Mike FriedmanFor the first time in what feels like forever, it seems that an inkling of normalcy is creeping back into the travel market. And while we’re a long way from the all-clear, it’s possible to start thinking about making vacation plans again. That’s something. Welcome back to TWIT (This Week In Travel)!
Party In Las Vegas Like It’s 2019
Week in Travel
We’re certainly not back to normal, but today is reopening day in Las Vegas and the crowds are ready. So what will the city look like after weeks of closure? Well, as the old saying goes, some things change, and some things stay the same. Among some of the notables:
- Expect your dice at the craps table to be disinfected frequently and changed out between shooters. They’ll also be changing out the decks more than usual. Sorry, counters.
- On the plus side, you’ll still be able to take a gondola ride at The Venetian. But how will the gondoliers sing with a mask over their faces?
- And, of course, there will be signs everywhere telling you to wash your hands frequently.
In other words, I wouldn’t expect to be using those buffet comps anytime soon.
Doug Parker Discusses Race Relations
This story about the conversation between a black flight attendant and Doug Parker has been making the rounds, possibly because it shows the American Airlines CEO for what he is: a person. According to the story, the flight attendant saw him reading the book “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, and took the opportunity to start a conversation with him, not realizing that he was the CEO at one of Southwest’s major competitors. I think that the reason that the story has been re-shared so many times is that it provides a truly humanizing moment in a world that has become, to say the least, acrimonious.
Part of the shock to many airline geeks was Mr. Parker’s warmth, given his reputation as being somewhat cold and robotic. The thought of his connecting with an airline employee was the cause of a mass case of cognitive dissonance.
So I’ll drop the kayfabe long enough to talk about Doug Parker a little, since I’ve met with him several times in the past and gotten to know him a bit. While he can be a bit reticent, he genuinely cares about his customers and employees. He’s the guy who gave both the pilots and flight attendants mid-cycle raises, despite the fact that the groups were under contract for another two years. And despite the fact that a court had recently ruled that they only had to give 1.6% raises, as part of a catch-up, American gave 5%, instead. And he did all this knowing that Wall Street would beat up his stock for it. Oh, by the way, he doesn’t take a salary. He gets paid in stock.
Those raises came a year after he gave an emotional speech at a JP Morgan investor conference talking about management’s need to focus not only on shareholders but on employees. I was there, and it’s clear that he meant it.
Say what you will about the airline or the culture, but the man at the top is a decent guy.
Destinations that Will Pay You to Visit?
Week in Travel
The Washington Post recently published an article publicizing destinations “that will basically pay you to come visit during the pandemic.”
Okay, the headline is better than the actual article, and some of the deals are done, but I like the way they’re thinking. The deals include:
- 1,000 free flights to Las Vegas. One-way, of course.
- An offer from Cyprus to cover all of your costs (and your family’s) if you test positive for COVID-19 while on vacation on the island.
- Incentives from other destinations, such as Japan and Sicily. The article notes that Japan saw a 99.9% decline in visitors during April, year-over-year. So if you were the one person who visited, you probably got some pretty good deals.
Opinion Piece – Return to Vegas
When You Return To Las Vegas, You’ll Be More Likely To Fly Southwest
