• Following up on the big reveal of their new image yesterday, American Airlines launched a redesigned website today. Appropriately sporting the new logo, it’s much cleaner and very attractive, in my opinion. And more importantly, everything seems to work.
• American is reportedly matching Delta’s Diamond Medallion SkyMiles members to Executive Platinum, according to reports on Flyertalk. This may not be new, as American has been matching United 1Ks as well, but it certainly eases the pain for Delta fliers looking to switch elsewhere after they introduced a Medallion Qualifying Dollars requirement for 2014.
• MLT Vacations, the tour operator owned by Delta Air Lines, will be dumping United Vacations as it focuses on Delta Vacations and other partnerships with SkyTeam member airlines. No replacement has been named yet, but I’m certain competition for the business will be stiff. Personal note: I’m always intrigued by wholesaler/vacation-packager news since I worked for two such organizations in the 1990s.
• The TSA says they’ll be dumping the Rapiscan scanners by June, which are the X-ray backscatter machines that produce the “Nude-O-Scope” images. Full body scanning machines will still be in airports, but of the less invasive Gumby-image variety as seen at many airports today.
• A Marine recruit reportedly had second thoughts about boot camp by jumping a fence at San Diego Airport, losing his pants and hiding in a janitor’s van near the Southwest Airlines terminal. File this under weird airport news.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 17, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 16, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 15, 2013

Delta Air Lines published upcoming changes to the SkyMiles program earlier today. Whether it was deliberate or an error, the page has since been taken down from Delta’s website. But not before an astute Flyertalker captured the details, as shown below.

[Updated 1/17: Delta has indeed announced the MQD portion below this morning]

Earning Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs)

Beginning March 1, 2013, the MQMs SkyMiles members earn on select fare classes will change.

For Delta-marketed flights, the MQM bonus for First/Business F and J fare classes will double from 50% to 100%. Economy M fare class will no longer earn a 50% MQM bonus. This change will apply to tickets purchased on or after March 1, 2013.

The above changes also will apply to F-, J- and M-equivalent fare-class tickets on Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, Alaska, Alitalia and Virgin Australia-marketed flights. This change will apply to travel flown on or after March 1, 2013.

The MQMs you earn on certain other partner-marketed flights will adjust for travel flown on or after March 1, 2013.

Please note that the way you currently earn redeemable miles is not changing.

Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) – Coming Next Year

Beginning January 1, 2014, SkyMiles members residing in the United States (excluding Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) will qualify for Medallion status based on an additional threshold – the member’s annual spending with Delta, which will be measured by Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs).

Members must also meet the existing Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) or Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs) qualification criteria.

The threshold ranges from $2,500-$12,500 MQDs depending on Medallion level.

Alternatively, Delta SkyMiles Credit Cardmembers can be waived from the new Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) requirement if they make at least $25,000 in Eligible Purchases within the calendar year.

First on the MQM side, it actually makes sense to me to reward full-fare first and business class fliers with large bonuses, particularly on the elite qualification side of the equation. Giving F- and J-class ticket purchasers a 100 percent MQM bonus would lead the big three U.S. airlines. United’s PQM bonus is currently 50 percent and American doesn’t give a bump in elite qualifying miles, but does provide 1.5 elite qualifying points per mile under their system.

Removing the third-most expensive coach M-class fare MQM bonus of 50 percent isn’t particularly bothersome as the airline’s main focus is predominantly on full Y-B fares in economy. I say this, of course, as someone who rarely (if ever) buys a ticket that expensive.

What’s most interesting to me is that Delta isn’t reducing either MQMs or redeemable miles earned on the lowest fare classes, if these are indeed the only planned changes for the remainder of 2013 and the 2014 program year. I would have assumed U.S. airlines would lower the earn rates there at the same time as adding an annual revenue requirement. This would bleed-out elite ranks faster for the lower-spend “over-entitled” fliers like myself.

And regarding the revenue requirement, is it time to “move” to Canada (or Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands or anywhere else globally) for some Delta elites as the new MQD concept applies to only 50-stater U.S. residents? The spend threshold for each tier ranges from $2,500 to $12,500, probably something like this (my total guess) [Updated 1/17: And I was wrong on the Plat tier amount, it's confirmed at $7,500]:

• Silver Medallion: $2,500
• Gold Medallion: $5,000
• Platinum Medallion: $9,000 $7,500
• Diamond Medallion: $12,500

United’s rumored, yet unrealized changes for the 2012 program year also had a spend requirement I blogged about in 2011. The proposed levels were:

United Airlines Rumored Spend Requirements From 2011

Yeah, I know it’s still Premier 1K, but “Diamond” was speculated at the time as the top level.

And now might be the time to get a Delta credit card if you don’t already have one. The MQD requirement will allegedly be waived if you spend at least $25,000 in eligible purchases each year.

It remains to be seen what the actual changes will be, but I’m certain they’ll be announced this year, as I blogged about yesterday. Here’s the link to the ever-growing Flyertalk thread discussing the possible changes.

Delta fliers: Is this a big deal to you?

Related posts:

The First Airline in 2013 to Change to a Revenue-Based Frequent-Flier Program Is…

My Thoughts on the Rumored United MileagePlus Changes

Looking Back at 2013 and What’s Ahead in 2013

In the news this week is a story about Lynn Harrell, a world-renowned cellist, whose Delta Air Lines SkyMiles account was terminated for a violation of program rules.

For years, Harrell traveled the world and always bought a second seat for his cello under the name of HARRELL/CELLO. The cello even had a SkyMiles account, created by Harrell’s travel agent 15 years ago. And both Harrell and his cello earned and burned miles on Delta until January this year, at which time he received a termination notice.

Harrell posted the letter he received from SkyMiles on his blog, which states:

During a recent review, it has come to our attention that you have continued to earn miles for your cello even after you were advised in 2001 that this was not permitted. Per the terms and conditions of the SkyMiles program, mileage credit is not awarded for tickets purchased for musical instruments. Therefore, SkyMiles account 4XXXXXXXXX has been closed.

On his blog, Harrell says his travel agent never received the original warning in 2001. But he told NBCNews.com that he either just forgot about it or never saw it when his secretary handled the correspondence. Besides that discrepancy, what is simply amazing is that it took Delta until January this year to catch the ongoing violation.

Each airline’s frequent flier program has its own T&Cs, but all do have the right to terminate a member’s account. And while no one really does, members are supposed to read and understand those rules. Here’s Delta’s language:

Delta reserves the right to terminate your membership in the SkyMiles program at any time if you violate the SkyMiles program rules, any term or condition of Delta’s contract of carriage, Delta’s fare rules, or any other Delta rules and regulations that apply to your travel. Termination of your membership will result in a loss of all accumulated mileage credit in your account, the cancellation of any unused Awards, and the loss of all other SkyMiles benefits. Terminated members are not eligible to participate in any aspect of the SkyMiles program, including without limitation any special promotions or SkyMiles partner offers. In lieu of termination, Delta may at its sole discretion deduct mileage from your account but permit you to continue participating in the SkyMiles program.

I agree with Harrell that Delta could have processed this audit in a more timely fashion, but will side with Delta on the termination for the simple fact that they have the right to do so.

Was it the nice thing to do? No. They could have taken the less-harsh approach in their policy and simply terminated the cello account and deducted any mileage used from that account from Harrell. But they went the fully punitive route and terminated both accounts, barring Harrell from participating in SkyMiles in the future.

Harrell’s blog post is thoughtful and worth a read, though he incorrectly states that airlines sell “customer’s miles.” They don’t take miles from people and sell them, as he claims in the comments referencing this article. They simply sell blocks of “new” miles to credit card companies and other partners who then give them to members for completing some type of transaction.

If I were the auditor, I probably would have bestowed the less harsh punishment given the volume of business Harrell (and his cello) seemingly gave Delta over the years. With the media exposure Harrell has received, I’ll be curious to read if Delta reopens his case.

What’s your opinion?

There’s a little more than six days left to enter a pretty generous giveaway by fellow blogger Derek, author of The Points Guide. He’s giving away 25,000 Delta SkyMiles from his own account to one lucky winner in a contest that ends October 30.

Click here for all the details. In addition to leaving a comment on his post, you can earn additional entries by doing the following:

Good luck!

• A third person has died from Legionnaires’ Disease linked to a JW Marriott hotel in Chicago. Hotel officials removed the fountain and tests showed that the pool, whirlpool and both the men’s and women’s locker rooms contained “the same species of Legionella as were found in the ill patients.”
• Lufthansa woes continue as flight attendants went on strike again today in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin causing hundreds of cancellations. Lufthansa says only a “handful” of flights will be cancelled tomorrow.
• Did you know I’m an amenity kit collector? I wish I were flying Virgin Atlantic this Thursday as they’re giving away limited-edition Swarovski jewel-studded eye masks valued at $4,000. The airline is hiding five of them in coach (?!) amenity kits this week.
• Delta Air Lines quietly raised some award redemption levels in the SkyMiles program. Tisk, tisk. Leave it to hard-core Flyertalkers to discover the increase and (probably) be the first to chastise the airline.
• Last week was pretty quiet on the “air traveling idiot of the week” front. Fortunately, I have several candidates today. A flier aboard a Swiss flight on Sunday felt disturbed during his meal when the passenger in front of him reclined his seat, causing an altercation resulting in the plane returning to Zurich. A man was arrested over the weekend at an airport in Lagos after officials discovered he had more than $150,000 worth of cocaine stuffed inside roasted chickens. An Emirates flight attendant was arrested in England after flying drunk. She was eight times the legal limit for FAs (twice the limit for driving).
• Finally, Glenn Beck says he was subjected to treatment by American Airlines that would be considered “subhuman.” While I don’t agree with many (all) of Beck’s opinions, I think there might be a little truth to this story.

More news:

Friday, August 31, 2012

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

• Qantas canceled orders for 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, valued at $8.5 billion, amid the airline’s first full-year loss since it was privatized in 1995. Qantas isn’t giving up on the revolutionary aircraft, though, and still has options for 50 787-9s.
• Delta Air Lines seeks to upgrade its 5X weekly Detroit to Beijing service to daily flights with Boeing 777 aircraft. Delta’s Pacific traffic rose 5.9% YOY through July and the airline says there’s an “appetite” for daily service to China’s capital out of Detroit.
• Staying with Delta, the SkyMiles program is offering 3 miles per $1 spent shipping items with FedEx, plus 1,000 bonus miles with every fifth shipment. This isn’t something that’ll make me ship more (or at all), but if you’re already FedEx’ing things, it’s a nice bonus.
• The world’s largest Sheraton will open September 20 in Macau. The first tower of the 3,896-room Sheraton Macao will open at that time with the second tower due to open early next year.
• A body was found inside the landing gear carriage of a British Airways Boeing 747 at Heathrow. The flight originated in Cape Town, South Africa.
• I don’t have an “air traveling” idiot of the week candidate today, but I do have an “airline employee idiot of the week.” A JetBlue worker stole an unaccompanied minor’s wallet containing $200 in cash. Yep, really. Karma will certainly find this woman.
• Finally, a story hit the news recently about a family traveling on buddy passes. Every JetBlue flight was full, so they slept in Salt Lake City’s airport for days not having the money to buy confirmed tickets (or even feed their children properly). Who came to their rescue? United (yes, really) gave them a hotel room for one night and an anonymous viewer bought them confirmed tickets home.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: August 22, 2012

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: August 21, 2012

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel Industry News: August 20, 2012

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

• I’ve flown Delta Air Lines and have had pleasant experiences, but as most know the SkyMiles program for redemption opportunities remains the most ridiculous of the majors in the U.S. The good right now: Delta is giving a 100% bonus on purchased and transferred miles through September 30, 2011. The bad: The carrier is changing their policy to prohibit award ticket changes & cancellations within 72-hours of departure. Separately, Delta is buying an equity stake of 3.5% ($65 million) in Aeromexico further strengthening their partnership with the Mexican carrier.
• American Airlines launched elite rewards this week granting exclusive bonuses for achieving elite qualifying point thresholds depending on your status at year-end. Further evidence, in my opinion, that the evolution of frequent flyer elite levels here in the U.S. will be going the way of foreign carriers where the all mighty dollar rules. How long do we have until the cheapo fares still earn 100% elite miles? Anyway, the spend required to hit the milestones is significant for mileage runners like me and I’ll have a post next week analyzing the program.
• My hometown airport, dear little Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), has been seeing a boom in passenger volume lately. The half-year figures show a 5.4% increase in passengers carried through June 2011. Spurring international growth was new service by Turkish Airlines and Iberia, along with the new Shanghai routes offered by both American Airlines and United Airlines. Domestic passengers carried also grew by 5.9%.
• We all have seen airfares rising this year compared to last, but is it really a fatal condition? Apparently so. Protests in New Caledonia turned ridiculously violent where four people were killed and another two dozen injured on the French island of Mare. Air Caledonie instituted a new fare structure and locals took their anger up a notch, which caused the carrier and airport authority to build blockades at Mare’s airport. The French overseas minister said the blockades would be taken down on Monday. Why not sooner?
• Troubled low-cost Australian carrier Tiger Airways resumed flying as of this posting. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) lifted the grounding order on Wednesday and the carrier was further ordered to overhaul operational manuals and safety procedures. Would this happen in the United States? Would such a “clear and present danger” shutdown of an airline with questions over safety even allow a carrier’s reemergence into the skies? It’s pretty scary to me and I certainly wouldn’t book a ticket on the carrier. I’ll be curious to watch their reemergence unfold and see if demand returns.
• Ever wonder about average hotel pricing at major U.S. cities for the coming months? One of the websites on my bookmark list publishes this forward looking data and while your mileage may vary, it’s still an interesting snapshot perhaps useful in planning potential vacation destinations. Not surprising, the Circus Circus in Las Vegas has rates as low as $28.99 this month whereas New York’s lowest rate comes in at $150 per night.
• Finally, the inflight entertainment on Qantas is a bit questionable. A documentary entitled “The Female Orgasm Explained” is one of the options on Qantas’ television channel The Edge, which of course comes with a mature rating. The article states flight crew can block the program from unaccompanied minors traveling alone, but regardless… really? I’m sure there isn’t anything graphic about it, but is an airplane the appropriate venue for such a showing? I think not.

I’ve seen a couple of reports in the last month where Delta Air Lines has upgraded several of Georgia’s current and former politicians with Gold, Platinum and even Diamond Medallion status. The first report surfaced last month when a WSBTV Channel 2 story slammed Delta for giving out Gold and Platinum status to several top Republicans.

The first round of status upgrades was valued by Delta at $1,600 for Gold and $2,400 for Platinum, so well within the guidelines for campaign contributions as they were so termed. Channel 2’s consumer advisor Clark Howard disagreed and claimed they were worth more to the tune of $10,000 to $15,000 per year, which is incredibly high in my opinion. Yes, Golds and Platinums on Delta get many nice perks such as priority airport services, complimentary upgrades, waived fees and more, but I disagree with the valuation by Mr. Howard. Whereas I may reap a significant benefit from my elite status given my knowledge of how to manage my miles and benefits, I don’t think that’s the case for the entire population of elite travelers. Also, redemption of accrued mileage in the SkyMiles program is well known to be an issue at the lowest mileage levels with virtually no availability, and their Systemwide Upgrades require much higher purchased fare classes to even use them for an international upgrade.

I believe some of the criticism in the first article is due to the fact that only Republicans received the perks, and it appears that Channel 2 is owned by Cox Communications, a well-known contributor to the Democratic Party. Another criticism was that at least one politician received Platinum status and then decided not to run for reelection. That is a little questionable, but otherwise I don’t really have an issue with Delta granting status as campaign contributions.

This week, it was also reported that Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and his wife received the highest Diamond Medallion status “to promote economic development.” Here, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, another Cox Communications company, claims it was Delta’s way of saying “thank you” to the governor for signing a tax break into law which reportedly will save Delta approximately $30 million in jet fuel taxes over the next two years. Could it have been a thank you? Unofficially yes, but I also see the benefit for senior politicians to have status to make their travels more comfortable.

So that brings me to wonder how you feel about airlines giving out status to elected officials who wouldn’t have normally earned it as we do by flying the required amount. Do you agree or disagree? I’d love hear your comments, including how you feel about the valuation of each status level.

Here’s a summary of some hot news items from this week covering airlines, airfares, airplanes and hotels.

• Delta Air Lines: Delta announced that retroactive to January 1, 2011, there is no longer an expiration policy to frequent flyer miles earned in the SkyMiles program. This makes Delta the first major carrier to offer such an olive branch to the infrequent traveler whose miles may sit inactive for extended periods of time. Continental’s OnePass program states that “miles currently have no expiry date,” but your account would be subject to cancellation if no activity occurred in 18 months (same thing in my book). Also announced at Delta is their Gold Medallion level (those who fly 50,000 miles and/or 60 segments annually) will receive SkyTeam Elite Plus status. This brings them in line with other carriers’ mid-level programs, and when flying internationally, provides lounge access, priority baggage handling and oversell protection options.
• Airfares: Ack! I’ve had a busy week and missed a pretty incredible airfare mistake on Delta. Several East Coast to Europe fares were available for between $150 to $250 roundtrip all-in! Insanely cheap pricing and even though I’m not a Delta flyer, how could you not book a trip that cheap? It was quickly discovered and within hours shut down, but many Flyertalkers cashed in. On the domestic side, though, I’ve seen some “decent” deals expanded through May now, and while not in the 3 cpm mileage running range, they’re pretty good deals to most major markets. Think Tuesday & Wednesday travel, though!
• 

  Image courtesy The Boeing Company

  Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental: Now the longest jetliner in the world, the newest generation of Boeing’s flagship was officially unveiled this week in Everett, Washington. Stretched an additional 18.3 feet from previous 747 models, it features an expanded upper-deck, redesigned wings, larger windows, reconfigured overhead bins, and many more enhancements. Sadly, orders for the passenger version are small, and currently Lufthansa has 20 on order, and Korean Air 5. She’s a sexy bird, in my opinion, and I’ll definitely be booking a ride when Lufthansa has them in service.

• Club Carlson: The Carlson group of hotels (Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn, and Park Plaza) is getting a loyalty program overhaul. GoldPoints Plus is changing to Club Carlson beginning March 31, 2011. While the exact program hasn’t been announced publicly, Ric Garrido over at Loyalty Traveler provides a few headlines, namely a new top-tier Concierge level and some earning & redemption point-level changes. I’ve been planning on switching my loyalty to Hilton, and once the full program is announced, will likely make a unique posting and make my final decision then.