I fly United. They have been very good to me. But it became very clear last night that United Mileage Plus really doesn’t get it. At the post-Freddie Awards reception, I stood next to a very frequent traveler from Texas (> 220,000 miles flown last year and a top-level elite with both United and American) talking to Robert Sahadevan of Mileage Plus. She told him that the changes to United’s top-level elite program were chasing her away. No longer are United’s “Systemwide Upgrades” (certificates given to 100,000 mile flyers that can confirm international upgrades at the time of booking) good on any fare. That means that if she chooses to give United her high revenue business fares, she is not able to upgrade her lower priced personal trips — and so she’d rather give all…
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20,000 Mile Signup Bonus for Mileage Plus Visa
This may be the most generous credit card offer yet. No, it isn’t the 25,000 mile bonus that Northwest offered last summer — but you had to wait 15 months for all the miles to show up. And it isn’t the 25,000 mile bonus that Delta has been offering at times — but you had to spend tens of thousands of dollars before all the miles showed up. This offer is simple. Use the $60 annual fee card once and pocket 20,000 United miles. Very bold… especially since the consensus seems to be that United is turning a corner financially with labor concessions in place and the impact of the war on Iraq being somewhat less than expected.
Maybe if we subjected Norm Mineta to this, we’d get some reform?
Howard Kurtz reports that White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was subjected to extra security screening at National Airport. Security Risk? When Ari Fleischer was in a long line for the Delta Shuttle to head to New York for NBC correspondent David Bloom’s funeral, an airline employee offered to escort the president’s press secretary directly onto the plane. Fleischer declined, saying he would wait like everyone else. A moment later, another worker pulled him out of line and subjected him to a random search. No such indignities on Air Force One.
Only fly domestic?
John Bloom thinks some airlines need to be liquidated and others need to just fly domestic. He may have a point, but unfortunately he fails to make it in the piece. No doubt government subsidies and handouts have kept airlines afloat that should have shut down long ago. After 9/11, government bailout money put the twice bankrupt Midway Airlines back in the air after it shut down. That business plan didn’t work, and so they’re resurrecting themselves as a USAirways express carrier (third time’s the charm?). But giving up international flying isn’t the panacea that Bloom makes it out to be. While there isn’t “some rule that says United, American and Delta are REQUIRED to fly to Moscow and Hong Kong and Sydney?” they certainly should if the route is profitable and shouldn’t if it…
Don’t you wish reporters writing about the airline industry actually knew what they were talking about?
Today’s Washington Post story on the Flight Attendants wage concession vote and an impending American Airlines bankruptcy makes the following statement in order to be relevant to the local community: Although [American] is the world’s largest airline, it is one of the smallest in the Washington area. The airline accounts for 9 percent of the flights at Reagan National Airport, 3 percent at Dulles International and 8.7 percent at Baltimore-Washington International. US Airways, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are the region’s most dominant major carriers. (Emphasis mine) The dominant carrier at Washington-Dulles airport is, of course, United Airlines.
McKinsey & Co.: Bubonic plague for the airlines?
Steven Pearlstein lampoons McKinsey & Co’s airline consulting practice — and United and Delta for hiring them at $1 million per month. His Washington Post piece uses United’s 278-page January creditors committee presentation as a case in point.
McKinsey & Co.: Bubonic plague for the airlines?
Steven Pearlstein lampoons McKinsey & Co’s airline consulting practice — and United and Delta for hiring them at $1 million per month. His Washington Post piece uses United’s 278-page January creditors committee presentation as a case in point.
McKinsey & Co.: Bubonic plague for the airlines?
Steven Pearlstein lampoons McKinsey & Co’s airline consulting practice — and United and Delta for hiring them at $1 million per month. His Washington Post piece uses United’s 278-page January creditors committee presentation as a case in point.
How Many Miles is the Most?
Qantas’ top frequent flyer has 20 million frequent flyer miles — apparently mostly earned with butt-in-seat flying rather than by running up high credit card bills. The article has a few inaccuracies, for example domestic US carriers don’t have a business class, much in the way fast-food franchises don’t carry “small” drinks and burgers United does sell business class seats domestically on all of its 3-class aircraft. American certainly sells business class on 3-class planes from New York, Boston, and Washington DC to Los Angeles You can’t buy tier points by spending money on your credit card. Carriers don’t give them away in promotions. Actually, you can earn tier points by spending $25,000 on a Delta Skymiles American Express. America West is currently offering a deal where by flying and using its partners you can…
Concentrate All Your Flying On One Airline
A colleague asked me whether concentrating all of her flying on a single airline would get her free upgrades to first class. Without going into the particulars of just how much flying (25,000 miles in a year? 50,000 miles? 75,000? 100,000?), here was my oversimplified answer — Different airlines have different upgrade policies. With American you can either use miles OR upgrade certificates that you earn by flying (you basically earn 25% of your flying in first class free). United, Delta, and USAIrways have similar policies. With Continental, Northwest, and America West you get all of your domestic upgrades for free. They process them based on your status and give the seat to you if it’s available. No additional cost. Alaska Airlines is my favorite program of all — elites who fly 35,000 miles or…
