Did you know that even though you purchased a ticket to one city, you can sometimes fly to/from different city on your original ticket?  For a specific set of cities (and airports) , this is possible. Those cities are listed in the airlines’ tariffs and often in the specific fare rules of a ticket you purchase.  American Airlines tariffs state:

Co-Terminal means specified cities which may be considered the same point for determination of journey type.

The following cities will be considered the same point (co-terminals): BWI-WAS, FLL-MIA, OAK-SFO-SJC, LAX-ONT-BUR-LGB-SNA, NYC-EWR.

The concept of co-terminaling is used for fare construction – fares to co-terminaled cities are constructed as if they’re the same point, and there’s no “open jaw” penalty for flying into one co-terminal and out of another.  The concept is similarly applied to travel, however, in that most fares (check the fare rules!) allow a passenger to check in and/or stand by for any of the co-terminaled cities.

In the case of New York, this means you may be able to standby to Newark (EWR), JFK or LaGuardia (LGA) if you have ticket to one of those three places.  For San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC) are co-terminaled.  All five of the LA Metro area airports are co-terminaled!  Depending on what fares are available and the flight times, there might be a savings involved.  It also means that if you have an overnight connection in Miami, you can stay in Fort Lauderdale instead and fly out of FLL the next morning, schedules permitting.

All in all, not a bad thing… just something to be aware of!

A recent trip on American Airlines made me reflect back on the difference a good gate agent makes.  For those unfamiliar, the gate agent is responsible for ensuring passengers get on the flight and the flight leaves on time.  This includes handling seat changes, upgrades, standbys, and all other assorted matters people walk up to the counter for.  They also deal with the cabin crew, ensuring they’re ready for passengers to board and that they have their final manifest when the door closes.

Traveling over the holidays – a busy, congested time with many folks who only travel seasonally and don’t know the in’s and out’s – is challenging enough with a good gate agent.  Get a bad one, however, and things can go south in a hurry.  This particular trip involved connecting through DFW airport.  Our ticketed flight included a long layover – enough that there were three additional flights to our final destination in the interim.  All of those flights were fully booked, of course, but between weather delays and other reasons there are often seats that come available for standby passengers.  As an Executive Platinum member one of the benefits is free same-day standby and priority on the standby list based on status.  There’s additional priority as a connecting passenger, but American Airlines does ensure that disrupted passengers (those who missed a flight due to irregular operations, or irrops) always top the list regardless of status.  So, I knew that I’d be at the top of the non-disrupted list.  Good enough.

Fast forward to the first flight.  Full, but the gate agent added us to the standby list.  Unfortunately there were several disrupted passengers, so they got the few available seats.  On to the next flight… and this is where things go bad.  The gate agent at this flight was wholly unorganized, slow, and acted uninterested in actually working with the people at the counter.  Long story short, he never got around to even processing the standby list and the flight went out with empty seats – much to the chagrin of the dozen or more people on the standby list.  He did, however, find time to process an employee (in uniform) non-revenue passenger, clearing her into the jump seat in the cockpit (she was jumpseat cleared).  After that, he simply turned, closed the ramp door, walked down and closed the airplane door, and exited the ramp without saying a word to the standby passengers still at his desk.

It was a great example of the kind of gate agent you don’t want to run into.

Contrast that against the gate agent for our booked flight.  Not only did she process the standby list at exactly 10 minutes before the flight, she worked with us on our triple upgrade – my daughter and I cleared so I sent my wife and daughter on to first, then waited by the desk to see if first boarded full (it had checked in full but one passenger had not boarded).  The instant she was done with the standby list, she looked again and called down to the plane to verify the passenger hadn’t in fact boarded (I’m not sure why they do this since boarding passes get scanned), then processed my upgrade (I was #1 on the list at that point).  She followed me down to the plane, handed off the manifest, closed the door and we pushed back for an on-time departure.

So impressed was I that I pulled out an Applause Certificate and handed it to her, expressing my appreciation for her professionalism.  Hers is the attitude I (should) expect from American Airlines’ employees, and it’s what I usually get.

What has your experience been with Gate Agents – American or otherwise?  Have you had an exceptionally good one?  A horrendously bad one?  Is one airline better than another for their gate experience?

Earlier this month my wife, my daughter and I were coming back from Denver to Austin via Dallas (DEN-DFW-AUS).  We had three coach seats and were flying on December 22nd.  While ExpertFlyer showed available space in first class, I had no real hope of getting an upgrade for all three of us as while I’m Executive Platinum and my wife is Platinum, my daughter has no elite status on American Airlines.

Nevertheless, we got to the gate and I asked the gate agent to add us to the standby list¹.  He did, and mentioned that there were 12 of the 16 seats available!  Now for the tricky part – how do you add three people to the list when one doesn’t have status?  Even though we were all booked on the same PNR, my EXP status only allows me to add one additional person to the upgrade list².  Knowing that, I elected to add my daughter as my companion (using 500-mile stickers left in my account) and my wife added herself (using stickers in her account).  This put us in two different places on the list, but given the short list and significant available upgrades, it worked!  All three of us got upgraded for the flight.  Sure, it’s a short domestic first (1 hr, 55 min), but coming back from a ski vacation as a family it was worth the extra comfort.

The luck only continued in Dallas, where although we had a significant wait between flights, the 10:00 PM flight we were on had similar space available.  I can only speculate that this is because there is a significantly higher percentage of non-status passengers and significantly fewer business travelers over the holidays, leaving the number of requested upgrades low.  Again, all three of us cleared to first.  Under normal circumstances this isn’t a great use of 500 mile stickers, but in this case it was worth it simply for the comfort and ability to deplane first.

All in all, a triple-upgrade (three persons), twice!

Since I’ve contrasted with United recently, United offers Unlimited Domestic Upgrades for the member at any level along with one companion.  While this makes upgrades more available, it’s tougher to get because United has significantly less domestic first class space on their planes.  Given the relative ease of earning 500-mile upgrades on American (for all except EXP members), I think this is a fair trade-off.  See my prior post on this for a better discussion.

¹ Normally I do this at booking, not at the gate, since there’s a 100-hour clearance window for EXP’s and a 72-hour window for Platinums.  In this case there were circumstances that prevented me from doing so.

² Executive Platinum members can upgrade one full-fare companion for free, or a companion on any other purchased fare using 500-mile upgrade stickers.  See for the EXP benefits guide for more.

While I’m normally an AA flyer, there are times that United simply makes the most sense.  In this case, it’s a family trip to Colorado where 9 of us are on the same flight.  Nine is a magic number on United – it’s the number of people who can be on the same PNR and inherit some elite status benefits from others on the same reservation.  In case you don’t remember, I was status matched to both United and Continental last year – Premier Executive on United and OnePass Platinum on Continental.  Since this is a United flight, their upgrade order and baggage rules apply.

Unfortunately, the others in my family booked first, so we’re on three separate PNR’s (Passenger Name Records).  Given that my family represents three of the passengers (me, my wife and our teenage daughter) and I’m the only one with status, we had to figure out the best way for us to book since as a Premier Exec I am only entitled to Economy Plus (E+) seating and Unlimited Domestic Upgrades for myself and one companion.  So, we ended up booking myself and my wife on one PNR and assigning us E+ seats and adding us to the upgrade list (which United does automatically); then we bought a ticket for our daughter on a separate PNR and put her in the back, in a middle seat, between grandparents and behind her aunt, uncle and their kids.

Looking at ExpertFlyer and the United seat map there showed to be six of the eight seats in First class open.  For my wife and I, our upgrades didn’t clear at the 72-hour mark, and looking again at EF and the seat map there were only two first class seats left.  Uh-oh.  Not knowing where we were on the list, and knowing we were mid-tier, it wasn’t looking good.  Then, like magic, we checked in online… and found out we got the upgrades!

United is a different beast than American, that’s for sure.  They extend Unlimited Domestic Upgrades to all their elites by order or level and fare class paid.  American, on the other hand, reserves this for Executive Platinum members – Platinum and Gold AAdvantage members have to use 500-mile upgrade certificates earned by flying.

I’m not sure which way I like best.  I like that as a mid-tier on United we got an upgrade, and I like that they released the last two F seats to upgrade at the 24-hour mark vs. transferring to airport control and making us wait until after check-in.  On American, though, I like that as an Executive Platinum member I can generally count on first class seats not being taken if I see them available 24 hours out unless they’re purchased, because at the 24-hour mark any Platinum or Gold members who would have requested upgrades would have received them, leaving me only competing with other EXP’s and people paying for F at the last minute.  On United, those last-minute upgrades must be tougher to come by… whereas on American I can often get upgrades even when I’m standing by on an earlier flight – as long as I clear to coach and there’s an F seat available, I get it.

What are your thoughts on the upgrade process?  Are you an American or United flyer, and which do you prefer?

Hot on the heels of the recent announcement that iPads had been certified for use on the flight deck during all phases of flight, American Airlines announced today that they will be offering the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet, an Android-based tablet, as an in-flight entertainment (IFE) option on transcontinental US flights and international flights served by 767-300 aircraft.  The initially announced routes are:

Transcontinental Flights Served With 767-200 and 767-300 Aircraft Between:

• JFK and Miami to/from Los Angeles and San Francisco

Transcontinental Flights Served With 757 Aircraft Between:

• Boston and Los Angeles

International Flights Served With 767-300 Aircraft to and From:

• Europe and South America

American’s release says the tablets will come pre-loaded with movies from Paramount, TV shows and music, and will have access to games and on-board Wi-Fi in the near future.

The ability to connect to on-board WiFi is interesting, especially from a privacy standpoint.  [Disclaimer: I work full time for MobileIron, a company that provides security and provisioning solutions for mobile device management, however this blog is my personal work separate from MobileIron.]  If there’s going to be personal information used on a device (a username/password to webmail, Facebook, or someone’s AAdvantage account, for instance), then there needs to be a system in place to ensure that the information is affirmatively wiped between each use/user.  I would also imagine that American wants to secure the content on the device such that it’s not just “raw” movie files and audio where simply plugging it in to a laptop with a cable would allow for the transfer/copying of the movies and music (copyright/piracy concerns!), and wants to prevent the “side-loading” of potentially malicious apps onto the device.  I know that Samsung provides significant API’s - bits of code to allow deeper security hooks – to MDM vendors and MobileIron implements these as part of it’s protection for Android devices, so I’m interested to see how American has secured these to prevent data loss and privacy breaches.

What are your thoughts on the tablets?  Helpful, or (like me) do you carry your own and not need one provided by the airline?  What’s your take on whether you’d use such a device on-board to access email and other personal content, not knowing how/if it’s properly wiped after your use?

Short history:  My wife and I applied for the British Airways Chase Visa cards that had bonuses of 50,000 miles each, so we earned (with spend) about 225,000 miles. I fly AA domestically and have segments on BA occasionally when I happen to be overseas, so BA miles were of potential use.  I wasn’t “blind” to the YQ (fuel surcharges) on BA trans-atlantic flights and/or the London Heathrow air passenger duty (departure tax) – I knew exactly what I was getting into with BA miles.

I acquired these miles because I could and because they were essentially free.  Who’d turn down 225,000 frequent flier miles, anyway?  I figured I might be able to use them for domestic travel on American Airlines, or possibly intra-Europe travel on British Airways.  As it turned out I still buy most of my domestic tickets and when I don’t I can either find MileSAAver awards as an Executive Platinum (since there’s often expanded availability), or find the right price point to make the new DynamicAir awards worthwhile (typically at slightly over MileSAAver rates, but much less than AAnytime rates – a recent redemption from DEN-AUS via ORD was only 13,000 miles in economy vs. 12,500 for MileSAAver redemptions, which weren’t available).

I jumped on the 1/2 price JAL redemptions from SFO to Tokyo Haneda for a trip to Japan at the end of December for me and my wife, and I grabbed up low economy fares to Paris for us for spring break that I could use my Systemwide Upgrades on (found via ExpertFlyer – outbound cleared immediately, returns cleared slightly later but I confirmed before purchase that the Business-class cabin was wide open).  Now I just needed hotels for each trip.

Enter the Avios program change.  I went tonight and used all our Avios (well, we have 45 left) on a week’s hotel in Japan and a week’s hotel in Paris (minus a night via Hilton’s fourth-quarter free nights promotion, booked at the Paris CDG airport property so we don’t have to get up at 0-dark-thirty to make our 7:45 flight to LHR).

Did I get a great redemption rate?  Not as great as I could get on upgrading to Club World on British Airways, and probably not as great as I could get a domestic AA ticket for (but if I want to fly up front it’s 3x the Avios since BA uses AA’s designation of  ”First” class).  But I did get two weeks worth of hotels in “expensive” cities (especially Tokyo, and moreso with the exchange rates for Yen and Euro)… and I paid a whopping $100 for it (but only I picked a higher class hotel that I needed a few more Avios for, so it offered me Avios + cash).

At the very least I got a penny a mile or more – certainly not something to crow about – except that I got two weeks of hotel stays for essentially free.  And I’m happy.  And that’s what matters, I think.  A combination of fare sales, earned SWU’s and discounted redemption travel got the airfare for two trans-oceanic trips covered… and the “free” Avios have now covered the hotels; a cost that would have otherwise been at the very least restrictive on our ability to afford the travel and at the worst would have been prohibitive.  What more could I ask for?

As noted on ZDNet (edit to add: and TechCrunch), American Airlines received FAA approval today to use iPads in the cockpit in all phases of flight.  This is similar to program that United Airlines announced in August but is only for use during “non-critical” phases of flight (the same times passenger electronics can be used).

The certification is significant because the FAA published an InFO (Information for Operators) on the use of iPads in the cockpit back in May of this year.  In that InFO, the FAA essentially broke the advice into two phases: replacement of paper manuals and charts (via the Jeppesen Mobile TC app); and the certification of the iPad as an electronic device usable during flight operations.

The United Airlines project addressed phase I – the use of the application.

American’s announcement today is that they have completed the requirements to certify the iPad and iPad2 as safe for use (not producing harmful interference) during flight operations, including those times when other electronic devices must be off (during taxi, takeoff and landing).  Of note, especially with the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the acrimony between management and the unions, the Allied Pilots Association led the effort to test the devices and certify them for safe use in flight.  This is a great example of the pilots working with the airline to achieve a shared goal and should be used as a banner in the certainly ongoing negotiations to resolve the contract dispute.

I should note that neither of these are the first to use iPads in the cockpit – that honor goes to Executive Jet Management, a small charter flight operator.

This is good news for Apple as it proves that the device can be safely certified (not that it was in doubt, it just hadn’t yet been done), and it’s great news for pilots because they’ll be able to get rid of around 35 pounds of manuals (though I’d imagine there will still be copies available as backups).

Will Google be next, getting Android devices certified for use in its fleet via H211?  The challenge is greater since it’s not the OS that matters, it’s the device – so each device that would be used in the cockpit must be individually certified for safe use.

What are your thoughts?  Is this going to be helpful, or is this going to lead to another fly-by situation like the one over Minnesota in 2009?

In case you missed the news, Alec Baldwin was denied travel on an American Airlines flight earlier this week for failing to follow the safety instructions of a flight attendant.  Not content with being called out for his boorish behavior, he took the fight public on his Twitter account and the backlash was severe enough that he decided to close his account.  In a rare move, American Airlines released a statement about the event on their Facebook page – a statement picked up by the national media that provides more detail on the extremely inappropriate behavior Mr. Baldwin exhibited that led to his removal.

Apparently still not getting the message that making an arse of yourself on a planeload of people that just want to get where they’re going without delay isn’t cool or popular, Baldwin decided to take it one step further and appear on Saturday Night Live tonight, playing the part of the captain of that American Airlines flight… apologizing to Mr. Baldwin for throwing him off.

<rant>

This move shows what utter disdain Mr. Baldwin has for the traveling public in general, and how much better he thinks he is than the rules he agrees to follow when he buys a ticket on a public airline.

Despite your feelings on whether or not electronics do present a safety issue to airplanes, the rules exist and must be enforced by airline personnel.  To refuse to obey, cause a scene and get thrown off simply indicates you’re’ not willing to follow those rules… and if you don’t follow them, you don’t travel.  It’s that simple.

I have a suggestion for Mr. Baldwin, though: charter flights.  If you want to set the rules, either buy a plane and hire a pilot or charter a flight and make the bet that they won’t hassle you because you’re paying good money for the flight.  That, and keep off the airlines the rest of us are on if you can’t do anything but cause trouble.

</rant>

Want to go on the Oneworld MegaDo but it was sold out?  Here’s your chance – American Airlines announced that they are putting a seat on the MegaDo up for auction using AAdvantage miles!  Go to the AAdvantage Auction site and put in your bid on this item to win!

Update: The item closed at 453,000 miles!

Look at the following snippet from a sample booking from Dallas/Forth Worth to London Heathrow next May:

The first listed flight, AA 50, is an American Airlines flight on a three-class 777: First (including Flagship Service), Business, and Economy.  The second listed flight, AA 6153, is a codeshare with British Airways on a four-class 747-400: First, Club World (Business), World Traveler Plus (Premium Economy), and World Traveler (Economy).  This marks the first time that American Airlines’ customers can purchase Premium Economy seats on their partner airlines – before, customers would have to purchase through British Airways to buy this class of service.

Even bigger, though, is that American recently announced the configuration for their new 777-300ER’s, including Premium Economy seating.  While American is still treating this as three-class seating (much like United does for Economy Plus), it’s interesting to read the details from the press release:

American will also offer an Economy Class premium seat product, which will include additional legroom for seats in the forward portion of the cabin, allowing greater personal space and convenient access when boarding and deplaning.

While it’s not been said how these seats will be allocated, American does still describe them as a three-class configuration.  This is important because upgrade instruments typically only provide a single class of upgrade – from a purchased Economy ticket to Business class, or from purchased Business class to First.

On British Airways, this works as follows:

• World Traveler –> World Traveler Plus
• World Traveler Plus –> Club World
• Club World –> First

On American Airlines, upgrades work in a similar fashion, simply with three classes:

• Economy –> Business
• Business –> First

Keeping the new “Premium Economy” as part of a three-class Economy class on American Airlines means that purchasers of regular Economy seats can still expect to use upgrade instruments to upgrade to Business class.  This is a significant advantage over British Airways, which requires a World Traveler Plus class ticket to upgrade to Club World, BA’s equivalent of Business Class.  I should also note that BA only allows upgrades on the higher class World Traveler tickets to World Traveler Plus (those in Y, B, and H class.. or “full fare” Economy).

For those wondering, you can upgrade these British Airways”W” fares in World Traveler Plus to Club World using AA miles or using BAEC Avios.

Over on Tim Hoch’s blog, he has an open letter to American Airlines in the wake of their bankruptcy.  Rather than simply leave comments, I’d like to respond to several of his points here.  Text in italics, below, is from his original post (linked above).

Every time I fly on one of your planes, it’s a beating. And every time I talk to anyone else who has flown on one of your planes, they describe the experience by using some combination of the words “ass” and “whip.”

I’ve flown 120 segments on AA this year.  I’d describe none of them as a beating or a whipping.  I’ve certainly had delays, including a 4+ hour delay from DFW to Honolulu while maintenance changed the same part twice, but with that volume it’s to be expected.  For what it’s worth, most of my maintenance delays are on the MD-80′s, the old planes American is working hardest to get rid of.

You extort cash for headphones that are as acoustically viable as an empty can of green beans with a string, blankets and pillows that should be quarantined by the Centers for Disease Control, and extra baggage.

Who buys airplane headphones?  With the bevy of portable devices that have been on the market in the last ten years, and the advent of smartphones and tablets, who doesn’t travel with headphones?  As for the blankets and pillows, they’ve always been presented to me in plastic bags, either new or recently cleaned.  I’m not sure where the dirty pillows and blankets you claim to be getting have come from.  The next time you’re boarding an aircraft, look around at the fresh new blankets and pillows.

contrary to what you may believe, it’s not really about the money, it’s about the message. Your employees do not mind sacrifice, they just want management to share a little of the sacrifice.

On this point, I agree completely.  The culture at American Airlines is not one of shared goals, and it shows.  The flight crews and cabin crews go out of their way to make flying a pleasurable experience.  Customer service on the phones is significantly higher than I receive with any other airline, especially the Executive Platinum desk.  Management, however, is a morass of impediments to satisfaction, from line managers for the gate agents to those in the baggage claims department, each seems to have the job of stonewalling against customer needs and upholding a company line that serves no purpose other than to infuriate.  This type of attitude and action permeates down from the top – and it was more and more clear every day that without a change in upper management, American was never going to get back on track.

Hire 150 “American Airlines Amusement Ambassadors” whose only job is to walk your gates, fly your planes meet with your employees and learn how to make the experience of flying more enjoyable.

Better yet, empower your employees to resolve problems and act on behalf of the customer.  Don’t spend money for new headcount to do this – allocate that money to a customer service budget to resolve customer issues on the spot.  Customer service budgets don’t need benefits, don’t draw pensions and don’t take sick days or vacation days.  Let your employees fix problems – they’re the ones that encounter them.  For a reference on how to do this, look at Apple.  10 years of JD Powers awards can’t be wrong… and they get to charge a premium for their products because you get that higher quality of service when you’re their customer.  It could be the same for you…

Offer creature comforts. Your gate waiting areas are horrendous. Segregate areas for families with children, offer more space to place luggage and spread out. Provide free Wi-Fi and multiple electrical outlets/charging stations.

Tim, American Airlines doesn’t own their gate areas (for the most part) – the airports do.  To counter this, American has the Admiral’s Clubs.  There are several ways in other than purchasing a membership, and even if you buy a membership, it’s worth every penny.  For the infrequent traveler, American offers the Five Star program which includes lounge access while you wait.

Simplify. When I try to make a reservation at aa.com I feel like I am wandering through a maze constructed by Rube Goldberg’s demonic half-brother. The combinations of schedules and fares change by the minute

Welcome to the world of deregulated airlines.  While we don’t agree about their website, there are enough other places to buy tickets (Expedia, etc.) that this shouldn’t really matter.  For fares changing?  This is why sites like Bing and Kayak offer fare advice, and why sites like ExpertFlyer sell access to fare information and fare bucket availability.

If a plane is going to be late, give frequent, honest updates.

Another point where we agree.  When I get a text from TripIt 10 minutes before I get an announcement from gate staff or cabin crews, something is wrong.  I shouldn’t have to rely on a third-party service to get up-to-date information that they get from you in the first place.

—

Overall, I sense the frustration in Tim’s letter.  I don’t agree with all his points, but he seems to understand the nature of the problem – American has upper-management issues that must be resolved, quickly, and turn the culture of the organization around so that employees are empowered and actually feel like valued, vital parts of the organization.  When they do, they need to be compensated appropriately for it, and recognition for being the best of the best will follow.  It can be done… the question is: will it?