With the final merger hurdle being settled today with the DOJ, American Airlines and US Airways are basically on their way to becoming the world’s largest airline. There were concessions to the government in the settlement, of course, including: Under the deal, the airlines would get rid of airport terminal gates, take off and landing…
upgrades
Tag Archives for upgrades.
Flyer Unfriendly: United Pulls Upgrade, Elite Award Availability From ExpertFlyer
If you’re an ExpertFlyer subscriber and haven’t already received an email from them this morning, brace for unwelcome news if you use the service for certain United Airlines searches. United has decided to deny ExpertFlyer access to upgrade and elite award inventory effective November 1. This will remove the ability to search and create alerts…
Quick Poll: Would You Have Upgraded to United Global First for This Offer?
I’ve returned from a relatively quick trip to Seoul and will have a full trip report coming soon, but I’d like to quickly put this poll out there to see if any of you would have jumped on this upgrade offer. As background, I booked an upgradable coach W-fare and applied two Global Premier Upgrades…
Jumping the Upgrade Queue on United Airlines
As I mentioned earlier this week, I flew a mileage run on United this past Saturday from Reno to Washington Dulles and back. Having a couple of Regional Premier Upgrades (RPUs) that would otherwise have gone unused the remainder of the year, I decided to apply them when I booked the ticket last month. The…
Confessions of an Elite Status Junkie: Part One
I’ve experienced quite a few life events during the past year… well… the past 14 years to be completely honest, which have significantly changed who I am as a person. But the happenings of the past few months in particular have been instrumental for a major change in my identity composition. And they’ve altered my…
Should Agents Process Upgrades Due to Misconnects or Close the Door?
On Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on United and witnessed what could be classified as a lazy and motivated gate agent at the aircraft door. Lazy because she wasn’t going to fill the two empty seats in first class with passengers on the upgrade list, but motivated to get our delayed…
Buh-Bye Upgrade Phobia: Rediscovering the Joy of Coach Travel
I believe it was Matthew over at Live and Let’s Fly who first coined the term “upgrade phobia†– a condition of nervously worrying about whether your upgrade will come through, constantly checking your position on the list, etc. And I have admittedly been deeply phobic most of the time, which results serious disappointment when…
A Look at Cheapest vs. Upgradable United Airlines International Airfares
My travel goals on United have changed this year due to several factors, including a move to a more expensive cost per mile (CPM) originating airport and the increasing likelihood that all U.S. airlines will add some type of elite status revenue requirement to their frequent flier programs. My goal on United this year is…
What the New American AAdvantage Program Might Look Like
With a merger announcement between American Airlines and US Airways imminent (tomorrow morning by all accounts), we’ll finally put some speculation to rest, but open the door on months of new supposition. [Edited 2/14/13: And it’s official] Of particular interest to me (and many of you, I’m sure) will be the changes to American’s AAdvantage…
Virgin America Launches Status Match for American, United Elites
Virgin America today launched a status match program for elite frequent fliers with American and United. It’s a match/challenge combo, actually, where you’ll be matched outright until April 30, 2013 and offered the ability to extend your status through the end of 2013. First, here’s the chart of how the American and United elite tiers…