Check your lifetime miles with United. Mine just jumped almost 100k when I thought I was only going to get 15k or so due to the one-time addition of elite qualifying miles dating back to program inception. I certainly hope it’s not a mistake or glitch. How did you make out?

[Updated to add: Looks like just about everyone received many more than they thought they would based on this Flyertalk thread.]

Today is the last day you have access to your 2010 United Airlines Mileage Plus data, so if you haven’t already, log in to your account and save the full year’s worth of data to a PDF. Once the clock strikes midnight tonight, only 2011 will be searchable as was the case last year when 2009 data fell off.

Also, you might consider trying to get a copy of your lifetime purge data from Mileage Plus. I did this last year and was successful on my second try requesting it. The more recent reports on that Flyertalk thread, however, sound like Mileage Plus will only generate the printout for “legal issues.” Still wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, especially if you have a friend who’s a lawyer.

Hope everyone has a safe, fun and Happy New Year tonight.

The year is coming to a close and it was a fantastic one for me, especially for travel. I experienced two new airlines – Cathay Pacific and Asiana – and was fortunate enough to fly in First Class on both. I end up redeeming miles pretty quickly after I accrue them, but this next year I’m saving them for a very special trip.

I think most people have a friend or loved one they confide in with their deepest thoughts and mine is my very best friend Eric. I’ve been urging him for years to get a passport and he finally did just this year. In the very near future, I look forward to taking him on his first international trip somewhere in style.

Eric is the type of friend who has always been there for me. He saw me through a slew of emotional rollercoasters and is someone I admire for his sincerity, humility, persistence in reaching me when I didn’t want him to and his unconditional acceptance of my mistakes.

Last year, I took Eric on his first ever mileage run. We flew from Chicago to Denver to Phoenix and back the same day. What was particularly fun was flying to Denver on an internationally configured 767. It was his first time in such a bird and I specifically picked the rear-facing seats so he could experience something new.

I flew more this year than last, so already have a nice mileage balance built up with United and I’m sure I’ll take him on a Star Alliance trip somewhere in 2012 or 2013. Here’s my final tally with United, having flown my last trip with them this year on Christmas Day.

I also achieved Platinum on American Airlines, something I’m proud of and I was truly impressed with American’s service. I’m too close to Million Miler status on United to outright switch loyalty at this point, but I’ll definitely consider it once I have my lifetime status.

I have a couple of fantastic trips booked next year. I’m flying on my first ever Airbus A380 with Singapore Airlines in Business Class and traveling with my flatmate to his home country of Ireland in BusinessFirst on Continental-United. I also already have 50,000 EQMs on the books for 2012, so feel confident I’ll once again achieve 1K status with United.

My 2011 was a great year of travel… check out my Cathay Pacific and Asiana Airlines trip reports. Here’s to a rewarding 2012. Happy New Year!

I finally edited down the immense amount of video I took on my recent Asiana Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Seoul, South Korea. Here’s the result… I hope you like it:

Congrats to commenter numbers 45 and 148… I’ll be sending you an email shortly. Thanks everyone for your interest in this giveaway… I plan to do more in 2012. Happy New Year!

The DC-10 is my second favorite aircraft after the 747 and I flew on a slew of them in the 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately, I never did fly on the version appearing below, an American Airlines international DC-10-30 LuxuryLiner from 1985 – this week’s installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

DC-10 engines had such a unique sound to them on takeoff and I loved sitting in a window seat near the wing to absorb the vibrations. Also, when I was on my unpaid internship with United in 1993, my benefits included unlimited cockpit jumpseat passes and I flew thousands of miles that year up front in what I consider the best jumpseat of any airliner – huge window next to the seat and an incredibly spacious cockpit.

Seating a total of 241 passengers, this configuration had 25 seats in First Class, 36 in Business Class and 180 in coach. In First you’d find me in row two or three. In Business I’d definitely be in a window seat in row seven or eight to savor the engines and in coach, row 13 looks particularly good if the amount of legroom showing was indeed that much on the AB/HJ sides.

Where would you sit?

I’m starting a new series here on Frequently Flying analyzing award availability in markets where U.S. carriers compete with each other. This first installment looks at the Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow nonstop market and I’ve researched availability from American Airlines and United Airlines in February 2012.

I specifically searched for award seats at the minimum amount of miles required, namely MileSAAver awards on American and Saver awards on United. Any available seat is open for premium redemptions requiring double the miles and is therefore outside the scope of my research. The data below was captured on Monday, December 26, 2011 using ExpertFlyer.

While slightly apples to oranges as American doesn’t offer First Class on every flight – only their single daily Boeing 777 offering – I was particularly interested in seeing how Business Class would compare, as I assume most people are keen on redeeming miles as a couple for a memorable trip in a premium cabin.

American offers two nonstop flights per day to London through February 8^th, then has an equivalent three nonstops daily as United has all month to Heathrow. First, here are total award seats available for the month of February:

I wasn’t surprised to see the differences in First Class award availability between American and United given the disparity of service. Coach seat availability was seen every day in both directions – except United had no seats ORD-LHR on February 18^th – and the numbers reflect the minimum amount of seats open for redemption. American shows a maximum of seven seats via Sabre and United nine seats via Apollo/Galileo, but more were likely open in economy.

On the Chicago to London segment, both carriers allocated a similar amount of seats to each cabin:

But on the return from London to Chicago, United was significantly more generous in each cabin:

Not everyone flies like I do – a single seat in a premium cabin – so I took interest into just how many flights offered at least two seats in Business Class. Both American and United have the same amount of days with zero Business seats available, but American wins out with the most days with at least two seats open for MileSAAver awards on the outbound:

That said, however, you’d have a very difficult time getting back on American. They currently only have two days in February where two seats are available for MileSAAver award space on the return vs. United’s nine flights:

Winner: United Airlines. With similarly configured airplanes and greater availability throughout the month, United offers far more options for award redemption on their nonstop flights. February isn’t a desirable month to visit London, so stay tuned for further posts in this series as I’ll also research peak travel periods.

Christmas may be over (Hanukkah just about), but I’m giving away two Starwood Preferred Guest 50% off RACK rate certificates that are good through December 31, 2013.

As you probably know, rack rates are definitely more expensive than the cheapest best available room rates, but the use of these certificates on suites can really save money, especially in Europe. The certs are valid for one to five consecutive night stays at participating Starwood hotels or resorts worldwide, subject to availability.

As far as I know, the only way to book a stay using these is by calling SPG reservations, but I have read that people successfully used the online chat feature to check rack rates as they aren’t typically published online.

There are terms and conditions, of course, but most are what you’d expect:

• Maximum of five consecutive nights
• Certs may not be applied toward service charges, room tax, food & beverage, parking, gratuities, gift shop purchases or other incidentals and taxes
• Cert must be presented at check-in
• Member will receive Starpoints for paid portion of stay only
• Not combinable with other room rate discounts or specials
• Good for only one room during the stay
• Not valid in Hawaii, French Polynesia or at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel

I’m giving two away, separately, so leave a comment if you’re interested and on Wednesday at 12:00pm PST (December 28, 2011), I’ll use random.org to select two recipients. The only rule is that you can only leave one comment on this post per person/email. Be sure to use your real email address as that’s the way I’ll contact the winners. If your comment gets hung up in moderation, not to worry… I’ll get it approved and posted as soon as possible, definitely before the deadline.

Happy Holidays from me to you!

She’s three feet long and weighs about 15 pounds:

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news this week…

• Thai Airways will take delivery of two Airbus A380s next year and will initially operate their first whale on regional routes, of which Bangkok to Hong Kong is probable. Once they take delivery of their second A380, service to Frankfurt will begin, followed by London and Paris once additional aircraft come online.
• All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced this week they’d begin flying their internationally configured Boeing 787s between Tokyo and both Seattle, WA and San Jose, CA beginning April 1st and between Tokyo and Boston April 22nd. The aircraft will feature 46 seats in a staggered all-aisle access Business Class and 112 seats in Economy in a 2 x 4 x 2 configuration. Will United Airlines maintain their SEA-NRT daily roundtrip once that happens? I think not.
• The latest push to exclude U.S. carriers from the upcoming European Union Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme has failed. The highest court upheld the law that will begin charging airlines for exceeding their carbon emission allotment on flights to and from Europe beginning January 1, 2012. The article quotes one analyst who predicts the law will cost U.S. carriers $3.1 billion from 2012 to 2020. Where is that money going to come from? You and me. We’re now used to fuel surcharges, so why not throw a carbon footprint surcharge in the mix, too? Ugh.
• Curious to know what hotel rates look like in major North American markets between now and the end of February? Check out this summary showing the lowest and median prices for stays in three-, four- and five-star properties. Chicago, Las Vegas and Toronto have the most economical rates for three- and four-star properties. For those with deep pockets, the median rate for the Ritz Carlton Battery Park in New York is $1,023.88 per night in December.
• Airline transactions processed through the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) were basically flat last month from the large travel agencies serving major corporations (e.g., American Express, Carlson Wagonlit, Omega World Travel), while tickets processed dropped for the second consecutive month from online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline.
• The FAA issued a final rule this week covering airline pilot flight times and rest periods. Now instead of eight hours between duty shifts, there will be a minimum 10-hour period with eight of those required to be in a hotel room. Duty times for single cockpit crews will be capped at 14-hours, but can still be extended two hours should delays strike. The new rules don’t apply to cargo operators and UPS pilots sued the FAA on Thursday for inclusion.
• Spirit Airlines reportedly made $50 million in its first year charging customers who have a carry-on bag that won’t fit underneath the seat in front of them. The fee is currently set at $30 per bag if you schedule it online in advance, $35 during online check-in or $40 if handled at the airport.
• British Airways may eventually see competition for its all-Business Class London City to New York Kennedy Airbus A318 service. A previously unnamed buyer of 10 Bombardier C-Series passenger jets has come forward saying they hope to begin similar service to New York and other locations. Named Odyssey Airlines, the carrier claims they’ll be able to fly nonstop versus the one-stop refueling British Airways currently has to do in Ireland on westbound flights. The carrier isn’t expected to get off the ground until 2014, if at all.

I follow the Australian airline industry pretty closely and one of my favorite websites to read every day is Australian Business Traveller. This week a reader asked the question, “Why does (Qantas) not want to sell me SYD-ORD via LAX on the A380?” I plugged in some sample dates on the Australian version of Qantas.com.au to find the following results for such an itinerary:

I’m only showing the first several options from the results page and as you can see, the top choices offer connections via Dallas-Ft. Worth and another through Los Angeles to eventually arrive in Chicago. Scrolling through the whole list, not one flight pairing included Qantas’ flagship A380 aircraft that flies from SYD-LAX, namely QF11. The original reader continues:

Another reader, Christopher, responded, “Conspiracy theory: they want to sell more flights on the DFW route because they’re not selling well.” It’s certainly no conspiracy theory… it’s fact. Here are the two SYD-LAX nonstops with QF11 being the A380:

Los Angeles has long been the preferred destination and/or connection point for Australians visiting the United States, and Qantas knows its load factors will be high on those two flights and that they can demand a premium for the A380. I even plugged in the same Sydney to Chicago itinerary looking to purchase a Business Class fare and the resulting options still left the A380 off.

It makes good business sense to drive as much traffic as possible onto routes where demand is softer and as the original reader notes, booking the A380 can still be done by using the multi-city booking tool at the same price. There’s nothing illegal about it and I agree with the practice.

In fact, it happened to me when I was booking my trip to Ireland next year. My preferred flight pairings were never shown online and I had to use the multi-city tool to piece my itinerary together.

This ‘screen bias,’ if you will, isn’t new to the industry. Back when GDSs were airline-owned, carriers would display their own flight pairings – American in Sabre, for example – before any other carriers’ flights would appear. When I worked at a couple of travel wholesalers in the 1990s, I was able to ascertain this bias went even deeper and the airlines had the ability to flow preferential availability to top corporate clients. Some would see seats available in the S-bucket, for example, while others wouldn’t. I have a feeling this practice still exists today.

Airline divestiture of ownership in GDSs and other governmental action has minimized such activity, but with the increase of customer-direct bookings via the web and the development of “Direct Connect” technology to bypass traditional GDSs, airlines can still divert traffic when needed.