Airlines Flying Long Distances to Save Money on Fuel? (And What if You Give Birth in Basic Economy?)

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About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. While it might not be widely-known general knowledge, anyone who flies often from North America to Asia (and especially the reverse) and looks at the in-flight map knows that airlines “chase the wind” when flying to shorten the flight time (and, I guess, save fuel). Almost every flight has a slightly different path. It always reminds me how useful super-computing can be to accomplish mundane tasks.

  2. In re: Alaska’s BE —> Presuming that Cris McGinnis’s article is correct and
    1. “Carry-on bag AND a personal item is included.”
    2. “Buy up to extra-legroom Premium Class” .[is allowed].
    3. “Miles earned on these fares count towards building elite status with Alaska — so a mile flown is a mile earned.”
    4. “You board last, and overhead bin space is no guarantee…Mileage Plan elite members are exempt from this restriction, and will be allowed to board in their priority group….”
    5. “Seats are assigned at check-in, and there’s no guarantee people traveling together will be seated next to each other.”
    6. “No free upgrades, or mileage upgrades.”

    To me, while this seems better than BE on the US L# in some ways, and certainly no worse in others, I”ll still avoid it…

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