This past January I took a mileage run on United to Tokyo and stayed at the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport for one night. The online rate I booked was shockingly low at only 8,000 yen (about $85) for a fully cancelable standard Hilton Queen room. The non-refundable advance purchase rate was only 1,000 yen less, for what it’s worth.

The hotel offers free shuttle service from the airport at various times throughout the day, typically in 20- or 30-minute intervals (except mid-day when it’s hourly). I had just missed one shuttle and out of laziness and a desire to take a nap as soon as possible, I grabbed a cab for the short ride (about $17).

As a Diamond HHonors member, I was upgraded to a Deluxe Plus room, which the only difference I can ascertain from the website description is 108 additional square feet of space.

The bed was very comfortable and a bit softer than what’s found in many U.S. locations. And there was plenty of desk space and drawers.

Deluxe Plus Queen Room

My welcome amenity included two bottles of water and a couple of hazelnut biscuit crackers. Also included with my status came complimentary health club admission and “American Breakfast,” which turned out to be access to the full buffet.

Welcome Amenities

The nightstand next to the bed controlled the room lights and temperature, and also included a digital alarm clock. Inside the closet a safe large enough for my 15” MacBook Pro was present along with robes and slippers.

I was expecting a super-small bathroom, but was pleasantly surprised by an average sized one similar to what you’d find at say a La Quinta or Holiday Inn – not necessarily a U.S. Hilton. And yes, the toilet featured all the bells and whistles that the Japanese love. The Peter Thomas Roth amenities, standard for Hilton, were slightly larger than what you’d find in the U.S., but still TSA friendly.

Service was excellent at the hotel and everyone spoke English quite well, which you’d expect for a worldwide brand at an airport location. I didn’t snap photos of the breakfast buffet the next morning, but it was fantastic. Everything from typical Western dishes to Japanese and other fare was available.

While the hotel is rather isolated for walking to much of anything, it’s ideal for a quick night before catching a flight the next day. Oh, and if you’re coming in from the city on the train, the hotel also offers free shuttle service to/from Narita Station.

Related posts:

Flight Review: United Airlines Global First Class, San Francisco to Tokyo

Lounge Review: United Global First, Tokyo Narita Airport

Lounge Review: ANA Suite Lounge, Tokyo Narita Airport

As many of you know, I typically focus on legacy airlines when reporting on news, but something shocked me earlier today by Frontier Airlines that warrants a post and apology for a tweet I sent out:

My initial reaction was shock because I still hold Frontier in a class above Spirit and Allegiant, who basically charge for everything. But after reading the full press release and recalling that they’re significantly adjusting their strategy to stay alive, I’ll recant my disagreement with charging for all drinks (except water, I assume).

Why? Because I wouldn’t be shocked or upset to purchase coffee, soda, etc. on Spirit or Allegiant since it’s already in my brain that they’re an ultra low cost carrier. And as Frontier directly points out in the release:

As part of the transformation into an Ultra Low Cost Carrier…

And:

Frontier continues to make it easier for customers flying with Frontier to pay only for the services they use, which allows us to continue lowering fares…

So I recant my “not a good move” tweet-reaction to the news regarding this policy. If you can’t beat them, join them! Spirit, after all, has been quite profitable for some time. $1.99 here and there isn’t going to do it (which is the new fee for drinks for most fliers), but I understand why they’ll begin charging the fee.

And speaking of being Spirit-like, Frontier will also start charging for carry-on bags requiring overhead bin space – anywhere from $25 to $100 – for passengers who purchase “basic fare” tickets on websites other than FlyFrontier.com.

If you’re interested in the specifics of the new fees (and other changes, including modified EarlyReturns mileage accrual rates), click here.

I can’t believe it’s already May and I just realized that I have another batch of United drink vouchers from my 2013 Premier 1K kit just lying around gathering dust. Why not kick off the month with a giveaway?!

[Edited May 4 at 12:00pm PT] Thanks to everyone who entered! There were 137 entries at noon Pacific time and the winner has been drawn.]

United Airlines Beverage Voucher

As you can see, the chits are valid for one alcoholic beverage each onboard United Airlines flights through January 31, 2014. And I have five remaining in a bunch that I’ll mail to one lucky person.

All you have to do is leave a comment (one per person only). I’ll randomly draw a winner this Saturday May 4th at 12:00 p.m. PT. Be sure to enter your valid email address in the comment form as that’s how I’ll get in touch with the winner. And don’t worry if your comment gets held for moderation. I’ll be sure to clear and approve all comments before the drawing.

Good Luck!

US Airways held its annual Media Day event in Phoenix today and several people I follow on Twitter were present providing updates throughout the day. Among them was Jake Redman, a BoardingArea blogger, who sent out the following that piqued my interest given my obsession with amenity kits:

And he followed that tweet up posting a small portion of US Airways’ video shown during the event, highlighting some of the new products and features the airline plans to introduce. Say hello to the soon-to-be-short-lived new US Airways amenity kit:

Gratuitously Screen-Grabbed Image of US Airways' New Amenity Kit

Another View of New US Airways Amenity Kit

The kit will debut in July and includes skin care products from Red Flower, such as lotion, lip balm, and a facial towlette. Also included will be toothpaste, a toothbrush, mouthwash (yes!), facial tissues and the usual eyeshades and socks. It looks pretty average for a business class kit, but I’ll be keen to acquire one as it’ll be the last US Airways branded kit.

There were other interesting updates from the event, including the fact that US Airways (but not American) will match United’s recent $50 increase in change fees. I have to imagine American will hike their change fee rates in time.

As far as the amenity kit, I’m sorry that Red Flower will likely get a shorter-than-planned market penetration of its products. I think this will be the first time they’ve had their items promoted on such a large scale. When United and Continental merged, United ended up ditching their fairly recent partnership (at the time) with Murad and went with a new skin care manufacturer (Philosophy) for the new kits.

Which manufacturer will the merged American go with? Whoever it is, I hope American keeps the new tablet case for its first class offering.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

American Airlines First Class Amenity Kit – Eames Tablet Case

United Airlines Global First Amenity Kit Review

United Quietly Raises Change Fee by $50, Will Other Airlines Follow?

On Saturday I flew from San Francisco to Washington Dulles on United and witnessed what could be classified as a lazy and motivated gate agent at the aircraft door. Lazy because she wasn’t going to fill the two empty seats in first class with passengers on the upgrade list, but motivated to get our delayed flight out saying there were passengers with connections in Dulles.

For a few weekends, San Francisco International Airport is down to one arrival runway, due to construction, causing some flow control delays. As such, passengers missing their connections is more likely. And I believe my flight was a case in point.

When I boarded, the first class cabin was booked and checked-in full – I was number 4 on the upgrade list. No chance, really, and I didn’t care that much since I’ve been getting over my upgrade phobia lately. But I still like to see how it all plays out and when the agent came onboard with the paperwork ready to close the door, here’s how the flight looked:

I was in 10D and the gentleman ahead of me in 9D called out to the agent ready to close the door asking about further upgrades. (I bet he was also looking at his mobile app). The agent said, “let me look at the list” and turned around to her colleague. Seconds later, she said, “Yes, you definitely… take any open seat.” He got up and moved up front.

The agent then told the flight attendant, “I’m closing the door!” And she did. After the jetway pulled and the flight attendant armed the door, she went up front, grabbed the manifest from the purser and headed back to another passenger in 20C. He was quickly escorted up to the last remaining seat in first class and later in the flight came back to bring his belongings forward.

Sunday morning I looked at the flight again and noticed #1 and #2 on the list showed cleared, though I have no idea if they were indeed the two passengers moved forward. They probably were.

Now here’s what I wonder. If Mr. 9D didn’t question the gate agent, I bet those two first class seats would have flown empty. I certainly respect the gate agent for wanting to get the flight out as quickly as possible to protect the downline connections, but shouldn’t they also take the few seconds (it wouldn’t take more than a minute, would it?) to fill those empty seats?

I said earlier that I didn’t really care about missing the upgrade. But had I been number 1 or 2 and saw after landing that I showed cleared and still flew in coach, I’d be a little pissed. Wouldn’t you?

Finally, kudos to the flight attendant who seemed to take it upon herself to fill the last remaining seat in first class with Mr. 20C. I don’t think the gate agent had anything to do with that.

Related posts:

Buh-Bye Upgrade Phobia: Rediscovering the Joy of Coach Travel

A Look at Cheapest vs. Upgradable United Airlines International Airfares

How about a little regional carrier love for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps?

Appearing below is the seat map for a United Express British Aerospace BAE 146-200 seen flying the skies in 1998. I enjoyed flying on this bird, as the interior was nearly equivalent to a 737. And the #avgeek in me loved the high-wing, four-engine exterior.

This aircraft style is still flying these days, but renamed as the Avro RJ. I flew on a SWISS stretched version a couple of years ago from Frankfurt to Zurich.

You’d likely find me in a window seat near the wing, such as 5A or 6A.

Where would you sit?

United Express BA3 146-200 Seat Map

Here’s an added bonus pic of a BAe 146-200 I snapped at Chicago O’Hare sometime around 1990 (Air Wisconsin, I believe):

United Express BAe 146-200

Related posts:

Vintage Airline Seat Maps

Top 10 Viewed Vintage Airline Seat Maps

Barry Biffle, Spirit’s chief marketing officer, spoke at the Association of Travel Marketing Executives conference today in Miami. I wasn’t there, but it sort of felt like I was reading Henry Harteveldt’s real-time Twitter updates from the event.

Henry, if you don’t follow him, is a veteran airline and travel industry analyst working for Hudson Crossing and often shares the best quotes from these types of events. And his selection today from Barry Biffle didn’t disappoint. Here’s a rundown of a few insightful remarks from earlier:

Spirit’s business model caters to the leisure and O&D (origin & destination, point-to-point travel) segments, and his remarks here reflect that strategy. It’s sort of shocking for an airline to come out and say they’re not for business travelers, but it works for Spirit.

I grouped the three above together, but I could be taking them out of context. Passengers not wanting to be pissed off probably refers to the amount of ancillary fees and their cost. Spirit does show their lengthy menu of fees on their website, but I bet it is a challenge for them to deal with unaware customers who’ve booked through some travel agents.

Ha! Well, yeah, that’s some marketing spin… but it’s true. Those options certainly come with fees, though.

Spirit definitely offers a low-ball base service price and I can see a lot of truth in these two remarks. While they don’t have another airline trip to compare it to, I wonder how Spirit’s first time fliers rate the experience?

Separately, Spirit’s CEO Ben Baldanza was speaking at another event today and made a rather honest remark concerning Spirit’s fees:

How true, indeed. The round-trip baggage fees on Spirit would likely be more than the total airfare for the family.

One of my goals this year is to step out of my comfort zone and fly on both Spirit and Allegiant, just for the experience of it (well… and to blog about it). Allegiant will likely be first as they fly into my home airport. Stay tuned!

American Express yesterday launched a limited time bonus offer of 50,000 Membership Rewards points for the Business Gold Rewards Card.

Application link: The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN

Here’s the short-list of details:

Limited Time Offer: Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card membership†.

• Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card in the first 3 months of Card membership†.
• Earn points even faster to get more rewards for your business.
• 3X points on airfare purchased from airlines. 2X points at US gas stations.
• Up to $100,000 in each category per year, then 1 point.
• Terms and limitations apply.
• Reduce travel costs, show appreciation for employees and clients, and offset everyday expenses by using points to get something back and grow your business.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175.
• †Apply online to qualify for this offer. See offer terms for details.

This card has offered higher sign-up bonus Membership Rewards points in the past, but generally for a much larger spend requirement in the first three months.

It’s important to note that this welcome bonus offer is not available to applicants who have opened new accounts for this product or any other Business Gold, Green or Platinum Card account within the last 12 months. I recently applied for a personal Platinum Card, whose annual fee pays for itself in travel credits and benefits, so I may jump on this offer too.

The card in this post offers a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175.

As far as point-accrual details, the Business Gold Rewards Card earns 3X points on airfares purchased directly from the airlines, 2X points on advertising for your business in select media, shipping and at gas stations, and 1X points on other purchases.

For more Mileage and Point Earning credit cards, click here.

Related posts:

How the American Express Platinum Card Can Pay For Itself

I receive a referral credit if you successfully apply for a card using the links on this post. I remain grateful to any who apply using those links and thank you for your support of my blog. The decision to apply for credit is yours and includes the responsibility to read and understand all terms and conditions.

This content is not provided or commissioned by the company whose products are featured on this site (“Advertiser”). Any opinions, analyses, reviews or evaluations provided here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the Advertiser. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser’s affiliate programs.

You may have seen in the news during the past few days a story about two US Airways first class passengers who were told to change clothes before being allowed to board. They were traveling from Denver to Los Angeles via Phoenix and were allegedly wearing jeans, hoodies and baseball caps. A “no go” according to US Airways.

The African-American siblings (brothers) complied by changing clothes, but were shocked to discover two other first class passengers (one Caucasian, one Filipino) boarded and took their seats wearing attire similar to what the two brothers were forced to change out of – jeans and the like.

Sounds crazy, right? They thought so and have now sued (PDF) US Airways for racial discrimination and emotional distress.

Not so fast.

While the court complaint linked above says the brothers had the same first class tickets as the other pair, US Airways confirmed with both NBC News and USA Today that the brothers were traveling as non-revs on buddy passes. As such, a dress code applies.

Buddy-Pass Etiquette

While the brothers admitted to traveling on buddy passes, they claim that they didn’t know the dress code policy. And whose fault is that? The employee’s whose pass they’re traveling on. And I can only hope that employee is no longer working at US Airways, because if they are, they probably won’t be much longer.

Pass travel of any kind is an absolute privilege and carries responsibilities. When I worked for United, those responsibilities were very clearly explained to me, including the fact that I could be held responsible for the behavior of anyone traveling on my passes – up to and including termination.

As such, I only ever gave them to people I truly trusted, clearly explaining the rules. I never let a “friend of a friend” use them who I didn’t know for the very reason my job could be in jeopardy. And quite a few of my colleagues at the time had a similar personal policy, which I’m sure many airline employees today hold.

I’m sure the lawsuit will be shut down rather quickly, as it’s ridiculous. But what shocks me most about it is the fact that there were actually two first class seats open for buddy pass fliers. When does that happen domestically nowadays?!

I posted the third annual TravelPlus Airline Amenity Bag Award winners over on my Road Warrior blog last week. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention them here, as many of you know I’m an amenity kit aficionado.

Not surprisingly, the top honors in each category went to non-U.S. carriers. United Airlines, however, did receive a readers’ choice nod for “collaborative initiative” for its Global First amenity kit. Here were the results:

First Class Female – Emirates Airways supplied by Harmony-gategroup
First Class Male – Etihad Airways supplied by Watermark
First Class Unisex – Singapore Airlines supplied by Harmony-gategroup

Business Class Female – Virgin Australia supplied by buzz
Business Class Male – Qantas supplied by buzz
Business Class Unisex - Turkish Airlines supplied by FORMIA

Premium Economy – Condor supplied by Skysupply
Economy – Virgin Atlantic supplied by Harmony- gategroup
In-flight Amenity Gift – Singapore Airlines supplied by Harmony- gategroup

Children’s under 6 – Qantas supplied by buzz
Children’s over 6 – Qatar Airways supplied by buzz

Ethically Sustainable – Finnair supplied by Skysupply with a Highly Commended Award going to Cathay Pacific supplied by Watermark

I’ve got a lot of work to do to build up my collection, as I only have one of the above – the Virgin Australia female business class kit. TravelPlus photographer David Jenner has a great photo collection of the winners here.

It’s an event I’ll be marking on my calendar to attend next year in Hamburg and it also coincides with the Aircraft Interiors Expo the same week.

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

The Cost and Allure of Airline Amenity Kits

Ranking the Top Amenity Kits Reviewed (as of June 2012)

Amenity Kit Review: United Airlines Global First Class