I’m catching up with last week’s notable airline news items and American’s new boarding process, tested earlier this year, is a hot topic.

Basically, American Airlines is now allowing those passengers without carry-ons requiring overhead bin space to board ahead of Group 2. The test of this new process, rolled out systemwide last Thursday, was a resounding success according to American’s press release:

The test received overwhelmingly positive feedback from American’s customers, and agents like the new process because it allows for smoother and quicker boarding for everyone.

But based on several Twitter conversations I had today, as well as an interesting Forbes article, compliance and enforcement issues could create more drama and negative impact than the reportedly two minutes the new process saves in boarding time.

Virgin America tried a similar boarding system, but abandoned it after such compliance and enforcement issues arose. From the Forbes article:

In fact, Virgin America has already tried and abandoned American’s new process. “It is more efficient and you do get a lot of people on the aircraft more quickly,” said Virgin America CEO David Cush, in an interview. “But it’s difficult to police. You get into a debate about how big is something that fits under your seat.”

Additionally, Cush said, early boarding passengers would sometimes glance up at all the empty bin space overhead and then place their carry-on in the bin. Virgin America dropped the process in 2011, after about half a year. “It may work for American,” Cush said. “I applaud them for trying different things. It didn’t seem to be an overwhelming hit for us.”

While I can see gate agents policing the new system at the boarding door, once the passenger is onboard nearly all bets are off as to where their underseat item actually gets stowed.

Flight attendants tend to do a wonderful job with announcements and shifting items to make more space, but they can’t be at every row, nor would they know that the person walking onboard fell into this group. It’s effectively an honor system and we all know how well some travelers abide by the “rules.”

It will be interesting to see if American’s new process goes the way of Virgin America.

Read more:

American Airlines Testing New Boarding Procedure

Is American’s Preferred Seat Allocation a Bit Excessive?

– Follow Darren Booth on Twitter, @FrequentlyFlyin, for more airline, hotel and travel industry news, reviews and opinions.

Last month I published a seat map of American’s “Standard” DC-10 from 1985 sporting a spacious coach cabin. I noted in that post that a mere two years later in 1987, this same aircraft was reconfigured with 22 additional seats in the rear cabin and promised to share the higher-density layout.

Here, then, is American’s DC-10 Luxury Liner seen flying the skies in 1987 for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

The additional seats came by way of adding a pair of two-seaters on each side of the aircraft in between doors 2L/R and 3L/R, a pair of two-seaters in the rear-most section and three rows of middle five-seaters. If you’re doing the math, that’s one too many seats – note the very last row in the middle section formerly had four seats, but now only three.

Surviving this configuration, though, was a coffee bar in the very back along with two coat compartments (for coach!).

In first class you’d find me in a window seat mid-cabin, such as 3A or 3J. And in coach I always loved sitting near the engines as they had such a distinctly fantastic howl.

Where would you sit?

American Airlines DC-10 Standard Seat Map (1987)

Related posts:

American Airlines DC-10 ‘Standard’ Seat Map from 1985

American Airlines DC-10 ‘Dining in the Sky’ Seat Map

American Airlines DC-10 ‘International’ Seat Map

American Airlines and Klout, a web service that scores your overall social media influence, teamed up for a new contest. They’re giving away free Admirals Club day passes to anyone whose Klout score is 55 or above, plus an entry to win an annual membership.

Just go to http://aa.com/klout and sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account to see if you have “klout.” For scores under 55, there’s a drawing for a day pass (or an offer for $50 off a membership, based on some reports).

I hadn’t signed into Klout in ages (there are just so many social media things I can do each day), but I did indeed score a free pass.

Klout was already an approved application on my Twitter account, but if you don’t like that type of thing, you can de-authorize them after checking your score for this contest.

The printable day pass I won is valid until July 31, 2013. Here are the T&Cs:

1. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. 2. OPEN TO/ENTRY DETAILS: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia who are 18 years (19 in Alabama andNebraska, 21 in Mississippi or older and no computer, mechanical device, or electronic device at a place of business in the State of Georgia. 3. Sweepstakes begins at 11:59 a.m. [Central daylight time (³CT²)] on May 6, 2013 and all entries must be received by 11:59 a.m. [CT] time on May 31, 2013. 4. PRIZE DETAILS: One Prize consisting of one (1) year membership to Admirals Club ARV $450. 5. ODDS: Odds of winning depend on number of entries. 6. ELIGIBILITY: Employees and agents of Sponsor, Administrator andaffiliates, agencies, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, and members of such employees¹ and agents¹ immediate families and individuals living in the same household with such employees or agents, are not eligible to win. 7. Void where prohibited. 8. Participation is subject to complete Official Rules by which all entrants are bound. Available at www.aa.com/klout. 9. Entrants release all parties from all claims/liability arising from this Sweepstakes or acceptance/use of any Prize. 10. Sponsor: American Airlines, Inc. 4333 Amon Carter Blvd., Ft. Worth, Texas 76155.

Related posts:

Yet Another Gift from American Airlines

A Surprise from American Airlines Arrived in the Mail

Review: American’s Flagship Check-In and Lounge at LAX

I previously posted three other American DC-10s – one from 1977 sporting a “Dining in the Sky” section, another from 1985 in a three-class international configuration, and a high-density coach layout operating to Hawaii. And here now is American’s standard version seen flying the skies in 1985 for this installment of Vintage Airline Seat Maps.

The map doesn’t identify seat pitch information, but this layout is more akin to what was flying pre-deregulation with greater comfort in coach. How do I know? Well, I have a map of this same aircraft two years later I’ll post in the future showing additional rows in economy, bumping the capacity in the rear cabin up from 234 to 256 seats.

A couple of neat things to note on the map below are the carry-on luggage racks and the coffee bar near the rear lavatories.

In first class you’d find me in a window seat mid-cabin, such as 3A or 3J. And in coach I always loved sitting near the engines as they had such a distinctly fantastic howl.

Where would you sit?

American Airlines DC-10 'Standard' From 1985

Related posts:

American Airlines DC-10 ‘Dining in the Sky’ Seat Map

American Airlines DC-10 International Seat Map

American Airlines DC-10 Hawaii Seat Map

American Airlines will be raising most rates for an Admirals Club membership effective May 1, 2013.

Rates for non-elites will remain unchanged, with prices for new or renewal memberships for AAdvantage Gold members going up by $25. If burning miles is more your style, the rates for Golds are going up by 5,000 miles with the exception of the “single annual renewal” rate remaining at 60,000 miles.

Cash rates for Platinum and Executive Platinum members will go up by $50 across the board. And mileage rates will increase by 5,000 miles with the exception of the “single annual new” rate jumping by 10,000 miles for Plats.

Here’s a table of the new structure:

American Airlines Admirals Club Membership Rates

Both Delta and United recently increased their airport lounge rates, so American seems to be following along.

Personally, I’m glad I’m getting Admirals Club access via my American Express Platinum card. I hope that program doesn’t change!

(Hat tip: AAdvantage Geek & Frequent Flier)

Related posts:

How an American Express Platinum Card Pays For Itself

United Club Membership Rates Increase

Virgin America today extended its status match program for elite frequent fliers with American and United – and added Southwest Airlines. It’s a match/challenge combo, actually, where you’ll be matched outright until June 30, 2013 and offered the ability to extend your status through the end of 2013.

This extension is for new applicants as of April 2, and will not include anyone who participated in their original offering last November.

First, here’s the chart of how the American, United and Southwest elite tiers match to Elevate Silver or Gold:

Here are the benefits of Elevate Silver and Gold:

There are a couple of exceptions to the perks above in the T&Cs for those members matched. During the challenge period (now through June 30, 2013), you will not receive the 25% off discount codes, nor will you have reciprocal benefits (lounge access, primarily) on Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia that require a physical membership card. Cards will not be issued for matched members. Also, matched members will only receive one complimentary pass to the Virgin America lounge at LAX.

To have your matched status extended through the 2013 program year, you must:

It’s a nice break they’re giving for Virgin America Visa Signature cardholders, according to the chart above.

Application link: Virgin America Visa Signature Credit Card

The current bonus mile offer for being approved for the credit card is 10,000 bonus points after the first purchase. You can also earn up to 5,000 additional bonus points if you transfer a balance within the first 30 days.

While they don’t have a complimentary first class upgrade program for elites, Virgin America does open up purchased upgrades earlier for Silver (12 hours) and Gold (24 hours) members. Upgrades to Main Cabin Select seats are, however, complimentary and follow the same timeframe/window. While waiting for that upgrade, elites can book Main Cabin Express seats (those near the front) at the time of booking.

Sorry Delta fliers… there’s still no match for you. American, United and Southwest elites, click here for the status match page with instructions on how to apply.

Related posts:

Virgin America Launches Status Match for American, United Elites

Flight Review: Virgin America First Class LAX to Seattle

Flight Review: Virgin Australia Business Class Sydney to Perth

Flight Review: Virgin Australia Business Class Perth to Sydney

I receive a referral credit if you use the credit card application link on this page and get approved for a Virgin America credit card. I remain grateful to any who apply using my links and thank you for your support of my blog.

There’s just no escaping April Fools’ Day, especially if you’re engaged in monitoring social media all day. And while I’m not an enormous fan of it, there are some good ones today in the airline and travel world. Here are my favorites:

1. Exclusive: Memo Details New United Airlines ‘Super Elite’ Level by Christopher Elliott: Did you hear? United plans a new Global Services Plus level beginning June 1. Members must be addressed as “your highness” or “your royal highness” at all times. United agents are encouraged to call non-Global Services Plus “gate lice” and “kettles” in the presence of this super elite group. And there’s a lot more!
2. Doug Parker Decides ‘Small is Beautiful’ – Doesn’t Want AA-US Merger After Livery Concerns by Brett Snyder: “Everyone knows the most important part of any merger is how you paint the airplanes. This one was just too difficult for us to figure out,” sighed Parker, according to Brett’s post. And another possible reason for the merger failing according to one source was, “I mean, would you want to live in Dallas?”
3. Yes! I Bought a Bank by TheMrPickles: The one and only himself bought a bank, which offers probably the best and most unique travel loyalty credit card out there. You’ll have absolutely no issues with Vanilla Reloads, points will transfer to other banks’ loyalty programs and SPG and Hyatt will treat you like royalty. And there’s so much more in this rather elaborate post.
4. WestJet Announces ‘Furry Family’ Pet Program: As they did last year, Canadian airline WestJet produced a fun video about a new service. This year, they announced the easing of restrictions surrounding “pets” traveling in-cabin. No longer will they have to be in an approved container, instead allowed to roam free in-flight. And by pets, I mean goats, bears, ducks and baby crocodiles. Well done, WestJet, well done!

There are many more out there, including spoofs from Delta, JetBlue, Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic, as well as a couple from fellow BoardingArea bloggers. Do you have a favorite?

Related posts:

Cruel, Yet Hilarious, Airport Prank

The Funniest Thing About United’s Outage Today

April Fools Air New Zealand Style

I received the following question from Peter and he (and I) would love additional feedback beyond what I provided. First, his question:

I fly 200K – 250K for business (mostly China) and try to divide it between UA and AA to keep my top tier status with both. I will turn 40 soon and don’t want to spend the rest of my life in the air. That brings me to the question which FF program should I stick to when I cut down my “butt in seat miles” to about 100K-150K/year.

I prefer StarAlliance because I can use miles on more airlines to destinations that I like, but AA is getting better (customer service, meals, planes, …) and I have access to Flagship lounge, I get SWU on any fare and my domestic upgrades clear 80%, UA only about 50%. I fly LAX-PVG a lot and both airlines have great connections.

If you would pick one program, which one would it be?

I think it’s pretty difficult to narrow down a succinct “this airline over the other” answer, as each person is different and might value certain benefits of a frequent flier program and airline more heavily over others.

Here are the main considerations I replied with and asked Peter to ponder:

Lifetime Status: If he is closer to a lifetime status tier with one carrier over another, I recommended focusing his 100-150k per year on that carrier. Given the likelihood that all U.S. airlines will add a revenue requirement to attain elite status each year (a la Delta), I think it’s an important consideration to lock-in some status now, even if it’s not top-tier.

American-US Airways Merger: As we’ve seen with the Delta-Northwest and United-Continental mergers, frequent flier programs change. American is indeed very generous currently with SWU applicability on all international coach fares and has a pretty good record – based on trip reports – of excellent service (which has been my experience compared with United). Will a Doug Parker-run American destroy some of American’s allure and generous frequent flier program perks?

Alliance Strength: Peter admits Star Alliance is his preferred global alliance and I have to unapologetically agree. Star has the greatest number of truly premium carriers and I certainly value my United miles greater than my American miles for worldwide redemption opportunities.

Service Matters: American’s AAdmirals Club, particularly at LAX where Peter seems to be based, is far stellar to the United Club. Here’s a look at the Flagship Lounge, for example. And in my experience, more of American’s flight attendants seem to have a truly genuine desire to provide exceptional customer service than United’s.

I think it’s almost a “wait and see” game with how American evolves in the merger with US Airways. But if I were Peter, I’d definitely focus that 100-150k on a single carrier for top-tier status. Would it make sense to split it? What are your thoughts?

Related posts:

What the New American AAdvantage Program Might Look Like

Why an American-US Airways Merger Worries Me

How the American Express Platinum Card Can Pay For Itself

American Flagship Check-In and Lounge at LAX

This past weekend I noticed the following Twitter exchange between @JohnnyJet and American Airlines:

According to Johnny’s tweet, he noticed that American offered boarding to passengers without carry-ons in the second group, likely after those with Priority Access.

Curiosity peaked, I emailed American’s PR team on Monday and received the following reply yesterday (bolding mine):

I just heard back from the customer contact planning group. American is indeed testing this new process at select airports whereby customers who do not have any baggage to stow in the overhead compartment are boarded in a separate group. This is a very limited test and no results have even been analyzed yet.

It’s not necessarily hush-hush, but the PR rep noted that American didn’t wish to provide additional details beyond confirming the test.

So long as elites and others with Priority Access are boarded ahead of this group, I think it’s a great idea as long as it’s enforced properly. Potential downsides: turning people away who think they qualify causing a congested boarding lane, and the possibility that gate checking bags once the overhead bins are full could lead to departure delays since all remaining passengers needing overhead bin space are at the tail end of boarding as opposed to being spaced out. That said, if everyone else is in their seats already, it might not be a big deal.

What do you think?

Related posts:

A Very Generous ‘Soft Landing’ to American AAdvantage Platinum

What the New American AAdvantage Program Might Look Like

Is American’s Preferred Seat Allocation a Bit Excessive?

I’ve long held off adding one of the American Express Platinum credit cards to my wallet due to the hefty annual fee and the fact that United doesn’t participate in the lounge access benefit. But as my nearly exclusive flying on United is coming to an end soon by locking in million-miler status, I took the plunge and applied for a card. And the annual fee will pay for itself each year in travel benefits on other airlines, specifically lounge access and $200 in annual airline fee credits.

Link: The Platinum Card® from American Express: The current standard offer provides 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 within 3 months, $200 in airline fee credits (more on that below), access to American, Delta, US Airways and Priority Pass airport lounges, plus a host of other Platinum perks. The annual fee on this card is $450.

Link: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN: The current standard offer provides 25,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 within 3 months, access to American, Delta, US Airways and Priority Pass airport lounges, plus a host of other Platinum perks. The annual fee on this card is $450.

Link: Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz: The current offer provides 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $1,000 in 3 months, access to American, Delta, US Airways and Priority Pass airport lounges, plus a host of other Platinum perks. The annual fee on this card is $475.

American Express has recently been mailing targeted offers out for the Platinum card with 100,000 Membership Rewards points, which is the best deal of course. But if you’re not lucky enough to get one, the above cards can still pay for themselves.

While not officially stated as a benefit of the Business or Mercedes-Benz cards, they do reportedly get $200 in airline fee credits. The credits are advertised as being for incidentals, such as checked bag fees, in-flight purchases (not Wi-Fi), change fees and the like. But airline gift card purchases have been widely reported as being successful.

My Plan

As my flying on American Airlines will increase in the coming months, I’ll designate them as the carrier for the $200 credit. Then, I’ll purchase gift cards (probably in $50 increments) under their program to capture the statement credit and use those cards for future flights.

And I’ll be able to avoid purchasing an Admirals Club lounge membership ($400 at my current AAdvantage Platinum status). So, the $450 annual fee will certainly pay for itself this year given my travel habits and patterns. Oh, and if you don’t already have Global Entry, American Express will reimburse the $100 application fee if you pay for it with your Platinum card.

I’m probably one of the few people who has held off for so long getting an AMEX Platinum card. And I only recently started getting targeted offers with the more generous Membership Rewards points, so never thought the previous 25k or 50k offers were worth the trouble as I focused predominantly on Chase and Citi cards.

Application link: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Application link: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN

Application link: Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz

For other airline, hotel and flexible credit cards that earn miles or points, click here.

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