This is good news. It’s better than Continental and United merging. It means your points can be used to get to more places (with the potential for less layovers) and you have access to more airport lounges all without the consolidation of flight segments that usually happen with a merger. It’s an unexpected gem amid all the cost cutting and ala carte pricing we’ve been pummeled with in the past 6 months.
If you fly either airline you will enjoy the flexibility of the many more airports available to you since every Continental hub can be considered a United hub and vice versa – assuming it gains regulatory approval.
The email follows in all its entirety. Have an excellent weekend!
Dear Mr. point man,
As a valued Mileage Plus member, we wanted you to be among the first to hear that Continental and United today announced plans to cooperate globally, linking our networks and services worldwide to deliver new benefits to you. In addition, Continental plans to join United in the Star Alliance®, the most comprehensive airline alliance in the world.
Once implemented, this new partnership, will easily enable you to take advantage of the resources of both airlines to enhance your overall travel experience, and receive more value from your Mileage Plus membership.First and foremost, this partnership will include new frequent flier reciprocity that will enable you to earn miles when flying on either airline and redeem awards on both carriers. Travel on either carrier will count toward earning elite status. Similarly, members of either airline’s airport lounge program will have access to both Continental’s Presidents Club network and United’s Red Carpet Club® lounges.
Second, together with Continental, we will be able to offer you a more comprehensive domestic route network and together with our Star Alliance partners, greater choice of service throughout the entire world.
Starting in the U.S., you are going to see United and Continental develop extensive code-sharing that will facilitate travel whenever your itinerary involves both carriers. We will be able to provide you with a coordinated process for reservations/ticketing, check-in, flight connections and baggage transfer.Internationally, Continental and United will establish joint ventures that will allow us to cooperate with each other and with other Star Alliance airlines throughout the world. These joint ventures will enable us to provide you with highly competitive flight schedules, fares and service to more destinations than we do today.
In short, once regulatory approval is obtained, this new partnership between United and Continental will expand your choice of flights and destinations, and improve your ability to earn both miles and elite status in Mileage Plus. Together we will offer you more value whenever you fly. We expect to bring you the benefits of our cooperation starting some time in 2009, and until then, we will keep you informed about our progress.
We appreciate you and your business, and we look forward to seeing you on your next flight.
Sincerely,
Robert Sahadevan
Vice President – Mileage Plus
USA TODAY has a very good read which highlights what to expect in the next year regarding flight schedules. It’s not pretty, especially for those of you who travel out of non-hub cities. Some tiny airports will lose the majority of their air service as smaller carriers such as Mesa Airlines fall victim to the high fuel prices (currently @$130/barrel). Regional jets, a popular choice for smaller cities and shorter routes are no longer profitable at these oil prices so many airlines are planning to ground these types of planes.
The fall-out for travelers:
- Higher fare prices as reduced competition allows airlines to raise prices on less profitable segments
- Higher travel times in the form of less non-stop flights and more required connections
- More crowded planes as people squeeze into the available flight schedules
- Less flexibility in travel times and dates, especially for vacation destinations
We may not see this immediately, but it will hit us at some point depending on where we are departing and where we are going. There’s not much we can do to prevent high oil prices, but you can minimize the impact to your travel plans by planning early.
As frequent travelers, sometimes our flight schedules are fixed so book out as far as possible. Southwest gives you an edge as there are no costs for applying unused tickets to other Southwest ticket purchases. The same cannot be said for all the other major airlines.
Plan your vacations and book early to get the dates which fit your schedule. If you wait too long, you may not have the option to get on the flight and if you do, you may be paying up the nose for the few seats remaining.
In any case, expect higher prices regardless of when you plan to fly in the future. Play it smart and don’t procrastinate. Have a good week.
A reader passed on an interesting article from CNN’s travel section which relays some confessions of an ex-airline agent.
There are a few interesting tidbits which give some transparency into the inner workings of airline travel. It appears the poor financial outlook for airlines is driving down the level of customer service (oh really?). Poor training, low wages and non-existent perks result in ill-equipped agents manning the front-lines. An antiquated hodge-podge of systems only add to the difficulties in servicing you - the customer.
The best thing to do is remain calm and have patience regardless of the situation. While "free" upgrades are a thing of the past, being friendly and courteous can be the difference between spending another night at the airport and getting home to see your family and friends.
And in case you were wondering, there is a way for agents to pass their experiences with you to other agents.
Ticket agents are always updating Passenger Name Records, or PNRs. These computer files, which contain basic details on passengers’ trips, are accessible to most agents at check-in counters and departure gates.
Agents generally use PNRs to record special requests by passengers, but sometimes they also comment on a person’s behavior.
A friend of mine discovered this after she had a heated argument with a ticket agent about getting an upgrade on a flight to London. When she reached her gate and inquired again, the agent remarked on her "inappropriate behavior" at check-in, and my friend was stuck with her economy-class seat.
Good to know. Safe travels.
Straight from my email box to your favorite frequent traveler blog. For those of you looking to rent cars for the weekend, you can use the following promotions to earn double award points and 50% off weekend rentals.
Non-airport locations: PC# 118510
Airport locations: PC# 118506
Details can be found here.
Drive safe.
United Airlines recently raised the fee imposed for a ticket change from $100 to $150. This is not good news for frequent flyers who end up changing flights quite often based on a dynamic schedule. United is only digging themselves deeper in a hole - short gains for long term pain. The majority of airlines out there play the”captive audience” game - they figure you have no choice but to fly with them because of your destination. They are missing the bigger picture - with frequent flyer points being de-valued everyday, the only reason you would stick with an airline, is so you can board first. That’s a sad state of affairs for airlines.
I’ve switched to Southwest and their customer service and operational efficiency is bar-none, the best in the industry. I am off the plane a minute after it reaches the gate. They almost always depart and arrive on time. They are that good.
Some of you won’t have that option based on the airports available to your travel schedule, but for those of you who have Southwest as an option, I implore you to look into it. For the business travelers who’ve tried it, there’s no turning back.
Reuters News Feed:
NEW YORK (Reuters) — United Airlines said Sunday it was hiking the fee it charges passengers to change tickets from $100 to $150 in an effort to combat high fuel costs.
A spokeswoman for the airline said in an e-mailed statement that the company this weekend made the change to its ticketing policy.
It also added a Saturday night stay requirement on all tickets where it competes head-to-head with other legacy carriers, which she said will affect 65% of all the markets it serves. That will have the most impact on business travelers, who typically don’t want to spend a Saturday night in their destination.
U.S. airlines have announced a number of fare hikes, fuel surcharges and fee increases recently as they battle higher fuel prices and a weakening economy.
United parent UAL said on April 10 it has raised fares in the United States and Canada by up to $30 round-trip. United has raised fares by $4 to $30 per round-trip depending on mileage and competition from low-cost carriers.
Unfortunately, it will only get worse as airlines look for additional ways to cut costs or pass those costs onto the customer.