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Welcome to this week in review around the web, where we highlight some of our favorite posts from around the Internet.
First up, I ask the title question — would you pay to shower on a plane? Word on the street is that Emirates thinks you might. While just a rumor, I don’t find it all that hard to believe. I the past month, I’ve flown Emirates A380 first class 3 times and have noticed a few corners cut: pajamas and amenity kits were not proactively distributed on one flight (though they were available on request); on another flight, the pre-departure beverage served was Moet & Chandon with Dom Perignon not served until we were airborne. Don’t mistake those for complaints — just indications that the cost-cutting rumors seem to be true. While it’s kind of neat to take a shower at 35,000 feet, I do wonder about the pricing sweet spot. Obviously they want to tempt a few passengers to give it a go while space and time would seriously limit the number of people who could be accommodated.
Speaking of accommodation, Shawn at Miles to Memories has the scoop on how you could earn up to 10K Southwest miles per night when you book through SouthwestHotels. I’m of two minds on this: it seems that it could be a viable shortcut to a Companion Pass if the miles earned here do indeed count. On the flip side, the opportunity cost of losing elite benefits on the stay might be too much of a trade for me. I admit that I’ll be taking a look at this in comparison to what I can book elsewhere. Even at just 6,000 points per night, a Companion Pass would only require about 19 nights. Compare that to how Hyatt wants me to spend 60 nights a year to maintain top-tier status and a companion pass at ~19 nights (or maybe less) starts to sound pretty interesting.
In other hotel news, the increased SPG sign up bonuses remind us that SPG has some really cool experiences you can buy with points. Charlie at Running with Miles covers a number of opportuities to use as few as 5,000 Starpoints to attend MLB Spring Training games with SPG Moments.
In “news I wish I knew a month ago”, Mommy Points shares a simple trick to help the United computers find the routing you want. Complex itineraries used to be easier with the multi-city tool. Instead, I spent several hours on the phone with agents piecing together something that I was having trouble pricing correctly online. Maybe it would have been a little easier if I’d have nudged the computer along with Summer’s trick!
Continuing to wish that I could turn back time and know then what I know now, I wish I could have known that Vietnam was introducing E-Visas for US Citizens on February 1st. Right now, I type this post from Ho Chih Minh City, where I landed a few hours ago and entered the country on a paper visa that I applied for through the mail. It’s now both cheaper and easier for US Citizens to visit for up to 30 days than it was when I applied last month. Oh well! That’s how the cookie crumbles.
Finally, not all news is good news. Loyalty Traveler uncovered unannounced changes to Wyndham Rewards GoFast rates — increases in copay, decreases in room types available, and more constricting terms on some stays. This is disappointing news for a program that was starting to look more appealing when they overhauled the program a couple of years ago.
That’s it for this week’s stories from around the web — check back again for this week’s last chance deals
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EK is facing a cost crunch and indeed, like QR removing ala carte dining from its business class lounge at DOH, cutting back bit by bit on perks in premium cabins, and looking for ways to generate new streams of revenue. Shower in the air is just the latest, after selling admission to its First Class lounge/floor at DXB. All these Gulf carriers are over extended and flying too much premium capacity for their markets as they move down the levels of cities served into the tertiaries…but flying planes with standard J/Y configurations into smaller cities where there is little demand for J, unless it’s deeply discounted…which is also happening.
I might pay up to $10 to do it the first time, but that’s it. I’ve now flown 2 Emirates F and 1 Etihad Apt A380 flights with showers. I showered on the first Emirates flight, but passed on the 2nd flight and the Etihad flight. It’s a cool novelty worth a few photos, but that’s about it… unless I needed a shower– which I did before the Etihad flight, but the lounge shower is much better than the one in the plane.
I don’t think I’d pay separately to shower, either. And I did pass on the shower on the last of my recent Emirates flights as the only time slots left when they got to me were 2.5 hours before landing and I wanted to be sleeping at that time.
Like much of Emirates’ first class experience, I agree that it’s just a novelty that’s just there for “wow” factor. On the other hand, my flight to Dubai last month got delayed due to weather. When I finally got to my hotel at 3am, I was glad I had already showered and could immediately fall asleep.
So I see both sides of the coin — it’s a novelty that is also sometimes useful. But I don’t think I’d be wiling to pay much for it if I were traveling in business class. If I really wanted a shower, I’d just redeem a few more miles and fly first :-).
I wouldn’t shower on a plane even if it was free.
The only way I would shower would be if I was a high level executive or official that was going straight to an important meeting as soon as I got off the plane. But since I am neither of those, this does not apply to me.
Definitely would pay to shower on a flight 9 hours or more. I think it would be a great antidote for jetlag heading east.
Fyi, the pre departure champagne is Moet most likely if you were on US soil on that flight. Emirates doesnt serve Dom on the ground in the US because then they would have to pay taxes on the more expensive Dom. I dont believe this is part of the cost cutting just yet. It has been like that for as long as I remember.
That makes sense – this flight was Singapore to Melbourne. I haven’t flown Emirates departing the US before, so this was the first time I’d seen it.
Would you pay to shower on a plane?
Almost certainly not. Only unless the higher ticket price justified looking clean immediately after stepping off the plane. Most people that have a paparazzi following have their own private jets anyway.
I’ll try to avoid the airplane restrooms just like every other public restroom. I would be about as excited to shower on an airplane as I would be at the YMCA. Actually, maybe even worse: I don’t want to even think about what went on in an airplane shower in a private cabin on the previous flight. So on second thought, I’ll probably pass on taking the shower on the airplane, even if I’m booked in the shower suite.
Having showered more times than not on Emirates flights, I got a good laugh at myself out of this :-). Thanks for your thoughts!