It may be obvious, but low cost carriers are now driving the airline industry. In a business in which everyone sells the same thing, the low-cost producer usually comes out on top. It took 25 years, but that is exactly what has happened in the airline business. … Give the major airlines credit: They managed to hold off the challengers for an awfully long time. They used their muscle at big airports to deny gates to the upstarts. They employed frequent-flier programs to build brand loyalty. And they kept a stranglehold on the business traveler, the guy who would pay $2,300 to fly round-trip from Boston to Los Angeles. … The discounters kept getting bigger. In 1993 they flew 8.4 percent of the nation’s passengers. By 2003 their market share was up to 21.7 percent.…
Donating frequent flyer miles
It’s great to see newspapers recommending the donation of frequent flyer miles. It’s a great way to feel good for folks with large balances, and for those whose miles are expiring it’s better than letting them go to waste (although there are certainly easy ways to extend the life of miles in almost all circumstances — most carriers require only some account activity every three years, I might transfer 125 miles into an airline account from my Radisson Goldpoints account for instance).The options for donations are far more varied than the piece suggests, offering only two choices. A good place to check out is MileDonor.com which serves as a clearing house for donation information.
Automated Checkin Kiosks to Roll Out at Vegas Hotels
Las Vegas’ McCarran airport has check-in kiosks which serve multiple airlines, a departure from the standard practice of each carrier having its own proprietary system. The system will get a boost at the end of July when American Airlines and JetBlue Airways join the SpeedCheck system. They’ll join AirTran, Alaska, Aloha, America West, Continental, Delta, Midwest, Northwest, Song, Southwest, Ted, United and US Airways, which are already on the system. This fall the kiosks will be rolled out to local casino resorts on a test basis, beginning with three as yet undetermined properties. Travelers will be able to checkin and check baggage at their hotels. Currently some airlines offer this service through their own proprietary system at some airport hotels close to their hubs. If memory serves, United offers this at the O’Hare Hilton and…
Who should read this website?
Honeymooners!
Modifed Recommendations for Luxury Travel on the Cheap
USA Today interviews Joel Widzer, author of The Penny Pincher’s Passport to Luxury Travel. As is so often the case, the advice is almost on target but a bit incomplete. Being a regular customer, or just being nice, can get you an airline passenger upgrade. Elite status with an airline (regular customer) matters most, as long as you follow the rules for receiving upgrades. Most upgrades are processed automatically, so it’s more about rules than interaction. Make sure you know what the airline offers — free domestic upgrades versus paid for with cash or certificates, a certain minimum fare required, etc. And make sure to request the upgrade explicitly. Each airline has their own procedures.“Being nice” certainly helps, especially combined with status, at the airport on the day of departure. Sometimes an airline has to…
Update on the Free Flatscreen and iPod
A quick update on the Free Flat Screen and Free iPod offers. (Details of the offers below.) I’ve completed all the tasks for the iPod and I’ve placed my order. I’m told the order is in progress. Not bad for a few minutes work. I have all my needed referrals for the Flat Screen offer. I haven’t completed my own part, though, because I get a recurring error “Not Logged In.” So I’m very close to the finish line and I’ve had a problem that no one else seems to have encountered. I’ll try from another computer tomorrow. Still, these are turning out to be quite lucrative.
United Gets $1 Billion in Loans
United is set to receive $1 billion in loans and may stay in bankruptcy through June 2005.That pretty much proves the point that United has access to private capital markets, contrary to claims made in furtherance of their failed application for government-backed loans. The key difference is that had they gotten the government-backed loans, they would have quickly emerged from Chapter 11 without finishing the job of cost cutting.By going to the private market for funding, they’re being forced to make painful cuts in order to become profitable.
New eBay Anything Points Earning Schedule for Priceline Hotel Reservations
eBay started offering an exceptionally generous 1500 Anything Points per Priceline hotel reservation a few months ago. Some time in the middle of the month they changed their offer to “up to 1500 points.” They don’t publish the specific details on their website, but I’m told the new rates are as follows: 1 – 2 star hotels earn 500 points 2.5 – 3.5 star hotels earn 1000 points 4 – 5 star hotels and resorts earn 1500 points
Aviation Security Newsletter
Bob Poole’s Aviation Security Newsletter always makes for a fascinating read. Yesterday’s issue led with the TSA’s failure to provide reasonable security procedures for airport vendors with ramp access to aircraft. While the TSA focuses tremendous resources — 45,000 screeners — on passenger access to secure areas, there are only 358 people inspecting airport procedures covering the million airport and vendor employees with aircraft and secure terminal access.Poole recommends: If TSA were refocused as a security research, policy-making, and regulatory agency, the vast majority of its screeners could be transferred to the airports or certified contractors. But some would remain at TSA to greatly beef up its inspection staff. Think about it: unified security at each airport (the buck stops there!) and greatly strengthened arms-length oversight. That should produce much better security than we have…
Free iPod Advice
Reader Samir emails some useful advice for the free iPod offer: I got the blue iPod mini – I’m VERY happy with it. I’ve only got about 3.6GB on my computer at home, so it works for me – but I can see running out of space soon – they didn’t have the 15GB one available when I ordered mine! It takes about 4 weeks to get it – you can e-mail free iPods & they’ll send you your Apple order number – then just go to Apple.com & set up an account there & check your order status. I actually called them up & had them change the order from freeipods to my name (that way, I’d get the e-mail confirmation receipt which is required for warranty work in case it break – if…