News and notes from around the interweb:
- Stay classy, American Airlines.
@AmericanAir This morning this was my seat on AA flight. Human matter. Great to sit in for 4 hours! #disgusting #gross #badcustomerservice #userexperiencefail pic.twitter.com/vvFUJOGZyX
— rfid (@rfidjan) April 9, 2025
Very good @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/PMK2qaQeFx
— andrew laddis (@gabrielaczr) April 9, 2025
- Even though Southwest Airlines has done pretty much everything Elliott Management has publicly asked for, Elliott has… lost money on its Southwest investment. But before Trump’s tariffs sent markets into a nosedive, Southwest shares were up a little bit from before the airline turned over board seats to them. And Matt Levine wonders if Elliott’s value add is actually… podcasts?
Last October, Elliott Management, the hedge fund, launched a podcast about Southwest Airlines Co. At the time, Elliott was running a proxy fight at Southwest, pushing for changes in management and strategy, and these days I guess investors want to get their information via podcasts on their way to work. So Elliott met them where they were and podcasted about its proxy fight. …It worked, in the sense that Elliott reached a deal with Southwest that gave it some board seats and much of what it wanted. Southwest’s stock closed at $30.37 the day before the podcast launched; it closed at $31.86 last Wednesday (pre-tariffs; it’s much lower now). Did the podcast add $700 million of value to Southwest? I mean, no. But that would be a pretty good podcast.
- Meg Ryan’s unbridled enthusiasm over pastrami which I wrote about here, here, and here.
I’m always thinking about Katz’s Deli. It’s truly the best. People who complain about the $27 price or the meat to bread ratio have probably never been there and don’t know how succulent the pastrami is and that you can get extra bread slices for 40¢ pic.twitter.com/57PlvlHaKp https://t.co/wrA9v76pfI
— Roy Drones Jr (@chiweethedog) April 8, 2025
- U.S. Bank nerfs the Smartly up to 4% cash back card for new customers starting Monday
- Inquiring minds keep asking.
So, @SouthwestAir if you love free bags, why get rid of them? pic.twitter.com/N0MjCsGson
— Michael Levy (@mlevy60) April 8, 2025
- Priority Pass to Offer More Sleep Pods and Spas as Airport Lounges Get Overcrowded Worth noting that Chase-issued Priority Passes (Sapphire Reserve, Ritz-Carlton Card, JP Morgan Reserve) include spas – while Amex and Capital One-issued Priority Pass cards do not. All 3 have dropped Priority Pass restaurants.
Generally speaking, the more consumers swipe their Priority Pass cards, the more Priority Pass makes, so more options for use are good for them (while members walking away and not entering crowded lounges is not).
- Virgin Australia elite status revamp
- Accor ALL elite status fast track