After both traffic and earnings collapsed during the pandemic, SIA has posted record profits recently, and this will reflect in the annual bonus for the employees who reportedly receive eight months’ bonification.

Has Emirates kicked off a trend that is going to reform the aviation industry when it came to employee profit-sharing when they announced last week that they pay out almost six months of base salary?

Such amounts were unheard of previously, and industry employees could be happy if they received two months’ bonus.

As Bloomberg reports, SIA will pay out the bonus to eligible employees in two components of profit-sharing & ex-gratia bonus.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. will pay staff a bonus of around eight months’ salary after posting a record annual profit.

Eligible staff will be paid a profit-sharing bonus equivalent to 6.65 months’ pay, and a maximum of 1.5 months’ salary of ex-gratia bonus in recognition of their hard work and sacrifices during the pandemic, a spokesperson for the airline said. Senior management won’t receive that additional ex-gratia bonus.

It was previously reported in the Straits Times that SIA’s revenues and profit have soared post-pandemic, which is in line with what Emirates has posted as well.

… On Tuesday, the airline unveiled record revenue and profit numbers for the current financial year, buoyed by record passenger loads.

Net profit came in at $2.16 billion for the full year ended March 31, rebounding from a loss of $962 million a year earlier.

Operating profit soared to $2.69 billion, erasing a loss of $610 million a year earlier. This came on the back of record revenue of $17.78 billion, a 133 per cent surge from 2022’s $7.62 billion.

Mr Goh said that as early as 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing and borders were shuttered and SIA had to ground most of its fleet, the airline was already planning for a recovery when the crisis passed.

Key measures included shoring up finances, including raising $15 billion via mandatory convertible bonds (MCBs) as early as March 2020. The group has managed to raise some $23.58 billion in liquidity since April 2020. …

The group’s passenger load factor (PLF) jumped 55.3 percentage points to 85.4 per cent, the highest in its history. PLF represents the percentage of available seats on a flight that are filled by passengers. …

Whoever has looked at the SIA fares recently isn’t surprised about the profits. Fares have been crazy ever since the country reopened. For example, in the past, I regularly booked round-trip tickets between Bangkok and Singapore for $200-300, but now it’s double that amount. The same goes for long-haul routes.

I’m more surprised about the load factors on these flights. Where do all these passengers come from? One could argue that there were some airlines in the region (such as Malaysia Airlines and THAI) that shrunk significantly, and maybe SIA was able to poach these passengers.

In any case, it’s good that the employees of Singapore Airlines will be able to profit from the success of the company.

Let’s see if there will be more airlines to reward their employees on this large scale. If you want to read up on the Emirates case, here is our article from last week:

Emirates Pays Employees SIX MONTHS Worth Of Salary Bonus After Posting $2.9B Record Profit

Has EK opened Pandora’s box here, and now other carriers are under pressure to replicate what they have done, either to attract staff and not fall behind in recruitment efforts or for reputational purposes!?

Conclusion

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has announced a record profit for this year and is rewarding its employees with an 8-month salary bonus which amounts to pretty much 2/3 of their annual compensation. This is two months more than Emirates announced they’d be paying out and that already set a very high precedent. Of course, employees in Singapore have to pay taxes unlike in Dubai so there’s that.

I still can’t see North American or European carriers following this framework. It will put them under more pressure from unions though so the customers of these airlines might be in for even more strikes and worse service as their staff looks with jealousy to the bonus of their EK/SQ colleagues.

Remember to email or message us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with your airfare-related questions or discoveries!

fare: Hawaiian (HA) CLXIRDJJ TYO to NYC

• Booking class: C
• Price: from $2,594 ($2,130 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: permitted SUN through THU on each transpacific sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations are required at least 21 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: -/-
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: 2 free stopovers permitted.
• Cancellations: charge JPY 30,000 for cancel/no-show/refund.
• Changes: changes permitted for reissue/revalidation.

IATA’S COVID19 REGULATIONS MAP

Routing examples

Price comparison

Booking examples

This fare can be booked on Expedia:

Accruals

Fare rules

Download (DOCX, 27KB)

Radisson Rewards for Americas members save 35% on stays of one or two nights (discount doesn’t apply for longer stays), but only if you book today (May).

You can access this offer on Radisson’s website here.

READ MORE: Radisson Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Radisson Hotels Americas covers the entire Americas (North, Central & South) and the Caribbean and is now part of Choice Hotels.

Remember to register for the bonus points offer that you are also eligible for if you book this Flash Sale rate:

Radisson Rewards Americas 5,000 Bonus Points Per Stay April 4 – June 30, 2023

Conclusion

It is interesting to see what will come out of Choice Privileges and Radisson Rewards for Americas once the programs are merged.

Not sure why the stay period of this 35% off Flash Sale is so short (just ten days)?

Terms and conditions of this offer:

The SEIZE THE VACAY PROMOTION (the “Offer”) is valid for 35% off the Standard Rate on a hotel stay of up to two consecutive nights at participating hotels in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Offer is valid for bookings made on May 18, 2023 (only) for stays completed by May 29, 2023.

• The Standard Rate varies by hotel, is subject to change, and may be different each night of stay.
• Offer is available for individual bookings only and cannot be combined with any other promotion or discount.
• Offer discount applies to the Standard Rate only and not to any incidental charges (such as taxes, service charges, room service charges, phone charges) incurred during stay.
• Other charges may apply if exceeding double occupancy.

Offer is subject to availability and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Blackout dates may apply. Participating hotels are subject to change at any time without notice, and the number of rooms available for this offer is limited and may vary by hotel. Cancellation policy varies by hotel. Most hotels are independently owned and operated. Other exclusions may apply. Void where prohibited by law.

Mileage Plan members can redeem miles at just 10K to 12.5K each way, and the taxes are rather reasonable at $6. You must book this offer by May 18.

You can access this offer on Alaska’s website here.

Eligible Routes:

Conclusion

These are relatively reasonable prices to travel to/from Hawaii from Alaska’s West Coast hubs. Just remember to issue the ticket(s) by the end of today.

Terms and conditions of this offer:

The indicated total purchase price (including miles, taxes, and fees) is nonrefundable and available only on flights marketed by Alaska Airlines for travel on Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, SkyWest, or PenAir. All taxes and fees are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change without notice. Bag fees apply for checked baggage (waived for up to 3 bags when traveling entirely within the state of AK), overweight/oversized items may incur additional fees; for bags checked in Canada, an additional VAT fee from $2.15 (CAD) per bag may apply. A ticket purchased at an airport location or through a reservation call center will be subject to a $15.00 administrative fee per person. Applicable fare and tax differences apply to any changes made after ticketing. Dollar amounts displayed include U.S. government taxes and fees and any foreign government taxes and fees (based on the current currency exchange rate and subject to change); certain foreign government taxes and fees are collected at the foreign airport. Some markets may not operate daily service. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or all days. If nonstop service is offered during the advertised travel period, the advertised fare will only apply to those flights.

The property is managed by Accor-owned FRHI Hotels & Resorts, but it is unclear what plans the new owner, Ohana Real Estate, may have. It could continue as a hotel, although not necessarily under the Fairmont brand, or be turned into something else.

You can access Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel here.

READ MORE: Accor ALL Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Excerpt from SiliconValley.com:

The Claremont Club & Spa, an iconic hotel perched in the hills on the Oakland-Berkeley border, has been bought by a Bay Area real estate developer in a deal that tops $160 million.

The hotel, part of the Fairmont chain, was bought for about $163.3 million, according to documents filed on May 12 with the Alameda County Recorder’s Office.

The hotel complex is a historic property and is listed as an Oakland City Historical Landmark. The Claremont also is a member of Historic Hotels of America.

Conclusion

This historic hotel has been in business for 108 years and is also a local landmark.

It is weird that it is somewhat unclear precisely who sold the hotel. Some press articles mention Accor’s own FHRI as the seller, while others refer to Blum Capital Partners and some both.

It may continue as an Accor manager property under the Fairmont brand, or it may not. The new owners can likely decide depending on what was agreed upon during the purchase process.

The border staff will be on strike during the busy morning hours between 5 AM – 10 AM on May 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, and 29, and the following dates in June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26.

These strikes are set to affect all main airports in Portugal and will significantly delay passenger processing at the border for those entering and exiting the Schengen area.

Excerpt from the Portugal Resident:

SIIFF delivered two pre-strike notices today that will take place in May and June, one for Lisbon airport and the other for Faro, Porto and Madeira airports, as well as for remaining border posts.

According to these ‘pre-announcements’, delivered on the day the interior ministry announced plans to reinforce the operational capacity of Portuguese airports during the summer period due to the increase in passengers, the stoppage at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado airport will take place between 5:00am and 10:00am from May 20-22, May 27-29, June 3-5, June 10-12, June 17-19 and June 24-26. (These hours coincide with the majority of international flight arrivals. Early morning strikes in the past have resulted in complete chaos in the already struggling terminal.)

At remaining airports and border crossings, namely maritime, strikes will take place on May 22 and 29 and June 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Conclusion

I was trying to locate the most recent information about this possible strike set to begin this coming Saturday, but I couldn’t find any.

These strikes are often called off at the last minute in Europe, but the same group has already previously had strike action, so this taking place is not inconceivable.

TAP has not released any information about the possible strike, but last time they only announced curtailed flight schedule the day before. You should monitor your TAP and other flights set to take off or land in Portugal on strike days.

There are likely disruptions outside of these strike hours when there are many unprocessed passengers at the border.

IHG One Rewards members are eligible for an additional 3% off, while the base discount is up to 25% off.

You can access this offer on IHG’s website here.

READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers

It might be that the discount is not available for the entire selection, but only these four:

InterContinental Residences Abu Dhahi – Access Here

Holiday Inn Lucknow Airport – Access Here

Holiday Inn Katra Vaishno Devi – Access Here

Crowne Plaza Dhaka Gulshan – Access Here

Current New Hotels:

Conclusion

IHG has a similar offer for stays in Asia-Pacific (read more here) and has expanded the offer for India, the Middle East, and Africa.

It is always good to browse what new hotels IHG has open in these markets.

Terms and conditions of this offer:

• The discount is up to 25% off of Best Flexible Rate which is an unrestricted, non-qualified, non-discount rate when you book at least three (3) days in advance. An additional 3% is also available for IHG One Rewards members.
• Full prepayment is required at the time of booking and the rate is non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-cancellable. If you do not arrive or check into the hotel on your arrival date your booking will be cancelled, and you will not receive a refund.
• Rates are per room, per night based on single or double occupancy. Based on property selection, deeper discounts may be available.
• Blackout dates apply and rooms are subject to availability. Certain room types may be excluded from the rate.
• Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel specific early departure fee applies.
• Final bill will be in hotel’s local currency.

Aeroplan members can, under this offer, buy miles at up to a 110% bonus.

You can access this offer on Air Canada’s website here.

Air Canada Aeroplan members can buy up to 1 million miles in a calendar year before any possible bonuses.

Bonus Table:

Price at a 110% bonus:

The price of a mile (USD) under this offer is 1.23 US cents each when you buy them at a maximum discount. The price under the 100% bonus was 1.3 US cents each.

Conclusion

Air Canada allows you to buy a significant number of miles at once. The price in USD per mile is very reasonable, considering the breadth of partners and availability to book all of them online without having to call.

The airline has many partners outside Star Alliance, including Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Oman Air, and Air Mauritius. You can mix and match partner airlines for awards that also allow stopovers for a modest fee.

This is the best price to buy Aeroplan miles. If you have planned to buy some, now it would be the right time.

Here are the terms and conditions of this sale:

The following Terms and Conditions apply to the Buy and/or Gift Points May 2023 Offer open to Aeroplan® Members (the “Offer”) and will take place from May 18, 2023, at 12:01:01 AM ET to May 23, 2023 at 2:59:59 AM ET (the “Offer Period”):

1. This Offer to buy and/or gift Aeroplan points today and earn bonus Aeroplan points is open to Aeroplan Members in good standing that log into their Aeroplan account on after May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET (the “Eligible Participants”). An Aeroplan Member who is logged in to their Aeroplan account prior to May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET will not be considered as an Eligible Participant under this Offer – to be considered an Eligible Participant under this Offer, please make sure to click or push the “refresh page” button of your web/mobile browser after this time. Not an Aeroplan Member yet? Sign up here.

2. “Eligible Aeroplan points” means Aeroplan points bought and/or gifted by an Eligible Participant during the Offer Period pursuant to the Buy/Gift Points Program, part of the Aeroplan Program. Please visit the following link for information and terms and conditions applicable to the Buy/Gift Points Program.

All Aeroplan points purchased and/or gifted prior to the start of the Offer Period or purchased and/or gifted with a login time before May 18, 2023 at 12:01:01 AM ET or after May 23, 2023 at 2:59:59 AM ET, are not considered as Eligible Aeroplan points pursuant to this Offer.

3. Eligible Aeroplan points purchased and/or gifted pursuant to this Offer are non-refundable.

4. Through this Offer and during the Offer Period, Eligible Participants will be able to bonus Aeroplan points which are calculated based on the Eligible Aeroplan points bought by an Eligible Participant during the Offer Period as per the following conditions:

(a) Earn 60% bonus Aeroplan points when a minimum of 4,000 Eligible Aeroplan points and up to a maximum of 29,000 Eligible Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted (no bonus Aeroplan points will be issued if less than 4,000 Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted).
(b) Earn 75% bonus Aeroplan points when a minimum of 30,000 Eligible Aeroplan points and up to a maximum of 55,000 Eligible Aeroplan points are bought and/or gifted.
(c) Earn 110% bonus Aeroplan points when buying and/or gifting 60,000 or more Eligible Aeroplan points.

In the case of gifting Eligible Aeroplan points by an Aeroplan Member (the gifter) to another Aeroplan Member (the recipient), it is the recipient that will earn the bonus Aeroplan points, which will be deposited into the recipient’s Aeroplan account (subject to Section 6 below).

5. Specific Conditions to buying and/or gifting Eligible Aeroplan points pursuant to this Offer:

(a) Buying Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can buy a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 1,000,000 Eligible Aeroplan points per calendar year:

• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account, which is increased from 250,000 Aeroplan points to 500,000 Aeroplan points solely for the purpose of this Offer;
• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be bought per Aeroplan account, which is 1,000,000 Aeroplan points.

(b) Gifting Eligible Aeroplan points: During the Offer Period and only for the purpose of this Offer, Eligible Participants can gift a minimum of 4,000 Aeroplan points and up to 500,000 Aeroplan points per transaction; up to a maximum total of 500,000 Eligible Aeroplan points pear calendar year:

• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count toward the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the transactional limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account, which is increased from 250,000 Aeroplan points to 500,000 Aeroplan points solely for the purpose of this Offer;
• Bonus Aeroplan points awarded through this Offer do not count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account;
• Eligible Aeroplan points do count towards the calendar year annual limit of Aeroplan points that can be gifted per Aeroplan account, which is 500,000 Aeroplan points.

6. Purchased and gifted Eligible Aeroplan points and bonus Aeroplan points will generally be posted within 72 hours in a member’s Aeroplan account.

7. This Offer is subject to change at Aeroplan’s sole discretion without notice. This Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion.

8. Aeroplan reserve the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual from this Offer and to ban the individual from any future offers that it finds or believes to be tampering with the process or the operation of this Offer, to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions, the Aeroplan General Terms and Conditions or in a disruptive manner, or with bad faith. Any attempt by a member or any other person to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of this Offer is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Aeroplan reserve the right to seek damages from any such person.

9. By entering this Offer, each Eligible Participant acknowledges and agrees that Aeroplan: (i) shall have no liability of any kind whatsoever with respect to this Offer; (ii) make no warranty, guaranty or representation of any kind concerning the award; (iii) disclaim any implied warranty; and (iv) are not liable for injury, loss or damage of any kind resulting from an Eligible Participant’s acceptance or use of the award or otherwise from such Eligible Participant’s participation in this Offer. Aeroplan is not responsible for typographical or other errors in this Offer or administration of this Offer, including, but not limited to, errors in advertising and in the official Terms and Conditions. Aeroplan is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems or servers, computer software problems or traffic congestion on the internet.

10. If this Offer is not capable of running as planned for any reason, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, pandemic or any other causes beyond the reasonable control of Aeroplan which corrupt or affect the administration, security or proper conduct of this Offer, Aeroplan reserves the right at its sole discretion to, without advance notice, terminate or suspend the Offer, in whole or in part, or modify it in any way.

11. This Offer is governed by all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations applicable in the province of Quebec.

12. In the event of any discrepancies between the English language Terms and Conditions and the French language Terms and Conditions for this Offer, the English version shall prevail.

13. The following applies to this Offer, but in the event of conflict, these Terms and Conditions shall govern:
•Aeroplan Buy & Gift Points Program General Information and Terms and Conditions
•Aeroplan’s Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy :

There was some confusion surrounding the Gold and Diamond benefits at these hotels because of a page on Hilton’s website that was incorrect (read more here). Hilton has now amended it with the correct Gold and Diamond benefits.

You can access Hilton’s Maldives benefits page here.

READ MORE: Hilton Honors Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Maldives Hilton Honors Gold & Diamond Benefits:

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island benefits:

• Daily full buffet breakfast, or a la carte breakfast

• One bottle of wine* upon arrival

• Chocolate and fruit basket upon arrival

• Daily Happy Hour* at selected outlet for you and sharing guest in same villa from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi benefits:

• Complimentary breakfast

• In-villa VIP welcome amenities

• Complimentary late check-out (subject to availability)

• Complimentary selection of beverages crafted by mixologist and sommelier from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Peacock Alley

• 50% special offer on selected refreshments at Peacock Alley from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm

SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrade to the next category up to Beach Villa (subject to availability)

• One bottle of sparkling wine, dried fruits, and Thai rice crackers as the arrival amenities

• Late check-out upon request (subject to availability)

• Complimentary breakfast throughout the stay

Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa benefits:

• Breakfast in our all-day dining restaurant, Habitat

• In-villa VIP welcome bottle of wine and fruit basket

• Complimentary daily afternoon indulgence with a fine selection of beverages crafted by our sommelier from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at SIP

Hilton Honors DIAMOND MEMBERS:

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island benefits:

• Daily full buffet breakfast, or a la carte breakfast

• One bottle of sparkling wine* upon arrival

• Chocolate and fruit basket upon arrival

• Daily Happy Hour* at selected outlet for you and sharing guest in same villa from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi benefits:

• Complimentary breakfast

• In-villa VIP welcome amenities

• Complimentary late check-out (subject to availability)

• Complimentary mixology and sommelier selection of crafted beverages from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Peacock Alley

• 50% special offer on selected refreshments at Peacock Alley from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm

• With a selected 60-minute massage, enjoy a complimentary additional 30-minute back and shoulder massage at Waldorf Astoria Spa

SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrade to the next category up to Beach Villa (subject to availability)

• Complimentary drinks from the All-Inclusive Beverage Menu at Miss Olive Oyl Pool Bar from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

• One bottle of sparkling wine, dried fruits, and Thai rice crackers as the arrival amenities

• Late check-out upon request (subject to availability)

• Complimentary breakfast throughout the stay

Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa benefits:

• Breakfast in our all-day dining restaurant, Habitat

• In-villa VIP welcome bottle of wine and fruit basket

• With a selected 60-minute massage, enjoy an additional 30-minutes at Amingiri Spa

• Complimentary daily afternoon indulgence with a fine selection of beverages crafted by our sommelier from 3:00pm to 4:00pm at SIP

Conclusion

It is crucial that Hilton has the correct information on its website, and I am glad they fixed the omissions after we contacted them.

These hotels are unique compared to their usual land-based counterparts, and I have been to three of them.

There will be a sticker shock when it comes to the Food and Beverage prices on your first trip to the Maldives. This is because you are a captive guest at the property, and you absolutely cannot bring alcohol to the country (confiscated at the airport, and you can get them back when leaving), and everything is priced as such.

With all the issues surrounding hygiene and sickness prevention on cruises, one would think that all people by now got it into their head that some common sense should prevail but apparently not so.

While Celebrity Cruises is not known for rowdy behavior among its clientele and prides itself on being a bit “above” in terms of ambiance and class, I have still witnessed some pretty grotesque behavior as far as hygiene is concerned during my current Alaska cruise on Celebrity Solstice (and previously on the Millennium as well).

I took the above-posted picture on the Celebrity Solstice a few days ago when I came back from the pool and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this tastefully dressed man resting his bare, filthy feet on a coffee table at the library.

The next person after him puts some pastry or his coffee there, yummy!

An even worse situation occurred while making the rounds to look at some cabins with the hotel director and an intoxicated man who was earlier heard yelling for a bathroom stood in the corner of the 12th deck next to the stairwell and URINATED ON THE CARPET (after he had already visibly left the majority of it in his pants). When do cruise lines finally put a stop to such behavior?

A lot might have to do with alcohol intake, but cruise lines should start cutting people off and disabling their access to alcohol on the Seapass card. Urinating in public areas on a cruise ship, are you kidding me???

On Celebrity Millennium, a cabin that housed passengers in sickness isolation for the better part of the week had a garbage bag thrown out in the hallway labeled Biohazard – Infectious Waste. It wasn’t picked up for hours.

Add to that the many passengers who don’t bother to wash their hands before/after attending self-serve stations at the buffet or who visibly play around with the food, as in touching it with their bare hands.

Conclusion

I think there should be a mandatory element to the safety drill that includes basic hygiene protocol so that it hammers home to passengers that in order to maintain a safe cruising environment, common sense is paramount and that behaving like pigs in the mud field isn’t contributing to that. A closer watch on alcohol intake might also be one component of that, but this is usually not a contributing factor to scenes at the buffet of the individual in the library with his feet on the cocktail table.

I really enjoyed cruising during Covid when ships were at half capacity, and people were somewhat on guard as far as health and cleanliness were concerned. Now it’s back to basics, ships are full, and people let their guard down. Not sure this is an environment I can enjoy much longer, and I’m even more glad I completed 9 cruises in the past two years, seeing lots of interesting things, and I could probably just move on and go back to land-based trips. Not that people behave much better there.

An online waiting room where interested customers can enter will give promotional codes to the lucky winners who can then book Cathay Pacific tickets with zero base fare.

Membership in the Cathay Pacific Asia Miles program is mandatory to participate, though it’s likely possible to change the number during check-in for status benefits if one has oneworld status with another carrier.

Each eligible member can secure one round-trip ticket with only taxes, fees, and surcharges due at the time of sale.

All flights and travel dates must be decided at the time of booking. The minimum stay period for the ticket is 2 days, and the maximum stay period for the ticket is 1 month.

The complimentary tickets are offered from the gateways used by Cathay Pacific in the U.S. and Canada (other countries either already had their raffles or they’re still coming up).

• U.S. gateways: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York (JFK)
• Canadian Gateways: Toronto, Vancouver

Here is the landing page for U.S. participants:

Starting May 17 2023 at 5:00 PM PST/8:00 PM EST, a limited number of round-trip tickets to Hong Kong will be available from our US gateways. These tickets will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Each eligible member can secure one round-trip ticket with only taxes, fees, and surcharges due at the time of sale.

Eligible members at time of launch will be able to book one (1) economy round-trip ticket from one of our US gateways (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York (JFK)) to Hong Kong on a first come, first serve basis.* All flight tickets are sponsored by Hong Kong International Airport.

To be eligible for the exclusive ticket offer, you must meet the following criteria:

• Be a Cathay member

These are the terms & conditions for this offer originating in the U.S.:

Download (PDF, 177KB)

This is easy enough, keep in mind though that “taxes, fees and surcharges” mean that the price could still be quite substantial but base fare zero is attractive IF you can manage to sit it out in Economy Class.

This is the landing page for Canadian participants:

Starting May 17 2023 at 6:00 PM PST/9:00 PM EST, a limited number of round-trip tickets to Hong Kong will be available from our Canadian gateways (Vancouver or Toronto). These tickets will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Each eligible member can secure one round-trip ticket with only taxes, fees, and surcharges due at the time of sale.

To access this exclusive offer, become a Cathay member today.

Ticket sales close on 23 May 2023, or until all tickets are sold – whichever comes first. All taxes, fees, and surcharges are at the cost of the traveler.

Here is the T&C sheet for participants in Canada:

Download (PDF, 175KB)

If you plan to participate in this campaign this evening, it’s a good idea to have a firm idea ahead of time when you’re actually able to travel, as demand is most likely going to outpace availability. This means you have to decide and book fast.

You should also take into consideration that hotel rates in Hong Kong have risen sharply, so please check the pricing for hotels and also the weather in HK. We’re nearing the summer, and it gets pretty hot/humid there. You can book up to nine months later though, which might be an attractive proposition.

Another item to note is that all tickets are non-transferable, non-reroutable, non-exchangeable, and only the tax & surcharges are refundable. I’m trying to get one of these tickets (fingers crossed) and see how they price out, especially which charges are attached.

Conclusion

Another round of Cathay Pacific’s and HKIA’s famous Free Ticket Giveaway will start tonight for residents in North America and there will be a separate campaign (online waiting room) for both Canada and the U.S. to raffle away these free tickets.

I included the landing pages for both countries above. If you’re interested I suggest to read it closely, familiarize yourself with the t&c of the campaign, and also try to firm up a travel date in advance that works in terms of your time availability and the pricing for local hotels either in points or cash.

Remember to email or message us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with your airfare-related questions or discoveries!

fare: American (AA) IC2GLE NYC to LAX

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $455 ($401 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: -/-
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations are required at least 21 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: -/-
• Maximum stay: -/-
• Stopovers: not permitted.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: changes permitted for reissue/revalidation.

IATA’S COVID19 REGULATIONS MAP

Routing examples

Price comparison

Booking examples

This fare can be booked on American Airlines:

Accruals

Fare rules

Download (DOCX, 23KB)

The hotel was scheduled to reopen first in December 2022, then in April 2023, and now the hotel has opened reservations for arrivals from June 1.

You can access InterContinental Bangkok here.

READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers

InterContinental Bangkok Availability:

There is availability for bookings from June 1.

InterContinental Room Availability June 1, 2023:

They are selling standard and club rooms, but no suite inventory has been loaded.

Award Availability:

It seems that the King Classic, Twin Classic, and Classic rooms are considered “standard” for award redemption purposes.

Renderings Released By IHG:

Conclusion

I was looking for Bangkok availability in mid-June and came across this hotel, where I have stayed numerous times. So I would assume that the reopening is on June 1 because it is only two weeks from now.

The renovations don’t appear to have been completed, OR they haven’t loaded availability for any of the suites that the hotel has,

I hope they have done a complete renovation because last time, they hardly touched the bathroom at all, and it was in a different style than the suite or room (you could clearly see the difference).

There is another InterContinental opening in Bangkok, but it has been now delayed until March 2024.

At the end of the press release, there is a note that they are working on reciprocal elite and frequent flier benefits that are expected to be launched later this year.

You can access Air Canada here.

Air Canada’s announcement:

Conclusion

This is a logical choice for Air Canada to have another airline partner based in Dubai that are both owned by the government.

Flydubai operates single-aisle aircraft and flies to many destinations that cannot support wide-body planes from Emirates.

It is good that some frequent flier benefits are in the works too, and we are eager to learn more about them later in the year.