is owned by the Lufthansa Group.

Alaska Airlines Elites To Lose Upgrade Certs On American Airlines

One Mile At A Time: "For the past few years, higher tier Mileage Plan elite members have also received some international upgrade certificates for travel on American. These have just been sent to members for 2024. Unfortunately it has also been announced that this perk will be discontinued as of next year."

All Nippon Airways Bringing Free Wi-Fi To Business Class

Loyalty Lobby: "ANA Business Class passengers on international flights can enjoy complimentary in-flight WiFi starting this coming summer (the service has been complimentary for first-class passengers)."

"Premium Economy and Economy class passengers will be eligible for complimentary messaging on international flights by March 2025."

Singapore KrisFlyer To End Round-The-World Award Tickets

The Mile Lion: "One of the hardest KrisFlyer awards to book is the Star Alliance Round-the-World (RTW) award, but when the stars align just right, it can be magical."

"Unfortunately, Singapore Airlines has announced that it will be eliminating this award type from 1 May 2024, though there’s still time to book one now if you don’t mind doing the (not insignificant) legwork!"

Delta Ends Branded Boarding, Reverts To Boarding Zones

View From The Wing: "Delta Air Lines is moving from ‘branded boarding’ to having 8 boarding zones starting May 1, although things are even more complicated than that because there are still groups that are called to board before and in the middle of those zones."

"This is supposed to streamline boarding and be better for customers by… copying American and United, and copying Delta itself from 2017."

United Restricts Partner Access To Award Space

Live And Let's Fly: "In what appears to be a change to longstanding policy, United Airlines is no longer making all of its “saver level” award space available to members of partner frequent flyer programs. If this is indeed a new trend, it will certainly impact the usefulness of partner programs like Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles for many US-based travelers."

Points Wire Note:

My hope is that this isn't a policy change. I've seen United restrict business class award space to their own MileagePlus members at times in the past, but it's always come back. We'll see how things go this time!

SAS To Leave Star Alliance This Summer And Join SkyTeam

The Points Guy: "Scandinavian Airlines has firmed up the timeline for its departure from the Star Alliance."

"SAS will leave the global airline alliance effective Aug. 31, the Stockholm-based carrier said Monday."

Points Wire Note:

it's rarely been easy to find much business class award space on SAS. I'll be curious to see if that changes once it joins SkyTeam since Air France-KLM now have a stake in the airline. Of course, if there are steep carrier-imposed surcharges when booking with Flying Blue, it won't really matter if there's a lot of award space.

Amex And CLEAR Officially Extend Partnership

American Express and CLEAR are extending their partnership which had been set to end at the end of 2024. This means that select Amex cardholders will continue to receive a $189 statement credit that covers the cost of an annual CLEAR membership.

Amex cards that have the CLEAR credit include:

• Amex Platinum
• Amex Business Platinum
• Amex Green
• Hilton Amex Aspire

Direct link to press release

GHA Discovery Adds Breakfast Benefit To Titanium Status

GHA DISCOVERY isn't as well known in the points community, but it's a program worth knowing. You can earn Titanium status just by staying at three different brands in a calendar year. As of April 5, 2024, Titanium status will receive complimentary breakfast during stays with these brands:

• Lore Group
• Lungarno Collection
• Marco Polo Hotels
• Maqo Hotels
• Mysk Hotels
• Niccolo Hotels
• Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts
• Shaza Hotels
• Grand Hotel Heiligendamm

Titanium members will also receive free breakfast at The Set Collection properties starting on May 1, 2024 with additional brands becoming eligible at a later date.

Impressively, this is not a continental breakfast benefit. Per GHA's terms and conditions, "the Benefit applies to breakfast served at the hotel and will be for the same breakfast type that the hotel offers to guests who have booked a room and breakfast package."

Cathay Pacific Removing First Class From Boeing 777-300s

Executive Traveller: "Cathay Pacific will remove first class from its 777-300ER fleet, replacing the dated suites with its all-new high-privacy business class pods in a move which will eventually make first class exclusive to the Boeing 777-9 jets, which are due to arrive in 2025 with a luxurious new first class design."

Points Wire Note:

While Cathay's first class suites don't have doors and haven't been refreshed in years, they still provide a lot of privacy and are absolutely massive. Plus, with the bedding, they provide one of the most comfortable places to sleep in the sky. I would have liked to see them refresh the first class product just a little and kept it on the Boeing 777-300. Hopefully, they'll take delivery of the Boeing 777X next year, but the aircraft has been plagued by delays.