David Rowell has the first of a three part series on choosing a travel agent.
About Gary Leff
Welcome to Advanced Account Management 101
Smarterliving.com has a primer on laundering frequent flyer miles from program to program, outlining transfers via Amtrak, Hilton, Diners Club, and Points.com.It errs in saying that only American and Midwest remain in the Hilton HHonors Reward Exchange among US carriers (Hawaiian participates as well) and it doesn’t draw some of the neat conclusions for you, such as that you can use the Amtrak program as a tool to earn United miles no matter who you fly amongst US carriers (other than America West and Southwest). But it’s a pretty good introduction.
American Airlines videogame
American Airlines is offering a chance to win a seven day vacation for playing an online game: Chair-iots of Fire.A company has saved so much money by booking travel on the American Airlines website (choke) that it has lifted the ban on chair racing. You race through the office and pick up boarding passes, American Airlines emails, frequent flyer miles, and food.Cute for certain but probably more trouble than it’s worth for the prize.
Mile-a-Rama
Northwest is giving up to 100,000 bonus miles for a combination of activities in its Mile-a-rama promotion. Buy tickets online, checkin online, travel, credit rental car and hotel stays, etc. and earn points.Car rentals credited to Northwest earn additional bonus miles via the Mileage Accelerator.
Coverage of Elite Status Changes Gets Muddled
Kudos to news media that are trying to explain changes in airline elite qualification. But very few stories are able to cut through the rhetoric and explain the important changes clearly. A story in this morning’s USA Today is a perfect example. The article leads with Continental’s changes in elite qualification, counting only 50% of mileage flown at lower fare classes towards elite qualification (although leaving out Continental’s escape hatch for next year only – fares booked on the Continental website will still accrue 100% of mileage towards elite qualification). Then it notes changes at Delta and Alaska, and historical changes at Northwest and American. So far so good. But the article only alludes to problems of using fare class (as opposed to revenue) as a proxy for customer value: Continental’s new elite qualification rules…
If we didn’t have such high costs, we’d make more money
Gordon Bethune makes the stupid statement of the day. Bethune allowed that traditional carriers’ costs are higher, but said this was because staff are more senior than at low-cost carriers that have started up in the past few years. Continental recently calculated its 2002 financial statements assuming it had the same revenue and network, but the labor cost structure, of JetBlue. Instead of a $350 million loss, Bethune explained, Continental would have had a $450 million profit. The difference is “directly attributable to wage rates and seniority levels,” he said. Yup, it’s just the unfair advantage of a lower cost structure that makes JetBlue better off. Don’t blame us!This from the head of an airline that has had the cost-shaving advantages of two bankruptcies. Wonder who Gordo thinks negotiated those higher costs?
Welcome to blogging
Travel columnist Christopher Elliott has a new blog.
An Amusing Story
This guy was intimidated flying first class. I guess I didn’t know what to expect the first time I flew up front, either. But you get used to it very quickly.Once upon a time I used to walk back through the first class cabin to get to coach and I couldn’t imagine that I’d fly up front. I also didn’t understand how anyone could pay the prices the First Class commanded. I didn’t know that it was possible to use frequent flyer miles to get up there. I didn’t know about upgrade coupons. I didn’t even know that there were frequent flyer awards for first class. Mileage earning meant saving up 25,000 points for a domestic ticket, right?Now I’ve learned the error of my ways and I pretty much always fly up front. And I…
It’s not just JetBlue and the Defense Department
Most of the media’s attention to airlines divulging passenger data to the government has focused on JetBlue’s offering up information in violation of its own privacy policy and then covering it up.Something that’s gotten far less publicity is that NASA requested a significant amount of passenger data from Northwest Airlines. NASA initially denied having made the request but then confirmed it.Stonewalling by NASA and Northwest Airlines has left it unclear what information, if any, was actually shared and what was done with any information that was transferred.It does seem odd, though, for NASA to be entering the airline security game.
The future for our airline friends up North
Bidding for Air Canada has been narrowed down to two potential suitors. U.S. buyout specialist Cerberus Capital Management LP and a company controlled by Canadian businessman Victor T.K. Li. Both were among more than a dozen suitors that expressed interest in the insolvent airline, the company said, adding it hoped to make a final choice before the end of October. Air Canada, the country’s dominant airline and world No. 11, said it selected the two finalists because of the “higher enterprise and equity values” of their proposals as well as their lower completion risk. Potential deals preserve Air Canada’s ability to sell part of its Aeroplan frequent flyer program later to raise additional cash.But why would anyone want to make a C$700 million equity investment in a failing airline? The National Post offers an assessment…
