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Which airline has the best inflight wi-fi?

A new study ranks JetBlue’s inflight wi-fi as the best in the industry. (Image: JetBlue)

How do the major U.S. airlines compare in their in-flight Internet service? That’s what the folks at HighSpeedInternet.com were wondering, so they studied Wi-Fi availability, speed and cost for the seven largest carriers to find out.

Capturing first place in their overall rankings was JetBlue, partly for its speed, but mainly for its cost: There is none.

“JetBlue is the only airline in America that offers free in-flight Wi-Fi,” HighSpeedInternet.com said. “Along with being the most affordable, JetBlue’s in-flight Wi-Fi is also among the fastest; it’s tied with Delta and Virgin America at 15 Mbps.”

Ranking second overall was Southwest, with a cost of just $8 a day for in-flight Internet and a speed of 10 Mbps. (Cheap, yes, but I hear that you get what you pay for with Southwest inflight wi-fi. I don’t fly SWA enough to know…do you? Comment below, please.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

As for availability, Virgin America was tops, with Wi-Fi offered on 100 percent of its available seat-miles. Delta was second at 98 percent availability, followed by Southwest at 90 percent. Virgin America also had a speed of 15 Mbps, but its superior Wi-Fi comes at a high price — $25 a day, the most expensive in the industry, the study noted.

Keep in mind that the cheapest way to buy Gogo is to purchase hourly ($7) or day ($19) passes ahead of time. When you purchase on the plane, the cost can soar to as high as $50.

Virgin’s owner, Alaska Airlines, didn’t fare as well, with Wi-Fi available on just 75 percent of its capacity – the lowest of the seven airlines – and speed well behind Virgin America at 9.8 Mbps.

(We should note that as Alaska continues to integrate its operations with Virgin’s, it recently decided to overhaul their Wi-Fi products. Alaska said a few months ago that it plans to install Gogo’s 2Ku satellite-based broadband Wi-Fi in both its Boeing aircraft and its Airbus fleet — i.e., Virgin’s planes. Installations will start next year on Alaska 737s, and the whole job should be finished by 2020. Alaska also recently extended its free in-flight texting to Virgin’s aircraft as well.)

At the bottom of the company’s overall rankings was United, with availability of 85 percent, speed of 9.8 Mbps, and a cost of $20. United was just below American, which had similar numbers. HighSpeedInternet.com noted that Hawaiian, Spirit and Frontier Airlines don’t have in-flight Wi-Fi. As a frequent United flier, this finding surprised me— When the system is actually working, United’s inflight wi-fi is relatively fast and stable. But the problem is reliability– over the last year, I would estimate that United’s inflight wi-fi system was down on about 40% of my flights.

Also, with Gogo-equipped planes, speed varies based on the type of system installed on the plane. For example, 3,000 planes now have Gogo wi-fi, but only 500 of them have the speediest satellite-based product. (More on that here.)

Source: HighSpeedInternet.com

The rankings changed significantly in looking at the best Wi-Fi service for business travelers, with the assumption that the cost is irrelevant because the traveler’s employer will cover it. If that’s the case, HighSpeedInternet.com gives top honors to Virgin America for its top speed and 100 percent availability, followed by Delta and JetBlue.

In conducting their research, HighSpeedInternet.com staffers discovered that some of this information wasn’t as easy to find as they had thought.

“Some airlines don’t publish their in-flight Wi-Fi information. So, to get it, our team spent days contacting various departments at some of these airlines—hounding them via email, phone, and social media,” the company said. “We think airlines could go a long way to reduce consumer frustration by making this information more readily available.”

Any report on airline Wi-Fi quality and cost should also note that this is all subject to change in the months and years ahead as carriers continue to upgrade their products due to consumer demand. For instance, we just reported on how Gogo is shifting much of its in-flight Wi-Fi service from ground-based to satellite-based links, which will greatly increase speed and data capacity. And we also reported that Air Canada will soon make inflight wi-fi free for its elite level members.

Do you use inflight wi-fi much? How is the service on the airline you fly most? Does it align with these findings? 

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Basic Economy fares go global

Delta

Delta is introducing Basic Economy pricing on transatlantic routes. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Now that the Big Three U.S. airlines have rolled out bare-bones Basic Economy fares in their domestic networks, they’re starting to take aim at international markets.

Both Delta and American are bringing the controversial lowball pricing option to some international flights, and some foreign carriers – specifically, Aer Lingus and Scandinavian Airlines – are doing the same as the transatlantic competition from carriers like Norwegian starts to bite.

Six weeks ago, Delta broadened its transatlantic fare lineup when it started selling Comfort+ seating on transatlantic flights for travel starting January 22. And this week Delta announced that Basic Economy fares are now available on more than half of its flights to Europe for travel starting April 10.

And it’s not just Delta. The airline said that on the same date, its partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia will each introduce “a similar basic fare product across the Atlantic.”

“As part of its Basic Economy expansion, Delta is introducing a Basic Economy first checked bag fee for trans-Atlantic routes only,” the company said. “The fee will be standard for Air France-KLM and Alitalia, along with no seat assignments and tickets not being changeable.”

Forbes is reporting that Delta’s new fee on a first checked bag for international Basic Economy travelers will be a stiff $60, and a second checked bag will cost $100.

Basic economy purchasers won’t get a seat assignment until they check in, and they will board last, Delta said. Tickets can’t be changed or refunded, and purchasers can’t get paid or complimentary upgrades, even with Medallion status (although they will still earn Medallion-qualifying miles and dollars).

Delta said it would closely align its international Basic Economy fare restrictions with its domestic rules, which allow purchasers to carry on a bag that can be stowed in the overhead bin. American’s and United’s domestic Basic Economy prices only allow buyers to carry on an item that fits under the seat.

United’s website warns customers about the shortcomings of Basic Economy. (Image: UNited)

Reports out of Dallas this week said that American Airlines is now offering its own similar no-frills Basic Economy pricing on select international routes – specifically, to most of its destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean. There are a few exceptions, including service to Cuba, to San Juan, and to a couple of Mexican destinations. American apparently hasn’t yet put the Basic Economy option on transatlantic flights.

While the big U.S. airlines introduced Basic Economy fares in domestic markets ostensibly to offer pricing levels competitive with fast-growing ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier, critics allege that the airlines’ real intention is to lure customers in with a low fare but then up-sell them to a regular economy seat with a few more frills. In fact, some allege that airlines have simply re-labeled their previous lowest economy fares as Basic Economy.

SAS is adding new ‘Go Light’ low-frills fares in U.S. markets this month. (Image: SAS)

Delta isn’t the first to bring new low- or no-frills fares to the transatlantic market. A few months ago, Aer Lingus rolled out a new pricing category called Saver fares on flights between Dublin and the U.S.  The only things included in that fare are a seat, an in-flight meal and a 10 kg. (22 lbs.) hand luggage allowance.

And effective December 14, SAS will start offering discounted “Go Light” fares on its routes between Scandinavia and the U.S., designed for customers who only have carry-on bags. The new category was introduced on the airline’s intra-European routes in 2015. Except for a checked bag, Go Light fare buyers get the same treatment and service as purchasers of the airline’s regular economy pricing, called Go fares.

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Will Southwest Airlines go to Hawaii with its new plane?

Southwest had a full load on its inaugural 737 MAX 8 flight. (Image: Southwest)

Two U.S. airlines have started to take delivery of the next generation of Boeing’s iconic 737 jetliner. One of them just started flying it in commercial service, and there is speculation that airline could use the plane to shake up the Hawaii market.

The aircraft is the 737 MAX. The two airlines are Southwest and American.

Southwest, the U.S. launch customer for the aircraft, put its first nine 737 MAX 8s into service this week. It expects to have 14 of them in operation by year’s end, and has placed firm orders for 200 of the new planes, including MAX  7s and MAX 8s.

The new Southwest 737 MAX 8s have 175 seats in a single-class configuration, offering 32 inches of pitch and the Boeing Sky interior with LED lighting sequences. Southwest’s existing 737-800s also have 175 seats and 31-32 inches of pitch, while its 737-700s have 143 seats and 31-inch pitch.

If the seat count is the same, what’s the difference between Southwest’s 737-800s and its new 737 MAX 8s (other than the new-plane smell)? The new aircraft are quieter, 14 percent more fuel-efficient and can fly 500 nautical miles farther than the -800s.

Southwest’s 737 MAX 8. (Image: Southwest)

“Our new seats feature an adjustable headrest; it’s the widest economy seat in the 737 market with a lower-profile arm rest, advanced cushion support, a raised information pocket, and elevated rear seat beam that together allow for additional space for personal devices,” Southwest said.

If you wind up on one of Southwest’s new MAX 8s, it will probably be by chance, because the airline plans to deploy them here and there on scores of routes over the next few months. You can see a full listing here.

The initial scheduled deployment of Southwest’s MAX 8s only mentions domestic routes, but the company’s executives have said they might use the aircraft’s longer range to begin service to Hawaii. They didn’t say when, but the financial publication Seeking Alpha said recently it believes “that Southwest is likely to enter the Hawaiian market by 2018, and a formal announcement could come at any time.”

If that happens, the publication said, it could usher in a major fare war on mainland-Hawaii routes. “We think the only reason that Southwest’s entry (to Hawaii) hasn’t already been announced is due to Hurricane Harvey,” the publication said.

Analysts noted that the new planes’ greater range could also allow Southwest to fly deeper into Latin America and even from the East Coast to northern Europe, a market where Norwegian has introduced the planes.

A 737 MAX 8 in American livery. (Image: Boeing)

American, meanwhile, took delivery of its first 737 MAX 8 from Boeing last week. It should receive four of the planes by year’s end, followed by 16 more next year and 20 in 2019. American will put the first aircraft into service on November 29 between Miami and New York LaGuardia. It has ordered a total of 100 737 MAX models from Boeing.

American’s version of the MAX 8 has 172 seats, but with three seating categories – 16 in first class, 30 in Main Cabin Extra and 126 in regular economy. By comparison, American has two versions of the 737-800, one with 160 seats in three classes and one with 154.

Earlier this year, American caused a stir when it said a few rows of economy on the new aircraft would have 29-inch pitch, a new low in legroom for a major U.S. carrier, and the rest would have 30-inch pitch. But after negative feedback from customers, the airline changed its mind and said all economy seats would offer 30-inch pitch, causing it to ditch one row of Main Cabin Extra in the planes. (That compares with 31-inch pitch on AA’s 737-800s.)

Neither American nor Southwest will offer seatback video monitors on the new planes, citing a growing passenger trend toward streaming entertainment via personal electronic devices.

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Routes: More Hong Kong from SFO, Delta to London, Virgin 747 flights, Lufthansa + more

Delta One a330

Delta One (business class) on an A330 is a new option to London (Image: Delta)

In international route developments, Hong Kong Airlines details its plans for San Francisco service; Delta will increase London Heathrow capacity next year with bigger aircraft; Virgin Atlantic will put 747s onto two U.S. routes; Lufthansa moves into Airberlin markets; Norwegian adds an ultra-long haul low-fare route; Hawaiian switches code-share allegiance to Japan Airlines; and American and United alter their Cuba services.

Delta is making some changes to its London Heathrow service next year, giving it a lot more capacity from key hubs. The company said that effective March 24, it will change equipment on its LHR routes out of New York JFK, Atlanta and Detroit from the current 208-passenger 767-300s to 293-seat Airbus A330s. Delta One flat-bed seats in the A330s have that herringbone layout with aisle access for all. Delta will also slightly alter its JFK joint venture schedule with Virgin Atlantic; the current schedule of five Virgin and three Delta flights a day will change to six Virgin and two Delta departures.

While Delta recently publicized some new Europe routes it is adding in 2018, it did not publicize some that it is dropping. That includes seasonal summer service from New York JFK to Moscow Sheremetyevo and to Stockholm Arlanda, and from Philadelphia to Paris CDG.

Hong Kong Airlines, partly owned by China’s Hainan Airlines, will begin service between Hong Kong and Los Angeles in mid-December. A few weeks ago, we reported that the airline also has its eye on other U.S. gateways, and it has just revealed it plans for Hong Kong-San Francisco service. The carrier plans to start flying HKG-SFO on March 25 with four flights a week, increasing to daily frequencies by August 18, according to Routesonline.com. Both LAX and San Francisco flights will use A350-900s with 33 fully-reclining business class seats, 108 in “Economy Comfort” class, and 193 in regular economy. Will a new entrant be able to compete in a crowded SFO market against Cathay Pacific’s three daily flights to Hong Kong, plus service from United and Singapore? We’ll see…

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic also has some good news for fans of the fast-disappearing Boeing 747. On March 26, Virgin will put a 747-400 onto its daily Manchester-Atlanta service twice a week, increasing to three a week May 26. And on May 22, it will start using a 747-400 on four of its seven weekly JFK-Manchester flights. The other flights on both routes use A330s.

Lufthansa will fly A330 on two U.S. routes–but not to its hubs. (Image: Lufthansa)

Germany’s bankrupt Airberlin keeps limping along as it negotiates the sale of its assets to competitors, but that hasn’t stopped Lufthansa from targeting a couple of Airberlin routes. Lufthansa just announced a pair of new U.S. routes starting this fall – neither one to its hubs at Frankfurt or Munich. On November 7 Lufthansa will kick off New York JFK-Berlin service five days a week with an A330-300 (its first Berlin wide-body service in 16 years), followed on November 8 by Miami-Dusseldorf A330-300 flights three days a week. Next summer, both routes will be transferred to Lufthansa’s Eurowings subsidiary. (Meanwhile, the Oneworld alliance has suspended mileage earning and spending privileges on Airberlin flights for members of other Oneworld airline frequent flyer programs.)

What is the world’s longest route operated by a low-cost airline? As of this week, it’s London Gatwick-Singapore, just launched by Norwegian – its first route to Asia. The carrier is using a 787-9 to fly the 6,764-mile route (12 hours 45 minutes) four times a week, with one-way base fares starting as low as 150 pounds ($201) (plus lots of fees, of course). Norwegian flies to London Gatwick from several U.S. cities – most recently adding Denver-Gatwick and Seattle-Gatwick flights.

Norwegian officials celebrate new London-Singapore flights. (Image: Norwegian)

Hawaiian Airlines and Japan Airlines have announced a new code-share partnership that starts March 25, subject to government approval. “The two carriers also intend to establish a joint venture designed to provide even more choices, convenience and enhancements to the traveling public to/from Japan and beyond to multiple Asian markets,” Hawaiian said. Specific code-shared flights and routes haven’t yet been announced, but Hawaiian said its passengers will have “full access to Japan’s domestic network,” including Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai and Aomori. The pact also includes reciprocal mileage earning and spending on code-shared flights, as well as mutual airport lounge access. Hawaiian is moving into JAL’s Terminal 2 at Tokyo Narita to facilitate easy connections. The deal also means the end of Hawaiian’s code-sharing partnership with ANA.

U.S. carriers continue to adjust their Cuba services as they get a better handle on consumer demand for flights to the island nation. American Airlines plans to terminate its daily Miami-Cienfuegos E175 flights on January 7, and United has applied for government approval to increase its service from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Havana from weekly Saturday-only flights to daily frequencies. It didn’t specify a start date for the increase.

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Comparing airlines’ elite status tiers

Alaska Airlines economy 737

Alaska Airlines wins top honors in a comparison of elite status levels. (Photo: Alaska Air)

Is it possible to compare one airline’s elite status requirements and benefits to another’s? Most frequent travelers will usually devote their mile/point accumulation to the hometown airline they fly the most by default. But a new study takes a fresh look at elite status to see which airlines are the most generous.

And the overall winner – across three of the four status tiers – is Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan, according to ThePointsGuy.com, a specialist in travel loyalty programs.

How is it possible to compare the elite benefits of six airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, United, JetBlue and Southwest)? The site assigned various weights to all the categories of perks that come with elite status levels, ranging from 25 percent for in-flight perks like upgrades, preferred seats and free amenities to 5 percent for special reservations treatment (priority phone line and enhanced award availability). Also in the mix are airport perks, fee waivers, bonus earning potential, partner perks, flexibility of benefits and non-flying perks like crossover deals with hotel companies.

ThePointsGuy.com looked at all those elements tier by tier across the six airlines. For low-tier elites (based on 25,000 flight miles and $3,000 in spending), Alaska’s MVP status came in first, followed in order by American’s Advantage Gold, Delta’s Silver Medallion and United’s Premier Silver. (JetBlue and Southwest don’t have a comparable elite status at this level, the site noted.)

The site said the primary reason for Alaska’s high ranking is “the fact that Alaska still awards miles based on flying rather than spending.” Alaska MVP members get a 50 percent earning bonus on flights, or 12,500 miles – worth an estimated $237.50 – on 25,000 flight miles in a year. By contrast, the spending-based regimes at the Big Three return only 6,000 bonus miles on $3,000 in spending, worth an estimated $72 to $90 at the three airlines, the site estimated.

American’s AAdvantage Gold members benefit from fee waivers. (Image: Jim Glab)

Benefits of AAdvantage Gold that put American in second place were priority security access and waiver of the $75 same-day standby fee and the $75 award-processing fee for short-notice award bookings for lowest-tier elites, the site said.

For mid-level elites (50,000 miles/$6,000), United came in second behind Alaska, followed by Delta, American, JetBlue and Southwest, in that order. Alaska’s MVP Gold status at this level provides a generous 100 percent earning bonus, well above its competitors. The site also gave kudos to Alaska MVP Gold and JetBlue Mosaic status for fee waivers on flight changes and cancellations. Part of the reason for United’s second-place showing was its offer of free Marriott Gold reciprocal status to its MileagePlus Premier Golds.

Delta’s Comfort+ seating offers extra legroom and other perks. (Image: Delta)

For high-tier elites (75,000 miles/$9,000), Delta came in second after Alaska by virtue of its superior in-flight perks like a longer upgrade window (120 hours before departure vs. 72 at others), free access to preferred seats and extra-legroom economy seats, and upgrades on award travel.

It’s only at the very highest tier level (125,000 miles/$15,000) that Alaska drops out of first place, although the status requirements aren’t as comparable at this level. In any case, the study gives first place to United’s Premier 1K for “consistently rewarding status across all categories” including enhanced award availability in both cabins, free drinks and snacks on board and 12 upgrades (six regional and six global).

You can read the full report here, and along with an interactive feature that lets you input your own mileage and spending, along with the importance you assign to various benefits, to see which elite program is best for you.

Which airline elite level program works best for you? Why? Please leave your comments below.

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Award travel prices: United’s are up, Delta’s down

Delta

Domestic award travel costs on Delta have dropped almost 20 percent since 2013. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

A new analysis of award travel costs among U.S. airlines that base their loyalty programs on dollars spent shows some big changes in the past few years – with good news for Delta’s flyers and bad news for United’s.

The study by IdeaWorks Company and CarTrawler looked at how average reward travel prices paid in points/miles changed from 2013 to 2017. It found that the average reward price for a domestic roundtrip on Delta fell by 19.1 percent, from 28,964 miles to 23,443 — the result of “a genuine effort” by Delta to reduce award prices, IdeaWorks said. On United, however, the average price jumped by 28.7 percent, from 26,357 to 33,929.

The proportion of United domestic award flight queries priced at 25,000 miles or less dropped from 83 percent four years ago to 43 percent this year, the study found.

The price of American Airlines’ domestic award tickets fell by just 2.3 percent over the four-year period, from 31,071 miles to 30,357.

But reward travel prices on the Big Three were far higher than on the airlines that ranked first and second on the cost chart: The cost of a JetBlue flight inched up half a percent, from 15,774 TrueBlue points in 2014 to 15,849 this year. And for first-place Southwest, the price fell by less than a point, from 9,353 to 9,300 Rapid Rewards points.

Source: IdeaWorks

Why the big difference? “The pay-with-points method (JetBlue and Southwest) links reward prices to prevailing air fares,” IdeaWorks said.  “Program members can seek out low reward prices on flights that have lower fares. Reward prices adjust to demand in the same way fares have since supersaver rates were introduced decades ago. The mileage-based method is far less precise and typically ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 miles for a roundtrip domestic US reward.” However, it added that the Big Three are now “embracing more graduated pricing methods which removes the predictability of the traditional 25,000-mile and 50,000-mile classic reward option.”

Besides costing the customer less for award flights, Southwest and JetBlue are also more generous for non-elite economy flyers, IdeaWorks noted, both providing six program points per dollar spent, vs. five miles per dollar for the Big Three.

Southwest offers the best award travel deals for non-elite flyers. (Image: Jim Glab)

The above analysis changes considerably for elite-level frequent flyers, the company said, because they accrue points/miles at a higher level. Thus “ultra-frequent travelers may realize better reward value” from United, Delta and American.

Alaska was not included in the study because it still bases its loyalty program on the traditional miles-flown method. IdeaWorks noted that the average price paid for reward travel on Alaska this year was 18,500 miles, which would have placed it third, after Southwest and JetBlue.

What’s been your experience when it comes to redeeming miles over the last year? Please leave your comments below. 

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Which airlines earn most from fees, frequent flyer programs?

Airlines haul in billions from checked bag fees – but make more from loyalty programs (Image: Jim Glab)

Everyone knows that almost all airlines have been imposing new fees on passengers in recent years, but a new report shows what a huge impact those fees are having on their revenues. And for many airlines, the biggest “ancillary revenue” boost is coming from something you might not realize.

The latest annual study of airline ancillary revenues from IdeaWorks Company and Cartrawler, just out this week, shows that while low-cost carriers are more notorious for their fees, the big U.S. legacy airlines are the ones hauling in the most ancillary revenues.

In 2016, the report says, United’s ancillary revenues totaled a whopping $6.2 billion, while Delta hauled in $5.2 billion and American brought in $4.9 billion, followed by Southwest’s $2.8 billion.

But here’s the thing: The study included the sale of frequent flyer miles in its calculation of ancillary revenues. Miles are sold mostly to the big banks that issue the carriers’ credit cards. And for the Big Three, that accounted for roughly half their totals (48 percent at United, 52 percent at Delta and 43 percent at American). At Southwest, which still doesn’t charge checked bag or change fees, sale of miles accounted for 80 percent of ancillary revenues.

Another way to look at ancillary revenues is as a percentage of total revenues, and that’s where the ultra-low-cost carriers shine. In fact, as they refined and expanded their fee schedules for passengers – shifting from a low-cost to an ultra-low-cost model — those fees became even more important to the bottom line.

In 2016, the report said, ancillary revenues accounted for more than 46 percent of Spirit Airlines’ total revenues – up from 33 percent five years earlier. The change was even more dramatic at Frontier Airlines, which got just 7.7 percent of revenues from ancillary sources in 2011. In 2016, they accounted for 42 percent. Frontier switch to a ultra-low-cost business model in 2014 after it was acquired by new owners. Frontier’s average revenue per passenger of $115 includes $49 in ancillary revenue, the report noted.

“Worldwide, the a la carte approach long embraced by low cost carriers has been adopted by network airlines. Within the US, American, Delta, and United recently introduced basic economy fares (sometimes called seat-only fares) to compete with Frontier and Spirit. These fares reduce the product to a minimalist experience with fees charged for bags and early seat assignments, no elite upgrades, and a ban on flight changes. Yet when presented with higher fare, better service options, the majority of consumers opt to spend more,” the report noted.

Delta’s ancillary revenues (Source: Ideaworks)

You can see the full report here.

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Routes: More JetBlue Mint + Southwest, Delta, American, Alaska

JetBlue’s lie flat Mint class seat fully reclined (Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route developments, JetBlue unveils the starting dates for expansion of routes where it offers its Mint front-cabin service; Southwest will add a new transcontinental route from San Diego; Delta expands at Boston; American adds service in several secondary markets; and Alaska deploys more three-class E175s.

JetBlue has announced another wave of expansion for its premium cabin Mint service. On January 4 of next year, JetBlue said, it will introduce Mint service with lie-flat bed-seats on two daily flights between Boston and Las Vegas, followed by two daily Mint flights between Boston and Seattle starting February 15, and one daily Mint-equipped roundtrip between New York JFK and Seattle beginning April 15, with a second to be added sometime later in the year. The airline also said it plans to add a fifth daily Mint flight between San Francisco and Boston, with an afternoon departure time from both cities; and an 11th daily LAX-JFK roundtrip, although it didn’t specify a start date for those extra frequencies.

Boston is the focal point of a growing market-share battle between Delta and JetBlue. Last month, Delta started twice-daily 757-200 service between Boston and San Francisco, and it recently announced two more new Boston routes. On October 1, Delta will start flying twice a day between Boston and Pittsburgh with CRJ-900s; and next February, it will add seasonal weekend service between Boston and New Orleans, with flights on Saturdays and Sundays through April 1. Speaking of New Orleans, Delta also plans to operate Saturday/Sunday service to the Big Easy from Seattle starting February 10. And during the second week of January, 2018, Delta will operate twice-daily CRJ-900 flights between Sacramento and Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show.

Southwest is adding a new transcon route from San Diego. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest Airlines has set January 8 as the launch date for its newest transcontinental route. The carrier plans to begin daily service linking San Diego with Tampa. At the same time, Southwest will begin new weekend-only service linking Phoenix with Des Moines, Iowa, as well as weekend service between New York LaGuardia and Ft. Lauderdale.

American Airlines this month started flying on several new routes out of its Chicago O’Hare hub to secondary cities including Appleton, Wis.; Birmingham, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Greenville, S.C. The airline also started flying on a seasonal basis between O’Hare and Ontario, Calif. American also kicked off new daily service between Dallas/Ft. Worth-Spokane and between Miami-Omaha.

Alaska is deploying new Horizon Air three-class E175s. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines continues to deploy new Horizon Air E175s on its network. This week, it is putting the new planes onto three more routes: Portland-Dallas/Ft. Worth, Seattle-Fresno, and Seattle-San Luis Obispo. The planes have a three-class configuration with 12 first class seats, 16 in Alaska’s new Premium Class and 48 in the main cabin. The premium class seats will have a 34-inch pitch, vs. 36 to 38 inches in first and 31 inches in the main cabin. The planes will also have Wi-Fi, power outlets throughout, and free streaming entertainment.

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Do airlines pad schedules for better on-time performance?

Scheduling longer flight times can make a difference in on-time arrivals. (Image: Jim Glab)

Do you ever pick one airline over another because it has a better record of on-time flight operations? Those statistics might not be as solid as you think.

An interesting article in The Wall Street Journal explores how Delta’s current number-one ranking in the Transportation Department’s on-time arrivals listings was achieved in part by “padding” its flight schedules with a little extra time.

The Transportation Department defines an on-time arrival as one that gets to the gate within 14 minutes of the arrival time shown in its schedule. If it gets there one minute later than that, it’s considered late for statistical purposes.

The article notes that Delta has increased the “cushion” in its flight schedules every year for the past seven years. The result? It went from an on-time arrival rate of 78.6 percent in 2009 to 86.5 percent for domestic flights last year, the best in the industry.

Do on-time arrival statistics make a difference to you? (Image: Jim Glab)

The analysis notes that because airlines are free to set their own schedule times, it is possible for flights of two airlines from point A to point B to take the exact same amount of time from gate to gate, but one could be on time while the other is considered late because it estimated a shorter flight time in its schedule, while its competitor padded its schedule with a few extra minutes of estimated trip time.

The Journal noted that since Delta has done so well with it scheduling strategy in terms of its on-time record, United has started to adopt the same technique (more WWDD!), padding its schedules by an average of nine minutes in 2015 and 10 minutes in 2016.

By contrast, American’s average domestic flight has a padding of just four minutes, and the flights of Hawaiian, Alaska, Virgin America and Spirit “are the stingiest on padding schedule minutes,” the article notes.

Have you noticed the padding? Is it fair? Please leave your comments below. 

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United upgrading new “Premium Transcontinental Service”

United Transcontinental

Hot cookies in business class on United 757 between SFO EWR (Chris McGinnis)

Responding to new creature comforts its competitors are offering on prime transcontinental routes, United said it will introduce hot meals for Economy Plus passengers and will add San Francisco-Boston to its premium transcon network, with flat-bed seats in the front cabin on all flights.

In doing so, it will eliminate its longstanding premium branded service product known as “p.s.,”and refer to the new product as simply Premium Transcontinental Service.

The airline said that effective July 1, in-flight food and beverage service for passengers in its extra-legroom Economy Plus seating on Premium Transcontinental routes (Newark-SFO/LAX and now Boston-SFO) will include a free hot entrée, dessert and fruit, pre-arrival snack, and alcoholic drinks. 

The upgraded flights are available for booking today. As with United’s premium flights into Newark, elite level members of Mileage Plus can use their status to upgrade to Economy Plus. But status won’t get you into the cozy confines in those big seats at the front of the plane– you have to pay for that. Checking today, the cheapest round trip business class nonstop between SFO and BOS is running at about $1,200. Economy class is is about $450.

United will have flat bed business class seats like this on all between SFO and BOS starting in July (United)

Its new Boston-San Francisco schedule will use mostly 757-200s. But it will also have 777s on the route (“the market’s only widebody service,” United noted), including early-morning departures from both cities, an 8:30 p.m. departure from Boston and several red-eyes from San Francisco. “The most popular timings in peak periods will operate with widebody Boeing 777 aircraft including 8 a.m. service from San Francisco and an early evening Boston departure, ideal for business customers traveling at the end of the work day,” United said.

Back to the upgraded food offerings… “Sample menu selections include savory roasted chicken with a smoked barbecue sauce and butternut squash tortellini with sage cream sauce. Dessert options will include New York’s favorite sweet treat, cheesecake, as well as a chocolate brownie and fresh seasonal fruit,” United said.

Seatmap on United 777 SFO-BOS in August

In recent weeks, both Delta and American announced free meals for main cabin passengers in transcontinental markets. Delta said it would offer the amenity on a dozen coast-to-coast routes, while American limited it to JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO. The difference in United’s announcement: Delta and American are serving up free cold meals to all economy passengers; United will offer hot meals, but only to those with Economy Plus seats, not all main cabin passengers.

By adding Boston-San Francisco to its premium transcontinental network, United is promising flat-bed business class seating on all flights in that market. The flat-bed battle for SFO-BOS customers started when JetBlue expanded its premium transcontinental Mint front-cabin service to BOS-SFO; then Delta announced it would jump back into the Boston-San Francisco market on June 8, offering two flights a day using 757-200s configured with front-cabin flat-bed seats.

United said that in addition to flat-bed seats, its SFO-BOS business class service will provide duvets and pillows from Saks Fifth Avenue; new amenity kits, also from Saks; a signature Moscow Mule cocktail; hot towel service; and seasonally refreshed cuisine from a network of celebrity chefs.

After suffering through years of flying on United’s oldest, tattiest 757s on frequent trips to Boston, this is great news– mostly because those 6-7 hour slogs are so painful. What do you think of the new service? Which airline will you likely fly between California and Boston? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: United, JetBlue, AA, Emirates, Air China, El Al, LOT Polish

United will add service to Buenos Aires from Newark. (Image: Buenos Aires Tourism)

In international route news, United is adding a South American route from Newark; JetBlue expands Mexico City service and strengthens ties with Icelandair; American will sell premium economy seats from Chicago to Paris; Emirates trims its JFK schedule; Air China changes its mind about a new LAX route; El Al comes to Florida; and LOT adds Newark service.

United Airlines said it will begin new year-round daily service on October 28 between its Newark hub and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The route will use a 767-300 with business class, Economy Plus and regular economy seating. And both northbound and southbound flights will be red-eyes, with a 9:50 p.m. EWR departure and a 9 p.m. Buenos Aires departure time. United also said it will increase service between Newark and Bogota, Colombia from one flight a day to two for the summer season, June 8-August 14.

JetBlue will increase capacity between Florida and Mexico City  effective September 6, boosting its schedules from one flight a day to two from both Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando, offering early morning and midday southbound departures on both routes.  Meanwhile, JetBlue has also enhanced its partnership with Icelandair to include frequent flyer reciprocity. Members of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program can now earn points on Icelandair flights, and vice-versa for Icelandair Saga Club members flying on JetBlue.

American’s new premium economy seating is on 787-9s in select markets. (Image: American Airlines).

American Airlines is reportedly planning to put a 787-9 equipped with its new premium economy cabin into service this summer between Chicago O’Hare and Paris. It’s currently offered only on a few routes out of Dallas/Ft. Worth. But the ORD-Paris debut of the new cabin is only for a short period: July 5 to August 5. American normally uses a 787-8 on the route.

A few weeks ago, Emirates said it was cutting frequencies on its routes from Dubai to five U.S. destinations (Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Seattle, Los Angeles and Boston), partly because the U.S. ban on in-flight electronic devices aboard inbound flights was taking a big toll on bookings. And now it is adding New York JFK to that list. According to Routesonline.com, Emirates will trim its Dubai-JFK non-stop schedule from three flights a day to two effective June 4 through at least the end of June.  The carrier also offers one-stop JFK-Dubai service via Milan.

Air China apparently never started taking reservations on the new Los Angeles-Shenzen service that it planned to start flying July 6, and it’s a good thing – because the carrier has now pulled the route from its schedule, Routesonline.com said. Air China had planned to operate the service three times a week with a 787-9.

El Al will start Tel Aviv service from Miami this fall. (Image: Israel Ministry of Tourism)

Miami will go back onto El Al’s route map in November, when it plans to start flying MIA-Tel Aviv three times a week. The Israeli carrier discontinued Miami service in 2008. Its other U.S. gateways include Boston, New York JFK, Newark and Los Angeles.

The newest U.S. route for LOT Polish Airlines is Newark-Warsaw, which it recently started flying four times a week with a two-class 767-300. It will upgrade the route to a three-class 787 in August, and boost frequencies to five a week.

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Best airlines, best days for cheap award travel

Southwest had the lowest domestic award travel costs in a new study; Delta the most expensive international awards. (Image: Southwest Airlines)

Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards program last week was named Program of the Year in the annual Freddie Awards, and a new study from MileCards.com suggests part of the reason why it won.

The study found that the cost of a Southwest domestic reward flight is lower by far than the other four largest airlines, and the availability of the lowest-cost “saver” awards is far greater on Southwest as well.

The study examined award flight costs on 100,000 date/route combinations for domestic economy travel from March 1 through October 31 of this year. It found that the average roundtrip cost of a Southwest award flight was just 13,629 miles; the comparable average mileage cost on the other four largest airlines ranged from 27,871 on Delta to 47,017 on American. (It should be noted that competitors’ mileage costs were lower than average on routes where they compete against Southwest, but still not as low as Southwest’s.)

Source: MileCards.com

As for the availability of the lowest-cost “saver” awards, MileCards.com found that Southwest had them on 95 percent of the days checked, vs. 76 percent for Delta, 62 percent for Alaska, and just 48 percent for United and American.

“The catch – Southwest doesn’t fly to Hawaii, or some popular award destinations in the mainland U.S. like Vail and Anchorage,” MileCards.com said. “Delta SkyMiles, which operates to more destinations, came in second with an average price of 27,871 miles across all routes studied, and 20,001 miles roundtrip on routes where Southwest operates flights.”

Speaking of Hawaii – one of the most popular award travel destinations – the study found the lowest-cost award flights on Alaska, averaging 54,618 roundtrip. Delta wasn’t far behind at 57,020. “American AAdvantage charges the most, with an average price of 97,375 miles, and only 6% of dates available at the ‘Saver’ level price of 45,000 miles on its own flights,” MileCards.com said. See the full Milecards study here. 

Source: MileCards.com

Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program ties award travel costs to the prevailing air fares available at the time of travel, and thus doesn’t issue an award price chart. Delta took some criticism a few years ago when it stopped publishing a SkyMiles awards chart, but MileCards.com suggests that there are positive and negative aspects to Delta’s strategy.

“Now, domestic economy coach tickets (on Delta) can be found on many routes for just 10,000 miles roundtrip, and others at 15,000 miles roundtrip, while others cost more than the old 25,000 mile standard. By doing this, it has better flexibility to come closer to matching the point prices of Southwest, which doesn’t publish a menu of award prices,” MileCards said.

“The flip side is Delta has aggressively raised the prices of international business class awards that are not part of this study. A business class award to Europe on one of Delta’s partners now costs 170,000 miles roundtrip, up from 125,000 miles a year ago.”

As for United, the study suggests that MileagePlus members are better off saving their miles for international rather than domestic award flights because they’ll get more value out of them. The study praised American’s AAdvantage program for allowing members to change the dates of award travel for no fee, if it’s done 21 days in advance and costs the same.

But it criticized AAdvantage for having “the most inconsistent online search experience. Partner airlines like Alaska and Cathay Pacific are an important part of the value proposition of American miles and many are not readily visible when searching the AA.com website.” It added that AAdvantage “also causes headaches for international travelers by passing on large carrier surcharges from its primary partner to Europe, British Airways, which can add $700 or more onto a basic Economy Class award.”

The study turned up one interesting nugget about the best days to travel on award tickets: You’ll find the best deals for flights on Tuesdays, with an average cost of 30,574 miles; the highest average costs were on Sundays at 41,332 miles.

What’s the best “deal” you’ve found using miles recently? The worst deal? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: Airberlin delays at SFO/LAX, Virgin Australia, Austrian, AA, United + more

Airberlin is delaying its new Berlin service from San Francisco and Los Angeles. (Image: Airberlin)

In international route news, Airberlin is pushing back the start date of its new West Coast service to Berlin; Virgin Australia adds a Los Angeles route; Austrian Airline starts LAX flights; American plans an aircraft switch for some west coast service; United shifts Dreamliners to Washington Dulles and begins seasonal flights to Europe from San Francisco and Houston; Xiamen expands service; and JetBlue adds a Caribbean route.

Airberlin is delaying the start-up dates for its new service from Berlin to San Francisco and Los Angeles. The service from Berlin Tegel to San Francisco, originally set to begin May 1, has been pushed back to May 29; and the Berlin-Los Angeles flights, due to launch May 2, have been postponed to May 16. Passengers scheduled to travel on the earlier flights are being rebooked onto other flights via Dusseldorf, the company said. Airberlin blamed the delays on problems with its new ground handling company at Tegel Airport. The carrier plans to operate four flights a week from SFO; the LAX schedule calls for two flights a week from mid-May, with a third frequency starting in June.

Virgin Australia this week kicked off new non-stop service from Los Angeles to Melbourne. The Australian carrier will fly the route five days a week with a 777-300ER, as part of its joint venture operation with Delta. On the other coast, Delta partner Virgin Atlantic plans to convert its New York JFK-Manchester service from a seasonal to a year-round operation, with plans to continue flying the route four times a week after October 29 with an A330, then dropping down to three a week from January 14 through March 22, 2018. Delta will no longer fly the route, according to Routesonline.com.

Austrian Airlines started 777 service from LAX to Vienna. (Image: Austrian Airlines)

Austrian Airlines this week kicked off new service from Los Angeles International to Vienna. The airline’s 777-200 service starts off with five flights a week through June 12, then increases to daily frequencies. The route marks Austrian’s first non-stop service to the West Coast. The 308-seat 777 includes 48 business class seats with lie-flat seat-beds.

American Airlines is planning to change equipment on a couple of international routes out of Los Angeles later this year, according to Airlineroutes.com. Plans call for American to put 787-9s into service starting November 5 on the LAX-Sao Paulo route, and increasing frequencies from five to six a week; and on the LAX-Tokyo Narita route from August 4 to October 27. In both cases, the Dreamliners will replace 777-200ERs.

United Boeing 787 Dreamliner

United is shifting some 787s from Houston to Washington Dulles. (Photo: United)

Speaking of 787s, FlightGlobal reports that United Airlines plans to shift Dreamliner flying from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Washington Dulles this coming winter, citing a letter to pilots from UA management. The carrier will reportedly close its 787 pilots’ base at Houston. Effective with United’s winter schedule October 29, that means in addition to its existing 787 service from IAD to London and Paris, United will also use the Dreamliner for flights from Dulles to Beijing (replacing a 777-200) and to Sao Paulo (replacing a 767-400ER), while a 777-200 will go onto Houston-Frankfurt and a 767-300ER will be used for Houston-Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, United is due to begin seasonal service April 20 from Houston to Munich and from San Francisco to Frankfurt, with both routes continuing through October 27. Have you flown a United Dreamliner yet? Let us know what you think in the comments.

China’s Xiamen Airlines is due to start 787-9 service from Los Angeles to Xiamen three times a week on June 28. That schedule will increase to four a week from July 19 through August 24 with the addition of a 787-8 flight, according to Routesonline.com.

JetBlue already flies to Port-au-Prince, Haiti from New York, Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, and now it plans to add the only non-stop service to Port-au-Prince from Orlando beginning in December, subject to government approvals. The carrier said it will use a 100-seat E190 for the new service.

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Delta’s new fees for earlier flights

Want to get an earlier flight? It’ll cost more on Delta. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

It just got a little more expensive to get on an earlier Delta flight.

The airline this week boosted its fees from $50 to $75 for same-day confirmed flight changes and for standbys. That brings Delta’s fees into line with United’s and American’s.

The higher fee applies to SkyMiles Silver Medallions as well as non-elites and non-members. The fees continue to be waived for SkyMiles Gold, Platinum and Diamond Medallions. H/T Points Miles & Martinis

The relatively steep fees at the major legacy carriers bring them into sharper contrast with Southwest’s no-fee policy for changes or cancellations. Earlier this month, Southwest also relaxed restrictions on free standby privileges for its A-List and A-List Preferred customers.

(Image: Jim Glab)

Even if you’re not on Southwest, it might be possible to get on an earlier flight without paying a fee, whether or not you’re an elite-level frequent flyer or a full-fare ticket holder. The key is to be able to show the gate agent that it is in the airline’s best interest to accommodate you on an earlier flight.

  • If you get to the airport in time to grab an earlier departure, check the arrival status of the inbound aircraft that will become the outbound flight you’ve booked. (Instead of looking at the airline’s arrivals board, use FlightAware’s mobile app for greater accuracy.) If it’s coming in late, it means your departure will likely be delayed – and you might miss a connection downline. That makes it in the airline’s interest to put you on an earlier departure, especially if your connecting flight is overbooked or the last one of the day.
  • If you’re flying out of a connecting hub and have a chance for an earlier departure than the one you’ve booked, ask the gate agent about the likelihood of “miss-connects” on that earlier flight. These are connecting passengers whose inbound flights are coming in late enough that they might miss the next segment (i.e., the one you want to get on). If the airline will accommodate your request, it will not only make you a happy passenger, but will also open up a seat on the later flight for someone who missed their connection.
  • Remember that your attitude in talking to the gate agent can make all the difference – and gate agents have all the power in these situations, especially when it comes to waiving fees. These employees are busy and frequently abused by irate travelers – so taking a high-handed approach won’t get you anywhere. Don’t be overbearing, but don’t be obsequious either. Just be pleasant and seem like you’re trying to be helpful rather than demanding or annoying.
  • If you have a good reason for wanting to get home earlier, it might be worth mentioning – especially if it involves your family. Would an earlier flight get you back in time to attend your kid’s Little League game or recital? Gate agents have families, too, and it could make them a little more sympathetic to your request.

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Reader Report: United Economy Plus on new B777-300ER

Economy Plus

United’s Economy Plus on the new Boeing 777-300ER packs ’em in at 10-abreast (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United has done a great job promoting the posh Polaris business class product on its brand new Boeing 777-300ER jets. But what’s going on behind the curtain in economy class is probably more important to a larger group of flyers.

This week we heard from a TravelSkills reader who flew Economy Plus between Newark and San Francisco on the new bird and sent us some thoughts on the experience.

First a little background:  United currently has two Boeing 777-300ERs and says it will put a total of 14 of its new 777-300ERs into service during 2017. The aircraft will be configured with 60 Polaris business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout; 102 Economy Plus seats in a 3-4-3 layout; and 204 regular economy seats also in a 3-4-3 layout. Yes, that is 10-across, which seems to be the emerging economy class standard on new B777s at many carriers, including Air France, American, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qatar, and SWISS, among others.

United is rumored to be considering a “true” premium economy seat since both Delta and American have announced their intentions to do so. But there is nothing definitive from United so far. For now, Economy Plus on United is an economy seat with three extra inches of legroom.

If you have not read it already, here’s our first look at all three classes on United’s B777-300ER.

United Economy Plus

First three rows of United Economy Plus on a B777-300ER- does not appear that bad when it’s empty (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Between now and May 4, United will fly a B777-300ER between San Francisco and Newark six days per week. Late last month it deployed a second B777-300ER on SFO-Newark which means there are now two flying the route (but only through March 8). On March 25,  the aircraft will replace a 747-400 on the very competitive San Francisco-Hong Kong route (also serve by Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines).

Here’s United’s B777-300ER on Seatguru.com

So, what’s that Economy Plus section like? Here what our reader (who asked to remain anonymous) had to say:

I’m a regular reader of TravelSkills based in SF (thanks Chris for the interesting and helpful columns!) and after your post, I decided to try to new 777-300ER for a flight from EWR to SFO [5-6 hours]. Business class looked great, but I flew in Economy Plus, so here’s my review from the cheap seats.

Pros: The lighting is great. The seats are new and outfitted well (including power at every seat). Wifi actually worked pretty well on this flight.

Economy Plus United

Economy Plus on United’s B777-300ER has 34 inches of pitch (Chris McGinnis)

Cons: The economy seats are just too narrow, making the flying experience miserable. I’m not a large person, and I’ve generally enjoyed UA E+, even on long trips. (For example, I flew on a UA 787 Dreamliner SFO-SYD last month in E+ and thought it was actually quite nice.) But my experience in E+ on the 777-300ER was awful.

I found it very difficult to work, and my neighbors and I got to know each other much better than I think any of us would have wanted. You are literally pushed up against the next passenger. Admittedly, my flight was full, and I expect that it would have been a very different experience with an open seat next to me. But with high load factors these days, you can’t count on an open seat next to you.

34 inches of pitch in United Economy Plus- 31 inches in regular economy (Chris McGinnis)

Bottom Line: I understand that United is going to add these planes to its SFO-Hong Kong route and other long haul flights. I flew SFO-HKG on a UA 747 last year, and I thought it was fine (although a bit aged and admittedly not nearly as nice as United’s 787). But I absolutely would not fly a UA 777-300ER in E+ on a long route [14.5 hours] like that.

In fact, based on my experience yesterday, I will actively avoid the UA 777-300ER in E+ on any route and would pay a premium to take a different plane, make a stop, or take another carrier to avoid these absurdly cramped seats.

Economy Plus United B777-300ER

Economy Plus rows 19-22 just behind business class and in front of a bank of lavs (Chris McGinnis)

Thanks for your Reader Report! If you would like to contribute a Reader Report to TravelSkills, check out our Reader Report guidelines.

If you have not read it already, here’s our first look at all three classes on United’s B777-300ER.

Have you flown in a 10-abreast configuration on a B777 yet? Would you fly in United’s? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: United SFO-Boston + AA, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Sun Country

United p.s. 757-200 with lie-flat seats at San Francisco. (Image: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route developments, United goes flat-bed to Boston from San Francisco; American Airlines will add new spokes from its Chicago O’Hare hub; Delta plans a new California route and adds Austin service; ; Frontier announces a bunch of new routes from three cities; and Sun Country Airlines comes to Santa Rosa’s Charles Schulz Airport.

In what could be a strike back against JetBlue’s Mint service, United will be offering flat-bed first class sections on all its San Francisco-Boston flights this summer. That’s a welcome change for those achingly long 6+ hour flights. The carrier will reportedly change its aircraft mix on the SFO-BOS route starting June 8 from the current combination of 757-300s, 777-200s and 737-900s to just two types: 777-200s and 757-200s, all with lie-flat seating in the front cabin. H/T Live and Let’s Fly In other news, United plans to increase service between its Newark hub and Madison, Wis., starting May 5 with the addition of a second daily United Express roundtrip. Both flights use 50-seat Embraer 145s.

New automated TSA screening lanes in American’s Terminal 3 at Chicago O’Hare. (Image: American Airlines)

Gearing up for fresh competition with United at Chicago O’Hare, American Airlines said in a letter to employees this week that it will add several new routes to smaller markets out of ORD this summer. Starting July 5, AA will begin new service from O’Hare to Appleton, Wis.; Birmingham, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Greenville, S.C. The airline will also start flying on a seasonal basis between O’Hare and Ontario, Calif. United recently announced new O’Hare services as part of a larger domestic route expansion.

Delta plans to launch new California service from its Detroit hub later this summer. The carrier set September 5 as the starting date for six flights a week between Detroit and Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, using a 737-700. Meanwhile, Delta this week kicked off its previously announced new service linking Raleigh-Durham with Austin Bergstrom. Delta Connection/GoJet will fly the route Monday through Friday with a 76-seat CRJ-900. In June, Delta will add Austin service from Seattle as well.

Posh! A fancy ride to the airport in 19 new cities

The interior of Delta’s new Airbus A321. (Image; Delta)

In the northeast, Delta said it is responding to noise complaints from residents near New York LaGuardia by eliminating its older MD-88s– used on 30 flights a day there – and replacing them with quieter A320/321s, 737s and MD-90s. “Later this year, Delta service between Atlanta and LaGuardia will fly on larger-gauge Airbus A320s and Boeing 737-900ERs, which feature all-new, modern interiors with large, sculpted overhead bins and, on the Boeing 737-900ER, seat-back in-flight entertainment,” the carrier said. (Speaking of Atlanta, JetBlue will soon reestablish a presence there when it starts five flights a day to ATL from Boston on March 30. However, the airport appears to be messing with JetBlue, first promising gates in the nice new E Concourse, then trying to force JetBlue to accept the ghetto gates at the far end of Concourse D.)

$10 off your first Lyft ride!

Frontier Airlines is targeting Las Vegas for expansion this summer. New Frontier routes coming to LAS include Bismarck, N.D. (starting June 11 with two flights a week); Sioux Falls, S.D. (June 12, four weekly flights); Indianapolis (July 16, three flights a week); and Washington Dulles (July 16, daily service). The low-cost carrier also plans to add several routes out of Colorado Springs in June. Twice-weekly service to San Francisco begins June 11, with a third weekly flight operating seasonally. New seasonal routes from Colorado Springs include San Diego, operating daily starting June 10; Washington Dulles, also with daily flights beginning June 10; Chicago O’Hare daily service starting June 12; and Los Angeles service four times a week as of June 12. At Washington Dulles, Frontier also plans to start flying four times a week to Austin beginning April 21.

Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines plans to add a couple of new spokes to its network later this summer, but only for a limited time, and with a very limited schedule. It will offer one weekly roundtrip from MSP to California’s Charles M. Schulz Airport in Sonoma County from August 24 through December 3, and one a week to Austin from August 31 to December 10.

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Another try at orderly boarding

An orderly boarding process is the Holy Grail for airline gate agents. (Image: Jim Glab)

Airlines are constantly changing around the way the board passengers, and American and Delta are the latest to add new twists to the process.

Instead of calling out eligible boarders by category (“Executive Platinums…AAdvantage Golds” etc.), American this week started giving numbers to the relevant groups, from 1 to 9. There’s even a sort of “Group Zero” – ConciergeKey members, who can pre-board ahead of the masses.

Group 1 consists of first class passengers (or business class on a two-class international flight) and active duty military, the same as before. Group 2 covers Executive Platinums and Oneworld Emeralds, along with business class travelers on three-class aircraft. In Group 3 are Platinum Pros and regular Platinums along with Oneworld Sapphires. Those are all pretty much the same as before. Group 4 has two parts – first are AAdvantage Golds and Oneworld Rubys, followed by Alaska Airlines MVPs, AirPass members, Premium Economy passengers, Citi AAdvantage Executive cardholders, and those who purchased priority boarding privileges.

In Group 5 are those booked into Main Cabin Extra seats, along with other AAdvantage cardholders and corporate travelers whose companies have deals with American. All the above groups go through the priority boarding lane. Once they’re aboard, the next three groups, using the main boarding lane, are regular economy passengers. Bringing up the rear are price-conscious travelers who bought American’s new Basic Economy fares.

Here’s a link to American’s explanation of the new numbered groups, which American says will mean a “simplified” boarding process.

Delta’s boarding group columns at Atlanta. (Image: Delta)

Delta’s innovation is a little simpler. It’s not reorganizing boarding groups, but trying to “streamline” the process by installing pillars that will help passengers queue up into four parallel lines. (Helloooo Southwest!)

The airline is trying out the new enhancement at five of its gates in the B Concourse at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. The columns are numbered zones one through three, along with Sky Priority, the latter for premium customers and those needing special assistance.

Delta said it expects the new procedure for arranging passengers in parallel lines will mean “less crowding and confusion at the gate in addition to a more seamless transition when entering the plane.” If customer feedback is favorable, Delta said, it will expand the procedure to more airports.

Readers: Which airline do you think has the best boarding procedure, and why?

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Routes: United, Alaska at San Jose + American, Delta, Spirit

United will use 737-800s for new San Jose routes. (Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route developments, new transcontinental flights are due to start at San Jose over the next few weeks; United kicks off a transcon to Florida from San Francisco International; American launches a new California route from its Phoenix hub; Delta links two southern business centers; and Spirit comes to Pittsburgh.

Previously announced plans by United and Alaska Airlines to expand at Mineta San Jose will get off the ground next month. United’s schedule calls for the launch of new service from SJC to two of its hubs: Chicago O’Hare and Newark. The carrier will operate two flights a day between SJC and O’Hare, and one daily roundtrip to Newark Liberty International, using 737-800s. Both routes begin March 9. SJC-O’Hare is already served by American, and Southwest flies from SJC to Chicago Midway.

Just three days after United starts its SJC-Newark service, Alaska Airlines is due to begin service on the very same route, with one daily roundtrip. Both the United and Alaska flights will have early-morning eastbound departures. The only other New York-area non-stop service from San Jose is a JetBlue redeye to JFK. Alaska is also slated to klick off new service from San Jose to Hollywood Burbank Airport on March 16, with three daily roundtrips.

United also started SFO-Tampa service. (Image: Tampa International)

San Jose-Newark isn’t the only new Bay Area transcon route for United. The carrier recently began a daily 737-800 roundtrip from San Francisco International to Tampa, with an 8:30 a.m. departure from SFO. Chris was on the inaugural flight; you can read his report here. In other news, United plans to beef up capacity on its San Francisco-Boston route by using a 777-200ER for two of its six daily flights, up from one flight today, according to Routesonline.com.

California’s Sonoma County got a new air link recently when American Airlines kicked off new daily American Eagle service to its Phoenix hub from Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schulz Airport. American uses a two-class, 70-seat CRJ-700 on the route.

Delta has set a June 12 start for new service linking Nashville with Raleigh-Durham. The Delta Connection service will operate twice a day with SkyWest Airlines CRJ-900s that have 12 seats in first class, 12 in Delta Comfort+ and 52 in the main cabin. It’s Delta’s latest announcement of increased service at RDU; the carrier is due to begin RDU-Austin flights in March and RDU-Seattle in June; last fall, it added daily service from RDU to Newark and to Washington Reagan National.

Spirit Airlines is adding new service from Pittsburgh to seven cities. (Image: Spirit Airlines)

Spirit Airlines said it will add Pittsburgh International as the 61st airport on its route map this spring, with plans to start flying from PIT to seven cities. On May 25, the carrier will begin daily PIT-Dallas/Ft. Worth year-round service, as well as seasonal daily flights from PIT to Myrtle Beach. It will add three weekly flights from PIT to Ft. Lauderdale on June 15, followed by daily service to Orlando and Las Vegas beginning June 22, and daily flights to Houston and Los Angeles starting July 13.

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Should you ever book a Basic Economy fare?

American and United this week started selling Basic Economy fares. (Image: Jim Glab)

American and United this week started selling Basic Economy fares. (Image: Jim Glab)

American and United this week joined Delta in starting to sell the new Basic Economy fare category, so might be time to refresh yourself on the specifics of the fares and consider whether they would ever be appropriate for a business trip.

The highly restricted fare category was certainly not designed for business travelers; it was conceived to give the legacy carriers a way to match the fares of ultra-low-cost airlines like Spirit and Frontier. But because corporate travel departments might still require employees always to travel on the lowest available fare for domestic flights, Basic Economy could become an issue for you in the weeks and months ahead. (If your company hasn’t advised you of any changes in travel policy regarding Basic Economy, it might be worthwhile to have a talk with travel managers to make sure they understand the tradeoffs that such fares require you to make.)

The rollout at United and American will be gradual. United this week started selling the new fares on routes linking Minneapolis-St. Paul with its hubs at Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles. American is selling the fares for travel starting March 1 on routes linking Philadelphia with Charlotte, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and New Orleans, as well as Charlotte-Orlando, DFW-Baltimore-Washington, DFW-Tampa, Miami-Tampa and Miami-New Orleans. Both airlines will expand the availability of the fares in the months to come.

Basic Economy fare buyers will be the last to board. (Image: Jim Glab)

Basic Economy fare buyers will be the last to board. (Image: Jim Glab)

Probably the biggest drawback of the fares for business travelers is their inflexibility: Once you’ve bought one, you can’t make any ticket changes and you can’t get a refund if you don’t make the trip. You will also be in the last boarding group, and you can’t book a seat in advance.

The mainstream media has made much of the fact that Basic Economy fares do not entitle the traveler to bring a full-size carry-on bag and stow in in the overhead bin – only a small “personal item” is allowed, and that must go under the seat. (Delta’s Basic Economy fares, unlike American’s and United’s, do allow one carry-on.)

But preferred customers – i.e., loyalty program elites and holders of the airline’s affinity credit cards – can get a break on a couple of restrictions. They can stow a carry-on bag in the overhead, and they can still benefit from preferred boarding. In-flight service will be the same for all passengers in the economy cabin (Delta said its announcement of free meals in coach on transcontinental routes will even be offered to Basic Economy passengers), but even elite status will not let you get an upgrade – complimentary or paid – when you’re on a Basic Economy fare.

Rules vary for mileage credits earned with Basic Economy fares. On Delta, they’ll still earn Medallion Qualification Miles and Dollars at 100 percent of distance flown. On American, AAdvantage members earn award miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars based on the ticket price, but Elite Qualifying Miles and Segments are earned at a reduced rate of 0.5 per mile/flight segment. United MileagePlus members will earn award miles, but not Premier qualifying miles, segments or dollars.

You can click on the links above for specifics of United’s and American’s Basic Economy restrictions. And here’s a link to Delta’s.

So should a business traveler book a basic economy fare? Yes, maybe for a shorter trip like San Francisco to Phoenix or Atlanta to Ft Lauderdale. But when a good seat, overhead bin space and full mileage are wanted, best to steer clear. The difference in fares is likely not enough to make it worthwhile.

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Fare war: California-Chicago $100 roundtrip

Chicago continues to block Uber airport pick-ups. (Image: Jim Glab)

Chicago-California nonstops hit rock bottom for spring trips. (Image: Jim Glab)

There’s a fare war festering between major airlines and ultra-low-cost carriers between the West Coast and Chicago with fares as low as $120 round trip.  

What’s best about this deal is that it is good for spring break travel– we’ve found super low, sub $150 roundtrip fares on SFO-ORD and LAX-ORD from now through the end of May.  

The cheap fares are lead by the ultra lows: Spirit Air and Frontier. Both are offering fares as low as $100 round trip on this busy route, which is crazy. But keep in mind that you end up paying a price for using these guys…you are dinged for carry-on bags, seat assignments, and don’t get much love (or alternatives) if your flight is canceled or delayed. You might have to take a red-eye. But still, $100 round trip is tough to resist!

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We used March 1-March 8 as sample here (Google Flights)

We used March 1-March 8 LAX-ORD as sample here (Google Flights)

Majors have responded with ultra low fares of their own– we found nonstop deals on United, American, and Virgin America for as little as $120 round trip. We found American’s code share on new Alaska Air operated nonstops between San Jose and Chicago as cheap as $128. And these are regular economy fares, not the new stripped down “basic economy” fares loaded with restrictions and fees. Plus most of these flights are at decent times, you’ll still earn miles or points, and are not saddled with too many restrictions.

$200

Get $200 when booking your next trip: Use code: TS!

Southwest does not appear to be engaging in this fare war– its cheapest Oakland-Chicago Midway flights are still in the $300 roundtrip range.

Anytime we see roundtrips between California and Chicago running less than $200, we know it’s time to jump. So if this works for you, jump! It won’t last for long.

NOTE: These fares were available using Liligo and  Google Flights on Tuesday, Feb 21 and subject to change.  We also confirmed fares on individual airline sites.

Let us know if you have been successful or unsuccessful in finding these fares–put it in the comments. 

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Routes: AA, AirAsia X, Southwest, Airberlin, South African Airways + more

American plans to use a 777-200 on its LAX-Beijing route if it ever gets slots from the service. (Image: AA)

American plans to use a 777-200 on its LAX-Beijing route if it ever gets slots from the service. (Image: AA)

In international route developments, American tries to save LAX-Beijing service; Air AsiaX sets its first U.S. route; Southwest starts Oakland-Mexico flights; Airberlin gets aircraft for more U.S. flights and ends a code-share partnership; South African Airways brings a new aircraft with an improved business class to its Washington Dulles route; United expands its Newark-London schedule; and Volaris comes to Miami.

We reported a few weeks ago that American Airlines’ plan to begin daily Los Angeles-Beijing service had hit a big snag because China wouldn’t give it any slots at Beijing’s Capital International Airport. American has been facing a March 16 deadline set by the U.S. Transportation Department to start flying the route, but now it has asked DOT for a one-year extension. AA said in its filing that it has been in regular contact with Chinese aviation officials about the slot situation, and that it is going to send a senior executive to China to discuss the matter. American told DOT it “fully expects” that its efforts will eventually be successful.

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia X has settled on Honolulu as its first U.S. destination following the recent FAA decision to let it fly to this country. The carrier plans to fly four times a week from Kuala Lumpur to Honolulu via a two-hour stopover in Osaka, Japan, starting June 28. The airline has set introductory base fares as low as $112 each way to KL (including taxes and fees), or $673 for its flat-bed premium seats, with a purchase deadline of February 26.

Southwest at Oakland

Southwest Airlines jets at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)

Southwest Airlines this week kicked off its first international service out of Oakland International Airport, operating daily flights from OAK to both Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos. The airport is expanding its International Arrivals Building this year in anticipation of a significant increase in international traffic, officials said. The work should be finished in the third quarter.

Airberlin has acquired three more Airbus A330-200s that it said will allow it to continue building up its service between the U.S. and its German hubs at Berlin and Dusseldorf.  The airline announced a few months ago that it plans to begin new non-stops in May between Los Angeles-Berlin four times a week and San Francisco-Berlin three times a week. It already operates from both U.S. airports to Dusseldorf during the summer. It also said it would expand Miami and New York frequencies to Berlin and add Orlando-Dusseldorf service. And now Routesonline.com is reporting that Airberlin will extend some seasonal routes to year-round service starting this fall, including San Francisco-Berlin and SFO-Dusseldorf, both operating four times a week, as well as Orlando-Dusseldorf (five times a week) and Boston-Dusseldorf (four a week). In other news, American Airlines plans to end its code-sharing agreement with Airberlin effective March 26. Both are members of the Oneworld alliance.

The new business class on South African Airways' A330-300. (Image: SAA)

The new business class on South African Airways’ A330-300. (Image: SAA)

South African Airways has started flying a new Airbus A330-300 on its three weekly flights between Washington Dulles and Johannesburg via Dakar, Senegal, and in June it will add the new aircraft to its four weekly IAD-JNB flights that operate via Accra, Ghana. The SAA A330-300 includes an upgraded 46-seat business class product with flat-bed seats in a 1-2-1 layout, an improved on-demand entertainment system and power and USB ports at each seat. The aircraft has a 203-seat economy class with a 2-4-2 configuration.

United Airlines plans to add a sixth daily roundtrip to its Newark-London Heathrow route for the summer season, effective April 5 to October 28. The extra flight, departing EWR at 9:30 p.m. and arriving in London at 9:40 a.m., will use a two-class 767-300.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris this month added Miami International to its route map, kicking off daily A320 service to Mexico City and four flights a week to Guadalajara.

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At LAX: New United terminal, Qantas hangar, American & Delta swap

QANTAS LAX

A new home for Qantas’ lumbering jets at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United is said to be looking for more space – perhaps a new terminal – at Los Angeles International; also at LAX, American and Delta shift some gates and Qantas finally opens a big new hangar out by the beach.

United Airlines President Scott Kirby told pilots recently that the airline plans to increase its presence at Los Angeles International in the years ahead, in an effort to catch up with market share gains made there by American and Delta says Bloomberg News. (United’s share at LAX is estimated at 15 percent, vs. 16 for Delta and 20 for American.) But to do that, he said United will need more terminal space – either in existing terminals or in a new terminal. He referred to a possible Terminal 9, Bloomberg said.

An old plan for LAX shows a Terminal 9 linked to Concourse 8 by a bridge, and a commuter terminal. (Image: GPA Architects)

An old plan for LAX shows a Terminal 9 linked to Concourse 8 by a bridge, and a commuter terminal. (Image: GPA Architects)

That was apparently a reference to a long-dormant plan at LAX to build a terminal across Sepulveda Boulevard from the existing Concourse 8, with a passenger bridge over the roadway connecting the two terminals. If so, it would add even more construction hassles to the already huge agenda for expansion at the airport. United currently uses Terminal 7’s Concourses 7 and 8, and it has been carrying out a big renovation project there, including the recent opening of a new United Club.

Last week Qantas opened its new state-of-the-art hangar– the first to be built at LAX in the last 20 years. It is capable of fitting an A380 completely inside either nose- or tail-in. It is also capable of accommodating other aircraft types including the B747 and 787 Dreamliner (entering service later this year). It also includes the carrier’s corporate office space and ground support equipment facilities. It’s located WAY out on the western edge of airport grounds by the beach– you’ll get a good gander of it on the rare occasion flights land from the west. In the video above, watch how Qantas carefully parks a big A380 in its new digs. Qantas’ old hangar was recently demolished to make way for a big extension of the Tom Bradley International Terminal- more about that here. 
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In other LAX news, the airport announced that effective January 31, American Airlines is shifting four boarding gates and its American Eagle shuttle bus gate from Terminal 6 to Terminal 5. The new AA T5 gates are 50A, 50B, 53A, 53B and 52 (the shuttle bus gate). As for the gates American is leaving in T6, Delta will take them over temporarily, the airport said. “This is the first step in the months-long process that will eventually relocate all of Delta’s operations from its current Terminals 5 and 6 to Terminals 2 and 3, as soon as this May,” a spokesman said.

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American’s new amenity kits: Stylish and reusable

Trendy new amenity kits by American Airlines in collaboration with Cole Haan (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Trendy new amenity kits by American Airlines in collaboration with Cole Haan (Photo: Kim Grimes)

American Airlines and Cole Haan partnered on inflight amenity kits last year and now they’re back with a second edition for 2017.

By Kim Grimes

The carrier sent TravelSkills a handful of the fashionable new kits as a sneak peek, so let’s take a look:

Amenity kits for transcontinental flight passengers (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Amenity kits for transcontinental flight passengers (Photo: Kim Grimes)

There are two different transcon amenity kits, one for business class and one for first class.

This transcon kit looks nice, but isn't as substantial as the other kits (Photo: Kim Grimes)

This transcon business class kit looks nice, but isn’t as substantial as the others (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The business class kit features a diagonal-cut flap and brown button clasp. It’s the only amenity kit in the new line that has American Airlines branding directly on it, but it’s fairly discreet. This kit probably has the least reuse value out of the four since there are two large slits in the back that small items could slip out of, but it’s durable enough to keep things in during a flight.

Inside, passengers will find a toothbrush, Crest toothpaste, earplugs, an eye mask, and polyester socks. There’s also a C.O. Bigelow refreshing travel kit inside that includes lip balm and lime and coriander scented body lotion.

First class transcon kit features

First class transcon kit features Clark’s Botanicals instead of C.O. Bigelow (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The first class version of the transcon kit is very stylish and has a handy pocket in the front that can be used for notes or boarding passes. It could easily be reused as a pen or makeup case. This kit comes with all of the same things as the business class kit except for the C.O. Bigelow items. Personal care items in this kit are provided by Clark’s Botanicals and include ultra rich lip balm, moisturizing hand cream, and a refreshing hand wipe. The kit also includes a small packet of tissues.

International flight kits are super durable (Photo: Kim Grimes)

AA’s new international flight kits are super durable (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Two different amenity kits are provided for passengers flying business class or first class on international flights.

AA's international business class kit is spacious and resilient (Photo: Kim Grimes)

AA’s international business class kit is spacious and resilient (Photo: Kim Grimes)

The kit for international business class has a rectangular shape that feels really comfortable to hold. The embossed pattern on the bottom half acts as a nice grip. It comes with a toothbrush, Crest toothpaste, C.O. Bigelow mouthwash, earplugs, an eye mask, Bose headphone covers, polyester socks, a packet of tissues, and a pen. Also inside is the C.O. Bigelow refreshing travel kit including lime and coriander body lotion and a tube of lip balm.

Unfold this kit to reuse as a trendy tablet case! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

Unfold this international first class kit to reuse as a trendy tablet case! (Photo: Kim Grimes)

International first class passengers receive an amenity kit that can be reused as a clutch purse or tablet case. The kit looks nice folded in half showing off its contrasting colors, but when you lift the flap you’ll have a case big enough for your tablet with brown on one side and the patterned navy on the other.

Inside this amenity kit passengers will find a toothbrush, Crest toothpaste, mouthwash, earplugs, an eye mask, Bose headphone covers, polyester socks, a packet of tissues, and a pen. Luxury skincare brand 3LAB has provided their ultimate travel collection in these kits as well. It comes with their PERFECT Lips lip balm, PERFECT hand cream, and “M” Cream.

These new pajamas are soft and comfortable (Photo: Kim Grimes)

These new pajamas are soft and comfortable (Photo: Kim Grimes)

American Airlines has also come out with new pajamas for first class passengers. They’re surprisingly soft and comfortable with the airline’s eagle icon on the bottom of the shirt. The pajama set is pretty lightweight but still provides a nice amount of warmth. I wore them instead of my fleece pajamas for a few nights and slept soundly without having to turn up my heater.

You can check out these new items throughout 2017 on American Airlines’ transcontinental and international flights– and be on the lookout for slight changes in colors every quarter.

American Airlines hopes that you’ll reuse their amenity kits in innovative ways and invites you to share how you reuse your amenity kits using the hashtag #GreatestFlyers. Will you be picking up and reusing one of these fashionable kits this year? Are amenity kits even necessary? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Is this really the best frequent flyer program?

Which frequent flyer plan is best? It depends on what you measure. (Image: Jim Glab)

Which frequent flyer plan is best? It depends on what you measure. (Image: Jim Glab)

An annual analysis of airline loyalty programs by Wallethub.com finds that for frequent travelers – which it defines as those who spend an average of $5,743 a year on air travel – the three best options are Delta, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue.

We have heard readers remark that “Delta’s the best airline with the worst frequent flyer program,” but this is the second year in a row that Delta’s SkyMiles topped the Wallethub results in its overall score – not just for frequent travelers, but for average and infrequent travelers as well.

The Wallethub study is noteworthy for its comprehensiveness – it uses 23 different metrics to evaluate programs of the 11 largest domestic airlines; it breaks down results according to the amount of money a traveler spends on air fare each year; and it works with a sizeable team of academics and experts. It even offers a calculator where you can enter your air travel budget and get a recommendation of the loyalty programs that are likely best for you.

wallet1

Of course, frequent flyer programs are a moving target for comparative analysis these days; American’s AAdvantage just this month transitioned from a mileage-based to a revenue-based model, like several of its major competitors; and Virgin America’s Elevate program is in the process of being merged with Alaska’s Mileage Plan. Still, the Wallethub experts do their best to make their comparisons meaningful.

In looking at rewards value for frequent travelers, Wallethub.com found that Hawaiian Airlines offered the best return, at $21.38 per $100 spent. Alaska ranked second at $19.96, followed by Virgin America at $17.02.

wallet2

The results vary considerably based on which of the study’s metrics you look at. For instance, United outdistanced all its rivals in the number of airline partners in its program (39, vs. 28 for Delta and 24 for American). But in “ease of achieving elite status,” the unlikely winner was Frontier, achieving the maximum possible score of 3.0, followed by Spirit and Hawaiian at 2.47 each, then JetBlue at 2.43; by comparison, Delta’s score was just 0.35, American’s was 0.71 and United’s was 0.96.

 In the category of membership perks for frequent travelers, with a maximum possible score of 5.0, United and Virgin America scored highest at 4.5, followed by Alaska at 4.0, Delta and Hawaiian at 3.67 and American at 3.5

Another interesting tidbit from the study: Buying miles to top off your account may be expedient, but it’s not necessarily a good deal. Miles cost an average of 62 percent more than they’re worth when you buy them rather than earn them by flying, the report noted.

Click on the link above and you can see the full results, including that interactive calculator and a comprehensive chart that shows how each of the 11 airlines scored on each of the many metrics in the study.

What’s the best frequent flyer program for you? Do you love em, or hate em? 

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Mineta San Jose airport adding even more flights in 2017

United Airlines 737-800

United Airlines Boeing 737-800s will soon fly nonstop to New York and Chicago from San Jose (Image: Chad Slattery / United)

With major U.S. airlines adding more flights at Mineta San Jose International this winter and spring, and with international flight options taking off, the airport has been making substantial improvements to handle increased passenger traffic.

New domestic flights starting in the first half of the New Year include:

  • A pair of new nonstops for United Airlines, both starting March 9. United will begin twice-daily flights to its big hub at Chicago O’Hare, and one daily roundtrip to its East Coast hub at Newark Liberty International. United will use 737-800s on both routes.
  • Staking a bigger claim in California, Alaska Airlines will inaugurate new transcontinental service on the SJC-Newark route on March 12, operating one daily roundtrip, followed by new intrastate service three times a day from San Jose to Hollywood-Burbank beginning March 16. These are the fourth and fifth new Alaska Airlines routes at SJC since late 2015, giving the carrier a total of 16 destinations.
  • On May 1, Air Canada is due to add a third daily frequency between San Jose-Vancouver.
  • American Airlines’ seasonal service between San Jose and Charlotte is set to resume May 5.
  • Delta will boost its presence at San Jose beginning May 25, when it expands its schedule to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson from two flights a day to three.
  • And Southwest will kick off daily San Jose-Reno service June 4.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

First stop: SJC's new business class lounge

SJC’s popular business class lounge awarded “Priority Pass Lounge of the Year for North America.” (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Even without these new flights, SJC has been experiencing healthy growth in passenger numbers. Through the first 10 months of 2016, the domestic passenger count topped the 4 million mark, an increase of more than 7 percent year-over-year. And thanks to new flights across both the Atlantic and Pacific, international traffic at SJC jumped more than 68 percent during that period.

New and improved passenger amenities at Mineta San Jose make life easier for travelers. The three-year-old Club at SJC in Terminal A, a lounge open to all travelers on a paid basis and also a part of the Priority Pass network of airport lounges, was recently named the Priority Pass Airport Lounge of the Year for North America.

International travelers at SJC are finding their lives a little easier thanks to recent improvements that help them to speed through passenger processing. Precheck logo TMMany domestic travelers rely on TSA’s PreCheck program to move through security screening more quickly, but now some international travelers at San Jose can also take advantage of that benefit: Lufthansa – which began San Jose-Frankfurt flights last summer – recently became the first European airline to begin participation in PreCheck.

International travelers at SJC can now download Customs and Border Protection’s free Mobile Passport Control app on their phones or tablets and use it to submit their passport data and Customs declaration form to CBP. A coded electronic receipt shown to the CBP officer lets them move quickly through the arrivals process. And the airport also offers CBP’s Global Entry kiosks for international arrivals who belong to that trusted traveler program, allowing them to bypass lines. Also available at SJC are Automated Passport Control kiosks where arriving travelers can submit their entry information.

Mobile Passport Control

No need to fill out paper customs and immigration forms when you have the new Mobile Passport Control app

And more enhancements are on the way. This spring, the airport is expected to finish a renovation of its International Arrivals Building that will add 5,600 square feet along with a second baggage carousel and an enclosed waiting area.

A look at what the new International Arrivals lobby (Image: SJC)

A image of the future International Arrivals lobby (Image: SJC)

On a lighter note, Mineta San Jose has garnered attention and acclaim for its recent deployment of three interactive customer service robots – an appropriate innovation for an airport that serves as the gateway to Silicon Valley. Even more interactive robots – smaller ones – are featured in the airport’s new play area for children in Terminal B.

You can find more details about new San Jose routes here.

This post is sponsored by Mineta San Jose International Airport  

San Jose Airport banner

Disclosure: Thank you for reading TravelSkills! We will periodically send out messages like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel.  Our sponsors’ support, and yours, help us keep TravelSkills a free publication. 


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Delta gets a new international partnership

A new Aeromexico 787 Dreamliner. (Image: Aeromexico)

A new Aeromexico 787 Dreamliner. (Image: Aeromexico)

Delta and Aeromexico have accepted government restrictions and agreed to move ahead with a joint venture partnership.

When the Transportation Department initially approved the airlines’ application for antitrust immunity last month, it said they would have to give up several slots at New York JFK and Mexico City to preserve competition in the market. Delta and Aeromexico balked at that mandate, and suggested they might drop the whole idea.

But DOT held firm in its demands and now the two carriers have agreed to abide by the restrictions and will move forward with a joint venture for transborder operations. That means they will be able to coordinate routes, schedules, pricing, and sales activities, and “enhance the alignment of their respective frequent flyer programs,” DOT said.

But the airlines must give up enough takeoff and landing slots next year to provide new competition on 24 daily transborder flights from Mexico City and four from New York JFK. “The Department found these conditions necessary to prevent harm to consumers that would result from the carriers’ dominant positions at MEX and JFK and the inability of new entrant carriers to access slots at the airports,” DOT said. The agency also set a five-year time limit on the grant of antitrust immunity.

Image: Delta

Image: Delta

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the new partnership “will make it possible for us to offer customers more flights to more destinations, with more choices every time someone travels across the border.” Both airlines are members of the SkyTeam alliance.

aeromexidlDelta also holds a minority stake in Aeromexico, which it has been increasing in recent months. It’s part of Delta’s global strategy to expand through partnerships that include partial ownership in foreign carriers. The airline also holds equity stakes in Virgin Atlantic, Brazil’s Gol and China Eastern Airlines.

The Transportation Department has been getting tougher with airlines’ antitrust immunity. Last month, the agency turned down a request by American and Qantas for immunity that would allow them to more closely cooperate on transpacific schedules and fares. The two airlines initially got immunity in 2011, but at that time American didn’t fly to Australia and the two airlines had no overlapping routes.

That changed in the years since, with American starting new routes from Los Angeles to Sydney and Auckland and Qantas adding Dallas flights, so their antitrust immunity needed a new approval. DOT said a new approval of immunity would create an anticompetitive environment since the two carriers now provide almost 60 percent of the seats in the U.S.-Australia market.

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How much to fly to Havana? Not much!

Havana Cuba car

Hot competition is leading to super low fares to Havana this winter (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

With nearly every major airline taking the deep dive into Cuba this month, you may be wondering: Hmmm. I’m curious about going there, but how much might it cost? Here’s the answer: Not much! For example, flights from the New York City area are on sale now for just $205 roundtrip and even lower elsewhere.

And if you are looking for an unusual place for a warm winter trip, you may want to pounce on these sale fares. Want even more incentives to go to Cuba soon? President-elect Donald Trump is talking about reversing the recent opening of Cuba to American visitors.

Also, according to Bloomberg, interest in flying to Cuba is less than expected, with some airlines already trimming their schedules. And low demand means lower fares!

Here’s a rundown of deals from LA, SF, ATL, NYC and Miami. Check Google Flights for fares from the airport nearest to you.

(Note: Fares available on Thursday Dec 1 and subject to change)

From Los Angeles, you can get to Havana for around $350 from January through June on several different airlines, but only one nonstop- Alaska Air, and it has the cheapest fare at just $303. Spirit actually has some LAX-HAV fares as low as $286- but you have to layer on extra fees for Spirit flights.

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San Francisco does not have any nonstop flights to Cuba, but one-stop flights on several carriers are running as low as $376 all winter long. JetBlue has the best deals via New York or Ft Lauderdale

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From Atlanta, Spirit Air will jet you down to Havana for about $210 round trip (plus fees!) and Delta’s nonstop is just over $300 round trip for winter trips.

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The New York City area has excellent prices from three major players on nonstops– just $205 roundtrip in January and February on Delta, JetBlue and United.

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From Miami or Ft Lauderdale you’ll find the cheapest nonstop roundtrip fares of all– just $130. And yes, that is round trip.

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So, are you ready to give Cuba a try? Been there yet? Please leave your comments below.

Don’t miss: Chris’ Trip Report from first trip to Cuba!

Shave in Cuba

Chris getting a shave in Cienfuegos, Cuba

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Routes: Havana, London, Doha, Paris, China, Panama City, Mexico City

Havana this week became the 100th point on JetBlue's route map. (Image: JetBlue)

Havana this week became the 100th point on JetBlue’s route map. (Image: JetBlue)

In international route developments, major U.S. carriers this week started service to Havana; Virgin Atlantic expands capacity out of Los Angeles; Qatar Airways will add another U.S. gateway; Norwegian increases service to Paris; two carriers add Vancouver routes to China, and one begins Las Vegas flights; San Francisco gets more capacity to Panama; and a Mexican low-cost carrier starts a Chicago route.

Major U.S. airlines this week are starting their long-planned new service to Havana, Cuba. American Airlines operated the first scheduled flight in 50 years, on its new Miami-Havana route. American also kicked off Havana service from its Charlotte hub this week. United Airlines started flying from its Newark hub to Havana, and this weekend it will add a weekly Saturday flight from Houston Bush Intercontinental to the Cuban capital. Havana became the 100th city on JetBlue’s route map, with the carrier starting service there this week from New York JFK, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale.

Delta on December 1 is set to begin Havana flights from Atlanta, Miami and New York JFK. And there’s more to come, including Southwest Airlines service to Havana from Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale beginning December 12, and Alaska Airlines’ service from Los Angeles starting January 5. Despite all the hoopla about U.S. airlines returning to Cuba, there is still some uncertainty about whether or not the incoming Trump Administration will allow these flights – and other Obama-initiated liberalizations – to continue. Trump has threatened to end some or all of the new U.S.-Cuba initiatives unless he can get a better “deal” from the Cubans.

Virgin Atlantic's LAX Clubhouse has views of the runway and the Hollywood Hills. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Virgin Atlantic’s LAX Clubhouse has views of the runway and, in a really clear day, the Hollywood Hills. (Image: Virgin Atlantic)

Delta SkyMiles members on the west coast will see more capacity to London Heathrow in 2017 as Delta joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic plans to add a third daily Los Angeles-LHR flight starting on May 1. All three of Virgin’s daily LAX-London flights will use three-class 787-9s. The three flights will depart LAX at 5:50 p.m., 6:30 p.m. (the new one) and 8:55 p.m. (Interesting to note that all of Virgin’s SFO-LHR flights are now on 787s, too.)

Qatar Airways, which started service from Doha to three new U.S. cities this year – Atlanta, Boston and Los Angeles – said it plans to add Las Vegas as its 11th U.S. gateway in 2017, although it hasn’t yet announced a starting date or schedule details.

Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Paris in 2017. (Image: Creative Commons)

Norwegian plans to increase capacity between the U.S. and Paris in 2017. (Image: Norweigan)

According to Routesonline.com, Norwegian plans to add Orlando-Paris Charles de Gaulle as its newest transatlantic route in 2017, starting service July 31 with one 787 flight a week. The report said Norwegian will also increase capacity on other U.S. routes to Paris at the end of July, boosting Los Angeles-CDG frequencies from two a week to four; New York JFK-CDG from four a week to daily flights; and Ft. Lauderdale-CDG from one to two a week for the summer season.

December 2 is the launch date for Hainan Airlines’ new Las Vegas-Beijing route. The carrier will use a 787 to operate three flights a week. In other China developments, China Eastern Airlines is due to begin a new route between Vancouver and Nanjing three times a week beginning December 20, using an Airbus A330-200; it already flies from Vancouver to Shanghai and Kunming. And Hong Kong Airlines plans to launch daily Hong Kong-Vancouver flights – subject to government approvals – on June 30 as its first North American route.

At San Francisco International, Panama’s Copa Airlines — a Star Alliance member — has added a second daily roundtrip to Panama City with the unfortunate departure time of 12:38 a.m. from SFO.  And at Chicago O’Hare, Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet has started flying to Mexico City. The airline is operating two flights a day with 150-seat Airbus A320s.

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Delta details plush premium economy plans

Delta's premium economy cabin will debut on its A350s in about a year. (Image: Delta)

Check out the waffle weave on Delta’s premium economy cabin which will debut on its A350s next year. (Image: Delta)

Last spring, a few months after American Airlines announced that it would put a new premium economy class of seating into its international fleet, Delta promised that it would do the same – but it offered no specifics except to say the product would debut on its new Airbus A350s. Well, today Delta unveiled the details of that new seating class.

Delta said the new cabin, called simply Delta Premium, will be introduced on select international A350 flights starting in fall of 2017; in 2018, Delta Premium will spread to the airline’s 777 aircraft, and “additional fleets may be added,” Delta said.

The new seating will provide “up to” 38 inches of pitch, 19 inches of seat width, and seven inches of recline, Delta said, along with adjustable leg and head rests and power ports. Seatbacks will have 13.3-inch high-res video screens, and Delta Premium passengers will get noise-canceling headphones, Westin Heavenly in-flight blankets and Tumi amenity kits.

Delta Premium

Delta’s A350s will have 48 premium economy seats- this one is in the recline position note footrest (Image: Delta)

At the airport, Delta Premium customers will be offered a pre-departure beverage service and the benefits of the airline’s Sky Priority service – faster check-in and security screening, priority boarding and expedited baggage handling. There’s no word yet on the pricing premium that Delta will charge for the new seating category.

The new Delta Premium cabin will be distinct from and superior to the airline’s extra-legroom Comfort+ economy seats, which it started selling earlier this year as a separate fare category. Speaking of Comfort+, will that option still be there in between regular economy and Delta Premium seating? “Comfort+ will not be available on the A350,” a Delta spokeswoman told TravelSkills.

Delta said the A350s will have 32 Delta One suites, 48 Delta Premium seats in a 2-4-2 layout and 226 main cabin seats. These are the same planes on which Delta will introduce its new Delta One suites, which it calls “the world’s first business class cabin to feature a sliding door at each suite.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Singapore Airlines also has premium economy seating on its new A350s, which started flying to San Francisco last month. See Chris’s first-person trip report plus images of SIA’s premium economy cabin.

______________________________________________________________________________

Delta's A350s will also debut its new Delta One business cabin. (Image:" Del;ta)

Delta’s A350s will also debut the new Delta One business cabin. (Image: Delta)

This is a busy time for new international cabin classes on U.S. carriers. American’s new premium economy product will make its first appearance starting this week on the airline’s new 787-9s flying from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Madrid and Sao Paulo.

And in just a few weeks – starting December 1 – United’s new Polaris international business class is due to start appearing on its 777-300ERs, and United officials will cut the ribbon on a new Polaris business class lounge at Chicago O’Hare — the first of nine new lounges coming to the airline’s primary international airports.

Delta’s announcement leaves United as the only one of the U.S. Big Three international carriers that has not yet issued any plans to add premium economy seating to its long-haul fleet.

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Update on Alaska-Virgin talks with regulators

Alaska Airlines & Virgin America's merger has been slightly delayed. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

Alaska Airlines & Virgin America’s merger has been slightly delayed. (Image: Alaska Airlines)

A few weeks ago, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America said they were extending their anticipated date for winning Justice Department merger approval from late September to October 17. But the latter date has come and gone with no further word. So what’s going on?

According to media reports, the airlines are still involved in discussions with the Justice Department’s antitrust specialists. No one seems to think that DOJ will try to block the merger (according to TheStreet.com), but it may seek to impose some conditions on its approval.

Reuters, citing sources close to the talks, said that DOJ might require Alaska to terminate one or more of its existing code-share partnerships with other domestic airlines in order to gain antitrust approval, or at least to reduce the scope of that code-sharing to fewer routes.

Alaska currently has domestic code-sharing partnerships with Delta and American. Given the heated ongoing competitive battle between Alaska and Delta at Seattle, it’s unlikely that Alaska would be too upset about ending those code-shares. American might be another matter; last spring, Alaska and AA implemented a substantial expansion of code-sharing on domestic routes.

According to Reuters, JP Morgan analysts estimated that the Delta and American code-sharing partnerships bring about $350 million in annual revenues to Alaska.

Sir Richard Branson wants to keep the Virgin name alive in the U.S. (Photo: Nancy Branka)

Sir Richard Branson wants to keep the Virgin name alive in the U.S. (Photo: Nancy Branka)

Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson told a Dallas TV station this week that if Alaska ultimately decides to fold Virgin America into the Alaska brand, he is likely to start up another new carrier with the Virgin name.

“I hope the Virgin America brand never goes away,” Branson said in an interview Dallas’ Channel 8 WFAA. “If Alaska decides to drop the brand – because we didn’t actually want the sale to happen – we’ll start again and Virgin America will very much back here.”

How likely is it that the Virgin American brand will survive long term? We’d love to hear your thoughts. 

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LAX gets faster security screening lanes

The new lanes, like this one at Atlanta, let five travelers load bins at once. (Image: Delta)

The new lanes, like this one at Atlanta, let five travelers load bins at once. (Image: Delta)

The deployment of a new design for TSA security screening lanes takes another step forward this week as the faster processing comes to Los Angeles International Airport.

In a joint effort by United Airlines and TSA, the new “innovation lanes” are due to go into use this week in United’s Terminal 7 at LAX.  The new design permits up to five passengers at once to load their personal items into bins on conveyor belts, instead of doing so one at a time.

The lanes also feature “return” belts that bring empty bins back to the start of the process, sparing TSA workers the chore of doing that manually. And bags that are determined to need more detailed inspection after being x-rayed are shunted off the main conveyor so they don’t slow down the line.  The new lanes were first introduced earlier this year by Delta and TSA at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International.

The two United lanes in T7 are expected to be joined by at least nine more in other LAX terminals by the end of 2017. In Atlanta, use of the new lanes has reportedly reduced waiting times in security screening lines by 30 percent.

TSA said it has reduced long waiting lines to manageable levels. (Image: Jim Glab)

TSA said it has succeeded in reducing long waiting lines to manageable levels. (Image: Jim Glab)

United has said it is also bringing the new lane design to its hubs at Chicago O’Hare and Newark Liberty International. At the latter airport, United plans to combine four existing security checkpoints into one central facility with 17 lanes.

American Airlines is also on board with the new lanes, planning to bring them to its Phoenix Sky Harbor hub by the end of this year, followed by installations at Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, LAX and Miami.

TSA and the airlines put the “innovation lanes” on a fast track this year after the agency started facing extra-long wait times for security screening at the beginning of the busy summer travel season. The agency also budgeted more for overtime, urged more travelers to join its PreCheck program, and started hiring more screeners to deal with the problem, and officials said last month that it all worked. They said their efforts reduced waiting time to 30 minutes or less for 98 percent of travelers, and to 15 minutes or less for 92 percent. PreCheck members typically wait five minutes or less, TSA said.

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Love a lie-flat seat? You’ll love this…

Lie-flat front cabin seating on a Delta 757-200. (Image: Delta)

Lie-flat front cabin seating on a Delta 757-200. (Image: Delta)

Delta’s announcement this week that it will introduce lie-flat first class seats next spring on a new transcontinental route is just the latest step in a growing expansion of flat-bed front-cabin seats on routes across the country – an expansion largely fueled by JetBlue’s increased commitment to its Mint premium service.

Delta said it will use a 757-200 with flat-bed seats in first class when it starts flying on April 24 between Los Angeles International and Washington D.C.’s close-in, Reagan National Airport (DCA) which is preferred by most with business in the district. (Because perimeter rules limit DCA to just a handful of flights longer than 1,250 miles, Delta said it will drop one of its two daily DCA-Salt Lake City flights, but will begin a new flight from Salt Lake to Washington Dulles.)

The introduction of lie-flat front-cabin seats on domestic flights a few years ago was initially limited to service between the New York area and San Francisco and Los Angeles, where it is now offered by American and Delta out of New York JFK and by United’s “p.s.” service out of Newark Liberty International. When JetBlue rolled out its competing Mint premium cabins with lie-flat seats, it initially did so in those same two transcon markets out of JFK.

TravelSkills editor Chris McGinnis is in Washington DC this week-- flew nonstop SFO-Washington National on Virgin America

Washington National Airport gets lie-flat seats from Delta (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

But Delta has also introduced lie-flat seats on 757-200s between JFK and its growing Seattle hub. And that market has become one of several targeted by JetBlue in a big expansion of its Mint service.

JetBlue recently added the Mint option to its Boston-San Francisco route, and is doing the same on Boston-LAX this fall. And earlier this year, the carrier announced its intention to bring lie-flat Mint seating to even more transcontinental routes, with plans to increase the size of its Mint-equipped A321 fleet from 17 planes to 31 by 2017.

Transcontinental routes that JetBlue has targeted for Mint service expansion in the months ahead include Seattle-Boston, Seattle-JFK, San Diego-JFK, San Diego-Boston, San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas-JFK.

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

Two months ago, Delta unveiled plans for new routes out of Boston next year, including twice-daily service to San Francisco with 757-200s. (Although the announcement didn’t specify that these aircraft will have lie-flat front-cabin seating, it seems a safe assumption given JetBlue’s Mint service in that market.) JetBlue then said it will lay on a fourth daily Mint-equipped Boston-San Francisco flight next summer.

Virgin America has a nice premium cabin on its transcon routes, but the seats do not recline fully flat. The airline has talked about refreshing its front cabin, but that has taken a back seat to the impending merger of Virgin and Alaska Airlines. The combined carrier (assuming they are eventually combined rather than remaining as separate brands under common ownership) will have a big stake in transcon Seattle markets as well as SFO-JFK and LAX-JFK. The question is, what will Alaska decide to do with the front cabin product?

Whatever it decides, Alaska is already committed to adding a new Premium Class cabin to its 737-800s, 900s and 900ERs – not just regular coach seats with extra legroom, but an actual premium product with extra amenities and perks, situated between first class and economy.

Will that be the next big battlefield in transcontinental passenger options? How important is a lie-flat seat to you on transcon flights? Please leave your comments below. 

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Airlines start rolling out Havana schedules, fares

Cuba cars

Vintage cars serve as tourist taxis in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolucion (Chris McGinnis)

One Caribbean capital is about to experience what could be the biggest influx of new airline service from the U.S. of all times. In early July, the Transportation Department approved routes to Havana, Cuba for several U.S. airlines. Those route awards were finalized in late August, and airlines have started to announce their inaugural service dates for late fall and winter. Some are still subject to Cuban government approvals.

Alaska Airlines, which will have the only non-stop service to Havana from the West Coast, has set a January 5 start for its new Los Angeles-Havana flights, which will depart LAX at 8:50 a.m. The flight will originate in Seattle. Roundtrip fares from LAX start at $490.

Because the purpose of a traveler’s visit must fall within one of a dozen specific categories, and other formalities and requirements must be met, Alaska has posted  a handy blog page with details for customers to know before they book their flight. Alaska said it is working with Cuba Travel Services to help customers obtain visas, accommodations and ground transportation at the destination.

Here is a link to the U.S. government’s official restrictions on travel to Cuba; scroll down to Page 10 to find specifics of the 12 categories of travel.

Havana nonstops

Nonstops to Havana from U.S. airlines. (Image: Great Circle Mapper)

Delta has targeted December 1 for the launch of daily flights to Havana from Miami and New York JFK along with one-stop service from Atlanta. For travel in February, we found roundtrip fares starting at $200 from Miami, $410 from JFK and $452 from Atlanta.

United Airlines has set a November 29 start for daily non-stops from Newark to Havana, followed on December 3 by weekly Saturday service from Houston Bush Intercontinental to the Cuban capital. Fares in January start at $413 roundtrip from Newark and $513 from Houston.

November 30 is the target date for American Airlines’ new daily flight to Havana from its Charlotte hub. American was also awarded rights for four daily roundtrips from Miami, although it hasn’t yet announced a starting date for those. January roundtrip fares start at $421 from Charlotte.

Shave in Cuba

Chris getting a shave in Cienfuegos, Cuba in May 2016

Frontier Airlines on December 1 is expected to start daily service from Miami to Havana, and will offer connections to that flight from Denver and Las Vegas.

Other new Havana routes expected to start in the next few months include JetBlue service from JFK, Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando; Southwest Airlines flights from Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa; and Spirit Airlines from Ft. Lauderdale. Several airlines have already started or are about to launch service on routes to secondary cities and beach resorts in Cuba; those routes were awarded earlier.

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Routes: AA, Air India, Cathay, WOW, Air Canada, Royal Air Maroc + more

Business class seats on an American 777-300ER. (Image: American)

Business class seats on an American 777-300ER. (Image: American)

The latest international route developments include American’s launch of a new transpacific route, along with its plans to add some flights to Europe and cancel others; Air India boosting San Francisco frequencies; Royal Air Maroc adding a new U.S. gateway; a new SFO route from a U.K. carrier; increased service between Boston and Hong Kong; a European carrier adding Miami service; and new U.S. routes from Air Canada and Aeromexico.

American Airlines last week kicked off its new non-stop daily service between Los Angeles International and Hong Kong, a 15-hour trip with an unfortunate LAX departure time of 1:55 a.m. American also code-shares with Oneworld partner Cathay Pacific’s three daily LAX-Hong Kong flights. American is using a three-class 777-300ER on the route; it also flies to Hong Kong from its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub.

Across the Atlantic, American plans to add a trio of new routes next spring, and to cancel some others. May 5 is the starting date for new daily AA service from Chicago O’Hare to Barcelona, using a 787-8; from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Amsterdam, with a 767-300ER; and DFW to Rome, using a 777-200ER.  The airline will discontinue its New York JFK-Birmingham 757 service effective January 6, and will not operate the seasonal summer service it had previously offered from Chicago to Dusseldorf, Philadelphia to Brussels, and Philadelphia to Zurich. Meanwhile, American will also change aircraft this winter on two routes out of DFW, replacing 777-200ERs with 787-9s on flights to Paris starting January 9 and to Seoul as of February 16.

Air India's first flight from New Delhi arrived at SFO before dawn. (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Air India uses a 777-200 on its San Francisco route. (Image: Peter Biaggi/SFO)

Air India started flying between San Francisco and Delhi last December, with three flights a week. But now it plans a big change in that route, one that will let it increase frequencies to six a week. The schedule increase takes effect November 21. Air India will still use a 777-200LR, but will change the flight from a transatlantic one to a transpacific routing. Although the transpacific distance between the cities is longer than the current routing, the flight time from Delhi to SFO is expected to be reduced by three hours due to strong tailwinds on the eastbound sector.

Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc has added its third North American gateway, launching new service last week between Casablanca and Washington Dulles. The airline also flies to New York JFK and Montreal. Royal Air Maroc is using a 787 Dreamliner on the Dulles route, which departs Washington three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Virgin Atlantic will be getting a little competition on the new San Francisco-Manchester route that it announced last spring. Virgin will fly the route three times a week starting next summer, using an A330. Now Thomas Cook Airlines, a leisure-oriented U.K. carrier, says it will also fly between SFO and Manchester, operating two flights a week starting in May 2017. The carrier already flies to six other U.S. cities from Manchester.

Cathay Pacific, which started flying from Hong Kong to Boston last year with four flights a week, announced plans to expand that schedule to daily non-stops beginning on March 27. The carrier uses a 777-300ER on the route, with first class, business class, premium economy and regular economy seating.

WOW Air will use an A330 on its new Miami-Reykjavik route. (Image: WOW Air)

WOW Air will use an A330 on its new Miami-Reykjavik route. (Image: WOW Air)

WOW, the Icelandic ultra-low-cost airline, plans to add Miami as its next U.S. gateway. The carrier will use an Airbus A330 to begin service April 5 between Miami and Reykjavik, offering one-way fares to Iceland starting at $99 and connecting fares to European capitals starting at $149 – plus add-ons, of course.

In North America, Air Canada said it will begin new service on February 5 linking Vancouver with Dallas/Ft. Worth, operating a daily 75-seat CRJ-705 flight under the Air Canada Express brand. And on November 17, Aeromexico will start flying four days a week between Mexico City and Austin, using a 76-seat Embraer 170.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts! Shocked passenger refuses to pay $3 for water | More Delta SkyMiles for Asian trips | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | JetBlue-Delta slugfest means lower fares | Test your planespotting skills! )

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International routes update: Delta, Air China, United, Hainan, Turkish, Southwest, American + more

Air China will use an A330-200 between San Jose and Shanghai. (Image: Mehdi Nazarinia/Wikimedia Commons)

Air China will use an A330-200 between San Jose and Shanghai. (Image: Mehdi Nazarinia/Wikimedia Commons)

In international routes news, Air China comes to San Jose; Delta is dropping routes to Tokyo and Moscow; Las Vegas gets a Beijing flight; Southwest and American plan new service to Mexico from LAX; LaCompagnie suspends London flights; Copa doubles up on San Francisco service; Air Canada trims San Diego-Vancouver capacity; Turkish trims flights to US and EVA adds more seats from Seattle to Taipei. Also, stay tuned to TravelSkills for some really good route news for Oakland coming out this Thursday.

Mineta San Jose International Airport added another international route last week when Air China kicked off new service from SJC to Shanghai – the airline’s only route to Shanghai from North America. Air China is using a two-class, 237-seat Airbus A330-200 on the route, departing San Jose on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Departure time from SJC is 1:30 p.m. for the 12.5-hour flight, with arrival in Shanghai at 4:40 p.m. the next day.

Delta, which recently won new rights to operate daytime flights to Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport from Los Angeles and Minneapolis-St. Paul, said it plans to discontinue its daily New York JFK-Tokyo Narita service on October 2. On October 3, Delta will axe its daily Narita-Osaka flight, and on October 29 it will end its daily Narita-Bangkok service. The airline will still fly to Narita from Seattle, Portland, Detroit and Atlanta. Meanwhile, Delta this week suspended its New York-Moscow non-stop service for the season, with plans to resume the flights in May 2017.

Las Vegas will also get new service to China by year’s end. Hainan Airlines has applied for government approval to fly three times a week between Las Vegas and Beijing, with a starting date of December 2. Hainan has been growing its U.S. presence in recent months, and currently flies from San Jose to Beijing, Los Angeles to Changsha, and Seattle to Beijing and Shanghai.

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Domestic Routes Roundup | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

Southwest will add three routes from LAX to Mexico. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest will add three routes from LAX to Mexico. (Image: Jim Glab)

Both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines apparently see room for growth in the Los Angeles-Mexico market. American is planning to start new daily 737-800 flights on December 15 from LAX to both Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. And Southwest on December 4 will launch twice-daily service from LAX to both Cancun and San Jose del Cabo, as well as one flight a day between LAX and Puerto Vallarta. Meanwhile, Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris plans to begin new service December 1 between Denver and Monterrey, Mexico, operating two A320 flights a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

United is switching up equipment on key routes between SFO and Europe for the winter season starting October 30. On SFO-London it will run two 777-200ERs instead of the current 777 and 787 Dreamliner. On SFO-Paris, the current 767-300ER will be replaced with a 787.

Panama’s Copa Airlines, a member of United’s Star Alliance, plans to increase service between Panama City and United’s San Francisco hub. Effective November 1, Copa will increase its schedule on the route from one to two 737-800 flights a day. (Regrettably both departures from SFO are red-eyes, arriving Panama City in the morning.)

All-business-class La Compagnie blames Brexit for dropping Newark-London flights. (Image: La Compagnie)

All-business-class La Compagnie blames Brexit for dropping Newark-London flights. (Image: La Compagnie)

La Compagnie, a niche carrier that offers transatlantic all-business-class flights with 74-seat 757s, said that it will drop its route linking Newark with London’s Luton Airport effective September 25. In October, the carrier will add a second daily flight to its Newark-Paris CDG route. In explaining its decision to drop Newark-London service, La Compagnie said that the recent decision by British voters to take the U.K. out of the European Union – aka Brexit – “has created an unprecedented level of legal and economic uncertainty for airlines that service Great Britain.” 

Taiwan’s EVA Air will boost capacity this fall on its route to Taipei from Seattle. The carrier plans to add a second flight three days a week, for a total of 10 a week, beginning November 19. EVA will use a 777-300ER for the extra flights.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is cutting back on weekly frequencies, but not to SFO, pictured here (Chris McGinnis)

Turkish Airlines is reducing frequencies to several US cities in the wake of the downturn in demand due to recent events as well as the slower winter season ahead. Airline Routes is reporting service cutbacks (but no elimination of service) between Istanbul and Atlanta, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami.

Air Canada currently operates an Air Canada Rouge A319 on its daily San Diego-Vancouver route.  But the carrier plans to temporarily suspend the route effective October 17, and when it resumes service December 14, it will downsize to a CRJ-705 operated by Air Canada Express. Elsewhere in Canada, Westjet plans to convert its seasonal Calgary-New York JFK service into a year-round route, operating six flights a week when its winter schedule begins October 30.

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Domestic Routes Roundup | Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

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Routes Roundup: United, Delta, JetBlue, AA, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier

United SFO

United & Delta adding even more flights at SFO (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

There’s plenty of domestic route news to catch up on from the last few weeks. United and Delta are adding routes from San Francisco; Alaska and Delta are doing the same at Seattle; United is growing at San Jose; JetBlue is adding service at Long Beach; and new routes are coming at American, Southwest and Frontier. (We’ll post an international routes update later this week.)

At San Francisco, United plans to begin service next spring to both Detroit and Cincinnati. Effective June 8, the airline will operate one daily A319 roundtrip in each market, competing against Delta. And from December 17 through April 1, United will fly once a week (on Saturdays) with a CRJ-700 from San Francisco to Kalispell, Montana.

United also revealed plans to bulk up at San Jose by adding new 737-800 flights starting March 9 from SJC to its hubs at Chicago O’Hare and Newark. The carrier will fly twice a day to O’Hare and once a day to Newark. (United’s planned San Jose-Newark flight will begin just three days before Alaska Airlines’ recently announced new service on the same route, which will have the same departure time from SJC.) American and Southwest both fly from SJC to Chicago, and JetBlue serves the SJC-New York JFK market. Meanwhile, United on September 7 is due to launch new service to Chattanooga, Tenn., from both Newark and Chicago O’Hare, with two daily flights in each market.

In October, United will discontinue its existing twice-daily intra-California service between San Francisco and Santa Maria, which is operated by United Express/Skywest with a CRJ-200. On the other coast, United set a November 29 termination date for its twice-daily United Express service between Newark and Binghamton, New York.  But on December 16, United plans to resume seasonal flights between its Washington Dulles hub and Ft. Lauderdale, with one flight a day through January 4, then two a day until May 4.

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

Delta's premium economy seat, Economy Comfort (Photo: Delta)

Delta adding SFO-Boston nonstops using a 757s (Photo: Delta)

Delta has unveiled plans for a growth spurt at Boston next spring, including a resumption of Boston-San Francisco service. The carrier will offer two BOS-SFO flights a day, using 757-200s, beginning June 8. On the same date, Delta will double its Boston-Seattle schedule from one daily flight to two. Delta will also begin new Delta Connection/Endeavor Air service between Boston and Nashville, with one daily flight using a two-class CRJ-900. Also coming from Delta is new service from Seattle to Eugene, Oregon, with three daily CRJ-700 flights beginning April 1; and a new daily roundtrip between Seattle and Raleigh-Durham effective June 8.

Long Beach, California will get more service from JetBlue next year. The carrier set a January 4 launch for new Long Beach-San Jose service, where it will offer four daily roundtrips. The airline will also beef up its schedules on existing Long Beach routes, adding three more flights a day to Las Vegas, one extra departure to San Francisco, and one more to Salt Lake City. (The Bay Area will also get new service to Long Beach from Southwest in June, when the carrier is set to launch four flights a day from Oakland.) Elsewhere on its system, JetBlue plans to add new daily service on January 12 between Chicago O’Hare and Ft. Lauderdale, but on January 11 it will discontinue service between O’Hare and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

JetBlue will begin San Jose-Long Beach flights in 2017. (Image: Jim Glab)

JetBlue will begin San Jose-Long Beach flights in January. (Image: Jim Glab)

Alaska Airlines will continue to build up its Seattle hub next spring with the addition of two more routes to the Midwest. On April 13, Alaska will kick off new daily service from SEA to Wichita, Kans., with a SkyWest Embraer 175; and on May 11 it will add new daily 737 roundtrips between SEA and Indianapolis.

The spring schedule from Southwest Airlines, which begins in March, includes new daily service between Houston Hobby and Omaha, along with new twice-daily flights between Newark and Ft. Lauderdale. At the same time, the airline will begin seasonal daily service linking Las Vegas with Minneapolis-St. Paul.

SkyWest, operating as American Eagle, will begin new daily service November 4 linking AA’s Phoenix hub with St. George, Utah. The flight will use a 50-seat CRJ-200. On the east coast, American has scheduled a December 15 start for new American Eagle/Republic Airlines service between New York’s Westchester County Airport and Miami, offering two flights a day with two-class E-175s.

Ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines plans a December 6 expansion at Phoenix, where it will begin service to Milwaukee and St. Louis, each with four flights a week; and to Nashville and Des Moines, each with three flights a week.

On December 15, American will launch daily roundtrips from Phoenix to Santa Fe and Sioux Falls. The Santa Fe flights will use a SkyWest CRJ 700, and the Sioux Falls service will be operated by a Mesa Airlines CRJ 900.

–Chris McGinnis

(We’re back from summer vacation! In case you missed our other recent round-up posts, here they are: Tips from a Hawaiian Vacation | August’s most important travel news)

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JetBlue lie-flat seats coming to an airport near you?

JetBlue A321

More of JetBlue’s new A321s will come equipped with Mint cabins. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Claiming that its premium-cabin Mint service has “opened up a new market untapped by other carriers,” JetBlue said this week it has big long-term plans to keep expanding Mint to new markets beyond those it has already announced. But will it succeed?

The company said it has amended its long-term purchase agreement with Airbus to bring even more new A321s to its fleet, many of them configured with Mint premium cabins. By the end of this year, JetBlue said, it will have 17 Mint-equipped A321s; by 2017, it will have 31.

Equipped with lie-flat seats and offering “curated” food and amenities and “hospitality trained” flight attendants, JetBlue’s Mint service was initially introduced on the New York JFK-Los Angeles and JFK-San Francisco routes to give business travelers a lower-cost alternative to the lie-flat premium seating in specially-configured aircraft operated by American, Delta and United on those two key transcontinental routes (United last fall moved its p.s. transcon service from JFK to Newark).

JetBlue has big plans for expanding its Mint service. (Image: JetBlue)

JetBlue will add Mint to these cities, and eventually even more(Image: JetBlue)

And apparently the experiment has worked: JetBlue said that since it introduced Mint in 2014, routes that offer the premium service have become some of its most profitable. “Revenue per available seat mile on Mint routes has grown 20 percent since 2014, and Mint has helped attract new corporate clients and west coast point of sale,” the company said.

JetBlue recently added Mint to transcontinental flights between Boston and San Francisco, and will bring it to Boston-LAX flights this fall. This past spring, the carrier said it will expand Mint service over the next two years to even more transcontinental markets, including Seattle-Boston, Seattle-JFK, San Francisco-Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles-Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas-JFK. It has also started adding Mint service on a few select Caribbean routes from New York and Boston.

Have you flown Mint yet? Check out our Trip Report here!

JetBlue's Mint class offers upgraded meals. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

JetBlue’s Mint class offers upgraded meals. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In announcing the addition of more Mint-equipped A321s to its fleet, JetBlue didn’t reveal any more new routes for the service, although it suggested it may add more frequencies to existing LAX and SFO transcon routes.  But citing its success in “outperforming competitors” on Mint’s existing routes, it said that “transcontinental markets outside of New York and Los Angeles are prime for similar disruption. For example, only 5 percent of transcontinental flights over 1,800 miles consistently offer regularly scheduled lie-flat seats.”

According to Bloomberg, JetBlue is considering using its new tranche of planes for trans-Atlantic flights. 

This makes us wonder: How many markets of more than 1,800 miles can support front cabins with lie-flat seats, and how many more customers will be willing and able to ante up the fare premium? Is JetBlue trying to position itself for a future transcon battle not against the Big Three but against a combined Alaska-Virgin America? Neither of those airlines has true lie-flat premium seats on transcon routes, and although Virgin is said to be planning a first class refit, lie-flat seats are apparently not part of those plans.

Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, Alaska hasn’t yet figured out whether to keep operating Virgin as a separate brand, or two fully merge the two – and if so, how?

JetBlue

A JetBlue Mint seat in full recline (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Meanwhile, as JetBlue expands its transcon front cabins, will it be able to maintain a cost savings over the premium service of its Big Three competitors? Even now, that advantage appears to be eroding. A random check of premium cabin prices between JFK and LAX for mid-September finds JetBlue’s Mint in the same general space as the Big Three, with roundtrip fares ranging from roughly $1,150 to $1,600.

In other news, JetBlue said that it expects to grow significantly at California’s Long Beach Airport, adding nine new daily flights there starting in the fourth quarter of this year. It didn’t say where the new flights will operate from Long Beach, but it noted those routes will not offer Mint service.

So what do you think? Would you fly JetBlue if it brought Mint to an airport near you? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Routes: United, Singapore, Delta, American, Airberlin, LATAM, Volaris

United will add a second daily San Francisco-Shanghai flight with a 787-9. (Image: United)

United will add a second daily San Francisco-Shanghai flight with a 787-9. (Image: United)

In international route news, United will increase Shanghai service but drop Vietnam; Singapore Airlines will reroute its eastbound Houston to Singapore flight; Delta will increase its Caribbean presence via code-sharing; American will trim its LAX-Brazil schedule; Airberlin will add more U.S. flights and expand code-sharing with American; LATAM adds a new Miami market; and Mexico’s Volaris plans two new U.S. routes.

According to Routesonline.com, United Airlines plans to add a second daily flight between San Francisco and Shanghai Pudong, and has already opened it up for reservations. The second frequency is due to begin on October 14, using a 787-9 Dreamliner, although the carrier is expected to replace that with a 787-8 next spring.  Meanwhile, United also plans to discontinue service to Vietnam at the end of October when it terminates its current Hong Kong-Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) route, which it serves with a 737-800. A United spokesman tells TravelSkills that the carrier is working with its joint venture partner ANA to offer a greater number of new connections to Ho Chi Minh City via Tokyo Narita than United currently offers through Hong Kong.

Effective October 30, Singapore Airlines will make a big change in its eastbound flight from Houston Bush Intercontinental to Singapore, which currently operates via a stop in Moscow. After October, the carrier will drop Moscow from that route, replacing it with a stop in Manchester, England. The five-days-a-week service will depart Houston at 8:15 p.m., arriving in Manchester at 10:05 a.m. and eventually in Singapore at 8:20 a.m.

Delta will add Caribbean destinations via code-sharing with Seaborne Airlines. (Image: Delta)

Delta will add Caribbean destinations via code-sharing with Seaborne Airlines. (Image: Delta)

Delta has filed for Transportation Department approval to begin code-sharing with San Juan-based regional carrier Seaborne Airlines. The planned code-sharing would put Delta flight numbers onto Seaborne flights from San Juan to five destinations not currently served by Delta: Beef Island in the British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Nevis; Anguilla; and La Romana in the Dominican Republic. The code-sharing would also increase Delta-coded flights from San Juan to destinations already served by the Atlanta-based carrier, including St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

American Airlines plans to reduce frequencies between Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Brazil from seven flights a week to five effective December 1, and will also change planes on the route from a 787-8 to a 777-200ER.

Airberlin will boost U.S. schedules this winter. (Image: Airberlin)

Airberlin will boost U.S. schedules this winter. (Image: Airberlin)

In Europe, meanwhile, American has added more code-share routes with partner Airberlin, putting its code onto the latter’s flights from Dusseldorf to Bologna, Florence, Stockholm and Venice; Frankfurt to Palma de Mallorca; and Munich to Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg. Meanwhile, effective with its winter schedule starting in November, Airberlin will increase Miami-Berlin service from two flights a week to four, and New York-Dusseldorf service from seven flights a week to eight. The carrier is also adding a new daily New York-Berlin flight, and extending its Los Angeles-Dusseldorf service from seasonal to year-round. Airberlin will also boost Chicago-Berlin frequencies from four flights a week to five, and Ft. Myers-Dusseldorf from three a week to four.

LATAM Airlines Brazil has set a September 24 start for new once-a-week service on Saturdays between Miami and Recife, Brazil, using a two-class 767.

Mexico’s low-cost Volaris Airlines has added a couple of more U.S. routes, launching service three times a week from Seattle to its Guadalajara hub, and twice a week from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Monterrey. Both routes use A320s.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Routes: Alaska, JetSuite, Southwest, United, American, Spirit, Frontier

Alaska Airlines 737 New Livery

Alaska Airlines will add several routes into Newark (Image: Alaska Air)

In domestic route news, Alaska will add several routes into Newark; JetSuite plans a new California Corridor route; Southwest has its eye on Long Beach-Las Vegas service; United and American grow at Memphis; and Frontier and Spirit expand their Florida presence.

Taking advantage of the FAA’s decision to open up more takeoff and landing slots at Newark Liberty International Airport this fall, Alaska Airlines said it plans to add new flights there from four West Coast cities. On November 10, Alaska will begin one daily roundtrip from Portland to Newark, followed on November 21 by a new daily flight from San Diego to Newark; neither of the eastbound flights will be red-eyes. Then in 2017, Alaska will add a daily flight from San Jose to Newark on March 12, along with a third daily Seattle-Newark roundtrip beginning May 14.

Alaska also said it will begin twice-weekly seasonal service between Portland and Sun Valley, Idaho, operating from December 17 to April 1 and again from June 14 to September 16, 2017, using a Horizon Air Q400 turboprop.

JetSuiteX will add another California Corridor route. (Image: JetSuite)

JetSuiteX will add another California Corridor route. (Image: JetSuite)

Earlier this year, a private jet operator called JetSuite launched a new service between Burbank and Concord, California (just east of San Francisco) called JetSuiteX, selling single seats on scheduled departures of 30-seat Embraer 135s. And now the company plans to add a new JetSuiteX route on August 15, linking Burbank and San Jose with 12 weekly roundtrips and introductory fares as low as $99.

Last month, Southwest Airlines added Long Beach, California to its route map, launching four daily roundtrips to Oakland. And now Southwest plans to add daily Long Beach-Las Vegas flights beginning September 18, with introductory fares starting at $39. But the Long Beach-Las Vegas service is only scheduled to continue through the end of December.

American and United are planning to increase capacity out of Memphis, according to the Memphis Business Journal. It said that on August 23, American will replace smaller regional jets and an MD-82 with 160-seat 737s for its two daily Memphis-Dallas/Ft. Worth flights; and on October 6, it will add a fourth daily weekday flight between Memphis and Washington Reagan National. On October 31, the publication reported, United plans to replace a CRJ-700 with a 166-seat 737 for one of its two daily Memphis-Denver flights. This month, American eclipsed Delta as Memphis’ largest carrier.

Spirit Airlines is expanding its Florida network. (Photo: Spirit)

Spirit Airlines is expanding its Florida network. (Photo: Spirit)

Spirit Airlines will boost its presence at Orlando this fall, adding daily service to five cities, including Boston and Philadelphia starting October 7; Kansas City beginning November 10; and Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, N.Y. as of November 17. Also on November 10, Spirit will kick off new daily non-stops from Baltimore/Washington to both Tampa and Fort Myers, Fla.

On October 30, Frontier Airlines is planning to launch daily roundtrips from San Diego to Orlando, as well as three weekly flights linking Orlando with Des Moines, Iowa. Meanwhile, Frontier will also trim its schedule at Pittsburgh at the end of October, discontinuing service to Atlanta and to Chicago O’Hare.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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DEAL! US – Australia roundtrips under $900

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Take in a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a lot less! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Fares from some US cities to Australia have dropped just in time to book a year end getaway.  Nonstop flights from LAX – Sydney are down to $870 round trip for fall trips! These fares is available on Delta, United, and American so you can enjoy the discount and remain loyal to your alliance. Similar fares are available to Melbourne and Brisbane, too.

The cheapest one-stop round trip we found from SFO – SYD was on Delta: $828 with 1 stop at LAX. Round trip fares from ATL – SYD are also $828 on United with one stop at SFO. (Source: Google Flights)

(Image: Google Flights)

(Image: Google Flights)

Any time we see fares to Australia dip below $1,000, we know we have a really good deal on our hands.

According to Google Flights, all of these cheap fares are available for travel dates starting now through mid-December. Book now to make sure you get these good deals and take a last-minute summer trip or a fall vacation. As temperatures start to cool down in the US, it will be nice to escape to Australian springtime.

NOTE: Fares valid when posted at 1:15pm on Wednesday, July 20.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Tokyo Haneda daytime rights: The winners are…

Four U.S. airlines won rights to use daytime slots at Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

Four U.S. airlines won rights to use daytime slots at Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport. (Image: Haneda Airport)

Ever since Japan opened up Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport to transpacific flights, U.S. carriers have struggled to make their Haneda routes work – mostly because they were stuck with consumer-unfriendly takeoff and landing slots in the middle of the night. Since the U.S. and Japan recently negotiated some changes that allow for daytime slots at the airport, U.S. airlines have been clamoring to win those rights – and now the Transportation Department has made a tentative decision on those applications.

The agency said its initial decision awards daytime slots at Haneda to American Airlines and Delta from Los Angeles, United from San Francisco, Hawaiian from Honolulu and Delta from Minneapolis-St. Paul.

“Three of the cities – Los Angeles, Honolulu, and San Francisco – already have service to Haneda, but those services have been required to operate at night only.  Under the new agreement, carriers may arrive and depart Haneda during more favorable daytime hours.  The new route from Minneapolis also is included in that group,” DOT said.

Earlier, DOT had awarded Hawaiian a new nighttime slot for service from Kona and Honolulu to Haneda. The agency said service on all the newly awarded Haneda daytime routes could begin as soon as this fall.

American had also applied for daytime slots at Haneda for service from Dallas/Ft. Worth, but that was not among the new rights granted by DOT. Likewise Delta did not win authority for new Haneda service from Atlanta (it already flies Atlanta-Narita). The DOT suggested that if Delta’s service to Haneda from Minneapolis-St. Paul doesn’t work out, those rights might be shifted to American for a DFW-Haneda route.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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United gets on TSA’s speedy screening lines bandwagon

New TSA lanes at ATL let up to five travelers load bins at once. (Image: Delta)

New TSA lanes at ATL let up to five travelers load bins at once. (Image: Delta)

As the Transportation Security Administration continues its efforts to get travelers through airport screening faster, United Airlines is the latest carrier to unveil plans for new “automated” screening lanes at key hub airports.

Delta was the first carrier on board with the new program, when it cooperated with TSA in the installation of new screening equipment and procedures at a TSA checkpoint in Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson earlier this year. Then a few weeks ago, American Airlines announced similar plans for its screening lanes at Phoenix Sky Harbor this fall, to be followed by Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, and Miami International.  And now United plans to bring the “automated” lanes to its hubs as well, starting with Newark Liberty this fall and then to Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles International.

United’s plans also call for the reconfiguration and consolidation of passenger screening checkpoints at Newark, O’Hare and Los Angeles. That includes combining four existing checkpoints at Newark’s Terminal C into one centralized facility with 17 lanes.

The new lanes feature automated belts that extend back farther so that passengers don’t have to keep pushing the bins of their belongings into the x-ray machines, and they allow up to five travelers at once to put their bins onto the belt, instead of doing it one at a time. The systems also have new conveyor belts that return empty bins back to the head of the screening line so that TSA employees don’t have to do it. If a passenger’s bag is determined to need a closer look after being x-rayed, that bag is automatically shunted off the main belt for further inspection without holding up the line.

United's Terminal C at Newark will be the first of its hubs to get the new screening lines. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

United’s Terminal C at Newark will be the first of its hubs to get the new screening lines. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Based on the results of the new screening configuration at Atlanta’s airport, TSA said the revised equipment and procedures should reduce line time for screening by 30 percent.

United will also work with TSA in opening up a temporary PreCheck enrollment center in downtown Chicago’s Willis Tower next month, followed by new permanent enrollment centers at its hub airports in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Newark and Chicago.

And the above installations could be just the beginning. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told USA Today that the agency hopes to see up to 60 of the new screening lanes in place at the nation’s busiest airports by the end of the year.

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Brexit cutbacks hitting Delta, others

Will the U.K.'s Brexit vote discourage U.S.-U.K. air travel? (Image: Jim Glab)

Will the U.K.’s Brexit vote discourage U.S.-U.K. air travel? (Image: Jim Glab)

After voters in the U.K. voted last month to leave the European Union, there was wide speculation that airline travel might be one of the first sectors to suffer from the results of that blockbuster referendum. And now those shock waves are starting to show.

In announcing its quarterly earnings this week, Delta said it has decided to reduce capacity between the U.S. and the U.K. by six percentage points from its previously planned winter schedule. It didn’t specify which routes might take the brunt of the cutbacks or if they will be evenly spread, but it blamed the decision on “the additional foreign currency pressure from the steep drop in the British pound and the economic uncertainty from Brexit.” Meaning: It’s getting a lot more expensive for Brits to visit the U.S. and other countries, and fewer are expected to travel in coming months.

Delta said that will be a major factor in the airline reducing its overall system capacity by one point in the December quarter. There has been no word yet from other airlines in the U.S.-U.K. market about any changes in their schedules, but it is reasonable to expect similar capacity caution from Delta partner Virgin Atlantic, the American-British Airways joint venture, and United.

London's prestigious Savoy Hotel will become part of AccorHotels. (Image: The Savoy)

London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel a much better deal for Americans these days (Image: The Savoy)

The U.K. newspaper The Independent said the plunge in the value of the pound relative to the dollar is discouraging U.K. travel to North America, and lingering fears among U.S. citizens of terrorist attacks are having a dampening effect on demand for eastbound travel, in spite of the greater buying power of the dollar in Britain.

In any case, those factors could already be contributing to lower fares for business travelers. A check on Google Flights this week found August fares that are about half off of “normal” – i.e., nonstop business class to London is going for as low as $3,500 roundtrip from the west coast and just $2,600 from New York.

In its own analysis of the Brexit impact, the International Air Travel Association predicted that the U.K. air passenger market is likely to be 3 to 5 percent lower by 2020 than it would have been if the vote had gone the other way.

How has Brexit affected your travel plans? Or has it affected them at all yet? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: How to get the BEST summer fare deals | One airline fee fading fast | Trip Report: Aer Lingus Economy Class | 5 top jobs for frequent travelers  | First class phase out coming soon

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Routes: LAX, SFO, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, New York, Atlanta + more

Fiji Airways SFO

SFO’s latest arrival from the exotic South Seas! (Photo: Peter Biaggo/SFO)

In international route news, American next week adds new transpacific flights from Los Angeles; Swiss brings its fancy new 777 to the Los Angeles-Zurich route, while Emirates doubles down on LAX service with a big sports sponsorship; San Francisco gets a new route to the South Pacific; Germany’s Condor Airlines unveils some new U.S. routes, including Seattle and San Diego; TAP Air Portugal adds two U.S. gateways with upgraded aircraft; Delta trims service to a South American city from Atlanta; and two U.S. airlines start selling tickets for scheduled service to Cuba.

American Airlines next week will kick off its newest transpacific route: On June 23 it will start flying a 787-8 Dreamliner between Los Angeles International and Auckland, New Zealand as part of its growing joint venture partnership with Qantas, ending Air New Zealand’s non-stop monopoly on that route. The aircraft’s business class offers personal suites with 77-inch lie-flat seat-beds, direct aisle access for every seat, and a walk-up bar stocked with drinks and snacks. The economy cabin offers a Main Cabin Extra seating option with five extra inches of legroom, and both cabins have Wi-Fi and AC/USB ports at every seat.

Also at Los Angeles International, Swiss has started flying the LAX-Zurich route  with its new 777-300ERs, the flagships of its international long-haul fleet. The aircraft boasts redesigned and upgraded interiors with first, business and economy class. Take a look here at some photos of the plane that we ran last year when the carrier introduced them. Swiss had planned to start flying the 777-300ER to San Francisco in August, but as we reported last month, that introduction has been postponed until February 2017.

emiratesfas

Emirates flight attendants visited Dodger Stadium to promote the airline’s expanded LAX service. (Image: Emirates)

Meanwhile, Emirates is due to lay on a second daily A380 flight starting July 1 between Los Angeles and Dubai, and it is counting on a new sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to draw attention to the airline in that big market. The airline even brought some of its flight attendants onto the field during a recent game at Dodger Stadium to promote the tie-in.

At San Francisco International, Fiji Airways this week kicked off seasonal service to Nadi, Fiji, using a two-class A330 for the 10-hour flight. It will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, through mid-August, then will resume from mid-December through mid-January.

Germany’s Condor Airlines, a leisure-oriented carrier that belongs to the Thomas Cook Group, plans to add some U.S. routes in 2017, including the only non-stops between Seattle and Munich. That route will begin in July 2017 with twice-weekly service. Condor already flies between Seattle and Frankfurt, and recently extended that to year-round service. Also in Condor’s 2017 plans: twice-weekly seasonal flights between Frankfurt and New Orleans from May through September; three flights week starting May 1 between Frankfurt-San Diego; and twice-weekly service beginning May 2 between Munich and Las Vegas.

TAP Portugal is using upgraded A330s on new Boston and New York routes. (Image: Airbus)

TAP Portugal is using upgraded A330s on new Boston and New York routes. (Image: Airbus)

TAP Portugal just started new daily service between Lisbon and Boston Logan, and will add daily Lisbon-New York JFK service July 1. Both routes are using A330s that feature TAP’s new executive class cabin with lie-flat seats. The aircraft also features a new, advanced in-flight entertainment system; and the economy cabin has two kinds of seating, offering 34-inch and 31-inch pitch. The airline already serves Newark and Miami from Lisbon.

At its Atlanta hub, Delta on August 30 will reduce service to Medellin, Colombia, cutting back from the current daily frequencies to just three a week. Delta uses a 737-700 on the route.

Following the Transportation Department’s recent award of Cuba route rights (except Havana) to U.S. carriers for regular scheduled service, some of them have started selling tickets to the island nation. American will start flying once or twice a day from Miami to Cienfuegos and Holguin on September 7; from Miami to Camaguey and Santa Clara September 9; and from Miami to Varadero September 11. Silver Airways will start service September 1 from Ft. Lauderdale to Santa Clara, followed by flights out of Ft. Lauderdale to Camaguey, Cienfuegos and Holguin in October; to Santiago and Cayo Coco in November; and to Varadero, Cayo Largo and Manzanillo in December.

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What’s missing from DOT’s Cuba flights announcement?

Cienfuegos Palacio Azul

The lovely Palacio Azul in Cienfuegos, a tiny Cuban city set for nonstop flights from the US (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The U.S. Transportation Department has issued a long-awaited decision awarding U.S. airlines new route authority to fly to Cuba, but it left out one major destination.

Several U.S. carriers had applied for as much route authority as they thought they could handle, anticipating a boom in U.S. travel to the island nation following the Obama Administration’s decision to open up relations with Cuba. In its decision Friday, DOT gave its approval to six U.S. carriers, five U.S. cities and nine Cuban destinations for new air service beginning as soon as this fall.

But the Cuban capital of Havana was not among the cities listed. And Havana is the big prize. 

The U.S.-Cuba aviation pact provides for each country to operate up to 10 daily roundtrips between the U.S. and Cuba’s nine airports other than Havana, or a maximum total of 90 flights a day. Over the longer term, it also allows up to 20 daily roundtrips between the U.S. and Havana.

DOT said the requests it received from U.S carriers for Havana rights totaled almost 60 flights a day – too many to sort through for the initial route awards. “A decision on the Havana routes will be announced later this summer,” DOT said.

Related: Curious about traveling in Cuba? Then read this!

Santiago Cuba Cathedral

Cathedral in central Santiago, Cuba’s second largest city, and one I’d definitely fly back to, is getting new nonstops from the US (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In its initial decision, DOT designated Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Philadelphia for scheduled service to the Cuban cities of Camaguey, Cayo Coco, Cayo Largo, Cienfuegos, Holguin, Manzanillo, Matanzas, Santa Clara and Santiago de Cuba. U.S. carriers winning route authority included American, Frontier, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest and Sun Country.

Notably absent from this list: Delta and United, which we expect to be on the list for Havana flights.

In the wake of DOT’s announcement, American Airlines said it expects to begin scheduled flights in September from its Miami hub to five of the destinations, while JetBlue plans to launch service to three Cuban destinations from Ft. Lauderdale.

As of now, there is still no word on how much it might cost jump on a commercial flight to Cuba. Flights on the current charter flights are in the $500 range, roundtrip.

While most Caribbean islands have just one international airport, Cuba is a much larger place – it’s 750 miles long, with a population of 11 million – and has built up some tourism infrastructure over the years, mostly accommodating visitors from Canada and Europe.

Are you planning to visit Cuba in the next year? Why or why not? Please leave your comments below. 

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This airline fee is fading fast

Delta will offer free Delta Studio programming by July 1. (Image: Delta)

Delta will offer free Delta Studio programming by July 1. (Image: Delta)

After years of watching airlines pile on new fees for every imaginable service and amenity, it’s a little jarring to hear that they plan to start offering something for free. But that’s what’s happening with in-flight entertainment at Delta and United.

Delta said that by July 1, its Delta Studio selection of in-flight entertainment programming will be offered at no charge for all customers on its two-class aircraft, which includes 90 percent of its fleet.

The carrier said the Delta Studio selections – which provide up to 300 films, 750 TV shows, 100 foreign films, 2,400 music tracks, and live satellite TV on some planes – will be available via streaming to personal electronic devices on 1,000 aircraft, and through seat-back entertainment systems on 400 planes that have them. “Entertainment options will vary by aircraft type and route,” Delta said, with more details available at www.delta.com./studio.

Standard economy seats get 9 inch screens and 31 inches of pitch

Standard economy seats on some United jets get 9 inch screens- but most don’t have screens at all  (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Meanwhile, United is expanding free streaming entertainment to its newer 737s, a project that should be finished by the end of June. The service is already available on United’s A319s and A320s, and on many international aircraft.

United is moving away from seatback screen-based entertainment, although that will continue to be offered on older 737s, which also offer paid live DirecTV. United only offers free entertainment to those who have downloaded its app and watch on their own device. And in most cases, its aircraft do not offer in-seat power — and streaming drains batteries fast. This makes Delta’s free offering of seatback screens much better for everyone, especially those who don’t travel with appropriate devices…or extra batteries!

No word from American yet about similar moves toward free entertainment, although its new deals with competing Wi-Fi providers Gogo and ViaSat this month for satellite-based transmissions will bring high-speed streaming capabilities to its single-aisle domestic fleet in the years ahead.

And now we have learned that Gogo and Aeromexico have teamed up for a pilot program allowing free Netflix streaming onboard. 

What do you think about free inflight entertainment? Do you prefer seatback or BYO screens? Please leave your comments below.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Big AAdvantage changes are coming soon

American's big AAdvantage change starts in a matter of weeks. (Image: Jim Glab)

American’s big AAdvantage change starts in a matter of weeks. (Image: Jim Glab)

American Airlines last fall announced it would change its AAdvantage program to a revenue-based regimen in 2016, and in case you forgot, a major milestone for that changeover is fast approaching.

American this week issued a reminder to AAdvantage members that the way they earn award miles will radically change on August 1. These moves generally bring the AAdvantage program inline with Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus; American will no longer enjoy the “outlier” status it had while merging with US Airways, and putting off any major program changes.

For trips beginning August 1 or later, a new earning formula kicks in, paying a base rate for non-elites of five miles per dollar spent (including base fare plus carrier fees, but not government fees or taxes). Elites will earn bonus miles based on their status: Golds get seven miles per dollar spent, Platinums get eight, and Executive Platinums earn 11.

Starting later in June, American said, “customers will be able to see an estimate of the number of miles and elite-qualifying credits they will earn for a chosen itinerary when booking their trip on aa.com.”

A few months ago, American revised the award side of the program, instituting a new award level for flights of less than 500 miles, and increasing the mileage cost for some awards, especially for its lowest-priced MileSAAver awards.

For flights on AAdvantage partner airlines not operated by American, members will earn miles “based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class of your ticket,” AA said, promising to release specific earning rates by mid-July.

More changes are coming in 2017. Starting January 1, spending will also figure into qualification for elite status, with access to each level requiring a combination of elite-qualifying dollars (EQDs) plus elite-qualifying miles or segments. And a new Platinum Pro status is being added in between Platinum and Executive Platinum.

Here’s a look at the new qualification chart:

aachart

Finally, American said additional changes will come later on in 2017: Upgrade priority “will be based on a 12-month rolling EQD total, sorted by elite status level;” and Executive Platinums will be able to use complimentary 500-mile upgrades with AAdvantage award tickets for travel on American.

American has a web page that summarizes all the upcoming changes in the AAdvantage program.

How does this make you feel about American? Please leave your comments below. 

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Routes: American, Delta, United, Southwest

American's new service to Seattle from LAX in June will find plenty of competition. (Image: Jim Glab)

American’s new service to Seattle from LAX has plenty of competition. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news this week, American has a big growth spurt at Los Angeles International, and adds new routes from Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tucson; Delta announces a pair of new markets in the western U.S. and adds an East Coast route; United revives some Cleveland routes but drops two California flights; and Southwest plans five new non-stop routes this fall.

It’s a big week for American Airlines at Los Angeles International, where the carrier has started more than 20 new flights to a number of domestic destinations. As part of its build-up at LAX, American is adding two more gates and hundreds of employees there this year. New destinations added to its LAX schedule this week include Seattle (five flights a day in a busy market already served by Delta, Alaska, Virgin America, United and Spirit), Portland (three a day), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (two a day), as well as single daily roundtrips from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Kansas City, Omaha and Hartford. American also added seasonal daily flights from LAX to Anchorage, and weekend service to Durango, Colorado; and will operate summer flights to Jackson Hole, Wyoming every day and to Montrose, Colorado and Vail/Eagle, Colorado on weekends. With the schedule additions, AA now operates more than 220 flights a day at Los Angeles.

At its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub, meanwhile, American just started new daily flights to Montana’s Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and to Boise, Idaho. And in Arizona, American plans to offer the only non-stop service from Tucson to New York, with a daily daytime flight to JFK beginning October 6.

Delta will use E175s for new San Diego-Las Vegas service. (Image: Delta)

Delta will use E175s for new San Diego-Las Vegas service. (Image: Delta)

Delta Air Lines has set a December 17 start for new service linking San Diego and Las Vegas, a market thoroughly dominated by Southwest. Delta plans to operate three flights a day on the route, using Embraer 175s. And at its Salt Lake City hub, Delta plans to revive service this winter to Aspen, Colorado after a six-year hiatus. The Delta Connection/SkyWest flights will operate once a day with a CRJ700, starting December 17. On the East Coast, meanwhile, Delta just announced plans to begin flying between Newark Liberty International and Raleigh-Durham beginning November 6, using two-class CRJ-700s for three flights a day, operated by Delta Connection/GoJet.

United has been seriously downsizing the former Continental hub at Cleveland Hopkins, but it plans to operate seasonal flights to Florida again this winter, in spite of new competition from several low-cost carriers, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It said the airline will offer seasonal service from CLE to Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers from December 16 through early April. Meanwhile, United will end a couple of California routes, according to Routesonline.com. It will drop its daily Los Angeles-New Orleans service effective August 16, and its daily flights between Ontario and Houston Bush Intercontinental (operated by SkyWest) at the end of June.

In addition to the two new routes it will add from San Jose starting November 6 – to Salt Lake City and to Baltimore-Washington International – Southwest Airlines said that on the same date it will begin new service between Washington Reagan National and Providence, Rhode Island; Washington Dulles and Orlando; and Kansas City and San Antonio. The airline has already started taking reservations on all the new fall routes.

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Award seats: More on Delta, fewer on AA, United

The chance of getting the award seats you want varies considerably by airline and by season. (Image: Jim Glab)

The chance of getting the award seats you want varies considerably by airline and by season. (Image: Jim Glab)

What are your odds of scoring the frequent flyer award seats you want, on the dates you want? The odds change over time, but the latest (i.e., 2016) annual study of availability by IdeaWorks Company and Switchfly suggests that Delta SkyMiles members are seeing significantly better odds this year, while availability declined on Alaska, United and especially American.

But among the U.S. carriers covered in the survey, Southwest’s award seat availability was head and shoulders above everyone else’s, with JetBlue running second.

The survey team made more than 7,000 queries during March for at least two roundtrip award seats on the websites of 25 airline loyalty programs worldwide. They requested travel on dates from June through October, looking for the lowest-priced (i.e. “saver style”) award seats.

Low-cost (or as the study team calls them, “value-oriented”) airlines dominated the results, as they have most years. Among U.S. carriers, the success rate for finding the desired seats was 100 percent on Southwest and 92.9 percent on JetBlue. For Southwest, that was the same as last year, while the JetBlue result showed a gain of 5.7 points. (In fact, Southwest was found to have at least three available flight choices for every query.)

As for other large U.S. carriers, the success rate on queries to Delta was 68.6 percent, an improvement of 10.7 points over the 2015 survey. The comparable rate on United was 72.1 percent, down 2.9 points. For Alaska it was 72.9 percent, down 7.1 points. And for American, the success rate was just 56.4 percent, a drop of 10.7 percent from 2015.

Virgin America was not included in the study.

awardseats2

The report noted that availability varies considerably based on the month of travel. For 2016, the best availability was in September (84.3 percent) and October (84.8 percent), while the worst was in July (53.1 percent). It also observed that long-haul rewards can be especially elusive in the summer months. “Some airlines radically reduce reward inventory for long-haul travel during June, July and August. This is often a major source of member frustration,” the report said.

Here’s a chart summarizing the results for long-haul flights:

awardchart

Readers: Is it getting easier to use you miles and points….or not? Please leave your comments below. 

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International premium economy cabins coming to Delta

An A350 visited Delta's Atlanta base last year. (Image: Delta)

An A350 visited Delta’s Atlanta base last year. (Image: Delta)

In December, American Airlines announced that it plans to start installing a dedicated premium economy class of service on its long-haul international flights. And now Delta is following suit.

Although the Atlanta-based carrier hasn’t yet issued a formal announcement, top executives said at a media event that an international premium economy cabin is definitely coming to Delta, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution – and they said it has been in the planning stages for two years.

They provided few specifics except to say that the premium economy class will be launched on the new Airbus A350s that Delta will start to receive in 2017, and then will be added to its 777 fleet. They stressed that the new section will be a big step up from the airline’s existing Comfort+ seating, which is basically regular economy seating with a few more inches of legroom.

Delta has ordered 25 A350-900s, and plans to deploy the first ones mainly on transpacific routes starting in the second quarter of next year.

According to the newspaper, the executives said the new premium economy section will offer different seats than Comfort +, with even more legroom, a leg rest, and higher levels of service and amenities. They did not mention whether Comfort+ will continue in the affected aircraft, but American plans to keep offering Main Cabin Extra seating in aircraft that will get its premium economy section.

The plans by Delta will put added pressure on United Airlines, the last of the Big Three U.S. legacy carriers that has not yet announced plans for premium economy on international routes.

No doubt Delta also felt compelled to get on board with premium economy so that it can offer customers a standardized product across its global partnerships; for example, both Virgin Atlantic and Air France already offer the extra cabin.

According to Seatguru.com, some 31 international carriers currently have a premium economy seating option, not counting the plans by American and Delta to add one.

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LAX: United progress + Delta move + Southwest + American

Rendering of United's new outdoor terrace at LAX (Image: United / YouTube)

Rendering of United’s new outdoor terrace at LAX (Image: United / YouTube)

There’s a lot going on a Los Angeles International Airport these days, such as the ongoing $500+ million upgrade to United’s operations at Terminals 7 and 8, plus a rumor that Delta could be moving across the horseshoe to terminals 2 and 3.

 

(Image: United)

(Image: United)

First, let’s look at what United has going on at LAX Terminal 7.

As with most big construction projects, the likelihood of glitches increases, so be prepared when flying United to or from LAX through the end of next year when it should conclude. This spring, you’ll see a new baggage claim area open as well as an updated economy class check-in space and consolidated security screening area.

In a new video, United promises a bigger, better and brighter terminal with extras like a new 20,000 square foot United Club with an outdoor terrace (pictured above). A United spokesperson told TravelSkills that the new Club is slated to open in September 2016.

Remember that while United uses both Terminals 7 and 8, all check in and security is at Terminal 7.

The view from Delta's recently revamped Sky Club at LAX (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The view from Delta’s recently revamped Sky Club at LAX Terminal 5 (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

LAX airport authorities are reportedly now briefing other airlines about the possibility of Delta moving from its recently renovated Terminal 5 across to a new space at Terminals 2 and 3 according to the BrianSumers.com blog. If the deal goes forward, Delta would invest nearly a billion dollars on a terminal renovation or replacement project that could take up to five years to complete.

Delta is now the #2 carrier at LAX after American, and the new space would provide 23 gates, up from its current 13 in Terminal 5. Over the last 6 years, Delta has nearly doubled the number of seats it flies in and out a LAX, so it could use the space. Plus, Sumers reports that Delta may add a behind-security tunnel to the adjacent Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT).

And in case you missed it, Southwest is now operating out of a shiny newly modernized Terminal 1 facility at LAX. Also last month LAX completed a new behind-security corridor connecting American’s Terminal 4 with the TBIT.

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Routes: Southwest, American, United, Alaska, JetBlue

Southwest will jump into the Oakland-Log Beach market. (Image: Oakland Airport)

Southwest will jump into the Oakland-Long Beach market. (Image: Oakland Airport)

In domestic route developments, Southwest expands within California and adds several other markets; American adds three routes from the Midwest; United adds a spoke from its Denver hub and drops one from Dulles; Alaska tries a new Kona gateway; and JetBlue adjusts the launch of LAX Mint flights.

Southwest Airlines will add Long Beach, California to its map on June 5, when it begins operating four flights a day from there to Oakland. The carrier is offering $49 one-way fares for travel through November 4, with an April 14 booking deadline. Southwest also has new service starting April 12 on several routes, with one daily flight in each market, including Atlanta to Greenville-Spartanburg; Baltimore/Washington to Minneapolis-St. Paul; Chicago Midway to Dayton, Ohio and to Flint and Grand Rapids, Mich.; Newark to Las Vegas and to Orlando; Phoenix to Wichita, Kans.; and St. Louis to Wichita and to Des Moines, Iowa.

With the Republican Convention in Cleveland coming up in July, American Airlines this week kicked off new Eagle service to Cleveland from Washington Reagan National with three flights a day (at the same time. American dropped its Cleveland-Phoenix service). Other new American Eagle service that started this week includes three flights a day from Washington Reagan National to Minneapolis-St. Paul, and two a day between Chicago O’Hare and Providence.

United is adding two new routes from Denver International to the East Coast this spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

United is adding two new routes from Denver International (Image: Jim Glab)

United has added a new spoke from its Denver hub, launching daily service to Richmond, Virginia; it’s the longest flight and the westernmost point served no-stop from Richmond. Meanwhile, United has set June 8 as the last day for United Express service between its Washington Dulles hub and Moline, Illinois.

Bellingham, Washington isn’t all that far from Seattle, but Alaska Airlines decided the city needs its own service to the Big Island of Hawaii. Alaska said it will operate once-a-week seasonal service (on Saturdays) between Bellingham and Kona from November 12 through April 1, using a 737-800.

According to Airlineroute.net, JetBlue has moved up the starting date for putting a Mint-equipped aircraft onto its Boston-Los Angeles route. The first Mint-equipped A321 will start flying LAX-Boston on October 20 instead of October 30. By November 17, the premium cabins should be on all three of JetBlue’s three daily flights in the market.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: United’s newest, longest flight + Tipping Uber drivers + Qantas 747 Trip Report + Confusion over PreCheck policies + No-fee earlier flights

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Routes: San Francisco, JFK, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto

 

United 787-9 Dreamliner

United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner on its new San Francisco-Tel Aviv non-stops. (Image: United)

In international route developments, United kicks off new service from San Francisco to Israel; Qatar Airways doubles up its New York-Doha schedule; SAS and Norwegian both add new service out of Boston; Iberia comes to LAX; Chicago O’Hare gets new service to Iceland, China and Mexico; American and TAM both drop South American routes; and Air Canada revives a Salt Lake City route.

March 30 is the starting date for United’s new non-stop flights from San Francisco to Tel Aviv. United will use a 787-9 Dreamliner to fly the route three times a week, with SFO departures at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The eastbound flight is estimated to take 14 hours and 10 minutes, with the return taking 15 hours 5 minutes. The carrier also flies to Tel Aviv from its Newark hub.

 Qatar Airways, which started service earlier this month to Doha from Boston, is due to add a second daily frequency between New York JFK and Doha starting April 1. The airline will use a new Airbus A350-900-XWB for the extra flight, which departs JFK at 6 a.m. The other flight still uses a 777.

The view from my room at the Radisson Blu Royal hotel in Copenhagen (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

The view from my room at the Radisson Blu Royal hotel in Copenhagen (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Boston is getting new service to a pair of European destinations. March 29 is the launch date for SAS to start flying from Boston to Copenhagen every day. The Scandinavian carrier is using a non-standard aircraft on the route – a 737-700 Boeing Business Jet operated by PrivatAir, with 20 business and 66 economy seats. The other new Boston route that started this week is Norwegian’s Boston-London Gatwick service. The low-cost airline is using a 787 to fly the route four days a week. Norwegian also announced plans to start weekly service from Las Vegas to Oslo starting in November.

Iberia, a member of American’s Oneworld alliance, begins seasonal service March 30 from Los Angeles to Madrid. Using A330s and A340s, Iberia will start off with three flights a week, increasing to five a week May 17, then six a week beginning June 6 and daily frequencies from July 3 to August 28 before it starts to scale back the schedule again.

Icelandair Aurora

Icelandair’s stunning Hekla Aurora 757 livery (Photo: Icelandair)

At Chicago O’Hare, Icelandair has kicked off year-round service to Reykjavik, using a 767 to fly the route four days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), with an early-morning arrival in Iceland that permits easy connections to 20 destinations in Europe. Also at O’Hare, China Eastern Airlines has launched new non-stops to Shanghai Pudong, where it offers scores of connections to other Chinese cities. China Eastern is using a 777-300ER for the daily flights. And Mexican carrier Volaris announced plans to start service from Chicago O’Hare to Monterrey, Mexico on June 17, flying the route twice a week with an A320.

South America is losing a couple of routes to the U.S. On April 4, American Airlines plans to suspend its three-month-old New York JFK-Caracas flights “until market conditions improve.”  And on June 3, Brazilian carrier TAM is due to discontinue its three to four flights a week from Orlando to Brasilia.

Air Canada plans to return to Salt Lake City International on May 27, offering daily service to its Toronto hub with a 97-seat, two-class Embraer 190.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Salt Lake, Toronto

 

Qatar Airways is using an A350 on its new Boston-Doha route. (Image: Qatar Airways)

Qatar Airways is using an A350 on its new Boston-Doha route. (Image: Qatar Airways)

In international route developments, Qatar Airways starts flying to a new U.S. gateway, SAS adds a West Coast route, a Delta seasonal route to London will go year-round, American deploys a 787 Dreamliner on a U.K. route, and a WestJet division starts new service to the northeastern U.S.

Qatar Airways this week inaugurated service on its newest U.S. route, offering daily non-stop flights from Boston to Doha, Qatar. The carrier is using a new Airbus A350 on the Boston route, which is one of three new U.S. markets it will serve this year. In January, the airline started daily non-stops from Los Angeles to Doha, and it plans to launch Doha-Atlanta daily non-stops on June 1. And on April 1, Qatar Airways will add a second daily non-stop from Doha to New York, also using an A350.

SAS light attendants change into chef outfits when serving dinner (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

SAS flight attendants change into chef outfits when serving dinner (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Another new route that kicked off this week is Scandinavian Airlines’ daily service from Los Angeles International to Stockholm Arlanda. SAS, a Star Alliance member, is also on a growth track in the U.S. this year; at the end of March, it will begin Boston-Copenhagen service, and in September it plans to add flights from Miami to Oslo and Copenhagen. On the LAX-Stockholm route, SAS is using an Airbus A330-300 with three cabins: SAS Go has seats in a 2-4-2 configuration with 31/32 inch pitch; SAS Plus has 2-3-2 seating with 38-inch pitch; and SAS Business has a 1-2-1 layout with lie-flat seat-beds that have a massage feature.

Delta’s new non-stops from Salt Lake City to London Heathrow that start on May 1 were intended to be seasonal, but now the airline plans to keep the route going year-round, according to Airlineroute.net. The airline will cut back its daily frequencies after October 28, offering three flights a week through December 18, then four a week starting December 19. Delta will use a 767-300 on the route.

American is using a 787 Dreamliner on its new Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda route. (Image: American)

American’s new 787 Dreamliner (Image: American)

The 767-300 that American Airlines uses on its daily service from Chicago O’Hare to Manchester, U.K. will be replaced this summer with a 787-8 Dreamliner. The changeover, which begins June 3, will put an extra 154 seats a week onto the route.

 A three-year-old affiliate of Canada’s WestJet called WestJet Encore has launched its first transborder service, flying three times a day between Boston and Toronto Pearson. Encore’s fleet consists entirely of Q400 turboprops. The carrier plans to start Toronto-Nashville flights in June.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Airline Briefs: AA bags, Alaska miles, Delta PJs, Virgin courses

American will reduce the free checked bag allowance for some premium passengefr. (Image: American)

American will reduce the free checked bag allowance for some premium passengers. (Image: American)

In airline news briefs this week, American will change its checked-bag policy for premium travelers; Alaska makes a mileage program commitment; Delta expands its offering of front-cabin loungewear, and Virgin America will help business travelers learn while they fly.

American Airlines tells Travelskills that the company is changing its free checked bag policies for passengers in its premium cabins, effective for tickets bought March 29 or later, in an effort to bring American “in line with our U.S. competitors.”  Instead of the current three free checked bags, AA will only allow two free checked bags in two-cabin aircraft, including domestic First Class and international Business Class. The change will not apply to AAdvantage Executive Platinums, who will still get three bags free, as will First Class passengers on three-cabin international flights.

While other big U.S. airlines have changed their loyalty programs over to spending-based instead of mileage-based models (or are planning to, like American), Alaska Airlines says it will not – at least, not in the immediate future Speaking at a JP Morgan investment conference this week, Alaska chief financial officer Brandon Pederson said that the airline will be “sticking with the traditional model” for its Mileage Plan program. But he added that he “wouldn’t say we would never go to that (a spending-based model).”

Delta' just upped its game when it comes to inflight slumber (Image: Delta)

Delta’ just upped its game when it comes to inflight slumber (Image: Delta)

In December, Delta started offering a new amenity to passengers flying in its Delta One cabins from Los Angeles to Sydney and Shanghai – in-flight sleepwear/loungewear that they can change into to keep their clothes from getting wrinkled. And now Delta has expanded that perk. The light-gray PJs are now being offered to Delta One customers on flights from Seattle to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong; and from Detroit to Shanghai and Beijing. They come in small/medium or large/extra large, and passengers can take them home after their flight.

The popular networking service LinkedIn is teaming up with Virgin America to offer free streaming in-flight video tutorials to passengers. Starting next month, Virgin customers will be able to watch business-oriented videos produced by Lynda.com, a company that LinkedIn purchased for $1.5 billion. Available through the airline’s in-fight entertainment system, the videos cover topics like Getting Things Done, Creating Great Workplace Habits, and Managing Stress.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: Virgin, JetBlue, Southwest, American, Frontier

Virgin America's new route links the Bay Area with the Rocky Mountains. (Image: Virgin America)

Virgin America’s new route links the Bay Area with the Rocky Mountains- and lowers fares. (Image: Virgin America)

In domestic route news, Virgin America breaks into a big new business market; JetBlue targets Ft. Lauderdale for substantial growth; Southwest doubles capacity on a Bay Area transcontinental route; American adds some secondary markets; and Frontier plans three new routes.

On Tuesday, Virgin America started flying its newest U.S. route, offering three flights a day between San Francisco and Denver – a route dominated by United. Earlier this month, United prepared for battle by increasing frequencies on the SFO-DEN route to as many as a dozen flights a day. To promote the new route, Virgin is offering promotional discounts of up to 30 percent off Main Cabin fares between DEN-SFO for travel from April 12 to May 25, on bookings made through March 24.

JetBlue announced plans for significant growth at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, saying that it expects to increase operations there during the winter to 140 flights a day “in the coming years;” that’s an increase of 75 percent over its current schedules. The only specific expansion it mentioned in the announcement was a plan to begin Ft. Lauderdale-New Orleans service on September 29, with one daily roundtrip; and an increase in Ft. Lauderdale-Nassau, Bahamas service from three flights a day to five, starting August 1.

Southwest Airlines special livery

Southwest Airlines newest special livery “Tennessee One” Like it? (Image: Southwest Airlines)

Effective for the summer season from June 5 through August 6, Southwest Airlines plans to add a second daily roundtrip between Oakland and Baltimore-Washington International. The carrier said it will increase capacity on several other BWI routes during the same period, adding a sixth daily flight between BWI and Denver, a ninth between BWI-Manchester, N.H.; an eighth between BWI and Hartford Bradley; a seventh between BWI and Tampa; and a 10th between BWI and Orlando.

American Airlines will add a new spoke from its Phoenix hub on June 2, launching one daily roundtrip to Redmond, Oregon. The route will be operated by Skywest/American Eagle with a CRJ700. And on May 5, new Envoy/American Eagle E145 flights are due to begin between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Sioux City, Iowa’s Sioux Gateway Airport (for trivia buffs: the airport’s three-letter code is SUX).

Frontier Airlines has unveiled plans for three more new routes in the months ahead. On May 15, it will begin flying between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas three times a week; on June 22, it will kick off one daily roundtrip between Denver and Washington Dulles; and on June 28, it will start daily service linking Phoenix with Colorado Springs.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Decision time approaching for AAdvantage award travel

American will change some AAdvantage mileage costs for award travel in a few weeks. (Image: American)

American will change some AAdvantage mileage costs for award travel in a few weeks. (Image: American)

Are you a loyal AAdvantage member who’s been saving up your miles so you can book a nice vacation for later this year? Then you might need a reminder that American’s award travel chart will be changing effective for bookings made March 22, 2016 or later.

American announced the award chart changes last fall, but many AAdvantage members might have overlooked them since the bigger part of that announcement concerned the program’s coming transformation from a mileage-based to a spending-based earning system starting later this year.

Anyway, there was some good news in the award cost overhaul – e.g., starting March 22 AAdvantage will introduce a new category for flights of under 500 miles in the U.S. and Canada, starting at 7,500 miles for a MileSAAver economy cabin ticket. And a MileSAAver award to the Caribbean in economy drops from 17,500 to 15,000 miles.

But there are some increases as well, most of them targeting the MileSAAver awards (which are subject to blackout dates and availability limitations). MileSAAver economy class awards for off-peak travel increase from 20,000 to 22,500 for Europe, and from 25,000 to 32,500 for Japan/Korea. A business class MileSAAver award to Hawaii rises from 37,500 to 40,000, while one to Europe increases from 50,000 miles to 57,500, and one to the South Pacific jumps from 62,500 to 80,000.

First class MileSAAver awards increase from 47,500 to 65,000 for Hawaii; from 62,500 to 85,000 for Europe; and from 67,500 to 110,000 for China/Hong Kong.

Award travel prices are one-way, and they are subject to taxes and “carrier-imposed fees” that “vary by itinerary and are based on trip origin and destination,” American said.

The existing award travel prices can be found here; that page also has a link to the new award levels that apply for bookings made March 22 or later.

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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Routes: Southwest, Delta, American, United

Southwest Airlines special livery

Southwest Airlines unveiled a new special livery today, “Tennessee One” Like it? (Image: Southwest Airlines)

In domestic route news, Southwest will add a number of new flights out of California airports in August; Delta will tack on new spokes from its Salt Lake City and New York LaGuardia hubs; American revives a secondary California route from DFW; and United changes planes on a west coast route out of San Francisco.

Southwest Airlines’ latest schedule announcement says the carrier will begin service August 7 on several new California routes, including daily non-stops from Los Angeles International to Pittsburgh; from Burbank and Ontario to Portland; from San Diego to Milwaukee; and from Sacramento to Baltimore/Washington International. In addition, Southwest will launch new daily service from Nashville to Charlotte, and from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas. Southwest also said it intends to extend some seasonal routes beyond August to year-round service, including Houston Hobby to Seattle and Portland; Kansas City-Seattle; San Diego-St. Louis; Ft. Lauderdale-Pittsburgh and Ft. Lauderdale-Kansas City.

How would YOU merge Starwood & Marriott? Take our poll, leave a comment!

Delta plans to resume service on March 2 between its Salt Lake City hub and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., according to Airlineroute.net. The carrier will operate one daily non-stop using A320 or 737-800 aircraft. Another new route for Delta, this one starting April 4, is Delta Connection service linking New York LaGuardia with Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, located between Fayetteville and Bentonville (home of Walmart’s world headquarters). The route will operate six days a week with a CRJ700.

Santa Barbara's gorgeous airport terminal completed in 2011 (Image: Dreamyshade / Wikimedia Commons)

Santa Barbara’s gorgeous airport terminal completed in 2011 (Image: Dreamyshade / Wikimedia Commons)

American Airlines stopped flying from Santa Barbara to its Dallas/Ft. Worth hub in 2009, but now it plans to revive that route. AA will begin daily American Eagle flights on June 2, using a 76-passenger, two-cabin CRJ900.

United Airlines plans to revise its schedule between San Francisco and Eugene, Oregon starting June 9, changing aircraft types and frequencies. United currently offers United Express/SkyWest service six times a day in the SFO-Eugene market, using regional jets. But in June, it will cut frequencies to four flights a day and will switch three of those to mainline Airbus A319s and A320s. One flight will still use a regional jet. The net result will be a 31 percent increase in the number of seats United flies in the market.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Should I tip my Uber driver? + Boeing 747 nearing its end? + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 + World’s best airline lounge? + Fares to Europe tumble 

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It’s getting easier to fly to Tokyo

Haneda

New wing at Haneda’s international terminal in Tokyo (Photo: Jun Seita / Flickr)

Quick — where is Tokyo International Airport? If you haven’t flown into Japan recently, your reflex response might be “Narita,” the airport located well over an hour east of the capital by train or even longer by taxi or shuttle bus.

However, closer-in Haneda (HND) is also known as Tokyo International Airport. In recent years, this near-city-center airport has expanded and modernized its international terminal and added more nonstops from the US.

However, those US flights were scheduled to arrive at Haneda very late at night or very early in the morning, making Haneda a somewhat unwieldy option. But that’s about to change.

Reuters reports that that the US and Japan have agreed to add new landing and take-off slots at Haneda on routes to the United States, allowing daytime flights by both nations’ carriers from Haneda to the U.S. for the first time.

Those inconvenient flight times have made Haneda flights only effective for flights to and from the US west coast– opening up the schedules should make it easier for United and American to offer flights from midwest and east coast hubs.

Delta had held up this deal because it feared that United and American were more likely to benefit with more Haneda flights because of their close ties to ANA and JAL via the Star and Oneworld alliances.

Haneda is the second busiest airport in Asia and the fourth busiest in the world.

In a statement, American said, “It’s important for our customers to have convenient access to downtown Tokyo during the day, and this agreement also allows for desirable arrival and departure times in the U.S. for Haneda service. Last week, American began daily, year-round, nonstop service from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Haneda utilizing nighttime slots. American’s flight arrives at HND at 11 p.m. and departs at 1:30 a.m. The departure and arrival times will change this fall when daytime Haneda slots are anticipated to be available.”

Related: Trip Report: ANA’s Dreamliner to Tokyo

map

Note Haneda’s (HND) close-in location vs more distant Narita (NRT)

Good Advice for getting to or from Haneda:

Keikyu, the primary railway company for access from Haneda, is probably the best way to get to or from Haneda for most business travelers, and offers three options: $10 on a fast, clean train to Shinagawa station in 12 minutes for Y410 (knock off two zeroes to convert approximately to USD, so about $4) or Tokyo station in 20-30 minutes for Y580). Compare that with over $30 on the NEX train from Narita or $25 on the more complicated Keisei option.

Second, Keikyu and other companies offer limousine buses that are direct with no transfers, take about an hour and range from $10-25 depending on your destination. That’s less than half the time and about half the cost of Narita limousine buses.

Third, there’s a set-fare taxi option that will set you back the best part of $85, but is obviously door-to-door to or from your hotel. That’s less than a third the price of a taxi from Narita, which is in excess of $200.

And, lastly, there’s the Tokyo Monorail, which is a bit of an advanced user option that connects to four lines including Tokyo’s circular Yamanote Line. If you’re familiar with Tokyo and know how the Suica card system works (it’s a tap-the-card payment system that works across Tokyo and several other cities in Japan for everything from transport to vending machines), then this is probably the best option for you.

Do you fly frequently to Japan? What airport do you prefer and why? Please leave your comments below. 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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U.S., Cuba clear the way for scheduled airline flights

Havana Airport

Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport (Photo: Rojinegro81 / Wikimedia)

It should just be a matter of months before you can book a commercial, scheduled flight Cuba, thanks to a new air services agreement signed on Tuesday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was in Havana for the signing, after which the Transportation Department told U.S. carriers they can now apply for route authority to the island for both passenger and cargo flights, something they haven’t been able to offer for more than 50 years.

The pact will allow airlines from each country to operate up to 20 flights a day to Havana, as well as a maximum of 10 daily flights to each of Cuba’s other nine international airports, or a total of 110 flights a day to the island.

DOT said that as applications come in, it will begin a proceeding to select the routes that will be awarded to each airline– so it’s going to take some time.

Cruise lines are getting in the act, too. Carnival’s new Fathom “cultural exchange voyages” will depart Miami for a weeklong cruise around the island stopping in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago starting this May.

 

However, business travelers eager to explore commercial opportunities in Cuba and tourists who want to hit the beaches there should be aware that technically, not everyone can go there — at least, not until Congress reverses the trade embargo (unlikely any time soon) allowing the Treasury Department to ease up on current rules. DOT noted that the new air services pact will “facilitate visits for travelers that fall under one of the 12 categories authorized by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets control.”

Cuba

Image: US Dept of Transportation

According to Treasury’s website, those 12 categories include: family visits; official business of the U.S. government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; journalistic activity; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions, and exhibitions; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; exportation, importation, or transmission of information or information materials; and certain authorized export transactions.

But if a traveler just checks off one of those categories on a booking request, there’s no telling what kind of enforcement might apply, if any.

Some U.S. airlines have already been flying to Cuba for months, but only with charter flights sold by travel companies. After today’s announcement, nearly all US carriers have applauded the move and said that they plan to apply for authority to crank up scheduled commercial flight to Cuba from their hubs.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Routes: Sydney, Tokyo, Zurich, Addis Ababa

Look for more United 787s on transpacific routes next year. (Image: United)

All Dreamliners all the time on SFO-SYD starting this spring. (Image: United)

In international route developments, American kicks off a new transpacific route; United changes aircraft on its flights to Sydney; Swiss sets a date for the introduction of its fancy new plane on San Francisco-Zurich service; and Ethiopian Airlines will add a new U.S. gateway.

At the end of March, United Airlines plans equipment changes on its San Francisco-Sydney and Los Angeles-Sydney routes, replacing the 777s it currently uses with 787-9 Dreamliners. United already uses a 787-9 on its Los Angeles-Melbourne route. United’s 787-9s have 48 flat-bed BusinessFirst seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, 88 in Economy Plus and 116 in regular economy. The planes have in-flight Wi-Fi as well as power and USB ports.

Following up on its December introduction of Los Angeles-Sydney 777-300ER service, American Airlines has now started up new daily service between LAX and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport, using a two-class 787-8 Dreamliner. The new flight is operated as part of AA’s transpacific joint venture with Japan Airlines; both JAL and American continue to offer LAX-Tokyo Narita service as well. Through the end of April, American is offering passengers on the new Haneda route a promotional bonus of 5,000 to 20,000 AAdvantage miles, depending on fare category. In other international route news, American will increase service to Bermuda from New York JFK starting February15, operating a second roundtrip six days a week (increasing to daily March 3).

A representative of Lufthansa subsidiary SWISS tells Travelskills that the airline is targeting August 30 for the introduction of its new 777-300ER on the Zurich-San Francisco route. The aircraft will have eight first class seats, 62 in business class and 270 in economy. In addition to providing in-flight Wi-Fi, SWISS is reportedly planning to experiment with in-flight phone service on its 777-300ERs.  It will go onto the Zurich-New York JFK route four times a week starting February 21, but only until late March, when it moves to Zurich-Montreal. The aircraft is expected to debut on the Zurich-Los Angeles route in June. It will replace SWISS Airbus A340s.

Ethiopian Airlines has started taking reservations for new service beginning July 3 between Addis Ababa and New York JFK, operating via a stop in Lome, Togo, according to Airlineroute.net. Ethiopian will use a 787-8 on the route. It hasn’t flown to New York since it halted Newark service a dozen years ago; its current U.S. gateways are Washington Dulles and Los Angeles.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Boeing 747 nearing its end? + “Targeted” for an upgrade? + 5 newest biz class hotels in New York + TSA PreCheck is exploding + Bargain hunters travel guide for 2016 

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Airports: Uber at Newark, O’Hare gates, Atlanta pods, Miami app

Might consider the AirTran instead of Uber at Newark (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Might consider the AirTran instead of Uber at Newark (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In airport news, Uber drivers at Newark get an official warning; Chicago O’Hare will finally start to see new aircraft gates being built; and Miami International releases an updated smartphone app that uses geo-location to assist passengers.

With all of United’s transcontinental p.s. flights from the West Coast now flying into Newark instead of New York JFK, arriving passengers might just instinctively tap their Uber app for an airport pickup upon landing. But that could be a problem in a couple of weeks. According to local media in New Jersey, the chief prosecutor for the city of Newark has sent a letter to Uber headquarters setting a February 22 deadline for Uber’s drivers to stop picking up passengers at Newark Airport. If they don’t, they could have their vehicles towed by police and face “civil and criminal penalties,” the letter said. The same warning applied to Uber drivers working at Newark’s Penn Station. (Although Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports are all operated by the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, the rules governing ground transportation are set separately by Newark for Newark Airport and New York City for LaGuardia and JFK. The two New York airports do permit Uber pickups if the driver is licensed by the city.) Last month, Newark’s licensed taxi drivers staged a big anti-Uber protest at the airport.

Earlier this month, Chicago city officials announced plans for a huge infrastructure project at O’Hare Airport, including construction of a sixth runway, and some critics reiterated the complaints they made after the fifth runway was completed – namely, that building more runways to increase capacity isn’t going to do much good unless there are more places to park airplanes. But now the city is moving to start fixing the gate shortage, announcing a deal with American Airlines that will allow the carrier to build five new gates at O’Hare’s Terminal 3. The new gates, due to be finished by 2018, will be added to T3’s Concourse L. That will increase the total gate count for American at O’Hare’s Terminal 3 from 66 to 71. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, they represent the first significant construction of new gates at the airport since 1993.

It's a new thing at Atlanta's airport. Can you guess what it's for? (Image: Mamava)

It’s a new thing at Atlanta’s airport. Can you guess what it’s for? (Image: Mamava)

Nursing mothers never have it easy when they travel, but Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is trying to give them a break. The airport has set up four “lactation pods” that mothers can use for nursing or breast milk pumping in privacy. The stations are located past the security checkpoints near Gates T-7, B-5, D-34 and F-5, and another one will soon be added pre-security in the airport’s Domestic Terminal. The pods, designed by a company called Mamava, can be locked form the inside and provide seating, a changing table, and an electrical outlet for pumps.  

Miami International Airport is going super high-tech with an upgraded version of its smartphone app, called MIA Airport Official 2.0. The airport has installed more than 500 Bluetooth data beacons so that app users can simply scan their boarding pass to get turn- by-turn directions to their departure gate or other locations, estimated walking times, real-time flight updates and shopping/dining suggestions, based on their personal profile. Users can also get weather information for anywhere in the world, and can use a “near me” feature that identifies the closest dining and shopping outlets. “Future enhancements will include notifications for special offers from the user’s preferred shops and restaurants at MIA, the ability to reserve parking, and estimated security checkpoint wait times,” a spokesman said. The app is available at the Google Play and Apple App stores. MIA has put up a Youtube video explaining the new app.

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Routes: San Jose delay, LAN to LAX, AA’s China changes & more

Lufthansa will use an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

Lufthansa will use an A340-300 on its new San Jose-Frankfurt route. (Image: BriYYZ/Wikimedia Commons)

In recent international route developments, a new European route from San Jose is delayed; South America’s LAN resumes service to a major west coast gateway; American switches aircraft types on a pair of China routes; Cathay Pacific will increase Boston service; TAM will debut a new widebody on a key U.S. route; and Ft. Lauderdale loses some South American service.

Bay Area travelers who want to take Lufthansa’s planned new nonstops from San Jose to Frankfurt will have to wait a while longer. Instead of going ahead with its planned April 29 launch, the German carrier is pushing back the inaugural to July 1. Persons already booked will be put onto Lufthansa flights from San Francisco instead.  Lufthansa will use an A340-300 for the daily non-stops.

South American carrier LAN Airlines plans to resume service between Los Angeles International and Santiago, Chile on October 16, according to Airlineroute.net. LAN, a member of American’s Oneworld alliance, will use a 787-8 to fly the route three times a week. LAN discontinued Santiago-LAX (and Lima-SFO) flights in early 2014. 

American Airlines plans to make some changes on two of its routes to Shanghai starting June 2. The 787-8 that AA currently operates on its daily Los Angeles-Shanghai service will be replaced with a 777-200ER, while the 777-200ER that the airline currently flies from Chicago O’Hare to Shanghai will be replaced with a 787-8.

Back of the plane on Cathay Pacific's B777-300ER with new economy seat (Chris McGinnis)

Back of the plane on Cathay Pacific’s B777-300ER with new economy seat (Chris McGinnis)

Cathay Pacific says it is seeing increased demand for the non-stop Boston-Hong Kong flights that it introduced last spring, so it plans to increase frequencies on the route from the current four flights a week to five, effective May 5. Cathay will add a new Thursday departure from Boston in addition to the current Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday flights. Cathay uses a 777-300ER on the route. The 1:45 a.m. departure time from Boston allows for same-day connections at Hong Kong to major Asian destinations and 23 cities in China.

Related:  Nicest airport club in the world

Brazilian carrier TAM, which flies twice a day from Miami to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos Airport, plans to replace the 777-300ER it uses on one of those flights with Airbus’s brand-new widebody the A350-900XWB, effective May 22, according to Airlineroute.net.

TAME Ecuador – the flag carrier for that South American country, and not to be confused with TAM – plans to discontinue its six weekly A320 flights from Ft. Lauderdale to Quito effective February 20.

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Delta nearly done with global wi-fi rollout; United, AA catching up

Delta now offers Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

Delta now offers Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights. (Image: Delta)

As in-flight Internet service provider Gogo continues to enhance its product with the addition of satellite networks for overseas flights, Delta has been  gradually equipping its international aircraft with that new technology. And now it has finished a major piece of that effort, offering high-speed Wi-Fi on all of its transatlantic flights.

Delta said this week that the Ku-band satellite service is now available on up to 83 daily roundtrip flights across the pond, including all its London Heathrow flights as well as service to 27 European cities, Tel Aviv, and the African destinations of Accra, Dakar and Lagos.

Besides the paid Wi-Fi service, Delta said customers who bring personal electronic devices on those routes can also get free access to its Delta Studio selection of streaming movies and TV programs.

After finishing the latest installations, Delta said that the addition of satellite Wi-Fi to its 767s, 747s, A330s and transoceanic 757s in addition to its domestic aircraft now gives it “the world’s largest Wi-Fi equipped fleet.”

gogo logo

Buy one, get one. Gogo is currently offering a special deal on Delta Wi-Fi; through February 29, Gogo said on its website, customers who buy one Delta Global Day Pass for $28 will get a second one for free — a savings of $60 over the in-flight purchase price. Each pass is good for 24 hours of access on any Gogo-equipped Delta flight, and they’re valid for a year.

United Airlines is also making considerable progress in equipping its long-haul fleet with satellite-based Wi-Fi. The airline says on its website that all 74 of its 777s now have Wi-Fi, as do all 22 of its 747-400s and 98 percent of its 767s. Installations on its 787 Dreamliners are 68 percent finished, covering 17 aircraft, United said, with completion of all the rest slated for June.

The cost of Internet access on United aircraft “will vary,” the airline says, although it gives no examples, and notes that it does not offer daily, weekly or monthly Wi-Fi passes, “but we may offer these options in the future.”

Related: How to save $$ on pricey inflight internet

“We are in the process of launching a newly designed portal with multiple payment options,” United notes. “With this new portal, on select aircraft, you will have additional Internet access options, such as time-based plans (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour) or full flight access, as well as the ability to purchase Internet with your MileagePlus award miles or a saved credit card in your MileagePlus account.”

American Airlines currently offers international Wi-Fi service on its 787s, 777-300ERs and “select” 777-200s (it doesn’t say how many), at rates ranging from $12 for two hours to $19 for the full flight.

What’s your experience been when using wi-fi on international flights? From my seat, I get better coverage over an ocean than I do over land, but maybe that’s just me? Comments, please!

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More, better food on Delta, United & American

It's not much, but it's something: American's free economy snacks. (Image: American Airlines)

It’s not much, but it’s something: American’s free economy snacks. (Image: American Airlines)

Economy class passengers on two major airlines are finally getting something that doesn’t have a fee attached to it.

United Airlines this week initiated its previously announced plan to start giving free snacks to the folks in coach – and rival American Airlines now says it will do the same thing beginning this month. Delta is rolling out on new freebies on a limited basis, but it did announce some new, healthy economy items for purchase in economy class.

Economy flyers on United’s routes within North America and to and from Central America can now get a free Stroopwafel (a toasted waffle with caramel filling) on morning flights. Later in the day, free items include snack mixes of either rice crackers, sesame sticks and wasabi peas; or mini pretzel sticks, Cajun corn sticks and ranch soy nuts.

©Terry Halsey No third party use without written permission

United is giving out free Stroopwafels in coach stating this week. (Image: United Airlines)

American, meanwhile, said it will begin free snacking in coach this month on transcontinental flights (JFK-LAX, JFK-SFO and MIA-LAX), and will extend it to all domestic flights by April.

The morning snack on AA will be a packet of Biscoff cookies; later in the day, economy passengers will get either the Biscoff cookies or pretzels. And in May, American said, it intends to start giving free meals to economy passengers traveling between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Hawaii.

American also said it is expanding free entertainment options on domestic flights equipped with in-seat entertainment, boosting the programming to include up to 40 movie selections, 60 TV programs and 300 music albums.  The carrier noted that live TV channels are now available on Wi-Fi-equipped international flights of its 777-300ERs, retrofitted 777-200ERs and 787-8s.

Related: When United offered soul food as a meal option

Meanwhile, Delta said it is introducing some new healthy food options for purchase this week — a trio of wraps from Luvo available to Main Cabin and Delta Comfort+ passengers on North American flights longer than 1,400 miles. They will be offered for free to Delta Comfort+ flyers on the airline’s JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO non-stops, Delta said.

The new Luvo wraps, all with no more than 480 calories and limited sodium, include a southwest grilled chicken option, sesame grilled chicken, and a Mediterranean whole grain veggie wrap.

(Image: Luvo)

(Image: Luvo)

Here’s how Delta describes one of the new wraps:

  • Luvo Southwest Grilled Chicken Wrap (470 calories) – Grilled chicken wrapped with a multi-grain salad (whole grain barley, millet, and bulgur with black beans, corn and roasted tomatoes) in a cilantro Greek yogurt dressing with arugula, romaine and green garbanzo hummus in a tomato whole grain tortilla.

I’m a fan of Delta’s Luvo snacks… but what do you think about the new food options from airlines? Please leave your comments below. 

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AA matching United 1K status; Virgin America, JetBlue double points

American is said to be fishing for United's top elites. (Image: American)

American is said to be fishing for United’s top elites. (Image: American)

Are you a proud United 1K who’s thinking about switching loyalty to another airline? A Virgin America or JetBlue flyer in need of extra points? Then you are in luck.

If you’re a 1K considering switching to American, the time might be now, according to the popular mileage blog The Points Guy, which is reporting a big new status match offer from AAdvantage.

There’s no word on how long the opportunity might remain in effect. It appears to be confirmed by recent reports on StatusMatcher.com as well.

The site says AAdvantage Executive Platinum status is being offered to United 1Ks, and it will kick in instantly (presumably after a brief processing period). To keep the AA Executive Platinum status active through February of 2017, you’ll have to earn 35,000 elite-qualifying miles within 90 days on American, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines and/or Qantas.

The report said program 1K switchers who become Executive Platinums qualify for four systemwide upgrades on American from any fare class. Interested parties are advisded to call AA at 888-697-5636 to make the request and start the process.

I'm one of the lucky travelers living in a Virgin America hub. Love those US flag winglets! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Double points on Virgin America (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Virgin America is pulling out a powerful tool to boost bookings during the slow “dead weeks” of early winter. Those who register, book, and fly with Virgin by Feb 29 will earn 2x Elevate points. Details and registration here.

The typical earn for Elevate members is five points per $1 spent on the base fare and five status points per $1 spent on base fare. In this offer, you will earn 100% bonus points per $1 spent on the base fare for a total of 10 points but will still earn only five status credits per $1 spent on the base fare.

JetBlue’s offer of double points is even sweeter– that’s because the bonus points count toward the carrier’s elite Mosaic status. Details and registration here. To get the bonus, you must book your flight by January 31.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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Routes: United, AA, Delta, JetBlue, Frontier, Hawaiian

Dallas Love Field...the color scheme looks very Virgin America, don't you think? (Photo: Hensel Phelps)

Judge rules in Delta’s favor in Love Field spat (Photo: Hensel Phelps)

In domestic route news, United adds two East Coast markets from its Denver hub; American targets Sacramento; Delta gets a reprieve at Dallas; JetBlue grows at JFK, including a Hawaii flight; Frontier expands again; and Hawaiian adds winter Kauai flights.

Effective April 5, United is due to add a pair of new routes from its Denver hub to the East Coast, inaugurating service to Hartford and Richmond. United Express/SkyWest will operate the daily Richmond roundtrip with a 76-seat E175. The Hartford route will be mainline service, with one daily A319 roundtrip.

American Airlines will add a bevy of new flights this summer from key hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas and New York La Guardia to a handful of smaller cities, according to Airline Route. For example, it has set a June 2 start for new nonstops between Charlotte and San Jose (SJC) and between Sacramento and its Chicago O’Hare hub. It will also add seasonal nonstops from LaGuardia to Martha’s Vineyard (CRJ) and Nantucket (Embraer 170).

Delta can keep flying out of Dallas Love Field for now, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. The carrier operates five daily roundtrips from Love to its Atlanta hub, and it can keep doing so until lower courts rule on the distribution of gates at the airport, the judge said. Delta has been involved in a legal battle with Southwest, which controls 18 of the 20 gates at Love and wants to keep expanding there. Virgin America controls the other two.

JetBlue adds mid century modern decor at its gate area to celebrate new flights to PSP (Photo: JetBlue)

JetBlue adds mid century modern decor at its gate area to celebrate new flights to PSP (Photo: JetBlue)

JetBlue has started flying two new routes out of New York JFK and has put its B6 code onto another. The airline’s newest California route is from JFK to Palm Springs, which it is now operating five days a week (Thursdays through Mondays). That seasonal route will continue through May 1. The carrier has also kicked off the only non-stop service between JFK and Daytona Beach, Florida, with one daily roundtrip. And on January 19, JetBlue will add its first service to Hawaii by putting its B6 code onto Hawaiian Airlines’ New York JFK-Honolulu service.

Just two weeks after it unveiled plans to add 42 new routes, ultra-low-cost Frontier Airlines is at it again, announcing several more. At Pittsburgh in June, Frontier will add new daily service to Denver and Las Vegas, as well as three or four flights a week to Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare and Orlando. Frontier will also add Columbus, Ohio to its route map in early June with daily flights to Denver and Las Vegas, and less frequent service to Orlando and Philadelphia. And at San Antonio on May 13, the airline will begin daily Denver flights along with four a week to Atlanta and three a week to Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Starting April 14 is new daily Frontier service from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas.

Instead of putting its Los Angeles-Kauai service into the usual winter hiatus, Hawaiian Airlines is keeping the route active this season, operating three flights a week from LAX to Lihue. The route is also served by United.

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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Airlines ranked on availability, speed of in-flight wi-fi

In-flight Wi-Fi is catching fire worldwide. (Image: Virgin America)

In-flight Wi-Fi is catching fire worldwide. (Image: Virgin America)

U.S. carriers still lead the world in the availability of in-flight Wi-Fi, but foreign airlines are starting to catch up. And the quality of Wi-Fi connections, while still rather basic, is on track toward significant improvement, according to the latest annual report on the state of in-flight Wi-Fi from Routehappy.

Virgin America still ranks in first place among U.S. carriers with Wi-Fi available on almost 100 percent of its available seat miles (ASMs), Routehappy said (the exception: a few Virgin flights to Hawaii). Following in order are Delta, Southwest and United, all of which have Wi-Fi on more than 80 percent of their ASMs, the company noted.

Actually, one foreign airline topped everyone, with Wi-Fi available on 100 percent of its ASMs: Scoot, the low-fare subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. And Icelandair was on a par with Virgin America, also close to the 100 percent mark.

routehappy1

Although Delta ranks ahead of United and American, “both competitors have nearly closed the gap,” Routehappy said. It noted that when American absorbed US Airways into its system, it picked up another 350 Wi-Fi enabled aircraft.

Overall, travelers on U.S. airlines systemwide have “at least a chance of Wi-Fi” 78 percent of the time, vs. a 24 percent chance on foreign carriers, according to Routehappy. But it noted that foreign carriers are picking up steam. Besides Scoot, it said that “substantial Wi-Fi offerings” can now be found on the flights of Aer Lingus, Aeroflot, Etihad, Garuda, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Norwegian, and SAS.

On long-haul international routes, Routehappy said, Emirates and Lufthansa scored the best for Wi-Fi availability, “measured by number of ASMs and percentage of ASMs respectively.” The “most connected” long-haul route in the world is New York-Dubai, it said, while the least connected is London-Hong Kong.

routehappy2

The company also looked at the quality of in-flight Wi-Fi, which it ranks as “basic, better or best,” depending on the technology used. And that’s where there’s plenty of room for improvement. Routehappy said that in its previous annual report, issued in January 2015, it found Wi-Fi connectivity in the “best” category available on less than 1 percent of U.S. flights; today, that his risen to 6 percent of all flights worldwide.

And the company said it expects to see substantial gains in Wi-Fi quality in the months and years ahead, based on intense passenger demand for improvement.

“The mere availability of Wi-Fi is no longer enough,” Routehappy observed. “Passengers now demand a home broadband-like experience, and more airlines are now delivering this. JetBlue is nearing completion of a fleet-wide broadband rollout, allowing access to Netflix and other streaming services with no access charges; Virgin America has also recently introduced the same system. Additionally, airlines such as Delta, Aeromexico, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, and others are preparing to launch high-speed broadband solutions in the near future.”

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  United packages Economy Plus with amenities + Ride-sharing firm goes out of business + Bucket list for air travelers + Useless travel gadgets + ‘Uber of the Skies’ dies 

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New routes this spring: United, American, Delta, JetBlue, Spirit

United will start flying to Nashville from San Francisco this spring. (Image: VisitMusicCity.com)

United will start flying to Nashville from San Francisco this spring. (Image: VisitMusicCity.com)

In domestic route developments, United will add a new spoke from its San Francisco hub; American plans more new routes for April; Delta will launch Alaska service; JetBlue starts a new route to Puerto Rico; and Spirit unveils expansion plans.

  • United Airlines has set a May 5 inauguration for new service from its San Francisco hub to Nashville, according to Airlineroute,net. The carrier will operate one daily roundtrip using an Airbus A319.
  • In addition to new service we reported on from Washington Reagan National, American Airlines on April 5 also plans to start flying from its Chicago O’Hare hub to Norfolk three times a day and to Providence twice a day; both routes will use Envoy Air CRJ700s under the American Eagle banner. On the same day, American will launch two daily flights between New York LaGuardia and Kansas City, with Republic Airlines/American Eagle Embraer 170s.
  • Delta set a May 13 start for summer seasonal service from Portland International to Anchorage, Alaska, a market it hasn’t served since 1997.  Delta will fly the route four times a week with a 737-900ER.
  • On May 5, JetBlue plans to start flying from its Ft. Lauderdale focus city to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on the island’s northwest coast, using an Embraer 190 for the daily flight. On the same date, JetBlue will increase frequencies between Boston-Ft. Lauderdale and Boston-Baltimore/Washington International.
  • Low-cost Spirit Airlines set an April 21 start for twice-daily flights between Baltimore/Washington International and Boston, and one daily roundtrip between BWI and Detroit Metro. In addition, Spirit will operate seasonal daily service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Boston from April 28 through September 7, and from MSP to Philadelphia April 14-November 9.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Delta free upgrades disappearing + Shipping vs. checking a bag +_San Francisco’s new long-haul routes + Is Newark our worst airport? + Delta, United forge new international partnerships

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Routes: AA to Sydney, Air New Zealand to Houston, Delta to South America + more

Traditional Maori dancers welcomed Air New Zealand's first flight from Auckland to Houston Bush Intercontinental (Image: Houston Airports System)

Traditional Maori dancers welcomed Air New Zealand’s first flight from Auckland to Houston Bush Intercontinental. (Image: Houston Airports System)

In international route news, American has kicked off its new Australia service from Los Angeles; Air New Zealand has linked up with Star Alliance partner United at Houston; Delta inaugurated flights on three new Latin America routes; KLM will eliminate one U.S. gateway and add another; Kuwait Airways drops a U.S. route; and United will increase flights to Brussels.

At about the same time that Qantas started its Sydney-San Francisco 747 service this past weekend, its joint venture partner American Airlines launched its own new transpacific route to Sydney from Los Angeles International  (a route also flown by Qantas, along with Melbourne-LAX). American’s daily flight uses a 310-passenger, three-class 777-300ER and departs LAX at 9:50 p.m. At the end of January, Qantas will trim its own Los Angeles-Sydney schedule from 14 flights a week to 10. It’s the first time in 23 years that American has flown to Australia.

Air New Zealand last week inaugurated its promised new service from Auckland to Houston Bush Intercontinental, where it offers connections via its Star Alliance partner United Airlines.  The Kiwi carrier is using a 777-200ER with economy, Premium Economy and business class seating (with lie-flat seat-beds) for the route, which it flies five times a week. The westbound flight takes about 14-1/2 hours.

Delta added a trio of new routes to South America this past weekend. The carrier started new 767 service from Orlando to Sao Paulo, Brazil, operating four days a week (increasing to daily in March), and two routes from Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson to Colombia, both using 737s. Delta’s ATL-Medellin service operates daily, and ATL-Cartagena flies three times a week.

Instead of reviving its summer seasonal service from Amsterdam to Dallas/Ft. Worth next May, KLM reportedly plans to replace it with new Salt Lake City-Amsterdam service. The change is seen  as benefiting KLM’s joint venture with Delta, which has a hub at Salt Lake City. The two carriers are reportedly looking to bolster the traffic feed to their new code-share partner Jet Airways for onward travel from AMS to India.

Facing a charge of unlawful discrimination from the U.S. Transportation Department, Kuwait Airways has discontinued the London Heathrow-New York JFK segment of its one-stop New York-Kuwait route. Last fall, DOT issued a cease-and-desist order to the airline after it learned that Kuwait Airways refused to sell a ticket to an Israeli citizen between London and New York. The airline maintained such a sale is barred by Kuwaiti law.

United Airlines said it plans to add a second daily flight next summer from its Newark hub to Brussels. The second flight will operate from May 5 through October 28; departures from May 25-September 6 will use a 214-seat 767-300, while earlier and later flights will use a 169-seat 757-200.

 

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  Delta free upgrades disappearing + Shipping vs. checking a bag +_San Francisco’s new long-haul routes + Is Newark our worst airport? + Delta, United forge new international partnerships

 

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Routes: Southwest grows at Oakland, St. Louis; AA at Washington + more

Southwest will add a pair of routes at Oakland in the spring. (Image: Oakland Airport)

Southwest will add a pair of routes at Oakland in the spring. (Image: Oakland Airport)

In domestic route news, Southwest announces a spate of new routes starting in June; American Airlines plans to add new service at three Midwestern cities; JetBlue adds a pair of Florida routes; and Spirit grows at Atlanta.

  • When Southwest Airlines’ summer schedule begins on June 5, it will include new daily service from Oakland to St. Louis and three flights a day from Oakland to Reno, as well as new daily flights from St. Louis to Portland, Ore. and Cleveland. Also in Southwest’s plans are a new daily roundtrip between Burbank and Dallas Love Field. On June 11, Southwest will add daily service between Denver and Buffalo, N.Y.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about:  New Oakland-London route + Big hotel acquisition + Uber at Las Vegas McCarran + American’s international Premium Economy service + Healthy eating for travelers

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American will bring Premium Economy to long-haul fleet

American's new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

American’s new Premium Economy section will have leather seats in a 2-3-2 layout. (Image: American Airlines)

American Airlines said it plans to install a Premium Economy section into its long-haul international aircraft over the next few years.

American already offers Main Cabin Extra seating — the same configuration as regular economy, but with more space between the rows — but this will be a true premium economy option, located between Business Class and Main Cabin Extra, the company said.

The new Premium Economy section will align American’s international in-flight product offerings with those of key Oneworld alliance partners including British Airways, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.

The new section will offer leather seats in a 2-3-2 configuration with 38 inches of pitch and more width than regular coach. Customers in Premium Economy will get noise-reducing headphones and personal on-demand entertainment systems with larger touch screens; amenity kits; and AC power outlets and USB ports at every seat.

A seat in Premium Economy will also entitle passengers to priority boarding and the right to check up to two bags for no fee, American said; and they’ll get an enhanced in-flight meal service and free alcoholic beverages.

But it will be almost a year until the first Premium Economy section makes its debut. American said that will be on its new 787-9s that start to enter service in late 2016. Those aircraft will have business class, Premium Economy, Main Cabin Extra and regular economy seating. The new section will also be in the new Airbus A350s that American has ordered for delivery starting in 2017.

The company said it will also retrofit all its 777-300ERs and -200ERs as well as 787-8s and Airbus A330s over the next three years to include Premium Economy seating along with Business Class, Main Cabin Extra and regular economy. The 777-300ERs will still offer First Class as well.

American’s aging 767-300s will not get Premium Economy because they are slated to be retired in the coming years.

The company has created a new web page giving details of its Premium Economy service, as well as an interactive video tour of the section.

American currently offers free Main Cabin Extra upgrades for AAdvantage and Oneworld elites and customers who buy full-fare coach tickets. But its Premium Economy announcement said nothing about upgrade options for that section, or the price differential between regular economy and Premium Economy.

The news from American puts pressure on its major U.S. rivals, United and Delta. Will they follow the same path and install a true Premium Economy section on long-haul flights in order to keep their share of the market that might prefer that option? Time will tell.

Readers: Do you think major U.S. carriers need a true Premium Economy option on their international routes? Would you buy a seat in Premium Economy? Post comments below.

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Route news: Tokyo, Cologne, Buenos Aires, Casablanca and more

Japan Airlines is using a 787-8 on new Dallas./Ft. Worth-Tokyo service. (Image: Japan Airlines)

Japan Airlines is using a 787-8 on new Dallas./Ft. Worth-Tokyo service. (Image: Japan Airlines)

In international route developments, Japan Airlines returns to a big U.S. gateway; American sets a starting date on a new route from LAX; Hawaiian adds a transpacific route; a German carrier adds service to three U.S. cities; Delta kicks off a Latin America code-share; Royal Air Maroc plans a new U.S. gateway; an eastern European carrier will go transatlantic; and Etihad upgrades its New York service.

Japan Airlines this week came back onto the Dallas/Ft. Worth-Tokyo Narita route that it had dropped 14 years ago. JAL will initially operate four flights a week to DFW using a 161-seat 787-8 with business and economy class seating, but plans to go daily on the route next March. The airline’s Oneworld partner American already flies the route twice a day.

Speaking of Tokyo, the Transportation Department has reaffirmed American’s rights to take on the Los Angeles-Tokyo Haneda route, rejecting a complaint from Delta that American hadn’t launched service on the route in a timely manner. (AA got the route because Delta gave up its Seattle-Haneda authority.) DOT gave American until late March to start flying LAX-Haneda, but the carrier said it expects to start daily flights on February 11.

Tokyo's Haneda Airport is much more convenient than distant Narita.

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is much more convenient than distant Narita.

And in yet another bit of Tokyo news, Hawaiian Airlines announced plans to begin service next summer between Honolulu and Tokyo Narita; it already flies from Honolulu to Haneda. Hawaiian said it will begin daily HNL-NRT flights on July 22, using an A330-200 with business class, regular economy and Extra Comfort seating.

Lufthansa’s Eurowings (previously known as Germanwings) will start flying to the U.S. from Cologne. The carrier will use A330-200s to fly three times a week to Miami beginning May 1, followed by three weekly flights to Boston and two a week to Las Vegas, both starting May 4. The flights will carry the Lufthansa code.

Delta on December 10 starts code-sharing to Argentina with SkyTeam alliance partner Aerolineas Argentinas. The Delta code is now on Aerolineas flights from New York JFK and Miami to Buenos Aires; from Miami to Cordoba, Argentina; and on the Argentine carrier’s domestic flights from BA to Cordoba, Mendoza and Trelew, Argentina.

Morocco’s flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc, will add another U.S. gateway next year when it begins service between Casablanca and Washington Dulles. Starting September 8, the airline plans to operate three weekly flights using a 787-8 Dreamliner. Its only existing U.S. service is to New York JFK.

Subject to government approvals, Air Serbia — which was launched two years ago — plans to start flying its first transatlantic route in June 2016, according to Travel Weekly. The carrier, which is 49 percent owned by Etihad Airways, plans to use a two-class A330-200 to operate five weekly flights between Belgrade and New York.

Speaking of Etihad, that airline has put an Airbus A380 super-jumbo into service between New York JFK and its Abu Dhabi base. The plane features super-luxury accommodations called The Residence — three-room suites with a double bed, shower and butler. That’s in addition to first class, business class and economy. The A380 is used on one of the airline’s two daily New York flights; the other is a 777-300ER. Meanwhile in San Francisco, we are still waiting for a real Etihad jet instead of the current Jetihad plane. 

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Routes: New Denver-SFO + LAX flights, Spirit at LAX, AA at Phoenix + more

Delta will add Denver service from LAX next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Denver will get new service from Virgin America and Delta next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, Virgin America announces a new U.S. destination; Delta will enter a major market from Los Angeles; Spirit adds several new routes from LAX; American targets regional growth at Phoenix; and Alaska adds another spoke at its Seattle hub.

The next dot to be added to Virgin America’s route map is Denver. The airline said it will start service from San Francisco to Denver International Airport on March 15, operating three daily roundtrips. Virgin officials said that of the routes where it doesn’t currently fly, Denver is “the number one destination requested by the airline’s high-tech corporate accounts,” and is also the largest market from San Francisco that it doesn’t now serve. Virgin is offering introductory fares from $52.80 one-way– get it? Denver is 5,280 feet above sea-level, hence it’s “Mile High City” nickname. Now there are new reasons it’s called mile-high, right? 😉 

Speaking of Denver: Delta flies to dozens of cities from Los Angeles International, but it doesn’t fly to Denver — yet. But Delta plans to add that route to its map next June 1 when its Delta Connection/SkyWest partner starts flying DEN-LAX five times a day with CRJ-900s. It’s a crowded market, already served by American, United, Southwest, Spirit and Frontier.

Spirit Airlines will make its debut at Seattle next year. (

Spirit Airlines will make its debut at Seattle next year. (Spirit Air)

Following up on its new service from LAX to Oakland, which started last week, low-cost Spirit Airlines announced plans to add several more Los Angeles routes next spring. The airline said it will launch twice-daily LAX-Seattle service on March 24, followed on March 25 by a daily LAX-Portland flight. On April 8, Spirit will begin two flights a day from LAX to Phoenix, and will add a second daily LAX-Denver flight. And on April 14 it will start daily service from Los Angeles to both Philadelphia and New Orleans.

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In addition to new daily Phoenix-Memphis flights announced last week and starting next March, American Airlines will also add new regional service out of its PHX hub, according to Airlineroute.net. Operated by American eagle/Mesa Airlines and beginning March 13, they include daily roundtrips to Lubbock and Midland, Texas with CRJ-900s and to Roswell, New Mexico with a CRJ-200. In another part of the country, American is coming back to Albany, N.Y., where it stopped service a few years ago. The carrier plans to launch American Eagle service on March 3 from Albany to its Chicago O’Hare hub, operating three flights a day — two of them with two-class, 63-seat CRJ-700s and one with a 50-seat ERJ-145.

Alaska Airlines this week kicked off a new transcon route from its Seattle-Tacoma International hub to Charleston, S.C., operating 737 flights four days a week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

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American AAdvantage switches to spending-based program

American will overhaul its AAdvantage program next year. (Image: American)

American will overhaul its AAdvantage program next year. (Image: American)

A lot of people have been speculating that when American Airlines finally got around to revising its AAdvantage program after dealing with other merger-related priorities, it would follow the lead of Delta, United and Southwest by switching from a distance-based to a spending-based system.

And now American has an answer to those speculators: You were right.

Starting in the second half of next year, AAdvantage members will start to earn award miles based on the price of their ticket in combination with the buyer’s elite status.

Non-elites will earn five miles per dollar spent; AAdvantage Golds will get seven, Platinums will earn eight, and Executive Platinums will bring in 11 miles per dollar spent, American said. Details here

aa1

Does that chart look familiar? It should, because it’s nearly a carbon copy of the United and Delta programs announced last year.

United's Mileage Plus conversion calculator

United’s MileagePlus conversion calculator (Feb 2014)

Delta's SkyMiles conversion chart posted in February 2014

Delta’s SkyMiles conversion chart (February 2014)

Beginning in January, AAdvantage will dump elite-qualifying points, and will provide two ways for members to gain elite status: Elite-Qualifying Miles (EQMs) or Elite-Qualifying Segments. American claims it will offer “the most generous multipliers in the industry,” offering 1 EQM for discount economy fares, 1.5 for full-fare economy, 2 for discounted premium fares and 3 for full premium fares.  Here’s American’s comparison chart with Delta and United:

aa2

Upgrades in the revised system will also be based on EQMs, with Golds and Platinums earning four 500-mile upgrades from each 12,500 EQMs. Executive Platinums will score four systemwide upgrades upon qualification, and up to four more based on subsequent flight activity. How to earn AAdvantage Elite status in 2016

And award redemption charts are changing as well, American said, with some increasing and some going down (especially to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America for flights booked after March 22). What’s more, MileSAAver awards for flights of 500 miles or less in the U.S. and Canada can be had for as little as 7,500 miles one-way.  

Which award routes will cost more? “Other routes will be adjusted to match increased customer demand, including routes that feature our world-class A321T and 777-300ER aircraft,” an AA official remarked.  American uses the A321Ts on its upgraded transcontinental service (JFK LAX SFO), and 777-300ERs on key international routes.

Full details about the new AAdvantage program on AA.com

To me, it never made good business sense for airlines to base programs on miles flown instead of dollars spent. That’s because airline fares are not based on distance flown; they are driven by market forces. This is why it can cost three times as much to fly from, say Atlanta to Nashville (215 miles), than it does to fly from Atlanta to New York (750 miles). As painful as this announcement is to American devotees, it makes business sense for airlines to better reward their customers who spend the most…not those who fly the farthest.

Airlines made a mistake when they started distributing applications for “frequent flyer” programs to everyone—even those who fly once or twice a year. That diluted the loyalty experience for the airlines’ best customers…the ones who pay the most (not those who flew the farthest). It opened the door to a wily generation of “gamers” who figured out how to snag more miles at very low fares by manipulating an admittedly imperfect system. With new spending based programs,  those gamers can still earn mountains of miles and travel “for free” but over time I’m betting they won’t get those upgrades, shorter lines and other bennies bestowed on those who spend a lot.

The move to revenue-based programs realigns the system back to its initial premise: to reward truly frequent business travelers, those who fly 10+ times per year on non-discounted fares. I’m talking about the person whose company pays $6,000 for a business class ticket to London, or a $550 last minute fare between Portland and San Francisco.  If that’s not you, then sorry. If that is you, then get ready for things to get better. But it will take a while.

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New routes for Airberlin, Delta, China Eastern; more AA, BA 787s scheduled

Airberlin will add A330 service to three U.S. cities in 2016. (Image: Airberlin)

Airberlin will add A330 service to three U.S. cities in 2016. (Image: Airberlin)

Topping the list of international route news this week is Airberlin’s plan to add a trio of new U.S. gateways. Also, Delta will fly to Iceland from a second U.S. city next year; China Eastern adds a new U.S. city and a new in-flight amenity; and British Airways and American will put 787s onto new routes.

Germany’s Airberlin plans a substantial expansion of its U.S. operations in 2016, adding three new destinations and increasing frequencies on existing ones. The company said it plans to add flights from Dusseldorf in early May 2016 to San Francisco, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Boston, using A330-200s. The DFW flights will operate four times a week; Boston service will begin at three a week and increase to four on June 16; and the San Francisco schedule will start at three flights a week and grow to five as of  June 9. Existing service from Dusseldorf to Los Angeles will increase from six a week to daily, and Dusseldorf-New York JFK will increase from 13 a week to twice-daily. The carrier also flies from Dusseldorf to Miami and Ft. Myers, and from Berlin to New York and Chicago. Airberlin is a Oneworld partner airline. It gets only fair reviews on both SkyTrax and TripAdvisor– have you flown it?

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In addition to service from New York JFK to Reykjavik, Delta plans to add service to Iceland from its Minneapolis-St. Paul hub next spring. The daily service, slated to launch May 26, will use a 199-seat 757-200 with 20 premium seats, 29 extra-legroom Delta Comfort seats and 150 in regular economy.

China Eastern's A330-200 at SFO (Photo Peter Biaggi)

China Eastern’s A330-200 at SFO (Photo Peter Biaggi)

Airlineroute.net, which tracks carrier’s schedule filings, reports that China Eastern Airlines will begin new U.S. service next year to Chicago O’Hare. The carrier plans to operate three flights a week from Shanghai Pudong with a 777-300ER. China Eastern is a member of Delta’s Skyteam global alliance. Meanwhile, China Eastern has teamed up with Panasonic Avionics to start offering in-flight Wi-Fi on international routes. The carrier’s 777-300ERs are introducing the service on routes from Shanghai to New York, Los Angeles and Toronto this month, followed by San Francisco and Vancouver in December.

More 787s are coming on international routes from the U.S. American Airlines plans to put a 787-8 onto its Dallas/Ft. Worth-Santiago, Chile route starting December 17, replacing a 777-200ER. And British Airways is due to replace the 767 on its Baltimore/Washington International-London Heathrow route with a 787-8 effective August 1, 2016.

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Routes: Delta mini-hub? + Alaska Air in Calif + Spirit in Seattle + More

Is Delta creating a mini-hub at Mineta San Jose? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

Is Delta creating a mini-hub at Mineta San Jose (pictured)? (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In domestic route news, Alaska is growing at Orange County Airport; Delta starts a non-hub route in the West; Spirit Airlines adds a new city to its network; Southwest eyes new service at Minneapolis/St. Paul; and American will add a Memphis route.

Delta doesn’t often schedule new service on non-hub routes, especially in the domestic market, but that’s what it will do on December 30 when it adds Las Vegas-San Jose flights to its schedule. Delta Connection partner Compass Airlines will fly the route three times a day with 76-passenger E175s. San Jose-Las Vegas is currently a monopoly route for Southwest, which offers multiple daily fights. In addition to this new flight, Delta also operates nonstop flights between SJC and Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis St. Paul, Salt Lake and Seattle. Starting to sound like a mini-hub to us!

Alaska Airlines plans to boost its presence at California’s Orange County Airport next year with a pair of new routes. Effective March 16, Alaska will start once-a-day service from Orange County to Santa Rosa/Sonoma County, California and to Reno/Tahoe, Nevada. The flights will be operated by Horizon Air with 76-seat Q400 turboprops. Meanwhile, Alaska this month started flying four new previously announced routes. Daily Portland-Austin flights are operated for Alaska by SkyWest with a 76-seat Embraer 175; the other three routes — Eugene-San Jose, Los Angeels-Monterey and Boise-Reno —  are flown by Horizon Air with 76-seat Q400s.

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Low-cost Spirit Airlines will add Seattle-Tacoma International to its route map next year, making it the first new U.S. airline to start flying there in eight years. The carrier plans to start flying twice a day between SEA and Los Angeles in March, followed by twice-daily SEA-Las Vegas flights in April.  Spirit Airlines commenced two daily non-stop flights between Oakland International Airport (OAK) and LAX this week, and has a name for the new route: the “Bay-to-Basin” corridor.

Southwest Airlines will grow at Minneapolis/St. Paul on April 12, 2016, when it adds two daily roundtrips to Baltimore/Washington International.

American Airlines will add new non-stop service on March 3 between Phoenix Sky Harbor and Memphis, a route that currently has no non-stop service. The daily American flight will be operated by Mesa Airlines under the American Eagle banner.

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Trans-Pacific fare war in the wings?

Air New Zealand 777-300

Air New Zealand is facing new competition across the Pacific (Photo: Air New Zealand)

The non-stop market between the U.S. and new Zealand is getting more crowded following American Airlines’ announcement this week that it will begin Los Angeles-Auckland service in June 2016.

Last month, United Airlines — a Star Alliance partner of Air New Zealand — said it will start San Francisco-Auckland non-stops in July 2016. And Air New Zealand has plans to begin its own new service in the middle of next month between Auckland and United’s Houston hub.

Currently, Air New Zealand has a monopoly on non-stop service between New Zealand and the U.S. mainland, with flights from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas used to compete on the non-stop LAX-Auckland route, but dropped it in 2012.

American will operate the daily New Zealand service with a 787-8 as part of its joint venture with Qantas, subject to regulatory approvals. The LAX departure will be at 10:45 p.m, arriving in Auckland at 6:35 a.m. two days later. American’s passengers will be able to connect at Auckland to 11 New Zealand destinations and to points in Australia via Qantas and its Jetstar subsidiary.

Fare war announced in New Zealand

Fare war announced in New Zealand (click to read article)

Qantas and American have been ramping up their partnership in recent months, with plans to begin new non-stops next month between Los Angeles-Sydney (operated by American) and between San Francisco-Sydney (operated by Qantas). The LAX-Sydney market is already crowded, with service from Qantas, Delta, United and Virgin Australia.

Currently, the lowest nonstop roundtrip economy fares for June trips between California and New Zealand are in the $1,200 range. Business class is much higher at $5,100-$7,000 round trip on United and Air New Zealand nonstops, but only about $3,500 on one- stop Hawaiian Airlines flights via Honolulu.

With all the new services coming up between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand, most observers expect to see lower air fares in the months ahead. Plus, with all that new capacity, it could get easier to redeem miles for those treasured trips to the Antipodes! 

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Routes: AA to Tokyo + WOW to west coast + Air Canada, Lufthansa, Alaska

American will use a 787 on its new LAX-Tokyo Haneda route. (Image: American)

American will use a 787 on its new LAX-Tokyo Haneda route. (Image: American)

International route news this week includes American revealing its plans for new Los Angeles-Tokyo flights, an Icelandic budget airline expanding to San Francisco and Los Angeles, Air Canada adding new long-haul destinations, Emirates casting its eye at an available U.S. gateway and Alaska starting service to Costa Rica.

American Airlines has set February 11 as the launch date for new daily, year-round non-stops between Los Angeles International and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport; it will take bookings beginning November 8. American said it will use a 787-8 with business class, Main Cabin Extra and regular economy seating, and equipped with satellite Wi-Fi. American got the route authority after Delta agreed to give up its Seattle-Tokyo Haneda service (although it still flies Seattle-Tokyo Narita, and American and partner Japan Airlines both fly from LAX to Tokyo Narita). It will be the second new transpacific route for American in three months; AA starts its new LAX-Sydney non-stops on December 17.

Looking for a cheap way to get from the West Coast to Europe — or Iceland? Reykjavik-based discount carrier WOW Air said it plans to begin flying to both San Francisco and Los Angeles next summer, although it didn’t give an exact starting date. The carrier said it will fly to LAX four times a week and to San Francisco five times a week, using a one-class, 340-passenger A330-300. WOW already operates from Boston and Washington to Iceland’s Keflavik Airport (and will add Toronto and Montreal flights in May 2016), with connections to various European cities. No word on fares yet, but the carrier’s website (www.wowair.us) currently shows basic one-way connecting prices as low as $149 from Boston or Washington to London Gatwick — plus ancillary fees, of course.

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Air Canada is adding long-haul international services left and right. This week, it started flying non-stop from Toronto to Delhi, India four times a week, along with new non-stops three times a week from Toronto to Dubai. On both routes, Air Canada is using 787-9s with business, premium economy and economy class seating. The Canadian carrier also plans to resume Toronto-Seoul Incheon service on June 17, 2016, using a 787-8; it last flew the seasonal route in 2013.  

Now that Delta has angrily announced its exit from the Atlanta-Dubai route effective February 11, blaming the big Mideast airlines for laying on excessive capacity to the U.S., Emirates has its eye on the route. The Dubai-based airline also dismissed Delta’s claim that it couldn’t successfully compete in the market, estimating that Delta earned more than $10 million a year on the Atlanta-Dubai route. Delta immediately denounced Emirates’ assertion, saying it has been losing money on the route for the past two years. 

Alaska Airlines has added Costa Rica to its route network. The carrier this week started flying from Los Angeles to both San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica, offering four flights a week on each route with 737-800s.

According to Airlineroute.net, which tracks carriers’ schedule filings, Lufthansa will not resume seasonal Chicago-Dusseldorf flights on March 27 as previously planned. However, on the same date the German carrier will switch from an A330-300 to a much larger A340-600 on its Newark-Dusseldorf route, increasing capacity by about 50 percent.

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New Southwest routes + Virgin expands at Dallas + Alaska, AA add more

Southwest will add 10 domestic routes next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

Southwest will add 10 domestic routes next spring. (Image: Jim Glab)

In domestic route news, Southwest unveils 10 new domestic markets it will enter next spring; Virgin American adds a new route out of Dallas Love Field; Alaska begins a west coast route next week, and American Airlines begins new service from LaGuardia.

Southwest Airlines said it plans to start flying 10 new domestic routes on April 12, 2016. From Chicago Midway, it will add flights to Dayton, Ohio; Flint, Mich. and Grand Rapids, Mich. New routes from St. Louis will include Des Moines, Iowa; Wichita, Kans. and Pittsburgh (starts March 10). Southwest will also begin flying from Newark Liberty International to Las Vegas and Orlando, and will switch its St. Louis-Seattle service to year-round instead of seasonal.

Southwest also has some previously announced new routes starting on November 1, including daily flights between Oakland-Atlanta, Austin-Boston, Austin-Seattle, Denver-Cleveland, LaGuardia-Indianapolis and Washington Reagan  National-Orlando. New international routes starting November 1 include daily flights from Denver to Puerto Vallarta and Houston Hobby to Liberia, Costa Rica and Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

Virgin America Airlines has set a December 1 launch for new service between Dallas Love Field and Las Vegas — a route thoroughly dominated by Southwest. Virgin said it will offer two daily roundtrips on the route. One of the flights will be a red-eye leaving Las Vegas at 1:30 a.m. and arriving in Dallas at 6:10 a.m. 

November 5 is the starting date for new Alaska Airlines service linking Los Angeles International with Monterey, Calif. — a route that American dropped last month. United also flies the route. Alaska will serve the route with a Horizon Air 76-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop.

Also on November 5, American Airlines is set to begin new service from New York LaGuardia to a pair of domestic destinations: Akron, Ohio and Memphis, Tenn. On the same date, American will start flying from Charlotte, N.C. to Springfield, Mo.

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More Aer Lingus + JetBlue’s Caribbean outreach + AA drops a route + United shuffles fleet

This is the Captain Kirk seat-- one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

This is one of the two best seats in Aer Lingus biz class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Aer Lingus will fly to three more U.S. cities in 2016, including one that has no transatlantic flights now; a new JetBlue code-share partnership will give its customers access to several points in the Caribbean; American will drop a transatlantic route next year; United adds a vacation island next month and plans lots of aircraft changes next year; and Delta unveils its European summer seasonal plans for 2016. 

  • Irish carrier Aer Lingus said this week it will add three new U.S. routes next year. In May, it will revive Dublin-Los Angeles service with five A330 flights a week; in early September, it will add daily year-round Dublin-Newark flights, also with an A330;