Your ultimate guide to Alaska Airlines partners
Editor’s note: At TPG, our top priority is providing our readers with the information needed to make educated decisions about travel and your rewards-earnings strategy. This is not the best time to travel, domestically or internationally, as airlines have cut significant parts of their route network. But we are sharing this information to provide value for …Even if you aren’t on the West Coast or live near an Alaska Airlines hub, you can still get a ton of value from the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Sure, you can use Alaska miles for flights on Alaska Airlines, but the real sweet spots lie in the program’s wide selection of partners.
United Airlines has launched a new chat function allowing customers to simply text their cleaning and safety questions directly to the airline for a quick, contactless response.
© United Airlines United introduces the United Automated Assistant chat function The new United Automated Assistant allows passengers to text "Clean" to FLYUA (35982) and receive answers to all sorts of questions related to the airline's COVID-19 response, including face mask policies, boarding procedures, touchless check-in options and more.
20 Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Summer Adventures at Home
This summer is likely going to be challenging for both kids and adults — and, if you cancelled your travel plans, you’re likely going to have to make the best of your own backyard. Why not try a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt? It's a fun family activity that gets everyone moving and might even appeal to teenagers.
Passengers can ask about the ways that United is keeping airports and aircraft clean, what they need to do in advance of their trip and potential changes to service, among other things.
"The travel experience has changed a lot from just a few months ago—we've overhauled our safety and cleaning procedures and this new text functionality makes it easier for our customers to stay informed," Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President for Technology and Chief Digital Officer, said in a statement. "Whether you want to know the latest about our social distancing and face-covering policies or see how the boarding and deplaning process has changed, our Automated Assistant is designed to meet the customer where they are and get them answers in a simple, fast and easy way."
10 years of The Points Guy – 10 big changes in travel in the past decade
The Points Guy was launched 10 years ago in June of 2010. It’s been a decade of dramatic change in the business and of dramatic growth for TPG. Here’s just some of the areas of change we’ve seen in the past 10 years: The debut of bigger airports and airport makeovers New airplane technology and improvements, new liveries …Here’s just some of the areas of change we’ve seen in the past 10 years:
The new United Automated Assistant is part of the airline's United CleanPlus program, an enhanced set of health and safety measures that includes partnerships with Clorox and the Cleveland Clinic.
United is also limiting the number of passengers on board its flights in order to allow for physical distancing. The airline said it expected to operate less than 15 percent of its July flights at more than 70 percent capacity.
Gallery: The Airlines Keeping Seats Open This Summer (TravelPulse)
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Social Distancing in the Skies
Airlines are stepping up cleaning and hygiene measures, requiring face masks and even checking passengers' temperatures prior to boarding in some cases in an effort to ensure safety and provide travelers with added peace of mind amid the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some carriers are also limiting capacity and blocking seats to allow for physical distancing on board. Here are the airlines keeping some seats empty this summer.
American Airlines' decision to sell middle seats shows that the pandemic won't lead to more comfortable flights
Despite early hopes that the coronavirus pandemic would mean the end of the middle seat on flights, American Airlines laid that theory to rest.When the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill, ushered in the age of social distancing, and indefinitely grounded most frequent flyers, the optimists focused on the worst part of modern air travel: the middle seat.
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Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines, the carrier handing out yellow cards to passengers who violate its mask policy, recently expanded its Next-Level Care safety measures, including blocking middle seats to cap capacity at 65 percent through July 31. Families or large groups traveling together can request to sit together by contacting the airline's reservations team.
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Delta Air Lines
Delta is blocking middle seats on larger aircraft and aisle seats on smaller planes through September 30 and capping cabin seating at 60 percent in Main Cabin and 50 percent in First Class. "Confidence in a safe travel experience is key to a successful recovery," said Joe Esposito, Senior Vice President – Network Planning, in a statement last month. "While we're rebuilding our network at home and abroad, it’s even more critical that we provide the highest industry standard of safety, space and clean so when our customers are ready to travel, we’re ready for them."
Flight review: American Airlines Boeing 777-200 business class on the day flight from New York to London
During the COVID-19 crisis, our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips. However, we are still publishing new flight, hotel and lounge reviews, from trips taken just before the lockdown, like this one. Please note that if you fly during the coronavirus pandemic, you will encounter a very different experience, both on the ground and on board, from what was experienced …Service that felt perfunctory at times; OK but unexceptional food.
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Frontier Airlines
Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier, which is the only U.S. airline requiring passengers to undergo a temperature screening prior to boarding, is blocking a limited number of seats, about 20 per flight through August 31.
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Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines, which is set to resume most of its mainland U.S. routes next month, is blocking seats to limit capacity to roughly 70 percent this summer. The policy remains in effect through August 31.
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JetBlue
JetBlue's seat distancing policy was scheduled to expire on July 6 but the carrier extended it through the end of July. The airline is blocking middle seats on its Airbus aircraft and aisle seats and on its smaller Embraer 190 planes. "We're known for generous legroom and space, and now more than ever, those choosing to travel want as much space as possible," said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue's president and chief operating officer, in a statement back in May. "We are pleased to extend our efforts to keep seats free and help everyone onboard spread out."
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Southwest Airlines
Southwest is keeping middle seats open through at least September 30. However, customers can still pick their own seats, so travel companions can sit together if they choose. The low-cost carrier is also boarding in groups of 10 to allow for physical-distancing.
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Every Halloween activity ranked by risk level, according to the CDC .
Halloween 2020 may not be canceled, but there are certain activities that the CDC deems higher-risk than others.
Editor’s note: At TPG, our top priority is providing our readers with the information needed to make educated decisions about travel and your rewards-earnings strategy. This is not the best time to travel, domestically or internationally, as airlines have cut significant parts of their route network. But we are sharing this information to provide value for …Even if you aren’t on the West Coast or live near an Alaska Airlines hub, you can still get a ton of value from the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program. Sure, you can use Alaska miles for flights on Alaska Airlines, but the real sweet spots lie in the program’s wide selection of partners. 
This summer is likely going to be challenging for both kids and adults — and, if you cancelled your travel plans, you’re likely going to have to make the best of your own backyard. Why not try a good, old-fashioned scavenger hunt? It's a fun family activity that gets everyone moving and might even appeal to teenagers. 
The Points Guy was launched 10 years ago in June of 2010. It’s been a decade of dramatic change in the business and of dramatic growth for TPG. Here’s just some of the areas of change we’ve seen in the past 10 years: The debut of bigger airports and airport makeovers New airplane technology and improvements, new liveries …Here’s just some of the areas of change we’ve seen in the past 10 years: 
Despite early hopes that the coronavirus pandemic would mean the end of the middle seat on flights, American Airlines laid that theory to rest.When the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill, ushered in the age of social distancing, and indefinitely grounded most frequent flyers, the optimists focused on the worst part of modern air travel: the middle seat. 
During the COVID-19 crisis, our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips. However, we are still publishing new flight, hotel and lounge reviews, from trips taken just before the lockdown, like this one. Please note that if you fly during the coronavirus pandemic, you will encounter a very different experience, both on the ground and on board, from what was experienced …Service that felt perfunctory at times; OK but unexceptional food. 
Your ultimate guide to Alaska Airlines partners 
20 Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Summer Adventures at Home 
10 years of The Points Guy – 10 big changes in travel in the past decade 
American Airlines' decision to sell middle seats shows that the pandemic won't 
Flight review: American Airlines Boeing 777-200 business class on the day... 
Double-decker planes are going extinct as Airbus and Boeing discontinue their... 
United launches 17 new point-to-point flights to Florida, following a budget... 
Every Halloween activity ranked by risk level, according to the CDC 
