News and notes from around the interweb:
- Effective Tuesday September 15, American and Delta will no longer even interline with each other. No more tickets issued by either carrier which include travel on both carriers, no more through-checked luggage (which both carriers normally only permit when traveling on a single ticket). This stuff’s about to get real.
- What happens if you take frozen liquids through airport security? (HT: Paul H.)
- Failure tours: More than a million people have gone to visit the new airport in Berlin that’s years late in opening and increasingly an embarrassment to Germany.
- The indispensable site “The Flight Deal” explains “When A Bargain Fare Isn’t A Bargain (Or, Why The Flight Deal Does Not Feature Deals from Spirit or Frontier etc)” by way of a trip report by Michael Rubiano.
I explain my own reasoning a bit more straightforwardly: no PreCheck and lack of a redundant route network. Nonetheless, I think it’s fantastic that airlines like Spirit and Frontier exist — they serve a real need:
- allowing people to travel who would not otherwise
- making it possible to fly instead of drive or take the bus (which is a public good as well since flying is safer than driving)
- competing down the price of airfare charged by legacy airlines (so when they do compete let’s not give them a hard time for it, k pumpkin?)
- allowing people to travel who would not otherwise
- American AAdvantage is offering double miles when you fly American or their joint venture partner Japan Airlines between the US and Asia in premium cabins or the most expensive economy for bookings and travel between September 9 and December 15.
The AAdvantage double miles offer only applies to AAdvantage members who purchase and fly on eligible, published First and Business Class fares booked in F, A, P, J, R, D or I; Economy Class fares booked in Y, B or H on American Airlines or US Airways marketed flights; First and Business Class fares booked in F, A, J, C, D, X or I; Economy Class fares booked in W, E, Y, B or H on Japan Airlines marketed flights. Eligible flights include non-stop flights between North America and Asia between September 9 and December 15, 2015. Flights marketed or operated by other codeshare partners are not eligible for this promotion. Bonus miles do not count toward elite status qualification or AAdvantage Million Miler status. Double miles will be calculated at 100% of the base miles earned. Registration prior to travel is required using Promotion Code ASIA4.
My experiences with Frontier were solid — and in my case, the “all-in” bundled fare with bags, preferred seating, priority boarding, and no change fees was still cheaper than a legacy carrier. I’ll take them (for the right price) any day over United.
Um, you missed what was by far the most important piece of the AA-DL news – no more reaccommodating passengers on each others flights during irregular operations (just like with WN). Will hit some small cities especially hard.
Yeah, Gary, I think @AndrewC flagged the news that will hit passengers hardest – and which you might want to in turn flag for your readers – re no more moving passengers onto each others’ planes during irregular operations. I would think there will be lots of irregular operations situations where Delta is the best or perhaps even only option for American passengers, and vice versa. A number of folks are going to be quite surprised when one airline can’t shift them over to the most obvious alternative.
Unless of course this is some kind of negotiating ploy, and you think the two will reach some kind of deal…
@Andrew
He’s more interested in sensational titles than informing. Welcome to dirty blogging 101.
When does the agreement go back into effect between DL and AA?
It’s not loaded yet in Sabre.
@barb wolbrink – today