US Airways Express flight 4560, a DeHavilland DHC-8 operated by Pidemont Airlines, traveling from Philadelphia to Newark managed to make a safe belling landing last night.

None of the 31 passengers or 3 crew members on board were injured.

According to a story published in the New York Times:

“After realizing that the landing gear did not deploy, the pilot circled the airport, trying several more times to get the wheels to come down.

Around 1 a.m., when it became clear that the gear would not work properly, the pilot brought the plane in on its belly.”

Here’s a video of the plane landing shortly after 1 AM eastern this morning.

The pilot certainly deserves a round of applause! US Airways may not serve meals on flights under three and half hours, but their pilots do know how to land planes.

Reader Giveaway – Win a Free Gogo Wi-Fi Pass

If you haven’t already entered, go here for my Gogo Wi-fi Giveaway.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

The FlyerTalk Awards are voted on by members of the FlyerTalk community and honor the best airline, hotel, and car rental loyalty programs in the travel industry.

The results were announced yesterday and American and their oneworld partners were big winners.  Here are the results in the airline catagories:

AMERICAS

The BEST Airline Rewards Program: American Airlines’ AAdvantage

The MOST Outstanding Airline Rewards Program Benefit is AAdvantage’s EXP Systemwide Upgrades.

EUROPE / AFRICA

The BEST Airline Rewards Program: British airways Executive Club

The MOST Outstanding Airline Rewards Program Benefit is British Airways Executive Club’s upgrade using Avios.

MIDDLE EAST / ASIA / OCEANIA

The BEST Airline Rewards Program: Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles

The MOST Outstanding Airline Rewards Program Benefit is Cathay Pacific Asia Miles’ Seat Guarantee.

Hertz and Starwood also had a very good year. Go here to see the complete results.

Hat tip to Destination David!

I waited until after the markets closed before posting this news, but the much maligned Tilapia Taco is no more.

Introduced late last year when American refreshed their domestic First Class menu, the Tilapia Taco dinner has been the subject of some controversy.

Some people have liked it and others have hated it. I can’t think of any other menu item that’s been so criticized. One person I know described it as horrible.

But not everyone has been so harsh. Mike Reed tried it and had this to say:

I found the new lunch offering presented today to be one of the tastiest airline meals I’ve ever had. The tortilla kept the fish, tucked neatly inside, appropriately moist and the cheese used (Manchego?) had a good flavor (it’s notoriously difficult to mix fish and cheese). The meal was filling and the salad matching the style of the entree so closely was a pleasant accoutrement

Though one of his readers had offered this quote from Airplane in the comments:

“The life of everyone on board depends upon just one thing: finding someone back there who can not only fly this plane, but who didn’t have fish for dinner.”

I’ve talked to a few other people that have had the Tilapia Taco and opinions have been divided. Some are just grossed out by the idea of fish on a plane, others have declared it “tasty”.

I finally had a chance to try it back in January. The verdict: I’ve never had tilapia before, so I’m not expert, but the taste was mostly that of cheese wrapped in a tortilla.  It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste ‘fishy’, it was more like a cheese taco.   DestinationDavid called tilapia the “tofu of the sea”, so maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to taste.

Anyway, I heard a rumor that American received a lot of negative feedback about the Tilapia Taco and that it wasn’t a popular item.  It’s been confirmed by another source at AA that it’s going away.  So Tilapia Taco haters can rejoice!

I also found out that the Indian Butter Chicken with Rice is being discontinued, which I think is disappointing news (small scale of course).  It wasn’t my favorite, but I liked it and thought it was kind of creative.  I hope that American doesn’t decide that they got too creative for their customers and go back to BBQ chicken salad and beef fajitas.

Those were the only two items that my source mentioned coming off the menu.  They did say that the Chicken Pot Pie wraps were popular and that American had received positive feedback about the new salads.

I’ve had a chance to try each of their new menu items. My favorites are the Salad and Cold Udon Noodle with Beef, and the Chicken, Roasted Beets, and Pears Salad. The Moroccan Chicken with Rice is also very good.

Something else that’s new is that for the last few months, at least since November, I’ve been offered a choice between two kinds of baked on board cookies: usually a chocolate chip or white chocolate chip cookie, and a spice or raisin cookie. I’ve even been on a few flights where they’ve offered seconds.

I’m not sure that Robert Crandall would approve, but I’m liking the extra cookies!

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from American asking me to take a survey:

As one of our valued customers, we appreciate your opinions and loyalty to American Airlines. We would like to invite you to participate in a 25 minute customer survey about your travel behavior, preferences and participation in airline loyalty programs.

I’ve received surveys before and they’re usually about a recent flight experience, but this one was different in that it asked me to rate my satisfaction with current AAdvantage program benefits and to offer my views on some hypothetical perks.

The survey went on to ask the same question over and over:

Please think about what you would like to experience or continue to experience with your frequent flyer program in the future. This feature might exist at either the American Airlines AAdvantage program or at another frequent flyer program, or it might not yet exist at any of today’s programs. Considering only the following five features, which is your Most preferred and which is your Least preferred feature?

Each time listing five of these answers in a seemingly random rotation:

Access to “cheap” award tickets.(e.g., able to access low mileage award flights)
Airport lounge access
Complimentary domestic upgrades.(based on upgrade seat availability)
Complimentary same-day standby travel
Dedicated support line.(exclusive phone numbers for elite members)
Difficult-to-attain elite levels.(only for most frequent travelers)
Earn miles/points through partners.(credit card, car rental, etc.)
Earn status through partner airline activity
Easy-to-reach first elite tier.(5 trips to silver/gold)
Elite-status options through partner programs.(e.g. earn status through credit card spend)
Free mileage transfers / sharing.(including “household accounts”)
Free premium economy seating.(more leg room, front of cabin)
Frequent promotions.(e.g. bonus miles, reduced mileage awards)
Gift status.(give status to a friend / family member)
Higher earn rates for elite members.(more redeemable miles for elite members)
International upgrade options.(e.g. Systemwide upgrade, Global Premier upgrade based on upgrade seat availability)
No blackout dates on award tickets.(award tickets always available if seats are being sold)
Partner redemption options.(redeem for gift cards, car rentals, etc.)
Priority check-in, security, and boarding for elites
Priority upgrades for elite members
Redemption options on partner airlines.(earn free flights inside partnership alliance)
Soft landing for elite status.(only move down by one status level per year)
Spend-based earning of redeemable miles.(earn points/miles based on airline dollars spent)
Spend-based elite status.(earn status based on airline dollars spent)
Upgrade options on award travel
Waived baggage fees.(first two bags free)
Waived booking fees on award travel
Waived change fees on award travel

Perhaps the most interesting question came near the end:

To what extent do you agree that frequent flyer programs should assign elite status based on each of the following?

Choose one: Points. Segments. Mileage.

or Spend….

It felt like the one question that they wanted to ask but didn’t was, “How would you feel if we increased your elite benefits but based your status on how much you spend?”

Is AAdvantage moving to a spend based elite status program?  Probably at some point….but with the merger I think it delays the inevitable for a bit.

If you earned enough Elite Qualifying Points last year to qualify for American’s 2012 Elite Rewards program then you should have received an email by now to let you know that it’s time to make your selection.

But if you somehow overlooked it, here’s a link to the redemption page that explains how it works and how you can select your reward:

Are you eligible to choose a reward?

We have reached out to elite-status members who met the following qualifying criteria, and invited them to choose their reward(s) by March 15.

• Reached the specified elite-qualifying points goal by the end of 2012

• Registered for Elite Rewards prior to 11:59 pm (CT) on December 15, 2012

• Registered with a valid email address and is opted-in to receive AAdvantage eSummary by December 31, 2012

• Rewards are based on your elite-status membership and elite-qualifying point activity as of December 31, 2012.

You have to choose your gift by March 15, 2013.

Go here for complete details or to make your selection.

American posted some photos of an American Eagle jet painted with the new livery on their Facebook page.  Here’s how it looks:

Go here to see more.

Late last year a couple of variations of the same rumor started popping up in the forums and on Facebook: AAdvantage was adding a fourth elite tier.

One version had a new tier being created at the 75,000 elite qualifying miles/points level, the other version had a new tier being created for those who earn more than 125,000+ elite qualifying miles/points in year.

Some people speculated that American might the fourth tier at 75K elite elite qualifying miles/points so that they could better compete with United’s program, which offers a fourth elite level at 75K elite qualifying miles/points.

Others had mentioned that American was going to offer a new super elite level, something like Executive Platinum plus, that might be tied to how much you spend.

After 2012 came and went without an announcement, I figured we were at least another year away from any big changes to the AAdvantage program (especially now that the merger has been announced).

Still, the new 2013 AAdvantage Elite membership guides haven’t been published to the website yet, so I wasn’t entirely discounting the possibility that American might announce a fourth tier for the 2014 membership year.

Well, it looks like it’s not going to happen (for now).

Last Friday, the @AmericanAir team hosted a live Twitter chat with Vice President of Customer Care, Don Langford and one of the questions was:

Here was his answer:

No plans.   Of course, US Airways has four tiers so I wouldn’t be shocked to see a new Elite level added at some point in the future.  If it happens though, my guess is it will be 2015.

So what do you think?  Do we need a fourth tier?

American will start new service between Chicago and Dusseldorf in April and to promote the new route they’re offering up to 20,000 AAdvantage Miles:

New Nonstop to Dusseldorf. Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Miles

Offer: Ready to explore a new city and earn bonus miles along the way? Starting April 11, American Airlines begins nonstop service between Chicago O’Hare and Dusseldorf, Germany. To celebrate, we’re offering up to 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles every time you fly a round-trip to our newest destination.

Round-Trip Travel to/from Dusseldorf, Germany

Earn 20,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles

Business Class and Economy Class fares booked in Y, B or H

Earn 10,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles

All Other Economy Class fares Earn 10,000 Bonus Miles

Offer Dates: April 11, 2013 through July 15, 2013

Promotion Code: AADUS

Dusseldorf is oneworld member Airberlin’s North American hub, so American’s passengers traveling from Chicago will be able to connect to more than 80 destinations in Germany and beyond.

From the Terms and Condtions:

AAdvantage bonus miles offer is valid on American Airlines marketed and operated nonstop flights between Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Dusseldorf, Germany (DUS) from April 11, 2013, through July 15, 2013. Includes travel on flights marketed by British Airways or Iberia, operated by American Airlines. Each eligible one-way trip flown will receive half the bonus miles shown in the table above. Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who purchase and fly on purchased, published Business Class and Economy Class fare tickets booked in the fares shown in the table above. Bonus miles will be awarded based on booking class purchased and will be posted immediately, for each eligible segment flown. Bonus miles will not count toward elite status qualification or Million Miler status. Registration prior to travel is required.

Go here for complete details.

Win 2,500 AAdvantage Miles

Don’t forgot that The Frugal Travel Guy’s Monday Deal of the Day is sponsored by AAdvantage.

Go here to share your favorite AAdvantage or American Airlines related tip for a chance to win 2,500 AAdvantage Miles!

American posted a video to Youtube that highlights scenes from the day the merger was announced.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

American has made a modest improvement to their Same-Day Flight Change policy and added the benefit of being able to make same-day flight changes online. The fees remain unchanged.

Beginning 24 hours prior to departure, you can request a same-day flight change on aa.com through the check-in window. Just select each passenger who is requesting a flight change and pay the $75* per passenger charge.

There were some reports in the forums that American was waiving the $75 fee for some AAdvantage elites, sources at AA later confirmed that the policy remains the same: AAdvantage elite customers can travel for free on standby, or make a same-day confirmed change for $75.

Here’s a new graphic that briefly explains Same-Day Flight Change options.

Here’s the new option that appears under your reservation.

Go here for more info.

Have a great weekend!