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ATA (not to be confused with Airtran Airways) ceased operations today without any prior warning.
It’s a good reminder for reason #1,203,304 as to why you should never use a debit card over a credit card which offers true chargeback protection.
The shutdown is yet another blow for Hawaii travelers as ATA was the only LCC that provided service to Hawaii, and fares are now all but guaranteed to head north…
As reported earlier, Jetblue founder and Brazilian native David Neeleman is founding his fourth airline in Brazil. Leave it to Neeleman to come up with such a cool promotion!
Promotion Linky (Portuguese language skills would be most helpful…)
Rules:
1- O ganhador será o primeiro internauta a enviar o nome que venha eventualmente a ser escolhido, através de uma votação que faremos aqui neste mesmo site, a partir do dia 15/04. O vencedor receberá um passe vitalício para voar, de graça (sujeito a espaço) em nossas aeronaves, com direito a levar um acompanhante por ele (ela) designado (a).
2- Os primeiros 1.000 internautas que votarem no nome que eventualmente venha a ser eleito também ganharão como prêmio um bilhete gratuíto de ida-e-volta em um dos vôos regulares operados pela nova companhia, em um trecho que seja de sua escolha. Igualmente, poderão levar um viajante.
Here’s a stab at a rough translation/summary of the rules:
1. The first person to send in the name that will be chosen via voting at this website starting on 04/15 will be the winner. The winner will receive a pass for free travel for life for him/her and a companion on our airline.
2. The first 1,000 people who send in the name that will be chosen will win a free round-trip ticket on our airline to the destination of their choice. Likewise a companion can come with them for free as well.
I honestly can’t recall ever seeing such a rewarding promo to attain elite status. You can become elite (good through 02/28/10) with just two transcontinental round-trip flights (with some help from creative routing)! Maybe they want to make up for all those new fees?
-Registration is required.
-Valid for tickets booked booked between 03/31 and 04/30
-Valid for travel through 06/30.
Delta will soon be changing their checked luggage policy, I am waiting until the official policy is released before commenting…
No fooling, all of these charges are effective today, 04/01!
Aloha Airlines abruptly ended 62 years of service today when it shut down today.
They were the victim of a prolonged interisland fare war with Hawaiian and Go which saw advance purchase one-way flights plummet from over $100 to just $19-$49.
It should be interesting to see what interisland fares will do in the coming months with the market narrowed to 2 players.
I flew with them a few months ago between the paradises of Maui and Kauai (they were the only airline that flew the route nonstop). I can’t say that it was the best experience-I’m not a fan of Southwest style open seating and the bilingual signs on their ratty 737-200’s didn’t exactly inspire confidence…
-Jetblue is launching EML, or “even more legroom,” its own version of Economy Plus. Rows 1-5 and the exit rows will now have a 38″ seat pitch and will be considered EML seats, while all other rows will have a 34″ seat pitch. EML seating will cost $20 for transcontinental flights and $10 for shorter flights, each way.
-You are now finally able to see the seatmap of a flight before purchasing your tickets. The seatmap now appears after you type in your personal information, but before the payment page.
-Jetblue will no longer be giving away free headsets on its flights.
-Orlando has been upgraded to a Jetblue focus city (their 7th)
-Jetblue founder and Brazilian native David Neeleman is going to try replicating Jetblue’s success in Brazil. He has already raised more capital than he did to start Jetblue. This is the 4th airline that he is launching. (The others being Morris Air which was bought out by Southwest 15 years ago for $130M, Westjet which is Canada’s 2nd largest carrier, and of course Jetblue.)
-Jetblue’s new terminal at JFK airport (T5) is running ahead of schedule, and should be operational by this September. It had been scheduled to debut next year.
“•It will have 26 gates, vs. 21 at the current JetBlue terminal. The airline will also gain 10 security lanes and two baggage carousels.
•A 900-foot covered walkway will connect the terminal to AirTrain, JFK’s rail link.
•Like many new terminals, it relies heavily on self-check-in. It has 108 kiosks flanking each side of the security checkpoint. JetBlue will have a separate set of podiums for self-service passengers wishing to have their bags tagged by agents without standing in line at the traditional counters.
•The focal point of the Y-shaped concourses after the security checkpoints is designed to have a town-square feel. It has two sets of grandstands where people can sit, eat and relax.
•Each gate will have 100 seats and two TV monitors with DirecTV programming, including sporting events. Agent podiums at the gate will be smaller and are designed to let agents sit while working.”
Service between the US and Australia has long been expensive and dominated by the United and Qantas duopoly.
(To be fair Continental does serve Cairns, Australia via twice-weekly flights from Guam in case you want a tour of Micronesia. It’s actualy a Onepass bargain at just 60,000 miles and even allows for a free stopover along the way in Hawaii or Micronesia)
With the new agreement any US or Australian airline will be able to start service between the two countries.
Here are some basic predictions and information, without taking any merger activity into account:
-AA is unlikely to start new service because its bases are covered by partner OneWorld partner Qantas.
-Continental and Northwest will likely wait until they receive their 787’s in the next couple of years before entering the Australian market. Look for Continental to serve Houston-Sydney nonstop by the end of 2009.
-Delta will have the potential to serve Atlanta-Sydney with their 777-200LR aircarft which they will be receiving within the coming months.
-V Australia, a venture of Australia’s Virgin Blue will soon serve Los Angeles or S. Fransisco with their 777-300ER aircraft.
-No other US or Australian airlines have the aircraft to enter the market.
-The agreement locked out Singapore Airlines, which desperately wanted to enter the US-Australia market.
The only thing going against US-Australian expansion is the fact that it is primarily a tourist and not a business market. There is much more money to be made with Chinese and Indian expansion due to business travel. Nonetheless fares will definitely be dropping in the near-future as competition heats up.
Last week USeless Airways released the most ridiculous PR ever.
“As part of our continuing efforts to provide valuable benefits to our frequent flyers, US Airways is making a change to our Dividend Miles program…Beginning May 1, 2008, Dividend Miles will award the actual number of miles flown rather than a minimum number of miles flown for each segment. Also, members who redeem miles for award travel within 14-days of departure on usairways.com will be assessed a quick ticketing fee.”
I hate PR spin.
At any rate the quick ticketing isn’t a surprise, every other major airline charges that as well.
The surprise is the elimination of the 500-mile minimum.
How much savings can this possibly provide them?
Is it really worth angering your bread and butter Boston-LaGuardia shuttle flyers by giving them 180 miles instead of 500?
C’mon United, go after these shortsighted losers will ‘ya, you two would be just perfect together. Keep Continental my Continental!
Update: Jetblue will start with 3 daily flights to JFK and 1 to Boston on 05/21. They will fly out of LAX T6 (Yay-President’s club access!) They are also adding flights from their other SoCal cities. Full info in this just-released press release.
This should hopefully reignite transcontinental competition once again-There will now be 6 carriers serving the LAX-NYC market!
Unfortunately I doubt we’ll see a repeat of AA’s best promotion ever which they launched in response to a growing Jetblue. You know which one I’m talking about. The fly twice from NYC to Florida or California and get a free systemwide ticket promo!
I got 8 worldwide tickets from that promo-Did anyone else participate in that promo? Unfortunately it pre-dated the launch of this website.
However I do think there will be some sort of promo response from the major carriers to Jetblue’s entrance into Los Angeles International-we’ll just have to wait and see.
Merger talks are back in full force in the airline industry, but I can guarantee that one company won’t be the first to break the ice.
You see, Northwest owns a golden share of Continental. As long as NW is in control of that golden share Continental can’t merge with another airline.
However as soon as NW announces plans to merge, regardless of whether it passes regulatory muster, it must sell the golden share back to Continental for $100.
At any rate here’s hoping that none of the mergers pan out, industry consolidation is never good for consumers. (and it’s more often than not bad for the companies involved…except for the investment bankers that is!)
Spirit will now charge $10 per checked bag each way if pre-reserved online, and $20 per checked bag each way at the airport. As 1 of the 2 (Skybus being the other) US based “ULCC’s” (ultra-low-cost carriers) they do not offer any free checked baggage allowance.
Effective 01/29/08, Southwest has quietly eliminated the 3rd free checked bag from their free allowance.
In the good-news department, none of the “Big-6″ carriers have as of yet matched United’s new stingy 1 free checked bag policy.
Porter Airlines is now selling tickets starting at CAD $95+ each way between NYC and Toronto.
Some more details:
-Service will start 03/31.
-Porter flies into Newark (so we will hopefully see a strong reaction from Continental).
-Porter serves Toronto City Centre Airport (YTZ), not Pearson (YYZ).
Toronto City Centre Airport is located on Bathurst, in downtown Toronto.
“While on board, passengers enjoy complimentary premium snacks, wine and beer, a spacious cabin environment with leather upholstery, and extra legroom. All Porter passengers have access to a modern, comfortable and stylish lounge at Toronto City Centre Airport, including wireless Internet access, refreshments, and a business centre.”
-All prices on their website are in CAD.
-Porter says it will serve Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. by year’s end.
One caveat that they would rather you not know: Their only aircraft is the Bombardier Q400 twin-engine turboprop.
Related Links:
-Skybus Inauguration Info Post Linky
-Kosher Food On Skybus Post Linky
Skybus is a low-cost carrier that only sells nonstop tickets. In other words if you want to get from Los Angeles to NYC you have to buy a ticket from LA to Columbus, and another ticket from Columbus to NYC.
Additionally they generally fly into smaller, secondary airports.
They sell a minimum of 10 seats on every single flight for just $10.
All of the new routes/flights currently have $10 seats available.
Within the next couple months they will be opening their summer schedule, stay tuned and you’ll be able to land yourself some $10 tickets for the peak summer travel season as well!
New/Expanded Destinations From Columbus, OH:
-Toronto/Niagara Falls (eff: 04/01)
-Philadelphia/Wilmington (eff: 03/07)
-Hartford/Springfield (2nd flight added eff: 03/07)
-Milwaukee (2nd flight added eff: 04/01)
-Richmond (2nd flight added eff: 03/07)
New/Expanded Destinations From Greensboro, NC:
-Chicago/Gary (eff: 03/13)
-Philadelphia/Wilmington (eff: 03/13)
-Ft. Lauderdale (2nd flight added eff: 03/13)
Travel with spare batteries for your electronics?
You’re in for a fun time…
The TSA has instituted new rules for lithium batteries effective 01/01/08.
The rules are so confusing, that I have yet to see a major news source accurately describe them!
What makes it so complicated is that there are numerous categories of lithium batteries.
Cnet’s News.com is claiming that, “Passengers are allowed to pack two spare batteries in their carry-on bag, as long as they’re in clear plastic baggies.”
The AP is claiming that, “The ban affects…non-rechargeable lithium batteries, such as those made by Energizer Holdings Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Duracell brand.”
According to my understanding of the new rules, both are sorely lacking details, and are wrong.
The US DOT’s press-release does a somewhat better job, “Common consumer electronics such as travel cameras, cell phones, and most laptop computers are still allowed in carry-on and checked luggage. However, the rule limits individuals to bringing only two extended-life spare rechargeable lithium batteries, such as laptop and professional audio/video/camera equipment lithium batteries in carry-on baggage.”
Here’s my shot at clarifying the TSA’s byzantine new rules:
1. Lithium Metal Batteries, (non-rechargeable lithium batteries) up to 2 grams of lithium, when installed in a device: Permitted in checked and carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag. There is no limit to the amount of these batteries allowed on a plane.
2. Lithium Metal Batteries, (non-rechargeable lithium batteries) up to 2 grams of lithium, not installed in a device: Prohibited in checked, allowed in carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag. There is no limit to the amount of these batteries allowed on a plane.
3. Lithium Metal Batteries, (non-rechargeable lithium batteries) over 2 grams of lithium: Prohibited in checked and carry-on luggage.
4. Lithium-Ion Batteries, (rechargeable lithium batteries) up to 8 grams of lithium, when installed in a device: Permitted in checked and carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag. There is no limit to the amount of these batteries allowed on a plane.
5. Lithium-Ion Batteries, (rechargeable lithium batteries) up to 8 grams of lithium, not installed in a device: Prohibited in checked, allowed in carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag. There is no limit to the amount of these batteries allowed on a plane.
6. Lithium-Ion Batteries, (rechargeable lithium batteries) over 8 grams of lithium, when installed in a device: Up to 2 total 8+ gram batteries are allowed per passenger whether installed or not installed in a device. Combined Lithium content of both batteries must be no more than 25 grams. Permitted in checked and carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag.
7. Lithium-Ion Batteries, (rechargeable lithium batteries) over 8 grams of lithium, not installed in a device: Up to 2 total 8+ gram batteries are allowed per passenger whether installed or not installed in a device. Combined Lithium content of both batteries must be no more than 25 grams. Prohibited in checked, allowed in carry-on luggage when each individual battery is isolated from other batteries and put in its own protective case or plastic bag.
Now I know what you are wondering, because I was thinking the same thing: How the heck do I know how much lithium is in my battery?
According to the DOT, 8 grams of lithium is approximately 100 Watt-Hours (WH)
My Palm Centro’s Lithium-Ion battery says that it has 3.7 volts, and 1,150 mAh.
Here’s the formula to convert those numbers into WH:
WH= Volts x mAh / 1,000
Or
WH= Volts x Amps
So 3.7 x 1,150 / 1,000 = 4.255 WH, or well under 2 grams of lithium.
Conveniently, my Dell 700m’s Lithium-Ion battery says right on it that it is 71WH, which should be under 6 grams of lithium.
According to the TSA, there is no limit to the number of sub-8 gram lithium-ion batteries that you can carry-on with you, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
Unfortunately, I highly doubt that all TSA agents will be trained properly, so just beware if you are traveling anytime soon with lithium batteries as they may just wind up on the TSA’s auction surplus site…
©2008 Dansdeals.com Research.
Please do not post this article on any other website without explicit prior permission. Thank You!
Are people really this stupid?
“A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a liter of vodka at an airport security check instead of handing it over…”
“Father, son cited for hunting at Pittsburgh airport…”
“Airlines don’t want to fill empty gates at Pittsburgh airport”
Be happy that United doesn’t serve meals on domestic flights anymore…
Lufthansa bought a 19% stake in Jetblue…is a Star Alliance invitation far behind?
You have to pay a large tax when flying to the UK for carbon-offsetting; British Airways flies empty planes from London/Heathrow to North America just to retain its grip on 41% of the highly-coveted LHR slots. An airline must use 80% of their slots to retain them.
This is just too much!
It was not a long time ago that airlines would file exclusive fares and offer lots of bonus miles for booking directly from their own website.
Now USeless Airways is charging a $5-$6 booking fee for booking on their half-baked website.
Don’t believe me?
Priceline and Hotwire do not charge any booking fee for regular tickets. Go ahead and price out a USAirways itinerary on those websites and it will be $5-$6 cheaper than on USAirways.com
The worst part about it?
They don’t even label it as a booking fee, it’s disingenuously labeled under taxes and fees.
Two thumbs way down!
Back on 10/01 I posted about rumors of AA and El Al signing a codeshare agreement. It has now been signed.
From the press release:
“American Airlines, a founding member of the global oneworld(R) Alliance, today announced it will apply to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for authorization to begin codeshare cooperation with EL AL Israel Airlines. The application proposes that codesharing operations begin on Feb. 1, 2008.
Under the proposal, American would place its AA designator code on EL AL flights to Tel Aviv from New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK), Los Angeles, Miami and Newark, as well as on EL AL fights to Tel Aviv from European gateways in London Heathrow, Paris, Madrid, Zurich and Rome.
In turn, EL AL would place its LY designator code on certain of American Airlines domestic flights out of El Al’s North American gateways — JFK, Miami, Los Angeles, Newark and Toronto. El Al would also codeshare on American’s flights between the United States and London Heathrow, Paris, Madrid, Zurich and Rome.”
It will now be possible to earn full AA elite qualifying miles and earn elite bonus miles for El Al flights. It will also be much easier to book TLV travel directly from AA.
According to the TSA this is the first such test in the entire world.
You check-in and select your seats from your phone and you will get a barcode.
You can then pass through security and board the plane with that barcode!
AMR announced today that in a nod to shareholders they will divest of their wholy owned subsidiary, American Eagle.
Why do I care?
As airlines start to realize that they are not being properly valued as a whole they will continue to divest units of themselves in order to unlock greater shareholder value.
I do not want to see frequent flyer programs divested.
It is said that in this era of $100 oil that the only profitable airline operation is the frequent flyer business. Credit card companies buy billions of dollars worth of miles to throw at consumers as incentive to use affinity co-branded airline credit cards. The incremental cost to the airlines is minimal, the vast majority of seats given away as mileage tickets would not have been sold anyway.
Some programs have been estimated to be worth upwards of $20 Billion, far more than the airline itself.
The problem as I see it is that airlines still view mileage programs as a way to gain customer loyalty, and for the most part are very careful to preserve its’ value.
If the program is spun off into its’ own for-profit entity, the benefits of the program will surely be eroded…
There’s no wonder airline CEO’s want consolidation. Mergers lead to less competition, fewer seats, and higher prices.
They also mean less pressure to maintain the value of their miles.
Here’s a quick look at America’s “Big 6″ carriers merger prospects:
Airlines are listed in order of size.
AA: Likely to look for a merger partner only in response to another merger or to break up a merger. Very likely to try to block any mega-mergers via anti-trust pressure.
Main Hubs: Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Miami (MIA)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Boeing
Alliance: OneWorld.
Key strengths: World’s largest airline. AAdvantage is the first, the largest, and arguably the most generous frequent flyer program in the world.
Most likely partners: Continental, Delta.
United: Desperately seeking a partner since emerging from bankruptcy. CEO Glenn Tilton is the industry’s biggest proponents of consolidation.
Main Hubs: Chicago (ORD), Denver (DEN), Los Angeles (LAX), S. Francisco (SFO), Washington D.C. (IAD)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Airbus and Boeing
Alliance: Star Alliance.
Key strengths: Trans-Pacific presence. Mileage Plus is right behind AAdvantage in terms of worth/size.
Most likely partners: Anyone!
Delta: Investors are pressuring to look for merger candidates.
Main Hubs: Altanta (ATL), Cincinnati (CVG), NYC (JFK), Salt Lake City (SLC)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Boeing
Alliance: SkyTeam.
Key strength: Trans-Atlantic presence.
Most likely partners: AA, Continental, Northwest.
Continental: Northwest own a “golden share” of Continental that means Northwest will have to approve any Continental merger move that requires shareholder approval.
Main Hubs: Cleveland (CLE), Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Boeing
Alliance: SkyTeam.
Key strengths: Trans-Atlantic presence. NY area hub with full domestic/international network.
Most likely partners: AA, Delta, Northwest.
Northwest: Worst labor relationships in the industry, considered a last-resort partner by other airlines.
Main Hubs: Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Memphis (MEM)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Airbus and Boeing
Alliance: SkyTeam.
Key strength: Trans-Pacific presence.
Most likely partners: Continental, Delta, United.
USAirways: Still struggling to overcome effects of the American West-USAirways merger.
Main Hubs: Charlotte (CLT), Las Vegas (LAS), Philadelphia (LAX), Phoenix (PHX)
Primary aircraft manufacturer: Airbus and Boeing.
Alliance: Star Alliance.
Key strengths: —
Most likely partners: United.
Update: Cnet’s News.com has published a great photo gallery of the new A380 with more technology specs listed as well.
Start saving up your Starpoints to transfer to Singapore Airlines…this is one redemption that is worth every mile!
Singapore Airlines has outfitted the A380 with specs that are incredible, from coach through first.
On a aircraft rated to transport 853 passengers they have showed remarkable restraint.
First Class: 12 private suites with double beds.
Business Class: 60 seats with 34″ of width (double the width of many coach seats!)
Steerage: 399 seats that recline 115 degrees.
CNN won’t let me embed their videos, but here is a link to a fun video of the A380 launch flight:
A380 Maiden Voyage Video Linky
WSJ via Yahoo: “Taking a Flier on Bedroom Suites”
And finally, the Airbus/Singapore PR video:
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=SIOsNVkGRN4[/youtube]
Here are some of the changes that I warned were coming previously in “Continental Airlines Tidbits…
-Unlike Delta’s recent move to the contrary, Continental will continue to offer EasyPass rewards as long as there is a seat on the flight!
-Effective 12/01:
-Elimination of the 500 mile, online booking bonus.
-Effective 02/01:
-Standard Rewards will be renamed “SaverPass”
-First Class reward mileage requirements will be changing for travel within or between the 48 contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada. SaverPass rewards will increase to 50,000 miles from 45,000, and EasyPass rewards will require 100,000 miles instead of 90,000.
-EasyPass BusinessFirst rewards between North America and the following regions will increase:
- Asia will increase to 300,000 miles from 250,000.
- India/Africa/Middle East will increase to 300,000 miles from 250,000.
- TRAVEL BETWEEN THE U.S. AND ISRAEL VIA THE NONSTOP EWR-TLV FLIGHTS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY THIS CHANGE AT THE PRESENT TIME!
- Southern South America will increase to 250,000 miles from 180,000.
-Tickets issued before Feb, 1, 2008, regardless of travel dates, will be honored at the lower reward amounts.
“Ray Chapman’s spirit could be floating Indians through a season unlike any other in history”
A sports article written by the AP of the sort that you don’t see everyday…
“Why Flying Now Can Kill”
A scary look at what happened to the mother of three who died shortly after being denied a seat on USeless Airways.
An airline story in the NY Times that you don’t see everyday: When things go right.
Continental has been one of the few major carriers to consistently turn a profit. They do so not with offshoring their calling centers (ahem, United) but by listening closely to what their frequent flyers have to say.
They still serve free meals on domestic flights, and all call centers are US based. Their airport clubs (Free access with AMEX Plat) are top-notch, offering free wi-fi and alcoholic beverages that most others charge for.
Continental’s Onepass mileage program has been getting more generous of late, and now only trails AA in terms of standard reward availability. It also contains bargains like 70,000 mile coach tickets/100,000 BusinessFirst tickets to Israel. Reward availability is even better for elite members.
Continental has a dedicated employee who takes the time to post online about new initiatives and program changes, and makes sure that any problems reported by flyers online are resolved.
The entire executive team spends a couple days every year meeting up with an online focus group of frequent flyers to discuss the issues and give them a behind the scenes look at the airline.
Odds and ends learned and various program changes that came out of this year’s meeting:
-Ability to standby on the day of departure for International BusinessFirst mileage upgrades. Until now this was only possible to/from Hawaii. They haven’t done this until now due to the fear of phantom bookings, and Continental said they will cancel the program if the system is abused…
-Addition of a million-mile elite club. This will be based on actual flown miles, like Delta and United. It will be retroactive for all previous flown miles.
-There are no current plans to “spin-off” the Onepass mileage program a la Air Canada.
-Mileage rates will be going up later this month for select routes…
-Continental will not have an economy-plus section like United’s.
-Continental will start filling middle seats from the back of the plane towards the front.
-Continental’s 787’s will be 9 seats across in a 3-3-3 configuration and a 17.5″ seat width.
-Continental plans to fly to Sydney at some point with the 787.
-Continental will open the first airline club in Las Vegas, in the 2nd quarter of 2008.
-Air France awards can now be booked online-more Skyteam partners to come.
-Airplane internet access is coming soon. VOIP will probably be blocked.
-You will soon be able to use part of an electronic travel certificate and keep the residual value.
-Priority standby for elites coming soon.
-US Airways exiting Pittsburgh was a major catalyst for the planned 40% expansion of the Cleveland hub.
The internet is abuzz with rumors of an upcoming announcement of an AA-El Al partnership.
El Al’s current codeshare agreement with Delta is ending due to Delta’s launching of non-stop JFK-TLV service that will directly compete with El Al.
The agreement would allow AA to sell AA-coded flights from the US to TLV. Additionally it would allow for award redemptions and elite-qualifying miles to be earned on the carrier of your choice.
AA does not fly directly to TLV due to the threat of having their plane repossesed in TLV to pay off debt obligations that TWA left unpaid when they declared bankruptcy and were bought out by AA.
This is definitely in response to Southwest’s Fly 2 Fly Free Offer…
A quick search revealed that non-stop tickets between Chicago and Phoenix on AA are $150+$20 tax RT for a total of just $170. Use AA.com’s nifty price and schedule feature to find the best flight options.
4 round-trips, a $680 expenditure, would net you over 63,000 miles including flight miles (11,600), bonus miles (50,000), credit card miles (680), and booking bonuses (1,000). If you have AA Gold or Platinum status you would get 25-100% more bonus flight miles. It’s not hard to get a value of over 5 cents with AAdvantage miles, arguably the easiest miles to redeem in the airline industry…
Offer Details: (AA’s language here is pretty clear and straightforward, so I’m not going to bother paraphrasing it)
Dates:
Book your trip between September 13, 2007 and November 15, 2007.
Travel between September 13, 2007 and November 15, 2007.
Offer:
American Airlines is kicking off the fall season with a great new offer! Just book and fly two qualifying round trips on select flights between now and November 15, 2007, and earn 25,000 AAdvantage bonus miles – enough miles for a free Economy Class award ticket to anywhere we fly within the continental U.S. and Canada.
Or, even better, fly four round trips and earn an additional 25,000 bonus miles, for a total of 50,000 miles. With all those miles, you’ll be able to travel to Europe, Japan, Mexico, the Caribbean, or Hawaii! You decide where your miles will take you!
Here is how it works:
Book and fly at least two qualifying round trips on nonstop flights on American Airlines to or from the cities noted below:
Between Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) and:
Oakland, CA (OAK)
Portland, OR (PDX)
San Francisco, CA (SFO)
San Jose, CA (SJC)
Between Chicago, IL (ORD) and:
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Phoenix, AZ (PHX)
Portland, OR (PDX)
Reno, NV (RNO)
Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
San Diego, CA (SAN)
San Francisco, CA (SFO)
San Jose, CA (SJC)
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Tucson, AZ (TUS)
Between St. Louis, MO (STL) and:
Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Between Austin, TX (AUS) and:
San Jose, CA (SJC)
Seattle, WA (SEA)
Between Nashville, TN (BNA) and:
Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
To participate in this offer, simply register before you travel. Register online at www.aa.com/offers using promotion code AA25X
The website is very flaky right now-give it some time…
www.virginamerica.com
The nation’s newest Jetblue copycat (LCC with high-tech, leather seats, and good customer service) is now selling tickets!
Routes:
-They will begin service between NYC/JFK and S. Francisco on August 8, with 4 flights a day offered on that route by September 9.
-S. Francisco to Los Angeles begins August 8 with 5 daily flights.
-JFK to Los Angeles service begins August 29, with 3 flights offered on that route by September 16.
-S. Francisco to Washington DC/IAD starts September 26 with 2 flights a day
-S. Francisco to Las Vegas begins on October 10 with three daily flights
-Los Angeles to Washington DC/IAD begins on October 24 with two daily flights.
Pricing:
-Vegas and intra-California flights start at $44+ each way in coach and $149+ in first.
-Washington DC fares start from $129+ each way in coach and $389+ in first.
-New York fares start from $139+ each way in coach and $389+ in first.
Mileage:
Mileage club will be called “eleVAte”
Sign up by 12/31/07 to become a “founding member for life,” and you receive better benefits and rewards for life!
It will be a spending based reward system, instead of a true mileage/points program.
Earn 5 points for every $1 you spend for travel on Virgin America.
Redeem a free trip starting at 4,900 points.
Yawn.
Future Plans:
Expect about 10 cities served within 1 year and 30 within 5 years.
S. Diego service is coming soon.
Additional cities that they are considering:
Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Portland, OR., Raleigh-Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, S. Antonio, S. Jose, CA., Seattle, S. Louis, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
Virgin’s Planes:
Overview:
Coach class has custom-designed leather seats, mood-lighting throughout the cabin, and an advanced in-flight entertainment system with on-demand movies, TV, games, music, and online chat rooms to chat with specific or all fellow passengers.
In First Class, massage chairs offer 55 inches of seat pitch and 165-degree recline.
IFE System:
Update 2-11:00AM-CNN has just published the list in English.
Update: According to the Brazilian news article below, at 9AM today TAM announced that there were 186 people on board.
I don’t normally post these stories, but I still haven’t seen a list of passenger names on any of the English language news sites, so here is a list of the 176 passengers from a Brazilian news site.
List of passengers on TAM 3054 (Portuguese)
At least 15 more people on the ground were killed.
The Airbus A320 landed in bad weather, and crashed into a gas station, causing a fire of over 1800 degrees Fahrenheit
11 years ago a TAM flight skidded off of the runway at the same airport, killing all 96 on board…
I have personally flown out of Sao Paulo’s domestic airport, Congonhas, on multiple occasions.
It is right in the middle of the city and indeed has a very short runway (shorter than the runway at Chicago/Midway where the Southwest Airlines accident occurred a few years ago)
After my incident going from the much farther international airport, Guarulhos, to the city, I actually moved some of my domestic travel to leave from Congonhas instead of Guarulhos…
AA announced that you can now confirm a seat for $25 for a same day travel flight change within 12 hours of your desired flight.
Previously you had to do it within 3 hours of your desired flight.
This change will make it much easier to confirm a change to switch to a flight later than your original flight, rather than be limited to changing to an earlier flight becuase of the 3 hour rule.
The best thing about confirmed standby is that it works even on mileage and priceline tickets, which normally do not allow standby at all!
Here’s hoping that other airlines will match this customer-friendly policy change!
Rules:
-Only available for domestic/caribbean flights.
-No changes are allowed in origin/destination airports.
-Changes to the connecting airports are allowed.
-Changing from an itinerary with a stop to nonstop or vice versa is allowed!
Larry Kellner, CEO of Continental, has already promised that when they get their first 787’s it will fly from Newark-Tel Aviv, which is currently Continental’s most profitable route!
Live Feed Linky
According to Boeing, the 787 has been the most successful commercial airplane launch in history!
Some of the neat features of Boeing’s first 21st century aircraft:
-The 787 will be made of 80% composite material, allowing for 20% higher fuel efficiency, and allowing for a cabin with much higher humidity, so that travelers will get less dehydrated.
-”Significantly increased comfort” due to the aircraft pressurization to the equivalent of 6000 feet altitude instead of the 8000 feet on conventional aircraft.
-More spacious and technologically advanced bathrooms.
-Larger windows with a higher eye level in order to see the horizon.
-LCD auto-dimming instead of window shades.
-3 color LED cabin lighting, allowing the aircraft to be bulbless.
-Noise reducing technologies makes it quieter on the inside and outside.
-Active Gust Alleviation system for a less bumpy ride.
I wrote a roundup on Skybus last month when they started selling tickets starting at just $10.
Here is a neat article about them:
“The Greyhound Bus of the Skies”
Also regarding Kosher food and their policy of not allowing food on flight:
“Thank you for contacting Skybus.
In general, you may bring your own food onboard a Skybus flight if we don’t offer a suitable alternative for sale. For example, the following types of food are not offered by Skybus and may therefore be brought with you:
-Baby formula and other types of baby food
-Special food for diabetics
-Special food for those with severe food allergies
-Special food for those with dietary restrictions (Kosher, Muslim, etc.)”
HT: R.Y.B.
Finally, now that Skybus has started service, does anyone still doubt that “a la carte” airline pricing is inevitable?
I know that Jetblue has had some problems since their February meltdown, but this news shocked me…
News Article Linky
The Freddies are considered the ultimate bragging(and advertising) rights for frequent flyer programs.
They were given out a few days ago in the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.
They are voted on by 448,000 frequent flyers!
Here are some selected 2007 USA results, with my commentary following.
Best Frequent Flyer Program:
-Frontier Airlines EarlyReturns
Comment: If you only want to use your rewards domestically then this is true, but otherwise stick with AA, Cathay Pacific, or Continental.
Frontier LCC Roundup Linky
Getting the most value out of miles linky
Best Frequent Flyer Credit Card:
-Starwood Amex
Comment: They got this one right!
Best Elite-Level Program
-Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
Comment: I’m not very familiar with the program, but from a quick reading of the benefits and what people say about them it seems like a pretty sweet program.
Disclaimer: I currently have elite status on AA(Gold), Airtran(Lifetime), Continental(Silver), and Starwood(Gold).
Best Award Redemption-Airlines
-Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
Comment: Yes, perhaps it’s easy to redeem, but the reward for having to travel Southwest is another flight on Southwest…
Best Award Redemption-Hotels
-Starwood Preferred Guest
Between hotel stays and miles it’s the most flexible program today…
Starwood Award Options Linky
Best Customer Service
-Midwest Airlines Midwest Miles
Comment: Who knew?
Can you imagine having to stare at someone 2 feet away from you for an entire flight?
This has to be worst idea since the Airbus “standing room seats” idea of last year.
USAToday Article On Backwards Seats
New York Times Diagram Of Standing Seats
More Skybus Info Linky
Skybus is aiming to become the Ryanair of the USA.
They will be totally no-frills, everything that can be charged for, will be charged for.
Every single Skybus flight has just 10 seats on it for $10, so don’t hesitate to buy a ticket-what do have to lose???
Their hub will be Columbus, OH.
You can fly for $10 to/from such cities as Los Angeles(Burbank, CA), Oakland CA, Seattle, and Ft. Lauderdale.
Airline info:
-With over $230 Million, no airline has ever launched with more startup capital, the previous record was Jetblue’s $130 Million.
-Skybus currently has 8 Airbus A319’s, and has orders for 57 more!
-Each plane has jsut over 150, all leather seats.
-Want to advertise? For just $500,000 a year you can plaster your name across the entire body of a Skybus plane!
-They will be flying from a lot of secondary airports:
By saying x =They really mean y:
Los Angeles=Burbank.
S. Fransisco=Oakland
Seattle=Bellingham, WA
Vancouver=Bellingham, WA
Boston=Portsmouth, NH
Here are the other airports where they mean what they actually say:
Columbus, OH.
Greensboro, NC.
Richmond, VA.
Kansas City.
Ft. Lauderdale
-Columbus, OH has given Skybus incentives worth tens of millions of dollars for the hub.
-With a huge Columbus hub promised to be developed, Ohio will now have 3 cities with major hubs, Continental in Cleveland, Delta in Cincinnati, and Skybus in Columbus. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it is now the only state to have 3 separate cities with hub airports.
Policy Info:
-The gist of their policies is that all you are buying is your airfare, anything else is additional.
-The first 2 checked bags are $5 each, so it’s less than what Spirit charges.
-All tickets go to Columbus, OH. so if you want to go from Burbank to Ft. Lauderdale you will have to buy 1 ticket from Burbank to Columbus, and 1 from Columbus to Ft. Lauderdale.
-All seats are first-come, first served, however for $10 per flight you can purchase priority boarding. It is recommended to buy the priority boarding when you buy your ticket as there is only a limited amount of them sold on each flight.
-To keep costs down, all communication is currently only available by email, there is no public phone number!
-Changes to flights are $40+change in fare.
-They say that food and beverages will be for sale-so you can’t bring your own, Do you guys think that they will really enforce that?
I will continue to post more information on Skybus, so keep checking back!
Effective April 24, Northwest Airlines will no longer offer the ability to standby for a same day flight for free.
They casually slipped this policy change into a press release touting a new $25 confirmed standby, which the other major carriers have had for a long time already.(Gotta’ love marketing…)
Confirmed standby allows you to change your flight, on the day of departure, to any other flight departing the same day for $25 if seats are available.
The only difference is that NWA will require you to pay $25, whereas AA, Continental, Delta, And United all allow you to standby for free for a same day flight if you dont want to pay $25 for confirmed standby.
Will the other major carriers match? We’ll have to wait and see…but I can’t imagine at least a couple not going along with NWA…
Get ready for a new round of fare wars starting in March of 2008!
As part of this agreement:
-All US and European based airlines may fly from London Heathrow into the US (Previously only AA, British, Virgin, and United could)
-US airlines can now fly and sell tickets to any European city, including intra-Europe flights. (Previously all flights had to either originate or terminate in the US, and even US-Europe flights required specific permission to each airline from each country.)
-European airlines can now fly from any European city into any US city. (Previously they could only fly to/from their home country)
This happened this past Tuesday. I’m not sure why this story wasn’t on any of the major news sites…anyone know somebody that was on this flight?
Story Linky
The Ultimate Miles/Points Card:
Hits Since 11/26/04!
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