February 14-20: Scorpions, Virtual Reality, Reward Programs and More

This week’s round-up brings the latest airline travel news – from scorpion stings, virtual reality headsets, and cheap flights to the Philippines, to the world’s most punctual airports and Southwest’s new reward program. Enjoy!

Southwest Changes Reward Program

More reward program changes are coming; this time with Southwest. Starting April 17, the number of points you will get from Southwest will be determined by the destination, time, day of travel, demand and other factors. Southwest’s move, follows Delta Air Lines and United Airlines switch to a dollars spent model, versus miles flown model at the beginning of this year.

Cheap Flights to the Philippines

Increased competition has resulted in some cheap fares to the Philippines. While industry insiders say that the prices are unlikely to remain low for long, now is definitely the right time to consider a trip. Roundtrip tickets that once cost over a $1,000 are now averaging $800 or less.

Qantas Embraces Virtual Reality

Forget seat back entertainment. Qantas is about to debut virtual reality headsets in its premium cabins. The idea is to “transport customers to an immersive virtual world” that inspires them to travel more. However some experts question whether or not the technology will have motion sickness repercussions.

The World’s Most Punctual Airports and Airlines

The Official Airline Guide has just released the findings of a punctuality report that evaluates more than 900 airlines in airports around the world. In the U.S. Portland, Oregon was the only small airport to make it into the top 20. In the medium airport category Salt Lake City, Detroit and Washington National all had a showing and Minneapolis, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Houston all scored with top rankings in the large airport category. However Alaska Airlines and Virgin America were the only U.S. airlines rated among airline peers.

Random Story of the Week: Scorpion Stings Woman on Plane

This is a story you don’t expect to hear. It seems a scorpion stung a woman on an LA to Portland flight this week, just as the plane was about to take off. It seems the scorpion hitched a ride in carry-on luggage that had been in Mexico.

Comments are closed.

Today's Best Fares