Southwest

What a week, huh?  No, it really never crossed my mind that Southwest might throw it’s hat in the ring for Frontier.  It just seemed a little too far-fetched, but less so with each passing day as I think about it.  Southwest has been growing in Denver, and from some indications, doing so successfully though profits apparently remain elusive.  Frontier appears to be making some headway in getting itself out of Chapter 11.  And Denver’s number one airline, United, does anyone really think that they will still be in business as currently constituted one or two years from now?  I don’t.  Does that mean the United brand goes the way of Eastern, NO!  But the vultures are starting to circle, and I think they are fish food for either US Airways or Continental by this time next year, whether the United name lives on or not, though I expect it will.  Frontier has a relatively decent reputation for service, and a young workforce that will have the opportunity to join a much more stable and secure employer with an almost legendary reputation for looking after its people.

The only wrinkle is the fleet of “Airbii” that Frontier brings to the table.  Southwest plans to eventually dispose of those as they absorb Frontier.  I’m not certain how labor will integrate either.  As I understand it, when Southwest purchased Morris Air, the Morris folks basically re-interviewed for their jobs and started over at the bottom.  I wonder if the plan is to do this again?  That worked out OK for everyone when Southwest was growing by leaps and bounds.  But opportunities to move up the ladder come slowly in the current environment.  This could be an important watch item for the integration.  However, I’ve never bet against Southwest successfully accomplishing anything its set out to do, and I surely will not start now.

Delta Medallion Changes

Earlier this week, Delta announced changes to the Medallion elite program for 2010.  Judging by the number of searches that landed on the blog, there’s a high degree of interest in what Delta is up to.  You can check out my post from earlier this week here.  The most beneficial changes include making Systemwide Upgrades usable on the day of departure and rollover Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs).  In other words, Silver Medallion requires 25,000 MQMs.  If you end the year at 40,000 MQMs, you have a 15,000 MQM headstart on Medallion status for the following year.  However, in order to be fully competitive with American and United, Delta needs to make its Systemwide Upgrades usable on any fare, and not just YBM fares which can be higher than other airlines discounted Business Class fares.  The changes are not awe-inspiring, but I think they represent a net positive for Delta Medallions.  And in a side note, I’m on target for reattaining Medallion status with Delta this year, which makes me happy!

United Drops Close-in Award Fees

In a true positive for Mileage Plus members, United has dropped fees for booking award travel less than 21 days prior to departure.  I’ve posted before that this particular fee is one that I have never cared for.  It costs no more to issue a ticket on day 2 before departure than day 202, which makes these “late booking” fees nothing more than an egregious money grab.  Kudos to United for doing this.

The Week Ahead

I’ll be traveling to Philadelphia this week.  No flying though.  Amtrak’s Acela will be my chariot of choice.  I’ll be sure to post a trip report on the Acela experience.

There’s something about New York City in December. I don’t know if it’s the sheer madness of the crowds, the chill in the air, or the tree at Rockefeller Center. But I love the City this time of year. Lady Astrojets was invited to an event in NYC this weekend…and well…. I just decided to tag along. The event included a ride on Amtrak via private rail car for the attendees. We could’ve paid another “conference fee” to allow me to join Lady Astrojets in the private rail car, but I could purchase roundtrip travel on Acela for half the price of that fee, so that’s what I did.

Amtrak Acela First Class

I splurged a bit on the way up from Washington’s Union Station to New York Penn Station and purchased accomodations in Acela’s First Class car. More out of curiosity than anything else. The price was an extra $94 dollars. I don’t know if I would say it was “worth it,” but I will certainly say that I don’t regret giving it a try. First Class accomodations include at-seat attendant service along with meals, free booze, etc. First Class tickets include access to the Acela Lounge, which I did visit in Washington. The lounge was a little worn around the edges, but there were snacks, self service beverages, and best of all…. Amtrak pre-boards First Class Acela customers directly from the lounge. The First Class Seats were wide and comfortable with plenty of legroom. Several were “single seats” which was my choice as I was traveling alone.

Pre-boarding was called at 11:35AM for the noon departure. Tickets were checked at the door, and at least three people without First Class tickets attempted to take themselves a seat in First Class, but were promptly booted to the back.

The service was pleasantly delivered by two attendants dedicated to the First Class car, and began with a serving of mixed nuts before departure. I hadn’t had breakfast so this was much appreciated, but I think a little pre-departure beverage service would be a nice touch. Lunch was ordered from a printed menu after our on-time departure. Choices included salmon, something else I can’t remember and a “lighter fare” option. I dined on the salmon, which seemed eerily familiar to standard domestic airline fare, but was certainly edible. Of course, I may be the only person on earth who doesn’t think airline food is that bad.

The only snag in the whole trip was that Amtrak ran out of red wine after the first pass through the car. I did understand that they were picking up more in New York, but that didn’t help me as that was my final destination. One gentleman who boarded in Philadelphia seemed especially disappointed about the lack of red wine, so much so that the attendant went to the cafe car and “borrowed” a half-bottle just for him. I will add that the staff seemed familiar with him, so I’m guessing he was a First Class regular. In fact, there were a handful of customers that the attendants seemed to know by name. Frankly, I can understand why someone would be a train regular given the state of airline dependability in the northeast cooridor.

Even though we departed Washington right on time, we somehow managed to slip behind schedule by 5 minutes or so. Given that it was sleeting when we departed Washington, I’ll take a 5 minute delay over who knows what would’ve happened at the airport any day!

All in all, it was a nice way to get to New York, and I’m happy that I’m taking Acela back home tomorrow. But alas, only in Business Class.

I just completed my first roundtrip on Amtrak’s Acela service. It was a short-haul trip from Washington, D.C.’s Union Station to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and return. This was a Monday out, Friday return trip. As I stated in my previous post, I was extremely pleased with the service offered. Acela is fast and comfortable. The seats are wide and comfortable with plenty of pitch. In fact, Amtrak’s website states that the seat pitch in Business Class (the minimum class of service on Acela) is a generous 42 inches! Amtrak offers First Class service on Acela as well, but I didn’t try that on the company dime. I just may on my own time at some point in the future though.

Just a suggestion to make life easier…. If you’re buying your tickets from Amtrak online, buy your outbound as a one-way, and your return as another one-way in a separate transaction. Doing so will allow you to obtain just your outbound ticket on your departure from one of Amtrak’s Quik-Trak ticket machines, and then you’ll retrieve your return ticket on the day of your return. Why is this important? Buying 2 one-ways in advance as opposed to a single roundtrip will allow you to change trains without seeing an agent. You’ll simply pick up your outbound ticket on departure, and your return ticket on the way home. Amtrak’s Quik-Trak machines allow you to change trains prior to spitting out your ticket, and this is the way to go if at all possible. Buying roundtrip travel in advance will produce both your outbound and return tickets at your first check-in. And having your return ticket in hand will force you to visit an agent on your return if you finish business early and would like to catch an earlier train. Based on my experience at Amtrak’s ticket window in Philadelphia yesterday, the line was very long, and might force you may miss your opportunity to catch an earlier train while you’re waiting in line.

Hi from the Philadelphia Sheraton-Society Hill. More on the hotel later. For now, I want to discuss today’s trip on Amtrak’s Acela from Washington, DC to Philadelphia.

First things first, we departed and arrived on schedule….to the second. Considering the state of flying this summer, that’s a real reason to consider Acela for your travel needs in the northeast. The seats were Amtrak “Business Class,” and were wide and comfortable. Pitch at least met, and I really think exceeded that of domestic first class airline travel. 110V power is available at every seat, and there’s no need to turn off your cell phone or Blackberry! Although, I admit that I wish the person 2 seats behind me would have turned off his cell phone. But alas, there’s even a solution for for cell phone “yappers” in the Acela “Quiet Car” where cell phone conversation is not allowed.

The only negative comment I have is that the attendant in the cafe car appeared to be “bothered” when I asked for a Diet Pepsi and a pack of almonds. An attendant does offer beverages and snacks for purchase at your seat, but I missed them when they were in my car.

I’ll offer a more in depth trip report after the completion of my trip on Friday. But in the mean time, I’m very comfortable saying that Amtrak’s Acela will be my preferred method of travel from Washington, DC to anywhere as far as New York (dependent upon where I need to be in the city) from now on.