United Airlines provided the details for the 2012 Mileage Plus program yesterday, as was widely reported and blogged. Many of the speculated changes did not actually come to pass, but there are some program details leaving many disappointed. All the specifics can be found here and I offer my comments on some of them below.

Tiers. As expected, United officially rolled out four mileage/segment-based tiers from Silver to 1K with “Premier” being the branded leading word at all levels. Global Services still exists, of course, on an invitation-only basis determined by your annual spend. I think adding the 75,000-mile level was a smart move to further reward the higher mileage flying 75,000 to 99,999 members with some extra goodies, including matching the fee waivers 1Ks currently enjoy. A few other highlights (Elite Qualifying Miles & Segments are now Premier Qualifying Miles & Segments: PQM/PQS):

United cut bonus miles back down below 100% for lower level elites, as it was about 20 years ago. I think it’s fair, actually, but will be uncompetitive with the rest of the industry except US Airways. Slight adjustments to the upgrade windows were made and the minimum four-segment requirement – the least worrisome rumored change – did make an appearance. Apparently the backlash United received from the “leaked” tier-based revenue requirements were bad enough to keep it totally off the program. I was ready to book a discounted business class ticket to Australia next year had they required it, but will happily achieve 1K again inexpensively.

Upgrades. After Global Services, priority is now given to elites on full-fare Y and B tickets (plus M for 1Ks), so the all mighty dollar on any given flight is now more important to United than long-term loyalty. I think this is remarkably unfair to the consistently loyal elite who, say, normally buys last-minute tickets for business travel only to get penalized when they pre-plan a vacation and booked a cheaper rate. It just doesn’t make sense to me. On the other hand, mileage upgrades – and regionals & systemwides, now named Regional Premier Upgrades & Global Premier Upgrades – will trump anyone looking for a complimentary upgrade and while hard to swallow, I agree with this. Priority should be given to instrument-sponsored upgrades before any complimentaries should come into play. I know some of you will disagree with me here.

Fare-based bonus miles. Finally United is awarding bonus miles for full-fare economy tickets and also greatly enhanced bonuses for the premium cabins. Here’s a summary showing the current percentages and what will eventually be the new structure once both carriers are on the Shares GDS (late first quarter 2012).

Economy Plus access. In quite a bitch-slap to the 25,000- to 49,999-mile flyers, United will now only allow Premier Silvers to reserve an Economy Plus seat at time of check-in. I think United had better end one of their current advertisements advising “Place your expectations in the upright position.”

Lifetime benefits. I am incredibly pleased with the details for the million-miler program. First, United will make a one-time adjustment to add in elite qualifying miles (EQMs) from years past since Continental Airlines’ current program incorporates those miles. Not counting the “roll-over” bonus EQMs I received in 2009 and 2010 (will those count?) I probably have about 15,000 miles coming to me. Going forward, only actual flight miles will count toward status and I’m fine with that having been used to it as a United flyer. Thankfully, at one million miles, United will bestow lifetime Premier Gold status (I had feared Silver), Premier Platinum for two million, Premier 1K for three million and (wow!) Global Services for four million. Also, million-milers will be able to designate a spouse or significant other with matching status.

I can now happily continue my trek for million-miler status having seriously been considering a jump over to American Airlines if the program were unattractive. I still have a nagging worry, though, that we’ll eventually see reduced PQMs for the cheapest tickets. With United relenting on a hard figure revenue requirement, will they boldly be the first U.S. carrier to attempt a shakeup of elite qualification based on fare?

Last week American Airlines launched elite rewards as part of the 30^th anniversary of the AAdvantage frequent flyer program. It’s based on your elite status at the close of the year along with how many Elite Qualifying Points (EQPs) you’ve racked up to that point. Each tier has its own selection of rewards available once you pass the stated EQP requirement, which is summarized below.

Image courtesy American Airlines

Since I began flying American this year and will be Platinum at year-end, I was curious to see what type of spend would be necessary to qualify for the rewards. EQP accrual on American is determined by the amount of miles flown and the category of fare purchased. Deeply discounted economy fares, those I usually fly, only rack up 0.50 points per qualifying mile (those in G, Q, N, O and S buckets). I knew the spend would need to be a bit more significant and probably out of my budget as I’m still maintaining my top-tier status with United Airlines, but was hoping it might be achievable. I was eying the 25,000 bonus miles or gift of AAdvantage Gold status I could give to a friend.

So, I sampled a few fares and put together the following research into just how much it would cost to hit each threshold and confirmed it is way beyond my means. The good news, though, for business travelers paying higher fare classes is that this program will certainly add value to carrying elite status with American this year. Particularly if you’re Executive Platinum where you would get to pick two quite meaningful rewards in my opinion. The one-year Admirals Club membership is a fantastic bonus.

I sampled fares in three markets originating from Los Angeles: New York JFK, Chicago O’Hare and Tokyo. Each fare was the lowest currently available at the respective EQP level and didn’t include taxes, but I did add the hefty fuel surcharge into the Tokyo market fare ($670). In any case, you can see it would take about $5,000 to qualify for the rewards at the Gold level, $10,000 for Platinum and $15,000 for Executive Platinum. Yes this was a very small sampling only from LAX, but I think it paints the picture of just how much spend would be required.

The revenue metric is indeed becoming much more prominent when rewarding the elite ranks of flyers. I think the days of full Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) for those low bucket fares are numbered, and airlines will focus on revenue as a determinant of elite status more heavily in the future. United’s rumored changes to Mileage Plus are in my opinion all but certain for the 2013 elite year, and while sad for me as a mileage runner, I’m fully supportive of the business rationality behind it.

Midway Airlines was founded in 1976 but began operations in 1979 as one of the first low-cost airlines compliments of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Based out of Chicago’s Midway Airport, the airline had a modest start with DC-9 aircraft purchased from TWA and served Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City. During its heyday in the mid-1980s, Midway’s route structure grew to 40 destinations and in 1990 the carrier began operating a second hub in Philadelphia. Due to competitive pressures out of PHL and the rising cost of jet fuel, Midway ceased operations in 1991 (not before I was a member of their FlyersFirst frequent flyer program and got a card).

Now I know the widebodies are far more interesting when it comes to seat maps, but I’ve gotta give the narrowbodies some love from time to time. Here is Midway’s Douglas DC-9-10 seating 83 passengers in an all coach configuration. The greatest legroom according to the text can be found at seats 2A&C (their denotation of ‘B’ is an error, it seems) and 8A&C, which the latter I find odd as it’s the row ahead of the emergency exit. You’d definitely find me in a window seat for the short hops Midway used to serve… probably 2A or 3A.

Where would you sit?

There has been some interesting airline news the last week or so from Australia, and here’s a recap:

• The pesky ash cloud from the Chilean volcano made at least two passes over Australia & New Zealand in the past 10 days causing widespread flight cancellations and reroutings. From shutting down the major airports at Sydney and Melbourne for a day (or more for some airlines) to localized route-specific cancellations, the airlines had their hands full with rebookings. Travel waivers were issued allowing for cancellation & refunds. Let’s hope Diamond Head on Oahu stays dormant & the other Hawaiian volcanoes remain “normal” to avoid the same disruption in the U.S. as the Chilean one has in Australia and the Icelandic volcano did in Europe.
• On August 24^th this year Qantas will announce “a strategic renewal of Qantas international” likely overhauling many of the red kangaroo’s ailing international routes. It is all but certain that the carrier will pull out of select markets & instead look to enhance code-share flights with oneworld alliance partners. Qantas is also overhauling some of their A380s and 747s to include additional economy seats after removing first class entirely from select aircraft.
• With added pressure from a rebranded Virgin Australia, Qantas has made adjustments to their frequent flyer program making elite status and upgrades easier to attain. Pricing & ticketing rule structures are also being more closely aligned to compete with Virgin Australia. Both carriers are also offering promotional upgrades with Qantas having a (targeted?) offer for U.S. American Express cardholders to upgrade a one-way segment of a roundtrip Dallas to Sydney Premium Economy ticket to Business Class. Virgin Australia within Australia is offering a taste of their domestic Premium Economy complete with lounge access starting at $35.
• Previous strike threats were called off, but a new round is set to begin on Monday for Qantas, where maintenance engineers in Melbourne plan a two-hour work stoppage, followed by Perth on Tuesday and Brisbane on Wednesday. The airline is attempting to be proactive in substituting larger aircraft on routes assumed to take the biggest hit for delays & cancellations, and claims the majority of travelers “will remain on schedule.”

Today, I am very honored to become part of the BoardingArea family of bloggers and look forward to writing airline, hotel & travel industry news, reviews & opinions for my regular & new readers. For those of you meeting me here for the first time, a proper introduction is in order.

My name is Darren Booth and there is nothing I love to do more than head to an airport, visit the lounge, fly around the world & check into a hotel upon arrival. Oh, and rack up the miles & points, of course, to eventually redeem for first class flights on the premier air carriers of the world, staying at the finest resorts for next to nothing.

I grew up fascinated with the industry, loving hotels as a child on road trips with my family, and confirmed my passion for airlines after my first flight in 1982 at 9 years of age. Initially it was the focus of my career, and I earned my undergraduate degree in Aviation Business Administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1993 I completed two internships, one in airport operations at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and the other with United Airlines at their Executive Offices (EXO) in suburban Chicago in the Flight Dispatch department.

Post-graduation, I eventually worked full-time for United as a Flight Analyst in the elusive Inventory Management department. I also held various positions at two wholesale travel tour operators specializing in packaged vacations to Las Vegas, Hawaii, Mexico, and other destinations. My work experience gave me an intimate knowledge of global distribution systems (GDSs) and other travel industry technology, as well as a unique, passionate perspective on travel overall. Okay, enough of my resume.

Nowadays I travel mostly for pleasure and have held elite status with United Airlines more on than off since 1990, maintaining 100,000-mile annual 1K status since 2008. I’m also expanding my loyalty this year to American Airlines and will achieve Platinum status in the AAdvantage program by summers end. On the hotel front, I’m currently a Silver member of Club Carlson (Radisson, etc), and a Gold with Hilton Hotels in the HHonors program.

Two of my regular features on Frequently Flying include Vintage Airline Seat Maps and Amenity Kit Reviews. You’ll learn I’m a geek for all things airlines, so I love to review & reminisce about seat maps from the past, and enjoy collecting and very critically reviewing the amenity kits I receive. I even had an Executive Vice President of one of the amenity kit manufacturers stop by & leave a comment commending my rather “unique” level of detail.

Here are a few other popular posts from my legacy blog:

Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 1

Mileage Running 101: How I construct a mileage run – Part 2

Airfare pricing buckets & airline fare basis codes REVEALED!

My United Airlines mileage tracking spreadsheet

Anyway, I look forward to bringing informative and entertaining posts to all readers here at BoardingArea. Please feel free to reach out and ask any questions you might have of me at darren@frequentlyflying.com. I look forward to our mutual future together.

First Class wishes,

Darren

Image courtesy American Airlines

If you read my blog you know my airline loyalty lies with United Airlines. I’ve been a 1K since 2008 & all other elite levels during most years since I first became a Premier in 1990. This summer, I’ve decided to focus my flying on American Airlines and go for Gold elite status in the AAdvantage program, which requires 25,000 miles or 30 segments within a calendar year.

I actually used to fly American with great regularity back in 1998 when I consulted on a technology project for the travel company I was working for. I was based in Chicago at that time, and flew out to Philadelphia every Monday, back every Friday for six months. Sadly, since those tickets were booked in a non-revenue earning fare bucket, a perk granted to my company for their volume of business to American, I didn’t accrue a single mile during those months.

A couple of things got me thinking about going for gold with American. First, earlier this year, I applied for the Citi AAdvantage Visa card and after a little spend on the card, received 40,000 miles as a bonus. Fantastic… that’s good for a free roundtrip economy “MileSAAver off-peak” ticket to Europe. Then, I thought it might make for good blog material to fly on American once or twice to review the experience as a non-elite and compare it to how I’m treated on United. So, I had already booked two trips with American, both in June. Finally, American comes out with Double Elite Qualifying (DEQM) and Redeemable Miles for Los Angeles (and San Francisco) flights to both Chicago and Dallas, a move to de-entice flyers from switching to Virgin America’s new service in both cities.

That’s all it took to get this mileage running & elite status junkie to commit to going for it. Gold status on American brings with it priority services at check-in, boarding & preferred seating, as well as a 25% mileage bonus, free baggage allowance, minimum mile guarantee for flights under 500 miles, oneworld Ruby status, and a few other niceties. And I’ll be able to achieve the status for a “relative” bargain.

The two itineraries I have booked already will net me 8,430 elite qualifying miles (EQMs), so I need 16,570 more to hit 25,000 miles. With the DEQM promo I mentioned above to Chicago and Dallas, the fastest way to hit the mark would be to fly one roundtrip to Chicago, and two to Dallas. Looking at fares right now, though, it actually might be cheaper to do all Chicago runs, since the fares to Chicago are lower than those to Dallas. Also, I have a work trip coming up & will consider American for that one, as my company is flexible with carrier preference.

I fully expect to maintain my loyalty with United Airlines, but it will certainly be nice to have at least the lowest level elite status on American should conditions arise necessitating a switch, and my gold status will be valid through February 2013. The DEQM promos to both Chicago and Dallas end August 31, 2011, so I have a few months to play around with my options. The downside: summer fares can be unfriendly to bargain hunters like myself, and I’m locked into Chicago and Dallas for the double miles. It’s all in the fun for the hunt for status, and I look forward to blogging about my impressions of American’s service since my long hiatus from flying them in the 1990s.

As widely reported this week, American Airlines is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the AAdvantage frequent flyer program with 30 days of deals. If you’re not following me on Twitter, I had posted the link to the promo when it began on Monday, and today is a great day to “Follow” AAdvantage as they’re giving away 30,000 bonus miles.

The deals so far are actually quite good, and if you fly American with any regularity, you stand to rack up some decent bonus miles. Day 1 on Monday gave you the opportunity to earn up to 30,000 bonus miles based on the amount of trips you book before April 30^th for travel May 15^th to November 15^th. After the first roundtrip, you’d earn 1,000 miles, two roundtrips gives you 3,000 more, and so on up to the 5^th roundtrip.

Day two offered triple miles when renting with Avis, and day three offered 3,000 bonus miles for completing specific shopping, dining & travel-related activity within a given time frame. Not to worry if you missed the previous days entries as they stay live for a while, and you can scroll back to each day on their giveaway calendar. And today, as I mentioned above, you can also enter to win 30,000 miles by following AAdvantage on Twitter and tweeting about it.

But wait, there’s more! Every weekday (thank you American for not making me do anything on weekends!), you can enter yet another daily giveaway for 30,000 bonus miles simply by entering your AAdvantage number, name & email address. That entry form is also on the giveaway calendar found here.

I’m impressed so far, and very appreciative at the Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the bonus miles. American is graciously making them below the $600 level, where anything at or above that would require taxation on your 2011 return. While I’m primarily a United Airlines loyalist, I do have the Citi AAdvantage Visa card (earned 40,000 miles for it), and have a couple of flights on American in the next couple of months. I may go for Gold elite this year just to keep my options open & bring new blog material to Frequently Flying.

This past February, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and likely others were in attendance at “Loyalty 2011,” an annual conference for all things loyalty programs. One of the main topics focused on the future of the now 30-year old marketing machines, noting specifically that the industry should evolve with the needs of those racking up the miles.

Differentiation and creativity were discussed, including Delta’s elimination of mileage expiration for SkyMiles members, and Qantas adding additional non-airline partners such as retailer Woolworths.

In terms of redeeming miles, Iain Webster, a senior loyalty consultant, noted the often hard-to-find flight availability for award space and added “… you have to try and get people thinking of different ways of burning miles.” Members of United Airlines Mileage Plus can redeem for hotel stays & car rentals, along with a variety of other products, services and merchandise. Recent advertising supports this ability, with United specifically promoting itself as “the airline that wants you to use your miles.”

This all got me to thinking of what I personally would like to see added to the programs. Here are few from my wish list:

• Enhanced Upgrade Awards: Not the current ones out there today, where space is required in the buckets allocated specifically for upgrades, such as United’s NC and NF for Business Class and First Class respectively. Rather, I’d like the ability to redeem even more miles (with or without a co-pay) to confirm into the full-fare buckets of C and F on my purchased tickets. Sort of like a Standard Award for upgrades. For some of my trips where I don’t want to redeem for a “free” award, such as my frequent trips to Australia, I’d definitely love this ability. The mileage amounts would likely be hefty, but a program like this would be valuable to me.
• Milestone Awards: US Airways launched a pretty good program this year, granting perks for each mileage or segment level achieved throughout the year. Yes, United has historically had the Elite Choice program (not this year!), but what I’d like to see is a consistent published program with meaningful rewards. Back in the day there were mileage bonuses for every x-flights in a specified time period, and the more recent programs allowed the ability to nominate friends & family to elite status. Give us some of these things back and add other perks like $200-500 e-certificates for hitting a stated mileage level, or a one-time confirmable upgrade on ANY fare basis (into C or F like above), not $50 restaurant certificates.
• Behind-the-Scenes Awards. Even though I’ve worked for United in multiple departments and have seen a lot of behind-the-scenes activities, I’d still love to spend miles for a trip to a control tower, or a sit down meal with executives (with a swag bag, of course), or a chance to ride jumpseat in the cockpit again, or a flight simulator experience. I know, I know… over reactionary security concerns would likely prevent such awards from ever being available, but I can still dream.
• Enhanced Partnerships. Non-airline partnerships is nothing new for frequent flyer programs, but how about expanding them to include both earning and redemption opportunities for ultimate travel experiences such as an expedition to Antarctica, or other types of packaged vacations (Safaris?). In 2007, I rode the Indian Pacific luxury train from Sydney to Perth in Australia, and thought at that time wouldn’t it be great if I could earn miles for this, or redeem for an award trip. United is also now the official airline for the PGA Tour, so I’d like to see special opportunities for burning miles on tour-related activities, like tickets, meet & greets, and rides in the “Snoopy 1” blimp, etc.

What would you like to see enhanced during the evolution of the programs?

Yesterday, United Airlines and Continental announced award chart changes to become effective June 15, 2011. The current & new award structure can be found here. Since the majority of travelers focus on pure round-trip travel at the Saver award level (lowest mileage amount required), I’ve reproduced the not so easy to read charts into a before and after summary below. New United upgrade awards were also released, but this post will focus just on pure free travel redemptions.

It’s pretty self explanatory in this format, but to clarify, the mileage amounts are shown as round-trip, sorted by destination when flying from the mainland United States, Alaska or Canada. I’ve highlighted the beneficial reductions under the new awards in light green, and those mileage amounts that will increase in pink.

As with previous award chart changes, economy passengers are getting the least benefit from the changes, with the exception of Central & Southern Africa and Oceana dropping by 10,000 miles. The lower business class redemption levels for Europe and most of Asia are nice to see, as well as first class to Central & Southern Africa and North & South Asia.

I would have expected to see larger increases, actually, so I’m thankful to see some mileage reductions, and very happy they didn’t mess with my sacred Australia redemption levels. I still wish I could redeem 80,000 miles for business class to Sydney like I did in 1992!

While it has already been deeply covered by the other blogs, I would be negligent if I didn’t also mention the welcome news from yesterday. Effective immediately, you can now freely move miles between your Continental Airlines OnePass account and your United Airlines Mileage Plus account. In fact, you can move miles back and forth as often as you like, but only once per day, in 1,000-mile increments, and up to 200,000 miles per transfer.

I did just that yesterday, and have to say that it was the smoothest and easiest process I’ve ever seen on the United website. I entered my OnePass number & pin with my Mileage Plus number & password, and was instantaneously shown my mileage balances in both programs, along with simple instructions on how to proceed. Within moments, I had transferred 32,000 miles into my Mileage Plus account from OnePass. It could not have been easier, and each account showed the adjustments immediately. Job well done, United, on a seamless application.

Being able to move your miles around in each program opens up additional redemption opportunities. New to United flyers is the ability to book Continental rewards on Copa, Virgin Atlantic, Eva Air, and more. Likewise, Continental flyers can now book Aer Lingus, Jet Airways, and Qatar Airways via United awards. These are of course in addition to the Star Alliance carriers each already had access to, as well as other airlines such as Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, and Island Air.

Next up is the elite status match and consolidation announcement, and here it is straight from the source:

This is particularly good news for those who will achieve a new elite level by combining their elite qualifying miles from both programs. Some upgrade priorities have shifted a bit, which basically just puts everyone on a level playing field based on status and fare. Except, however, for those Continental Plats who fly between 75,000 and 99,999 miles. They’ll still only get matched to Premier Executive on United. Being the airline dork that I am, I’m also really looking forward to adding a Continental OnePass Platinum card to my collection of frequent flyer program cards.

While the combination of the programs overall wasn’t expected until much later this year, or even possibly next year, this is an early bonus and very welcome announcement. And again, the process worked so smoothly and seamlessly for me when I transferred miles, I have to say “Job well done!” once more to both Continental and United!

Released today, Continental Airlines is offering 250 bonus OnePass miles for tickets purchased on continental.com using a debit or credit MasterCard. The offer is valid for U.S. residents only for tickets purchased now through June 30, 2011. Continental has offered a similar promotion in the past, and there are some date range discrepancies in the fine print, as well as claiming the bonus to be 500 miles, so we’ll see what actually happens. Still not a bad way to rack up some incremental miles.