Effective Sept. 13, 2011, Priority Club Rewards and Southwest Rapid Rewards are ending their partnership and Rapid Rewards members will no longer be able to earn points for stays at Priority Club Rewards hotels. The partnership began Sept. 29, 2005. …
Beginning Jan. 13, Sun Country will be adding seasonal nonstop flights between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Liberia, Costa Rica. …
Virgin Atlantic has announced twice weekly service between London and Cancun to begin June 12, 2012. Cancun is the 33rd destination for Virgin Atlantic. …
Copa Airlines is adding three new destinations in December: Chicago (ORD); Cucuta, Colombia and Asuncion, Paraguay. Copa recently launched flights to Toronto, Canada; Porto Alegre and Brasilia, Brazil and Nassau, Bahamas. The airline plans to join the Star Alliance in April 2012. …
Southwest Rapid Rewards members can now earn points through e-Rewards. …
Southwest Airlines will begin twice daily service between Milwaukee and St. Louis effective Sept. 6, 2011, and a second daily flight from Denver to Milwaukee. On the same day, AirTran Airways will add two daily flights between Milwaukee and Des Moines and Akron-Canton. The new flights begin the same day that AirTran ends its partnership with SkyWest. …
Rumor has it that American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are in talks to add more cities outside the U.S. to their reciprocal frequent flyer partnership. …
Delta has received final approval of antitrust immunity for a proposed joint venture, including an FFP tie-in, with Virgin Australia that should come into effect by the end of the year. …
China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines have joined SkyTeam. The airlines will add 32 new destinations to the alliance’s global network, including Macau and Colombo, Sri Lanka. The alliance now has 14 members and expects to grow to 19 members by 2012. …
Effective Aug. 18, 2011, Spirit Airlines will begin nonstop service from Chicago (ORD) to Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit and New York (LGA) and to Orlando, beginning Nov. 10, 2011. …
Saudi Arabian Airlines has been confirmed as a future member of the SkyTeam alliance, but Delta announced that it does not intend to codeshare or share reciprocal frequent flyer benefits with the airline. …
Marriott Rewards and Kingfisher Airlines King Club are now reciprocal partners. Marriott Rewards members can earn one or two miles for every dollar spent (room rate only) at Marriott hotels, depending on brand. Marriott Rewards members can also convert their Marriott points into King Miles. …
Rumor has it (via the Red Lion Hotels ad in InsideFlyer) that Red Lion R&R Club has “exciting changes … coming soon!” …
Garuda Frequent Flyer and Korean Air SKYPASS now have a reciprocal frequent flyer partnership as Garuda prepares to fully join the SkyTeam alliance in 2012. …
Virgin Australia has plans to end their current partnership with Malaysia Airlines in favor of a new partnership with Singapore Airlines. Malaysia Airlines has plans to join the oneworld alliance to partner with Virgin Australia’s competitor, Qantas Airways. …
Hilton corporate has put Las Vegas Hilton on notice that it intends to end the hotel casino licensing agreement Jan. 1, 2012. The property is in discussions with other major hotel brands and will announce a new affiliation before the end of the year.
