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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related posts:

Amenity Kit Reviews

The Cost and Allure of Airline Amenity Kits

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

Amenity Kit Review: United Airlines Global First Class

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

Reader Elizabeth emailed me the following question yesterday:

I am a 1k flier on United. I’m thinking of leaving them for Virgin Atlantic, as I moved from California to the UK in 2011 and have grown increasingly unhappy with their service. I fly back to the US from LHR 6-8 times a year. I have Elevate Gold status with Virgin America, good through April 2013.

My question is this: how will the benefits from my Virgin America status apply when I fly Virgin Atlantic? I plan to mostly fly VAtlantic, not VAmerica, so I’m sure sure that status with VAmerica really does anything for me, and I know they have separate FF programs. I’m not sure how the two relate/compare. If I’m better off sticking with United, I’ll just do so, but I want to explore all my options.

It sounds like Elizabeth, like many of us with top-tier status on United (or American), went for the status match Virgin America recently announced. It provides an outright match to Gold (or Silver for lower elites) through April 2013. The benefits when flying Virgin America’s partners aren’t spectacular.

When flying Virgin Atlantic, Elevate Gold status provides:

• Priority Check-In
• Priority Security
• Priority Boarding

On Virgin Australia, Gold elites get:

• Priority Check-In
• Priority Security
• Priority Boarding
• Priority Baggage Handling
• Complimentary access to eight Virgin Australia lounges in Australia

It’s too bad lounge access is excluded when flying Virgin Atlantic. And when you’re used to earning bonus miles as a 1K on United when flying partners on higher fare classes (though earning Premier Qualifying Miles recently changed), that’s not the case when flying Virgin America’s partners.

Also, the earn rates (in points) on both Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia are a percentage of miles flown (all less than 100%, even in Business and Upper Class) since Virgin America is a revenue-based frequent flyer program. I believe it would take much longer to earn an award trip flying Virgin Atlantic and crediting to Virgin America than sticking with United with its generous mileage-based program and bonuses as a 1K.

While I agree with Elizabeth that United is far inferior in service to either Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia, I emailed back that I’d stick with United for the better treatment as an elite and faster ability to redeem miles for worthwhile awards. Also, United doesn’t add surcharges to international award trips as Virgin America does. A roundtrip economy class reward ticket from Los Angeles to London on Virgin Atlantic using Virgin America points carries $650 in taxes and fees, according to their website.

Would you have recommended the same to Elizabeth?

Quite a few notable events in the airline industry the past couple of days include:

• American Airlines today took delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER, N717AN. It’s actually airborne as I type on its way to Dallas where it’ll eventually sport American’s new livery. Passenger service is scheduled to begin January 31 from Dallas to Sao Paulo.

• Delta Air Lines has purchased a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, launching a joint venture between the two airlines. This will give the two airlines about 25% of the U.S. to UK market, positioning them as #2 behind the American-British Airways stronghold share of 60%. Once the deal is approved (end of 2013), the ability to earn and burn miles between carriers will exist, as well as reciprocal lounge access for elites and full-fare premium cabin passengers. And I’m sure Delta will be championing them to participate fully in SkyTeam. Whether that actually happens given Virgin’s “one-off” alliance-building history remains to be seen.
• Virgin America will launch flights to Newark beginning April 2013. Three daily nonstops are planned from both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hopefully we’ll see some good fare wars between VX and United in those markets.
• Lufthansa on Monday swapped out a 747-400 for the 747-8i on the Los Angeles to Frankfurt route. Flight 456 departs Frankfurt daily at 10:00 a.m. arriving at LAX at 12:40 p.m. The return flight, LH 457, departs LAX at 2:50 p.m. with an arrival back in Frankfurt at 10:45 a.m. the following morning. From my experience, this route is pretty difficult to snag a First Class award seat… but I’ll be trying!
• Service on Cathay Pacific might get a bit more… er… U.S. airline-esque as flight attendants are at odds with the carrier over a pay raise. Instead of striking, they’re reportedly considering customer-focused actions. “We will be selective in providing our services,” union general secretary Tsang Kwok-fung told the AFP.  ”This could include not smiling at passengers, not providing certain types of beverages — such as alcohol — or stop serving meals,” he said.

• 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

If you haven’t already heard about the short narrative film shot onboard the Virgin group of airlines, here’s the trailer (below) that includes an interesting behind the scenes segment. It’s a pretty neat idea and I’ll definitely watch it simply because it’s filmed onboard aircraft, though I believe it’ll be exclusive and only available on Virgin flights.

The story apparently revolves around a guy who meets his soul mate while flying. According to the narrative:

It was filmed on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America and Virgin Australia over an eight day period on flights with actual paying passengers. Cities hit included London, Los Angeles, Dallas and Sydney.

Anyway… here’s the video:

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

• Reservations and gate agents at United Airlines voted to remain unionized last week, marking a big win for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). A total of 16,720 people voted – 8,305 in favor of representation, 5,865 against – and they represent United’s second largest workgroup behind the carrier’s 21,400 flight attendants. Continental Airlines agents were previously un-unionized. Separately, United reported a 3.4 percent increase in traffic for the month of February compared to last year and a 1.5 to 2.5 percent increase in PRASM, a smaller increase than the previous few months.
• American Airlines posted positive February operational results enjoying a 6 percent increase in traffic from the previous year, its largest increase in many years. Wholly owned affiliate American Eagle Airlines saw an 18.9 percent increase in traffic. A company spokesperson cited improving U.S. and Japanese economies and the inauguration of new service between LAX and Shanghai as contributing factors for the growth.
• Delta Air Lines passengers have been given free access to Amazon.com while flying on the carrier’s Wi-Fi enabled aircraft, in addition to the existing free access to Delta.com and news content from The Wall Street Journal and People magazine.
• Southwest Airlines will be moving its San Antonio customer service center to a former Kmart store location this year and add 322 new jobs in an agreement with the city. The carrier will receive up to $581,649 in incentives during the next 10 years so long as the new center employs a minimum of 800 workers.
• Virgin Atlantic opened their new Clubhouse at New York’s Kennedy Airport last week and Richard Branson was on-site for the opening party that hosted travel agents, journalists and other invited guests. The new location is airside past security and will allow Upper Class passengers to change into their “sleep suits” prior to heading to the gate, if so inclined.
• Lufthansa unveiled its new lie-flat Business Class seats that will be initially seen flying on the carrier’s Boeing 747-8 aircraft and eventually rolled out fleet-wide. The new seats are angled towards each other in a V-configuration and all face the direction of travel. An eight-week trial was conducted on the FRA-JFK-FRA route where 1,349 passengers and a test crew evaluated prototypes of the seat.
• The relationship between online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide and Hilton Hotels & Resorts took a turn for the worse as the hotel chain decided not to renew its long-term agreement with the agency. As a result, the OTA reduced the prominence of Hilton properties on its website and in some cases, outright removed them from search results. According to Hilton, the move was made “in the best interests of our guests and our more than 3,800 hotels around the world.”
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts plans to open 80 new hotels this year as well as 25 new properties in Europe over the next four years. The company already opened a new W Hotel in Paris and a Le Meridien hotel in Instanbul, Turkey this year and looks to focus on other fast-growing markets, including Russia, the Ukraine and additional sites in Turkey.
• Hyatt Hotels Corporation will open new properties in Zurich and Moscow, two of the most expensive cities worldwide for hotel rates. The Hyatt Regency Moscow is planned to open in 2015 and will feature 297 rooms and 56 luxury apartments. In Zurich, Hyatt has plans for both a Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place near the airport to open in 2017, each with more than 250 rooms.

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

• American Airlines announced their intention to cut costs by more than $2 billion annually this past Wednesday through a combination of job cuts, pension overhaul and fleet optimization. The carrier is expected to work with the labor groups targeted for layoffs and if they can’t come to an agreement, American will ask the court to cut about 4,600 maintenance workers, 4,200 baggage handlers, 2,300 flight attendants, 400 pilots and 1,400 management positions.
• A long-term bill funding the FAA passed in Congress this past week finally ending a string of “short-term” extensions of the previous version that expired in 2007. The full agreement includes provisions for a Next Generation air traffic modernization program slated to end ground-based radar and bring the U.S. into the 21^st century with GPS technology. Other changes will include tweaking the Essential Air Service program where smaller communities receive scheduled airline service, modifying the rules of airline union voting practices and a slot allocation for transcontinental flights out of Washington’s Reagan-National Airport.
• Spirit Airlines has added a new fee to all one-way fares in defiance of the new U.S. DOT rules requiring fares to be advertised inclusive of all government taxes and fees and allowing a 24-hour period with which to pay for airline tickets. Calling it the “Department of Transportation’s unintended consequences fee”, the carrier claims the 24-hour policy will hurt availability of seats causing load factors to fall. Fares with the airline now include this $2 one-way surcharge.
• The “No-fly” list recently doubled and now includes about 21,000 names, including 500 Americans. According to TSA head John Pistole, federal, state and other law enforcement agencies “continue to identify people who want to cause us harm, particularly in the U.S. and particularly as it relates to aviation.”
• While not as severe as American’s losses, Hawaiian Airlines reported a net loss of $2.6 million for 2011 and noted net income on an adjusted basis was $43.2 million, excluding fuel expenses and a non-recurring lease termination charge of $70 million for 15 Boeing 717 aircraft. The carrier’s CEO is optimistic looking ahead and remains committed to operational growth while at the same time controlling costs.
• Early next month, Virgin Atlantic will open a new Clubhouse at JFK airport in Terminal 4. The new lounge will be near the gates vs. outside of security as is the current situation. Senior Vice President-North America, Chris Rossi, said “the new space will create a unique experience for our passengers to complement our flagship Clubhouse and Revivals Lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3.”
• LodgeNet, the largest provider of hotel room television services, has a free mobile app out there now that turns smartphones into hotel room remote controls. There are about 2,000 hotels in the U.S. with the LodgeNet service and this new app includes information about the specific hotel you’re staying at, local events, attractions, directions and restaurants in addition to acting as a remote control. The company’s CEO quoted research that “forty percent of users ages 18 to 34 prefer to control their TVs with a smartphone or tablet instead of a remote.”

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

• All Nippon Airways (ANA) took delivery of its first Boeing 787 this week and it flew to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Wednesday. Regularly scheduled service doesn’t begin until November 1^st, but the carrier plans to fly a charter flight from Narita to Hong Kong on October 26^th. The Dreamliner will be seen initially flying regionally with long-haul service from Tokyo to Frankfurt beginning in January 2012.
• Lufthansa has ordered two additional Airbus A380s and 10 other aircraft in a deal that carries a list price of about $1.3 billion. The carrier says the increased capacity is necessary for “short-term requirements.” The other additions are one A330-300, four A320s for regional intra-Europe flying and five Embraer 195 regional jets. Once delivered, Lufty will have a fleet of 17 A380s.
• The Air Line Pilots Association at United Airlines sued the carrier claiming pilots weren’t given enough time to learn, train and implement a new procedure when a jet is caught in a strong wind gust. The procedure in question is currently used at Continental Airlines and requires pilots to let the autopilot make the necessary adjustments vs. pilots taking control in those instances. Courts ruled with the airline allowing the changes to go ahead. Something tells me, though, that pilots against the change might disobey procedure and take over control of the airplane. Just a hunch as it’s something I might do.
• Courts also sided with US Airways this week forcing pilots to quit engaging in work slowdowns that have caused delays and cancellations impacting the carrier’s ability to handle reaccommodation of passengers. When the suit was filed, the US Airline Pilots Association claimed the carrier’s allegations were “categorically false” and instead said they were performing a “safety campaign.” The judge disagreed after reviewing the evidence and issued an injunction against the union.
• Many hotels require you to cancel a reservation by 6pm the day of arrival, or some even 24- to 48-hours out. It’s nothing new, but one hotel in Packwood, WA has a vague policy stating, “If Manager is able to re-sell Guest’s dates at net rates of at least equal to those charged to Guest, Manager will refund Guest’s Use Fee less a Re-Booking fee as specified by Manager.” Chris Elliott thinks hotels might adopt airline-like rebooking fees on some rates in addition to the already existing non-refundable ones. It’s an interesting concept where hotels could create a new revenue stream, but I don’t think it will catch on.
• Hilton HHonors revealed its fourth quarter promotion offering either double points or a free night certificate after four qualifying stays or 10 nights. Registration is required for stays between October 1^st and December 31^st this year. The list of non-qualifying properties is lengthy and includes two I have bookings at in October. As such, I signed up for the double miles since it wouldn’t pay off to do a couple of mattress runs just to get a free night.
• Even with the current economic downturn, it’s being reported business travelers are returning to booking premium cabins on airlines. Corporate travel managers saw a five percent increase this year in North American companies that allow premium-class travel. 56% of companies here have such a policy, with 46% of European firms, up from 34% last year. I always feel fortunate to get a complimentary upgrade on United’s A319 fleet with only 8 seats in First Class, but my luck might change should these figures continue to rise.
• Finally, Virgin Atlantic was fined $25,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for violating the rules for advertising taxes and fees clearly. They found the carrier, “displayed internet ads that did not provide direct access to information on taxes and fees that were in addition to the base fare.” If you clicked on the ad, the fees were there, but fairly well hidden in the fine print. This will all change come January next year, though, as all advertised prices will be required to include the fees.

It was another media release frenzy in Australia this week with several announcements by British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia. Here’s a summary by carrier:

Travelers from London currently have two options to fly British Airways to Sydney, namely via Singapore or Bangkok with continuing service to Australia. Beginning next March the carrier will discontinue the Bangkok-Sydney flight, where instead passengers will pick up a Qantas flight to continue on to Sydney. Not a surprising move in my opinion with Qantas last week having announced their own discontinuation of Bangkok-London service. The story picked up by most of the Australian news outlets came from the Australian Associated Press (AAP), who painted an overly dire picture if you only read the headline and first sentence: “British Airways to slash Australia flights: British Airways is to slash its number of flights to Australia by half, a UK newspaper reports.” Yes, true by all accounts as half of two is one, but it’s overly dramatic, wouldn’t you say?

1. Revealing a bit more about the new carrier Qantas will launch in Asia announced last week, CEO Alan Joyce plans to model their service and A320 fleet similar to what British Airways has done with their A318s that fly from London City airport to New York’s JFK. It will feature lie-flat beds in Business Class superior to the carrier’s first class A380 beds. Unlike the LCY-JFK service, though, Qantas will include an economy class cabin, albeit also an improvement from what’s seen on their A380s.
2. The same day as the above, shares of the carrier dropped to equal a record low as unions seek a “no-confidence vote” against Joyce and the board in an upcoming October meeting. Pilots and engineers need the support of only 100 shareholders to get the motion on the agenda. Their main grievance: the recently announced strategic direction that will see 1,000 jobs eliminated.
3. Not far off the mark from above, Qantas engineers were to press ahead with planned one-hour strikes every day up until about Christmas as of this posting. The union has authorized workers in rotating cities to stop working an hour each day, unless the carrier pays them overtime rates for that hour. Qantas, understandably, is refusing the overtime pay part, but still needs to find a way to get back to the table to discuss the long-running disputes between sides. The same goes for the union, mind you, and I find the “we won’t strike if you pay us overtime that hour” completely childish.
4. The Australian government has given the green light for an enhanced alliance between Qantas and American Airlines that would further enable the carriers to work more closely in scheduling, pricing, revenue management and other areas. Approval from New Zealand and the United States is still pending.
5. Qantas reported a total fiscal year net profit of AU$250 million ($263 million) for the period ending June 30, 2011, slightly doubling last year’s amount of AU$112 million. The ailing international arm, however, posted a AU$200 million loss and the company said it couldn’t provide a forward looking forecast for the next year due to its restructuring and uncertain economic conditions. I’m thinking the unions might not have too hard a time getting that no-confidence vote.

1. The carrier launched an improved Velocity frequent flyer program, including the ability to pool points and status within a member’s family, adding a Platinum level with top-tier benefits, better upgrade perks, standby privileges, and much more. They’re also luring business away from other carriers by offering a limited time tier-to-tier status match. Australian residency (or possibly just address) is required, otherwise I would have requested a Platinum match to my United 1K status. I do know several United 1Ks in Australia, however, who will certainly take them up on the offer given their continuous inability to redeem Systemwide upgrades with United.
2. Virgin Australia will codeshare with Virgin Atlantic on their Sydney to Hong Kong flights beginning next year. The Atlantic arm has been serving Sydney for seven years and the flight leaves daily at 2:25pm operated with an Airbus A340-600 featuring Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
3. Opposite of Qantas, Virgin Australia reported a total full year net loss of AU$67.8 million, but international operations on V Australia saw a AU$22.4 million net profit. To be fair, that’s really an apples to oranges comparison against Qantas given their radically different international route structures. The carrier is looking to drastically improve on the domestic loss of AU$40.8 million having rebranded from Virgin Blue, added domestic business class and lounges, and improved the frequent flyer program.