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.

• United Airlines is pulling all Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of service until at least May 12, at which time they intend to launch Denver-Tokyo nonstop flights. A company spokesperson said other 787 flights will be held until June 5, pending successful resolution of Dreamliner issues.
• Southwest Airlines has expanded its live television programming to all Wi-Fi enabled flights, and added movies. Prices run $5 per movie, per device and/or $5 per day for television.
• Lufthansa will reduce long-haul aircraft sporting first class in the coming year(s). Some Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft will be reconfigured due to the change. Vancouver flights are reported to be one of the specific markets affected.
• Delta Air Lines is once again attempting an airfare hike, looking to raise certain domestic airfares by $4-$10 roundtrip. As of earlier this afternoon, United is the only airline yet to match.
• Profitability per airline passenger has been dropping the past several years (PDF). Airlines for America has an interesting presentation showing the drop from 318 cents per passenger in 2010 to 77 cents in 2011, to 21 cents in 2012. Time to raise ancillary fees?
• Blogger-buddy NonRevAdventure has a thought-provoking post questioning hotel loyalty and whether it’s worth it to spend more just for added perks. My travel will be significantly decreasing later this year and I’ll certainly be back to choosing a hotel more on price vs. loyalty.
• Wyndham will reflag and operate a whopping 41 additional hotels in Germany, almost doubling its properties in the country. Additional locations in Belgium and the Netherlands will also be reflagged.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: February 19, 2013

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: February 18, 2013

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

• Southwest Airlines is now a Club Carlson partner. Yeah, I’m a week late to report this news, but I just learned about it last night. Now through March 31, Rapid Rewards members can earn double points in a promotional offer.
• The 2012 United Nations WTO traveler numbers are in and 1.035 billion tourists crossed international borders last year, a 4% increase over 2011. Growth rates this year are projected at 3-4%.
• Popular Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be stepping down from President Obama’s Cabinet. He served in the position since 2009 and was well-liked across aisles (no pun intended).
• JetBlue took the top spot in an analysis ranking the top 10 U.S. airlines on Twitter, being the most followed airline. But American Airlines proved the “most social” being the carrier most active on Twitter. Kudos to both!
• American Airlines continued a tour of its 737 sporting the new livery. Today’s stop was Chicago O’Hare after yesterday’s event at Dallas-Fort Worth. Next up is Los Angeles on Thursday… why did I move again? And check out the 777-300 in the new colors.
• After a very long remodel, Cathay Pacific will re-open The Wing First Class Lounge in Hong Kong next week. It was definitely in need of a refresh. Here’s what it looked like during my visit in 2011.

Related posts:

Notable Airline, Hotel and Travel News: January 28, 2013

I flew home from Las Vegas on Tuesday and needed to get back a bit earlier than my ticketed flight. Having absolutely no idea what Southwest’s standby policy was, I looked it up online before heading to the airport. As I was on a Wanna Get Away fare, standby required a buy-up to the Anytime fare – a difference of $85 in my case.

The crappy thing is that if you don’t make it on the flight, you’re still charged the fee, something rather unappealing. But since it was a Tuesday (off-peak travel day) and most people were arriving in Vegas for CES, I figured I’d have a damn good chance so I headed to the airport.

When I looked up the Anytime fare, I noticed the Business Select fare was a mere $15 more for the one-way to Reno. When I arrived at the airport, I asked instead to purchase a new ticket at the Business Select fare using the value on my original ticket as partial form of payment. And so $100 later, I had a confirmed seat – and a boarding group of A3 – for an earlier flight. Well worth the price for my need to get home four hours earlier.

The fare difference between the Wanna Get Away and Anytime fare was pretty negligible, all things considered, for the route I was flying. In some longer-distance markets, I’m sure it’s a considerable jump and it would make loyal flying on Southwest less likely if I were prone to frequently wanting standby travel having purchased the cheapest fares.

But what’s most shocking to me is they don’t provide a better standby policy for their most frequent fliers, A-List and A-List Preferred Rapid Rewards members. Maybe I’m just used to legacy airline programs and their liberal, by comparison, standby policies. Why wouldn’t Southwest throw elites a bone and allow standby on all fares? Am I missing something, or is their standby policy a bit off-putting to loyal travelers who buy the cheapest tickets?

Related posts:

A Southwest Airlines Trip Report? Yep, They Impressed Me

I wouldn’t normally write a blog post about a simple domestic airline flight. But as I haven’t flown Southwest in about six or seven years, it was basically a new experience and it ended up being an impressive one.

I flew from Reno to Las Vegas today and chose Southwest because of an ideal flight schedule compared with the options on United through San Francisco or Los Angeles. The fare was also cheaper by $40ish, but that honestly wasn’t a factor in my decision for this trip. While I’m oh so close to million-miler on United where every mile counts, I guess I’m beginning to value my time a bit more these days.

I didn’t purchase the EarlyBird check-in option ($10 each way) where Southwest automatically checks you in before the traditional 24-hour window. It gives you a better boarding position than those checking in manually. But as it’s only an hour flight to Vegas, I wasn’t too worried. I ended up with A-47 having checked in at T-24, which turned out to be very good position indeed. And I love the gate area lineup based on your group/number. It’s quite a smooth process.

My ride, a 737-700

My seat, 10A

I tweeted that picture of my seat earlier in the day and called it 11A, but it was actually 10A just ahead of the exit row on the 737-700 (my mistake in looking across at the staggered row’s number). The non-recline didn’t bother me because of the short flight and these seats were indeed the new “Evolve” low-profile type with thinner cushions. I was comfy enough even with the tight pitch.

Seat pitch

I wish the person ahead would’ve reclined so I could see the seat in action, but she never did. Once airborne, I checked out the Wi-Fi options out of simple curiosity for the pricing. To my delight, the flight tracker was free, as were access to Southwest.com and “Shopping” (I never clicked into that).

Wi-Fi options

Flight Tracker

The flight attendants were great (particularly during boarding while managing carry-on space), my seatmates were great and it was a truly enjoyable flight. And what would a trip report be without a pic of the meal?

The meal

My only regret is that I didn’t print a second boarding pass not knowing that Southwest keeps them after scanning at the gate. I normally would use a kiosk in the lobby, but the line was enormous at RNO so I skipped it. Ah well. Lesson learned.

View

Thanks, Southwest, for a great flight today.

• United Airlines had a major SHARES outage late this afternoon, bringing their website down and halting operations at some airports. United is apparently offering a travel waiver for impacted customers, but as of this posting, no link has been posted online. [Edited (thanks Kris): The waiver is now posted.]
• In other not-so-good United news, a Boeing 767 bound for Chicago returned to London’s Heathrow Airport after pilots reported an engine surge. Firefighters had to spray the smoking engine down upon landing.
• A gay couple is suing United Airlines for “severe emotional trauma” and “intentional harassment” after their bag made the rounds on the carousel with a rather large sex toy prominently displayed taped to the outside after the bag allegedly broke. My take on the lawsuit: really? First maybe consider leaving it at home and second, will the article with your picture prominently displayed on it not cause even more trauma? Get over it and move on. [Edited to add: Yes, I agree the baggage handlers were very wrong in their actions... more in the comments below.]
• Southwest Airlines is adding new routes. Beginning March 9, 2012, Southwest will add flights from Newark to Nashville, New Orleans and Austin. Also new will be Dayton to Orlando and Key West to New Orleans.
• Spirit Airlines also announced new routes. Service from Houston Intercontinental to Chicago O’Hare and Las Vegas begins in October. Service from Denver to Phoenix-Mesa Airport also begins in October, and flights between Portland and San Diego commence in November.
• JetBlue launched fixed-price “Go Packs,” where by September 6, you can buy blocks of 10 one-way tickets for a single price. Rates start at $899 plus $7 per flight for a “Pittsburgh to Boston and New York” pack to $2,499 plus $7 per flight for a “Boston or New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco” pack.
• Vienna’s first Ritz-Carlton hotel opened. The 202-room hotel includes 43 suites and a rooftop bar. And Malaysia’s first Grand Hyatt hotel opened in Kuala Lumpur, offering 412 rooms and 42 suites.
• The TSA fired six “officers” and suspended 14 others at Boston’s Logan Airport for inattention on the job. These agents all happened to work in the same checked bag screening room. Guess they missed the gay couple’s sex toy and can’t be blamed.
• Lufthansa flight attendants could strike beginning tomorrow after refusing the latest offer of a 3.5% pay raise from the airline. Flight attendants were looking for 5% after a three-year pay freeze.
• With business travel picking up and successful growth in overall market share, Virgin Australia enjoyed a AU$22.8 million net income for its recent fiscal year. Business travelers now make up 20% of the airline’s domestic revenue.

Previous news:

Monday, August 27, 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

Thursday, August 23, 2012

• American Airlines pilots are still talking with US Airways reps regarding a labor deal should the two airlines merge. The pilots’ union say they’ll hold a strike vote if American continues a path to throw out their contracts.
• Several airlines have issued travel waivers as Tropical Storm Isaac nears the U.S. The RNC convention might have a heck of a ride if it doesn’t relocate from Tampa.
• Despite millions of dollars in testing, the trusty TSA will still require shoes to be taken off through security. Apparently, new machines were ineffective in detecting “all the technology” used to blow up a plane. So why everywhere else in the world can I keep my shoes on?
• The U.S. State Department has lifted a travel alert for Egypt in place since March 29, 2012. Originally issued due to the possibility of political unrest in the run-up to Egypt’s presidential elections in May and June, things appear all clear. Pyramids, here I come.
• And believe it or not, I do indeed have an “air traveling idiot of the week” candidate today. I’m going to have to announce an awards ceremony or something because they just seem to keep coming daily. Anyway, this one is courtesy Southwest Airlines where a passenger got in a fight with a fellow seatmate and was subsequently arrested. This week seems extreme, doesn’t it? What’s up with people?

Have a great weekend.

Previous news:

August 23, 2012

August 22, 2012

August 21, 2012

• United Airlines released its planned international flying for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Leave it to FlyerTalk to have the details a mere hour or two after word was spread to internal employees. The actual domestic inaugural has yet to be announced.
• Sticking with United for a moment, a pilot accidentally deployed the emergency slide this morning at Sea-Tac airport. S(he) apparently forcibly tried to close the main cabin door causing the “malfunction.” Unfortunately, a NBC reporter was onboard to capture the whole thing.
• Staying at the San Francisco Airport Marriott? A family of totally adorable owls moved in to the concierge balcony. Named Hoot, Nanny, Al, Peter Townsend, Robert Plant, Hedwig and Archimedes by staff, Marriott apparently has no plans to charge them occupancy, or for Wi-Fi.
• Aviation enthusiasts unite! The iconic TWA Terminal at JFK will be open to the public this October. Specific details have yet to be announced, but I’m already checking fares for the weekend of October 8-9 to attend. You in?
• Southwest Airlines flight attendants will get to cast their vote on the airline’s plan to expand beyond the 48 contiguous states soon. I realize duty time and layover specifics are important – and flame me if you want to – but I don’t think an airline should be handcuffed to expand pending a work group’s decision.
• This one saddens me for two reasons. First is the mere fact that the inbound college class of 2016 was born in 1994 – the year I graduated college. The “forty-ness” I’ll be experiencing next month is truly becoming evident. Second, they’re reported to have never seen a paper airplane ticket. Everything has been e-ticket for them since they can remember.
• And finally, we have two “air traveling idiot(s) of the week” candidates today (do I need to award it daily?). One man rushed onto an American Eagle jet in Baton Rouge and locked himself in the cockpit for unknown reasons. Yes, he was later arrested. The other involved a woman on a Pakistan-Paris flight who slept through her arrival in Paris, going unnoticed by crew (also at fault), and ended up flying back to Pakistan with the plane.

• Boeing pilots took United Airlines’ first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on a test flight around the skies of Seattle yesterday. Various systems were checked, including cabin pressurization, avionics, navigation and communications systems. United expects to take delivery of the aircraft in late September.
• Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group’s CEO, Hubert Joly, resigned suddenly on Sunday to take over the top spot at Best Buy. The Carlson chain of hotels includes Radisson, Radisson Blu, Country Inn & Suites and Park Inn. The company’s current CFO, Trudy Rautio, was subsequently named as its new president and CEO.
• Hotel surcharges – resort fees, phone calls, mini-bar charges, room service delivery fees, etc. – are expected to increase 5.4% in 2012, according to a NYU study. About 3.5% of the increase, though, is thought to be due to overall increased occupancy from last year.
• The week is new, but we already have an “air traveling idiot of the week.” A JetBlue flight from New York’s JFK to Los Angeles diverted to Denver due to an unruly (drunk) passenger late on Sunday. The flight eventually landed in Los Angeles after 2:00 a.m. on Monday.
• Southwest Airlines flight 24 from El Paso to Houston Hobby today received a bomb threat. A note was found onboard the Boeing 737, but the aircraft landed safely and nothing suspicious was found.
• The Department of Transportation fined Orbitz $25,000 for failing to properly disclose baggage fees. For a brief period after new regulations went live January 24, 2012, Orbitz didn’t prominently display the fees, instead disclosing them at the bottom of the screen requiring consumers to scroll down.

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

• United Airlines shifted its Washington Dulles to Buenos Aires flight over to Newark on Friday. They didn’t totally Continental it up, though, as they’re using a legacy United 3-cabin 767 on the route. The airline is also ending service to Accra and Copenhagen later this year, according to Airline Route. Washington Dulles to Accra ends July 3 and Newark to Copenhagen terminates on September 26.
• US Airways has completed conversion of 14 of its 16 Airbus A330 aircraft with the new Envoy Class and is expected to get the remaining two birds completed by the end of summer. The seats are actually pretty darn nice looking and setup in a reverse herringbone 1 x 2 x 1 configuration. The airline was also awarded the “2012 MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) of the Year” award last week by Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance magazine.
• Virgin America officially launched service to Philadelphia last Wednesday from Los Angeles and will begin San Francisco-Philly service tomorrow. Sir Richard Branson greeted the first arrival at PHL and hosted a “tailgate on the tarmac” party with a bunch of invited guests. Later that night, the official launch party was held at Hotel Palomar downtown and based on some Twitter reports, it sounded like a fantastic time.
• Allegiant Air began charging passengers with new reservations from last Wednesday for large carry-ons, joining Spirit Airlines in charging for the privilege to use the overhead bins. One bag is still free, but it must fit underneath the seat. You can get a discount on the $35 fee if you book the space in advance online.
• Southwest Airlines shifted some the flying it took over from AirTran in Atlanta back to the carrier, including flights to Los Angeles, Chicago Midway, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. A combination of IT issues and route optimization appear to be the reason. A Southwest spokesman said, “In some cases, until we get to a point a little bit further down the road, it makes sense to transfer some of that flying from Southwest to AirTran.”
• Starwood Hotels will open a dual-branded ski resort complex in China later this year. Both a 257-room Westin and 296-room Sheraton are opening in August next to the slopes of the Changbai Mountains.
• My “air traveling idiot of the week” award goes to a man who tried to smuggle a knife through security in a jar of mayonnaise. What? Yes, that’s correct. He was flying from New York’s Kennedy airport to Mexico City when the banned items were found and confiscated during routine screening. Amazingly, he was still allowed to catch his flight.

Finally, here are some other noteworthy items from last week:

• A TSA screener throws coffee on a pilot at JFK.
• A Delta Air Lines flight attendant was removed from a flight for irregular behavior.
• Alaska Airlines will begin testing a nextgen ATC system at SEA in June.
• Qantas’ stranded A380 in Singapore will return to service in May.