This has been pretty widely blogged about, but since I first heard about it via a Tweet from Carol Margolis, she gets the hat tip. 

JetBlue has reintroduced its “All You Can Jet” pass for fall travel.  Cost is $499 for flights on all days except Fridays and Sundays, and $699 for any day, the All You Can Jet pass is a neat marketing idea to gin up travel in the traditionally slow period following Labor Day.  The pass is good for travel for 30 days beginning September 7th, and is only available for purchase through Friday, or “while supplies last” so jump on it.

Hat tip to Frugal Travel Guy.

Amex and JetBlue are giving away points.  All you have to do is follow @AmericanExpress on Twitter and tweet the following message:  “Hey @americanexpress I want to win 25,000 @jetblue TrueBlue points! I’d fly to INSERT LOCATION #amexjetblue http://srm.vitrue.com/LWs“

I just tweeted, and you should too.  What do you have to lose?  The Promo runs through May 17th, and 3 followers will win.

No, I don’t mean…can JetBlue and American talk to me…  I mean, can you, dear reader, and I talk?  Seriously, I just didn’t see this one coming.  In fact, when I first heard whispers about the hookup between American and JetBlue the night before it was announced, I straight up did NOT believe it.  Seriously, it’s just too far-fetched.  Or is it?  I mean, Delta is obviously in the driver’s seat right now as far as New York goes.  In the pool of large domestic airlines (or is it Air Lines), Delta is clearly the one to beat right now.  You’ve often read me post about how much I like “flying” Delta, I just don’t care for their slightly less than desirable mileage program.  I mean, they are firing on all cylinders when it comes to product attractiveness, network breadth, and all around coolness in the major airline department.  And they have laid a major stake in the ground in New York.

But did we really think that American was just going to stick its tail between it’s aft mounted JT8D MD-80 engines and run away from the town where it has so much history?  I didn’t think so.  I’ve learned over time that betting against American is usually a losing proposition.  I just had no idea that they would do something like cook up a “deal” between themselves and their almost exact opposite of an airline, JetBlue.  Today’s announcement of increased cooperation seems like just the beginning.  Can enhanced benefits like reciprocal frequent flier miles be far behind?  Only time will tell.  But I don’t need any time to know that this deal is going to be VERY interesting to watch develop.

I’m rarely in unanimous agreement with Chris Elliott’s take on the airlines.  That said, I think his piece on the airlines’ hunt for ancillary revenue is close to spot on.  Except at the end where the word “re-regulation” appears, which is a bandwagon I’m never gonna board.

I don’t mind paying extra for something that truly is a value-added service.  Like Elliott, I think that many of the new buy on board food options and internet meet this threshold.  I’m also a fan of Southwest’s Early Bird Checkin product.  Heck, I don’t even mind the pillow/blanket packages, and certainly not the confirmed flight change fee American recently rolled out.

On the other hand, I know you’ve heard me preach on the sin of paying a fee for the first checked bag.  I’m sorry, but one bag is an inherent part of travel and I continue to believe that JetBlue’s policy of including one checked bag as part of the fare is the right one for not just JetBlue, but the entire airline industry.  The other airlines, except Southwest (2 bags for free), obviously do not agree with my opinion.  And don’t even get me started on charging a fee to purchase a ticket from a person, which I maintain is the silliest idea in the history of mankind.  Even worse than the first checked bag fee.

In summary, I remain unopposed to the concept of unbundling in principal as long as the service that is now being “charged for” can legitimately be considered a “plus up” to the travel experience.  Unfortunately, far too many airlines have fallen all over themselves in charging for any and everything they can think of in an attempt to return to profitability.  And for those airlines, I have a question: How’s that workin’ out for ya’?

Airline Earnings

Airlines were out with their earnings announcements this week (and late last week).  The results:  the discounters shined a bit, and the legacies didn’t.  However, most everyone surprised just a tiny bit to the upside, especially United.  Consensus seems to be that things have stopped getting worse, and the airlines are experimenting with some fare increases.

On the surface, American’s numbers were noticeably worse than its peers.  I wonder why?

I wonder if the airlines that  charge for the first checked bag are losing business to those that don’t?  Something tells me that they may be.  I continue to believe that JetBlue’s policy of one bag for free and charging for the second is the right move, and I bet you money that Southwest matches that policy within 18 to 24 months, if not before.

Hilton HHonors Changes

I posted my first reaction to Hilton’s upcoming devaluation of HHonors.  But we really need to wait and see what happens in January.  You see, Hilton issued it’s new point chart, but won’t announce category changes for its hotels until January.  Hilton has been ok to me this year aside from lounge access.  I’m keeping an open mind, but have moved 2 stays to Marriott and Starwood.  The Starwood Preferred Guest Card from American Express remains the best of the affinity cards in my opinion.

Continental Joins Star This Week

Continental makes the move to Star Alliance on October 27th.  I’m still considering where to stash my Star miles, and Continental becomes a lot more viable with it’s entry into Star and associated OnePass enhancements.  My US Airways Dividend Miles account should be the logical place.  It’s predecessor, the Piedmont Frequent Flyer Bonus Program was the first miles scheme I ever joined (at age 17), but the recent history of US Airways’ actions in the mileage arena make me a tiny bit leery.

Random post, I know.  But I think many less-than-frequent fliers may not be aware that a lot of airlines offer travelers the opportunity to change to an earlier or later flight on their day of travel with a confirmed seat (if available) for a relatively small fee.

Yesterday, I got a later than planned start on my 50 mile drive from my family home in North Carolina to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).  Faced with the need to make a couple of stops on the way, I knew I was pushing the envelope for making my scheduled 3PM departure.  Add in the need to re-fuel and return the rental car, and it became apparent that the math just wasn’t going to work.

I stopped at an I-40 rest area and reached for my iPhone.  I first did a quick check of flight availability from RDU to DCA which showed “all 7′s” on later flights.  (Note: For those that don’t know, airline availability is displayed from their reservations systems in a series of letters and numbers, i.e. Y7….  meaning there are at least 7 seats left to sell in the “Y” fare bucket.)  Then I called American’s Platinum Reservations number.  When I reached the agent, I asked if there was “same day confirmed” availability on a later flight to DCA.  There was, and the agent confirmed my seat for the flight I wanted.  Cost:  $50 dollars, which I think is a bargain in the world of airline fees.

I then continued my drive to the airport without worry, and without danger of a speeding ticket.  You can read the scoop on American’s same-day flight change options here.  Other airlines offer their own similar programs:

Continental

Delta

JetBlue

United

US Airways

Most of the rest of the big “legacy” airlines joined USAirways this week in raising their fees to check baggage.  American, Continental, Delta, and United all plan to raise the fee for checking your first bag to $20 dollars, up from $15 dollars.  Notably, all but American will knock $5 dollars of the price if you prepay your fee online.  Fees for the second bag will rise from $25 to $30 dollars, with all the airlines offering a $5 dollar discount for prepaying online with the exception of American.

In the case of American, I believe their refusal to offer a discount for prepaying the fee may have more to do with their inability to actually collect the fee online than with any desire to take you for the extra $5 dollars when their competitors are offering a discount.  I would think this puts them at a small competitive disadvantage versus the competition, and will anxiously wait to see if they eventually offer the discount, or if the competition drops theirs.  I would think there would be an incentive to offer the option for paying online if for no other reason than you don’t have to staff the airport with an agent to collect the fee.

In any event, I remain unopposed to the “a la carte” pricing model as long as the additional services being charged for can legitimately be considered as optional.  I think that baggage is one of those legitimate options starting with the second checked bag.  One piece of baggage is inherently part of the travel experience, and I recognize that you can still carry that one bag on for free.  Nevertheless, I think JetBlue’s policy of the first checked bag for free and charging for the second is the right policy for checked baggage.

I just got the news that JetBlue has begun offering refundable fares. I’ve heard this was in the works, and am surprised it’s taken this long. I think this has been something that has prevented many business travelers from considering JetBlue for their travel needs.

However, this does make me wonder if JetBlue’s policy of not overbooking its flights may be on the way out? I know it may be hard to see the connection. In the beginning, JetBlue did not offer its product for sale through Global Distribution Systems (GDS’s), and thus had 100% control of its inventory of seats. This makes it easier to justify not overbooking flights. Offering refundable fares (that can easily be changed at the last minute, and possibly lead to more “no shows”) may take JetBlue one step closer to overbooking flights.

We’ll see. I’ve never flown JetBlue, but would certainly like to. They just don’t seem to fly where I need to go yet.

OK.  I’ll admit it here.  I’ve never flown JetBlue.  Never needed to.  It’s not that I wouldn’t like to fly JetBlue, it’s that they are rarely flying where I need to go.  And as long as United or American fly there for the same price, I’ll take my miles and sit in first class, thank you very much.

However, is it just me, or has the news coverage of their little fiasco over President’s Day gotten just a tad out of hand?  Airline cancels flight, story at 11.  You’ve got to be kidding me.  They get pummeled for not canceling flights over President’s Day, and this morning they do exactly what everyone has been saying they should’ve done then, and what happens?  Top story!  Give me a break, and JetBlue too!

This whole “Bill of Rights” gaggle is going to make for some entertaining stuff.  More soon.  I have a day job, ya’ know?!