Booking Strategy tips

When legendary investor Warren Buffett began investing in airline stocks last year, it was big news in the investing community. Theretofore Buffett had been a staunch critic of the industry’s underlying economics, and regularly unleashed scathing takedowns of airline investments. Like this, from 2002:

Two months ago, when Alaska Airlines bought Virgin America for $4 billion, the consensus prediction was that San Francisco-based Virgin would be slowly integrated into Alaska until it was nothing more than a historical footnote. In other words, what customers love about Virgin would be lost in transition.

Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.

The more Facebook swallows up entire businesses (read: Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR) and expands its own capabilities, the more it seems like the social media giant truly wants to take over the world. And in an age when smartphone apps that serve just one function rarely survive, Facebook’s messaging app appears to be stepping into yet another realm: travel.

In what will likely be one of its final major moves under the current Obama administration, the Department of Transportation this week revealed a new set of rules governing various aspects of airline behavior. Here’s how DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx described the new rules:

The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, issued by American Express, has long had a prominent place in the wallets of savvy frequent travelers. Here’s why:

“Lay back, relax and enjoy the flight in the comfort, privacy and exclusivity of your own suite. Delta Air Lines is redefining international business class travel with the introduction of the Delta One suite, the first business class cabin to feature a sliding door at each suite.”

When a planned $32 billion expansion is completed, Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) will be the world’s largest.

Airlines for America, the primary trade group representing U.S. airlines, is expecting a record rise in air travelers this spring—4% compared to last year. That nets out to roughly 145 million travelers through April 30, or 2.4 million travelers per day.

Fuel, one of the airlines’ two largest operating expenses, is 40 percent cheaper than it was a year ago. And airline profits are robust, in some cases at record-high levels.

Although the timing won’t be much help for would-be summer travelers, this United award sale for fall travel has a lot to recommend it.

Did you feel that? Did the earth just move below our feet?

According to research from Germany-based Cruisewatch: “Booking the respective cruise destination at the right time can realistically save you up to 71 percent reductions off your cruise.”

If you’re looking for yet another reason to cross the Atlantic, WOW Air just gave you one: The Icelandic-based airline is expanding low transatlantic fares and “second city” air routes.

TripAdvisor (SmarterTravel’s parent company) is the undisputed king of hotel user reviews. This week, it begins its quest to attain the same status in the realm of airline flight reviews.

Bare fares—cheap coach fares with few perks and plenty of restrictions—are a thing. The unbundled fares, as they’re also called, are what have made Spirit, Frontier, and other ultra-low-cost carriers the darlings of the most price-sensitive customers, and of Wall Street. And the legacy carriers can’t afford not to compete for those flyers.

Google “La Compagnie” and the top non-sponsored result describes the airline thusly: “Discover Paris and London with La Compagnie, the unique French all-business-class airline, at an affordable price.”

Following is our regular summary of the latest travel news and best frequent traveler promotions reviewed during the past week.

Alaska Airlines has been much in the news lately, with its acquisition of Virgin America and the announcement that it will be severing ties with longtime marketing partner Delta.

“Delta Becomes Only U.S. Airline to Offer All In-Flight Entertainment For Free”

If New York has its way, the popular accommodations-sharing company Airbnb will be toast.