As I tweeted yesterday, I took a voluntary denied boarding (VDB) off my flight back to LAX last night and earned a $400 travel credit for future use, plus the obligatory hotel and meal voucher. I was dead tired from all my traveling around Europe for a couple of days, and ended up getting a solid 12-hours of sleep last night.

Before taking the bump yesterday, I wandered over to an earlier LAX flight to case how that flight was looking in terms of open seats. The helpful monitors told the story that the flight was oversold, in need of volunteers, and had a lengthy standby list. The gate area was crowded and the agents working the flight were fielding all sorts of questions, complaints, and a couple of irate passengers. I hung around and observed on agent in particular, as I was incredibly impressed with the way she handled everything coming at her. With incredible professionalism, poise and sincere concern, she maintained total control of a chaotic gate area and diffused angry rants without breaking a sweat. She was doing her job, yes, but given my voluminous amount of flying, I rarely see such a “perfect” gate agent as what I witnessed yesterday. After the flight left and her line went down, I handed her a Going The Extra Mile (GTEM) appreciation certificate they mail to all elite members to recognize superior service. She was so pleased, and it made my day to watch her stellar skills in action.

Then it was off to my flight. As equally deserving of a GTEM was the main agent working my flight. I had actually boarded and took my seat after she said they wouldn’t need it, but as luck would have it she came on during the last seconds and asked if I was still willing (absolutely!), so I grabbed my things and headed to the gate area. She, too, had a couple of irate people who she handled on the spot, and I sat patiently knowing I had a good night’s sleep with my name on it quickly approaching. Watching her work was also impressive, and having first-hand knowledge of United’s systems, I know she was diligently finding the best available options for those passengers. When it came time to work on my rerouting, I offered up several options to check availability and we both looked together at what I eventually agreed to. I ran out of GTEMs, so will be absolutely certain to write United an email when I get home.

So, as the year closes today and I have my final United Airlines flights of 2010, I wish you all a Happy New Year’s Eve & I look forward to 2011 and starting the race to 1K status all over again. For posterity, here a screenshot of my almost final United elite qualifying miles and segments this year:

This week’s video is another one by yours truly summarizing the United Airlines Friends & Family event at San Francisco Airport on October 10, 2010. United was gracious enough to invite some Flyertalkers to the event, and I flew up to enjoy the day. I missed out by minutes seeing the United 747 Golden Gate Bridge flyby on Saturday, but there are tons of videos showing it out there on YouTube.

I hope this event survives the merger and is once again open to Flyertalkers next year!

I selected the Trans World Airlines Lockheed TriStar (TWA) L-1011-100 for this week’s Vintage Airline Seat Map. This is the three-cabin domestic and international version with 18 First Class, 40 Ambassador Class (business class), and 214 coach seats. You’d definitely find me in row 2 if I were in first class (2A probably), row 7, 8 or 9 in business class, or row 15 or 16 in coach. When smoking was allowed, at least they sort-of had a true barrier between smoking & non-smoking in coach.

Where would you sit?

I’m awake at 4am here in Zurich with little else to do at this hour except catch up on the blogs, so here’s a hilarious Venn diagram Gary Leff from View From The Wing found online (via Rob Beschizza at Boing Boing). What do doctors, prostitutes and TSA Agents have in common?

As I mentioned in this post, I am a self-proclaimed airline geek and love to collect all kinds of airline and other travel-related items. If you have a similar fascination, be sure to check out the various airline collectible and memorabilia shows held throughout the country during the year.

There are two coming up next month. The first is in Miami from January 12^th through the 15^th at the Comfort Inn & Suites Miami Springs, and Embassy Suites Miami International Airport. The second is here in Los Angeles on January 29^th at the Embassy Suites LAX South. Sadly, I’m going to miss the LAX event as I’m flying back to L.A. that day and won’t arrive back before the closing time.

Last week, United Airlines made several decisions regarding which systems and technology platforms they will use in the merged airline. Matthew provides an excellent summary table in his blog post on the subject, and I’d like to add my thoughts on a couple of the areas.

First, and creating the most discussion, is their decision to use the Continental SHARES reservations system. One United Airlines source was quoted as saying it was the best customer and employee alternative, and its ability to handle migration “in a reasonable amount of time” seemed to be paramount. As it stands, United is on contract with its current reservations system, Travelport’s Apollo, until 2013, but is choosing to terminate that agreement March 1, 2012. I had the old school Apollo and Unimatic system on my desk when I worked in Flight Dispatch in 1993, and later used Apollo extensively in reservations, inventory management, and at my other travel companies. While I haven’t had access to it in more than a decade, I am still sad to learn of United’s decision.

Once fully hosted in SHARES, many are concerned at the system’s ability to handle some of the simplest of changes, especially during irregular operations. Apparently, the United front-end GUI to Apollo at the airport (Fastair), and that used in reservations (Fastres), is far superior to processing complex back-end changes to reservations. There are reports by people who fly both United and Continental regularly that what takes United seconds to do in their system will take Continental several minutes to do the same. Some of the other areas that remain cumbersome in SHARES include its connectivity to other airline systems when confirming availability and interline processes, and inefficient credit card processing. Given the general goal to simplify tasks and minimize staffing, the SHARES system sounds to be a poor choice. It is also being speculated, however, that this is a temporary situation while the new United and other Star Alliance carriers look for a home with a common CRS (now termed GDS – Global Distribution System). Also, usage fees and other economies for Continental/United make SHARES significantly cheaper to go with for the time being.

For Revenue Management, the combined carrier will utilize United’s current technology and programming. I had started to work on the development of one of those systems, Orion, back when I worked in Inventory Management (WHQIM) in 1998. At the time it was touted as the “next generation” of yield management systems. While my tenure at that job was short, I was trained on Orion’s predecessor and was completely blown away with the sophistication of the processes, so you can bet Orion is an industry leader. Another one of the tools back then is also surviving, ARORA, and if memory serves me, it was a windows based inventory analysis program. If you’ve ever heard someone speak of “fare buckets,” WHQIM is the department that manages this seat availability and optimization.

Finally, on the Flight Operations side, United’s systems prevailed, and although I don’t have experience at any other airline, I was as equally impressed with what I witnessed in Flight Dispatch as I was with the technology in Inventory Management.

It will certainly be interesting to watch the merger unfold, and it will remain to be seen whether or not we’ll notice any differences in some areas based on these technology decisions. I’ll be watching in 2011 and beyond with optimistic eyes.

I had flown on Christmas Day before, but never remembered it being as quiet as it was yesterday. Granted I was only taking one short flight from Reno to Los Angeles, and you can’t really call Reno a bustling airport to begin with, but it still seemed unusually empty. I obsess over checking my itineraries and seat assignments, as well as monitoring availability to gauge potential oversell opportunities, so with my flight oscillating from being zeroed out to only two or three seats open in the full-fare Y and B buckets, I was expecting a “normal” airport experience.

I was dropped off to a nearly empty curbside, walked right up to the check-in desk to reprint my boarding pass, and was the only person passing through security at that moment. One of the TSA agents monitoring the exit from the airside concourse mentioned to a co-worker how horribly boring his day was and how he hated just sitting in front of a clock that made a noise every so often. Only two flights were leaving from the C-concourse at that time; a US Airways flight to Phoenix and mine. Horizon Air had decorated their gate area for the holidays, so I took a quick picture of that and went for a seat in my gate area.

When it was time to board, the gate agent offered the usual early boarding to Global Services and 1Ks (no first class, as this was a CRJ-200). When I approached, he asked for my last name as I was walking up to him, and once provided, grabbed one of two cards sitting on the counter and handed it to me saying, “Happy Holidays, Mr. Booth, and here is a small token of our appreciation for your business.”  I sincerely thanked him while handing him one of the Ghirardelli chocolates I had brought to give to every employee I encountered on Christmas Day. The card came with a gingerbread cookie and read; “We are delighted to have you flying with us today! We truly appreciate your business and it is a pleasure to serve you! Happy Holidays from the Reno Team.”

I truly appreciate the little things, and sent a thank you email this morning to United’s Airport Operations Supervisor there in Reno, whose business card was attached inside the card. The flight was uneventful, had at least six or seven seats open, and service was great. I landed in Los Angeles to an also quiet Terminal 8, and made it home in near record time.

As quick and quiet as it was yesterday for me, this upcoming week will likely be the opposite as I’m off to Europe for a few days. I’ve got a couple of posts queued up while I’m away, and should have a twitter update or two while I’m traveling. Look forward to a trip report and a couple of hotel reviews in January, and in the meantime, happy and safe travels this last week of 2010!

George Clooney’s character in “Up In The Air” had a specific and efficient routine when traveling. From packing his bag at home, to checking in at the kiosk, to getting through security and entering the lounge, it was essentially a well choreographed ballet. I, too, have my own routine, and while it is just that – a routine – I am very much conscious of my steps and relish every moment since I love to travel.

I’m an early riser and prefer the 6am bank of flights out of LAX. The night before, I pack my bag in a particular fashion depending on the type of trip (work, vacation, mileage run, etc) and set both my alarm clock and cell phone alarm (out of paranoia). My brain is so programmed for early flights, though, I usually wake before the alarms. I jump in the shower and hit the road, driving the same route, parking in the same lot (virtually the same space), and catch the shuttle to the terminal. I re-print my boarding pass, get through security with organizational precision, and walk to the lounge.

I feel like I’m “home” when I’m strolling through Terminal 7 and experience the usual sights, sounds and smells (as bad as they can be). That early in the morning, I generally hear the same terrible elevator music, smell the first waft of a McDonald’s breakfast (nasty!), and hear the rolling metal doors opening at Starbucks & Hudsons News. I get my first dose of caffeine and head back to sit across from the Red Carpet Club in gate area 71A and wait for opening at 5:00am. The Hawaii flights are usually arriving and I sit there and watch the bleary-eyed & often sunburnt travelers make their way to baggage claim or stick around for connecting flights.

I’m most entertained by watching the behavior of people approach the Red Carpet Club doors and realize it’s not yet open. Most either look at their watch and find the posted hours or ring the bell for entry assuming the door must not work. When they discover the time, some come across and sit in the same area I do, some stand and line up (as early as 20-minutes before opening!), and some walk the concourse for something to do. About five minutes to opening, the RCC agent comes out to collect the morning newspaper bundles, and some think that’s the sign of opening, but wait… “Five more minutes,” the agent explains.

And so, as commonplace as travel has become for me, it has always been something I love to do and provides an enormous amount of comfort, peace and joy. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from Frequently Flying!

Travel agents and other third parties who supply and sell airline tickets were winners and losers this week.

United Airlines reversed its policy that restricted some U.S. travel agencies from using the carrier’s merchant service account when processing airline ticket payments with credit cards. These fees, which generally represent between 1 and 3% of the total transaction, were being passed along to select agencies since the middle of 2009, thereby further eroding any possibility of a profit for simple airline ticket sales. Commission rates for travel agencies have been slashed over the years, so any type of new fee is simply reducing the dime or quarter they might make to a penny or nickel. The Business Travel Coalition this week credited the combined United-Continental management team for the change.

Meanwhile, American Airlines is giving out coal this holiday season to Orbitz and flyers in general. The behind-the-scenes-until-yesterday battle between American and Orbitz has been focused on American’s demand to use its Direct Connect technology. It basically bypasses the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) like Galileo and Sabre used by just about all large third-parties to book airline reservations, and thereby saves American per segment fees in those systems. Orbitz refused to comply, so American followed through with its threat to pull their flight availability and fares. While I can’t blame American for trying to cut costs, they really took it to the next level by totally eliminating a revenue stream worth a reported $800 million annually. (I wonder how Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity currently connect to American?)

Critics of American’s decision are claiming the airline is trying to limit transparency to the lowest fares, and while that may be a side benefit for the carrier, I have to imagine the root of the matter is the cost savings. My prediction, though, is that we will again see American flights on Orbitz in the near future after both sides come to some sort of agreement.

Ho Ho Ho.

This week’s Vintage Airline Seat Map is the Delta Airlines 737-200 with 12 first class and 95 coach seats. What I found interesting here is that Delta opted for 12 first class seats on this short-haul workhorse, whereas most other airlines at the time maintained an 8-seater cabin up front. It’s unclear if the exit row offered any additional legroom based on the drawn scale, so if not, you’d probably find me in a bulkhead seat in row 10, or row 2 A or B in first class.

Where would you sit?