Latest news with #GaryLeff
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Delta moving away from set fares and towards personalized price plan using AI
Delta Air Lines is moving away from static prices towards individualized pricing decided by artificial intelligence, Fortune reports. The airline company wants to do away with static pricing altogether and instead charge customers based on the particular flight they want to take at a particular time. By the end of the year, the company wants to have 20 percent of all ticket prices individually determined by AI, Delta President Glen Hauenstein said. The airline is currently pricing about 3 percent of tickets with AI. Haustein said last year the company wants ticket costs to be informed by an AI 'super analyst' that can work 24/7 to determine what an individual passenger should pay at any given time, Fortune reports. The program is expected to take years to fully implement. Travel expert Gary Leff told Fortune this plan has been in the works for years: 'Personalized pricing has been an airline goal for the past decade and a half.' Not everyone is excited about the program. Some experts and lawmakers say this new program will be unfair to consumers and will raise ticket prices. Matt Britton, author of Generation AI, told Fortune that AI is 'fundamentally rewriting the rules of commerce and consumer experience.' Delta Air Lines wants to use AI to determine ticket prices in real-time. Some say it could drive up prices for consumers (AFP via Getty Images) 'For consumers, this means the era of 'fair' pricing is over,' he added. 'The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you'll accept, not a universal rate.' Senator Ruben Gallego, a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, said he 'won't let [Delta] get away with this.' 'Delta's CEO just got caught bragging about using AI to find your pain point — meaning they'll squeeze you for every penny,' the Democrat wrote on X. 'This isn't fair pricing or competitive pricing. It's predatory pricing.' Some experts say Delta's new AI program could result in 'predatory pricing' (Getty Images) Justin Kloczko, an analyst with Consumer Watchdog, told Fortune that this means Delta wants to 'see into people's heads to see how much they're willing to pay.' 'They are basically hacking our brains,' he said. A Delta spokesperson told Fortune the company has 'zero tolerance for discrimination.' 'Our fares are publicly filed and based solely on trip-related factors like advance purchase and cabin class, and we maintain strict safeguards to ensure compliance with federal law,' the spokesperson said. Delta also announced the company is planning to reduce its main cabin capacity by about 1 percent to boost capacity for premium-level seats. The airline is also rolling out lie-flat 'Delta One Suites,' enhanced domestic First Class seats and premium economy 'Premium Select' on additional aircraft. The Independent has contacted Delta for comment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Delta moving away from set fares and towards personalized price plan using AI
Delta Air Lines is moving away from static prices towards individualized pricing decided by artificial intelligence, Fortune reports. The airline company wants to do away with static pricing altogether and instead charge customers based on the particular flight they want to take at a particular time. By the end of the year, the company wants to have 20 percent of all ticket prices individually determined by AI, Delta President Glen Hauenstein said. The airline is currently pricing about 3 percent of tickets with AI. Haustein said last year the company wants ticket costs to be informed by an AI 'super analyst' that can work 24/7 to determine what an individual passenger should pay at any given time, Fortune reports. The program is expected to take years to fully implement. Travel expert Gary Leff told Fortune this plan has been in the works for years: 'Personalized pricing has been an airline goal for the past decade and a half.' Not everyone is excited about the program. Some experts and lawmakers say this new program will be unfair to consumers and will raise ticket prices. Matt Britton, author of Generation AI, told Fortune that AI is 'fundamentally rewriting the rules of commerce and consumer experience.' 'For consumers, this means the era of 'fair' pricing is over,' he added. 'The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you'll accept, not a universal rate.' Senator Ruben Gallego, a member of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, said he 'won't let [Delta] get away with this.' 'Delta's CEO just got caught bragging about using AI to find your pain point — meaning they'll squeeze you for every penny,' the Democrat wrote on X. 'This isn't fair pricing or competitive pricing. It's predatory pricing.' Justin Kloczko, an analyst with Consumer Watchdog, told Fortune that this means Delta wants to 'see into people's heads to see how much they're willing to pay.' 'They are basically hacking our brains,' he said. A Delta spokesperson told Fortune the company has 'zero tolerance for discrimination.' 'Our fares are publicly filed and based solely on trip-related factors like advance purchase and cabin class, and we maintain strict safeguards to ensure compliance with federal law,' the spokesperson said. Delta also announced the company is planning to reduce its main cabin capacity by about 1 percent to boost capacity for premium-level seats. The airline is also rolling out lie-flat 'Delta One Suites,' enhanced domestic First Class seats and premium economy 'Premium Select' on additional aircraft.
New York Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Airline's tip option for flight attendants leaves customers fuming: ‘Get bent, greedy corporations!'
Passengers aren't fond of this mile-high guilt tip. Frontier Airlines passengers are ripping into the airline over its controversial policy of soliciting gratuities for flight attendants — claiming that the practice is fly-way robbery. The complaints came to light in a thread going viral on Reddit. The original poster claimed they'd ordered beer and snacks — which the carrier charges for– on a flight from Denver, Colorado to Seattle, Washington. Advertisement When the time came to pay, they were 'presented with tipping options on screen with min tip option 18%.' 3 'Frontier is the only airline that solicits tips and considering they are in charge of your safety in case of an emergency, it's extremely inappropriate,' cavetched one Redditor. Getty Images 'Seriously?? These FA for prominent airlines are now asking for tip for WHAT????' the Redditor raged. 'They were zero helpful and the audacity????! Last time I am getting on a Frontier!!! Get bent, greedy corporations!!' Advertisement Frontier Airlines is one of the few airlines that solicits gratuities for onboard purchases of food and drink — a measure that it enacted six years ago as a way to supplement crew wages. The airline recently shifted from 'shifted from pooling all the tips from a flight and splitting them evenly across the crew to allowing each individual flight attendant to keep the tips they generate,' wrote a View From the Wing contributor Gary Leff. 3 Frontier imposed the tipping policy six years ago as a way to supplement crew pay. pressmaster – However, many passengers accused them of simply taking guilt-tipping — obligating passengers to leave steep gratuities for minimal service — to new heights. Advertisement 'Lmao to tipping the airlines. That's crazy talk,' declared one poster in the Reddit thread. Another griped, 'Frontier is the only airline that solicits tips and considering they are in charge of your safety in case of an emergency, it's extremely inappropriate.' 'I've flown Frontier enough to say that instituted tipping shouldn't exist onboard,' said a third. 'It just creates animosity and resentment for the cheap people who don't tip. From my experience with some of the 'bad' FA from Frontier, I'm not wholly confident they wouldn't let that resentment get in the way of safety and their job.' However, one flyer claimed that they will slip crew members some extra cash if they have a good attitude. Advertisement 'When I do, I tip if the flight attendant is friendly. I don't if they're not,' they wrote. 'They make almost nothing, unreliable schedules (much more often than the passengers) and have to deal with an extremely frustrated public.' 3 Some discourage flight attendant tipping as they claim it creates an environment where good service is predicated on receiving extra cash. OlegD – Even industry insiders discourage the practice. Many claim that tipping flight attendants creates a conflict of interest as crew members' primary duty is to ensure passenger safety and not to act as servers in the sky. 'Tipping is not part of a flight attendant's compensation for serving as aviation's first responders,' Sara Nelson, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) international president, said in a statement to Travel and Leisure. In addition, leaving a gratuity could give the impression that good service is predicated on receiving extra dough — a dangerous precedent given crew members' first responder responsibilities. Meanwhile, big tippers could expect special favors, which could interfere with crewmember duties and therefore jeopardize the safety of those on board. 'Our jobs have historically been objectified and sexualized,' Nelson told Travel and Leisure in August. 'Is it okay for someone to harass us if they hand us a tip? Obviously not. But it's not a dynamic we can even entertain.' Meanwhile, AVFTW contributor Gary Leff argued that 'more tipping means less pay' because customers are essentially supplementing the crew member wage, thereby allowing their employer to pay them less. Advertisement Fortunately, there are other ways passengers can show their appreciation for crew members outside of a financial transaction. Acceptable gestures include giving air hosts and hostesses gift cards, food (provided it's sealed), and even employee recognition certificates that can potentially make them eligible to participate in raffles for big prizes. Meanwhile, Ryanair crew members have to meet an in-flight sales quota, so it behooves flyers to buy goodies from the crew. Advertisement Although flight attendants say that the best way to show sky staffers some love is through a simple verbal 'thank you' or positive review.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Report: Hyatt cuts 30% of US staff - hands jobs to El Salvador
Fewer American workers will be answering the phone at one of the US's largest hotel chains. Hyatt Hotels confirmed to that its cutting US staffers from its customer service department. The company is reportedly replacing the American workers with staff in El Salvador, who will allegedly receive $400 a month payments. Hyatt's reductions come as a raft of layoffs from some of the US's biggest firms, as companies look to cut costs and implement new AI technology. The hotel chain reduced staffing across guest services and support roles — who handled customer service requests including reservations, loyalty program support, and general guest assistance — by 30 percent in the US. Hyatt did not confirm how many workers were affected, but travel blog View From The Wing — run by travel expert Gary Leff — reported that roughly 300 US-based employees were let go. The blog also said operations were being shifted in part to El Salvador, where outsourced agents reportedly earn as little as $400 a month. While Hyatt declined to comment on those specifics, former employees shared layoff experiences on social media platforms including Reddit, TikTok, and Leff's blog. 'Today, Hyatt finished what they started six months ago and terminated the rest of their US call team,' a person, claiming to be a laid-off employee, said on Reddit. 'Enjoy the customer service y'all!' Another Redditor reported getting laid off in a Zoom call. A third said they recently attended a company-wide summit and received assurances about their job security. On TikTok, a former Hyatt employee posted a video of themselves getting laid off on June 18, including a recording of an alleged mass-layoff video chat. 'We have made the very difficult decision to reduce the number of guest services and support [staff],' a voice can be heard in the video. A commenter on View From The Wing, identifying as a former staffer, said they were given 60 days of paid leave following the layoffs. The company, which operates more than 1,300 hotels across 76 countries and ranks as the fifth-largest hotel chain in the US, said the changes reflect 'the evolving nature of guest inquiries and shifting business needs.' A spokesperson told that 'decisions and conversations with impacted colleagues were handled with utmost respect and care,' and emphasized that care centers continue to operate in Marion, Illinois and Omaha, Nebraska. The restructuring comes as Hyatt, like many major companies, turns toward automation, self-service tools, and offshore labor to cut costs. As the hospitality and retail industries adapts to post-pandemic shopping habits, the shift toward leaner, more tech-driven operations could leave fewer roles for American workers. But this shift is different from past American mass job cuts. Unlike past national firing trends that culled America's manufacturing openings, today's job cuts are increasingly impacting highly-educated, highly-compensated employees .
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Famous American hotel chain fires hundreds of US staff and hands $400 a month jobs to El Salvador
Fewer American workers will be answering the phone at one of the US's largest hotel chains. Hyatt Hotels confirmed to that its cutting US staffers from its customer service department. The company is reportedly replacing the American workers with staff in El Salvador, who will allegedly receive $400 a month payments. Hyatt's reductions come as a raft of layoffs from some of the US's biggest firms, as companies look to cut costs and implement new AI technology. The hotel chain reduced staffing across guest services and support roles — who handled customer service requests including reservations, loyalty program support, and general guest assistance — by 30 percent in the US. Hyatt did not confirm how many workers were affected, but travel blog View From The Wing — run by travel expert Gary Leff — reported that roughly 300 US-based employees were let go. The blog also said operations were being shifted in part to El Salvador, where outsourced agents reportedly earn as little as $400 a month. While Hyatt declined to comment on those specifics, former employees shared layoff experiences on social media platforms including Reddit, TikTok, and Leff's blog. 'Today, Hyatt finished what they started six months ago and terminated the rest of their US call team,' a person, claiming to be a laid-off employee, said on Reddit. 'Enjoy the customer service y'all!' Another Redditor reported getting laid off in a Zoom call. A third said they recently attended a company-wide summit and received assurances about their job security. On TikTok, a former Hyatt employee posted a video of themselves getting laid off on June 18, including a recording of an alleged mass-layoff video chat. 'We have made the very difficult decision to reduce the number of guest services and support [staff],' a voice can be heard in the video. A commenter on View From The Wing, identifying as a former staffer, said they were given 60 days of paid leave following the layoffs. The company, which operates more than 1,300 hotels across 76 countries and ranks as the fifth-largest hotel chain in the US, said the changes reflect 'the evolving nature of guest inquiries and shifting business needs.' A spokesperson told that 'decisions and conversations with impacted colleagues were handled with utmost respect and care,' and emphasized that care centers continue to operate in Marion, Illinois and Omaha, Nebraska. The restructuring comes as Hyatt, like many major companies, turns toward automation, self-service tools, and offshore labor to cut costs. The hotel chain joined a growing list of companies cutting jobs and replacing humans with tech In May, MGM Resorts announced it was slimming its in-person concierge staff, cutting 34 employees. In April, Sonder, a short term rental management company that is now owned by Marriott, announced it was 'right-sizing' the organization. Outside of the leisure industry, technological advancements have made several positions redundant, especially for call teams. Last week, Lululemon announced that it was cutting 150 jobs from its support centres after making advancements with AI. In May, Walmart — America's largest private employer — announced it was cutting 1,500 jobs from its tech operations and e-commerce teams. As the hospitality and retail industries adapts to post-pandemic shopping habits, the shift toward leaner, more tech-driven operations could leave fewer roles for American workers. But this shift is different from past American mass job cuts.
