BREAKING NEWS

“Continental Airlines will begin charging coach customers extra if they want a seat with more leg room…

Prices will vary depending on the length of a flight and popularity of the route. A spokeswoman said extra room on a Houston-New York flight might cost $59. International fliers would pay more than that…

Starting March 17, coach customers will be able to pay the charge at check-in to get an exit-row seat with at least 7 inches more legroom than the other rows..

Top-level members of Continental’s frequent-flier program — those who rack up at least 25,000 miles a year — and their traveling companions will still be able to claim the exit row without extra charge…

.Some other airlines already charge extra for exit-row seats. United, for example, sells “economy plus” seats in coach, with up to five extra inches of legroom…

On its Web site, United says the upgrade costs $49 on Denver-to-Seattle flights and $109 going from Los Angeles to Tokyo.

JetBlue also charges more for legroom. Some carriers charge extra for aisle or bulkhead seats. On US Airways, window or aisle seats can cost $5 to $30 extra. ” (via seattletimes.nwsource.com  ) by DAVID KOENIG

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read more – Continental to charge more for seats with extra leg room

Thanks to Jason B. for the tip

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From a post on Timeshareforums.com …

How worthless is the new Delta SkyMiles?…  Some on FlyerTalk call it SkyPiles, and for good reason…

I was once a DL SkyMiles Gold Medallion before Rob Borden gutted the program, when I bailed out to NW…

Now that DL has taken over NW, some of my NW Worldperks miles that I had not been able to burn have been involuntarily converted to SkyPiles, and the Jeff Robertson version of SkyPiles is much worse than the Borden version…

I recently checked several TATL (trans-Atlantic) itineraries on the DL and NW websites for award availbility. At NW and in the Borden and pre-Borden days at DL there was reasonable TATL availibility at normal miles, even if you were flexible a few weeks out in high season. Ten months out, almost everything was availible. That has all changed.

After checking US to Dublin for a relative and finding nothing at anything but high miles (and with their unique and disadvantageous 3-tier award system, high means sky high) over multiple months, I checked US to Bucharest over the entire upcoming ten months and found nothing but high miles seats the whole time, including low season. This really stinks.

And DL raised the minimum number of miles for TATL award tickets to 60K, although those seem to be extreme rarities these days. Usually, one has to part with far more miles than that on DL. On AA, in comparision, a low or shoulder season TATL award ticket is 40K miles and they are actually availible at that level. On BMI they are 45K miles all year and they are actually availible.

BMI has even got me one way award tickets KIV to VIE on their partner Austrian airlines’ Friday afternoon flights that are usually sold out and often oversold for a mere 6K miles on several occaisions a month or two before the flight.

FF programs are all about incentives. DL has certainly given me an incentive to avoid buying tickets on it or its partners like the plague. They have stolen my NW miles and they will not get any of my cash or my employers cash for my work related travel in the future.

DELTA = Driving Every Loyal Traveller Away

Carolinian – member

——-

We have found Delta charges more than other airlines. We used ours to fly to Hawaii last summer. It cost 52,000 miles per person, while my parents, daughter, son-in-law, son and daughter-in-law only used 40,000 flying United. We booked ours as soon as we could as did they. This year we used United. 40,000. At the same time Delta was 78,000. I just checked and Delta is now down to 62,000. We cancelled our American Express Sky Miles Card and are using our United card only. When we talked to American Express, they asked why we were cancelling. We told them two reasons, your fee went up $15 and it was not easy getting flights to where we wanted to go.

The three tier can be a joke. We tried high, medium and low, different days, they were the same amount. Maybe it was just when we tried, but it did not leave a good feeling. A high out and a medium back. No difference. Same with a high out and a low back. It was so crazy, we thought what the heck, try first class. It was marked LOW when economy was marked HIGH. The first class ticket was only 2000 miles more.

We talked to an agent, “We just can’t give our product away”. Had to remind her, that American Express pays for those miles, so the flights are not exactly free using the credit card miles.

d1950m -Member

——————-

Delta indeed seems to have far fewer point saver award tickets for FF’s. If they weren’t cheaper than everyone else we probably wouldn’t fly them. Unfortunately, since all airlines are about at bad as the other, price wins the day, even if we have a tough time spending those miles

dougp26364 – Member

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to follow this thread on Timeshareforums.com

Click link below…

when you load Virgin Atlantic home page look on top left …

the first item that’s listed is special offers…

When we clicked we saw fares to London from $229 and premium economy from $497 + other deals

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for Virgin Atlantic Special deals

“These days, even the most hard-core fans of airline paper tickets have largely gotten used to the idea of e-tickets. Many don’t even bother bringing the receipts or itineraries with them to the airport.

Not so fast. E-ticket confirmations should be examined for some all-too-common errors. Print them out. Take a good look at names, times, seat assignments, upgrades and connections.

Without a hard copy, it’s easier to miss details, especially in an era of overflowing email in-boxes. Who has time to read everything? Even if the reservation was just confirmed by phone.

Unfortunately, as a old manager of mine once said, “If you don’t think you have time to do something, then you really don’t have time to do it over.” And some version of this definitely applies with the airlines’ e-tickets today.

Here are five examples of e-tickets issues that need careful checking:

1. Check upgrade requests. United Airlines prefers travel agents who request mileage upgrades for clients to do so by computer, basically sending a message in the record as to what you want, and “queuing” it over. (Think of it as a rudimentary email system.) Then United agents work the requests. They don’t send the record back to the agent, but once done, the record will show whether the upgrade is confirmed or waitlisted.

In this case, I sent a roundtrip request for two clients between San Francisco and Chicago, using the husband’s miles. I already knew both upgrades would be waitlisted but the clients were fine with that. I looked at the record the next day, and noticed, the return had been neither confirmed nor upgraded. The agent had just forgotten to do it.

Then I looked more carefully at the record. They were flying out on a 10:43 a.m. flight to Chicago, and the upgrade was waitlisted for the 9:51 a.m. flight. Suffice it to say, nothing good would come of that. I called immediately, and an apologetic reservations agent fixed the problem.

Now had I not noticed the issues they would have probably been told at the airport that the upgrade had never been requested. And while I would have had a computer trail proving that it had been, the clients still would have missed out on any upgrade chance.

If this were a one time incident, I would laugh it off. But the fact is, most airline reservations offices are understaffed and overstressed. Most upgrade requests are handled correctly, however I have had several upgrades waitlisted for both the wrong flight and the wrong date.

2. Look carefully at companion tickets. American Airlines earlier this year booked a free ticket for a client’s spouse to go with a paid ticket I had issued, and booked the spouse to return a day later. (The client in question had called the airline with my confirmation number, so American had the exact itinerary he wanted matched.)

3. Be wary of upgrades without seat assignments. Other little things to watch for, confirmed upgrades without seat assignments. Which might not seem that serious, but especially for travelers flying together it can be especially frustrating to have had seats together in coach, get upgraded, and then get to the airport to find no seat assignments and no seats together. ” (via .consumertraveler.com ) by  JANICE HOUGH

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of 5 reasons to double-check e-tickets before you fly

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“There are plenty of cheap shortcuts to a better travel experience…

Wearing an elegant outfit can open doors in business — and in business travel. Richard Rheindorf learned this firsthand, when he sported a well-tailored suit while waiting to board a flight from San Francisco to Vancouver…

Even though the coach cabin wasn’t oversold, the ticket agent bumped Rheindorf to first class…. “You looked the part,” the agent told him…

“It’s rare, but it does happen,” says George Hobica, president and founder of AirfareWatchdog.com. “If you’re standing there in a three-piece suit, they’re certainly going to pick you over the guy in gym shorts.”

Dressing up for a flight — and charming gate agents — works on occasion, but there are more sure-fire ways to score the best airplane seats. Whether it’s knowing a plane’s layout, requesting an exit-row seat or obtaining high status in a frequent-flier program, there are myriad routes to avoiding that non-reclining seat next to the back lavatory.

To uncover the most effective methods, we polled a roster of travel experts including Matt Daimler, founder of SeatGuru.com; Joe Brancatelli, founder of JoeSentMe.com; Patrick Evans, spokesman for STA Travel; and Hobica. They agreed: All seats are not created equal. There are tremendous differences even among coach seats on the same plane, not to mention other airlines and classes.

“Obviously there are seats that are more comfy than others,” says Hobica. “Pinpoint a seat and buy intelligently.”

Game of inches
Flying coach always seems to entail sitting with knees at one’s chest, squeezed by the encroaching bodies of corpulent neighbors. Though it may not seem like it, there are many ways to avoid this scenario. For one, know your airlines. Different carriers configure their planes differently; though most offer 32 inches of legroom, some, like JetBlue, offer 34 inches for the same price.

To get even more space, reserve a spot in an exit row. These seats typically offer six inches more legroom than the typical coach seat, and they’re often the same price. Airlines usually release these seats via online check-in 24 hours before departure; some, like JetBlue, sell them for a modest premium.

“For about $10 more, you can get an exit row seat with 38 inches of legroom — that’s more than some airlines’ first class,” says Hobica. “Personally, I always buy the exit-row seat.”

Another tip: Know your airplanes. There are tremendous differences even among the coach seats on a single plane; the disparity between different jets operated by different carriers can be even greater. Web sites like SeatExpert.com and Daimler’s SeatGuru.com offer color-coded seat maps that reveal which seats have the best amenities.

“Some airlines on certain seats have power outlets and seatback televisions,” says Evans. “That’s not always indicated on an airline’s Web site.”

JetBlue and start-up carrier Virgin America offer seatback televisions for every passenger on every flight. On other airlines like Allegiant and Southwest, video entertainment is notoriously hard to find.

Cheap upgrades

Another method of escaping coach’s doldrums is to obtain an upgrade to business or first class. Doing so needn’t be terribly costly — upgrades on domestic flights can be had for as little as $50 per trip segment.” (via msnbc.msn.com ) by Zack O’Malley Greenburg

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here to read the rest of Tips and tricks for finding cheap airline seats

“Several years ago, I was a Pediatric Infectious Disease consultant for the company that makes Lysol. One of the members of our committee was a microbiologist who worked for the company. He conducted a clandestine study of airplane cleanliness by secretly taking swabs from the tray tables, bathrooms, air ducts, etc. on several flights around the U.S.

The results were VERY eye-opening since several of those cultures grew out coliform bacteria (bacteria from our intestinal tract), and not necessarily found just in the toilet areas. He found it on the tray tables! He also found Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and other disease-causing organisms throughout the plane. That poor man will never be the same again. He now disinfects EVERYTHING on all his flights; carrying his Lysol Spray, of course.

Over the last thirty years, I have flown quite a bit. As a medical provider, I take a particular interest in the habits and mannerisms of others. It is difficult not to notice someone coughing at the back of your head, sneezing on the seats, wiping their snotty noses and stuffing them in the magazine pouch, or watching a mother change a poopy* diaper (assumed to be poopy based on smell alone) on the adjacent seat (or tray table!). Since there are significant penalties for cancelling flights, people think nothing about flying while they are ill. In the close quarters of an airplane cabin microorganisms can be freely shared.

Fuel costs have skyrocketed, so airlines are cutting flights and stuffing even more people in those seats. Flights turn around quickly, so the flight crew only has time to pick up the trash. They do not have time to disinfect (not the same as wiping off) the tray tables. I hope they disinfect the toilets, but something tells me this is not always done, at least to my satisfaction, anyway.

In my Blog about dirty toilets, I mentioned that I have developed an iron bladder over the years. I especially avoid using the toilet on an airplane whenever possible. With a few hundred people sharing a few toilets, they start looking like those porta-potties that you see at the county fair. If you could SEE bacteria with the naked eye, airplane bathrooms would be virtual Petrie dishes.

Unless you are flying with two other friends known to be well, there is a good chance you will be exposed to some infectious illness on your flight. Many airlines do have HEPA filters for the circulating air; some still do not. HEPA filters are good, but they will not filter the wet sneeze of a fellow passenger or the unwashed hands of someone returning from the toilet. Breathing the exhaled air of hundreds of other people in that airborne tunnel is not one of the healthiest environments I could imagine.

Some suggestions to reduce your infectious disease exposure on air flights:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and often, and avoid touching your eyes or nose – the main entry points for disease-causing microorganisms.
2. Carry some disinfectant wipes for the tray tables and seat arms. It is a good idea to wipe down the window if you are sitting in this particular seat. There can be some odd-looking stuff on that window!
3. On short flights, avoid using the airline toilet. If you must, do so with caution. Short of wearing a Hazmat suit, you are putting yourself at risk. Again, carry those disinfectant wipes with you to the toilet and use them. After carefully washing your hands (again), use a paper towel to flush the toilet and open the door again.
4. Notice if your seat-mates are ill. If they are blowing their noses, sneezing, coughing, etc., then be extra, extra careful. If there are empty seats (unlikely), then consider sitting somewhere else.
5. Bring your own magazines.
6. Stay hydrated. When your own mucous membranes dry out, you are more susceptible to respiratory organisms. Drink plenty of WATER, especially on long flights. The air in the cabin is usually dry, so use a saline nasal spray.” (via  webmd.com) by Rod Moser, PA, PhD

Pointswizard.com Spin: Click here for the article – Dirty Places: Airplanes and what to do about it

“So, your flight was delayed, and may be cancelled. You missed your connecting flight and you face hours at the airport waiting for Plan B to play out. What to do?

Given that so many travelers feel air travel is driving them to drink, why not take this literally and seek out good places at the airport for a colorful cocktail, fine wine or hearty beer?

Beer is the most budget-friendly quaffing option, and airports are increasingly putting the good stuff on offer: toothsome microbrews, unique specialty beers and other fresh-from-the-tap alternatives to watery, character-free, mass-market suds.

The need to drown your sorrows has combined with the trend of airport concessions offering better beers to prompt UK-based Cheapflights.com to develop a “Beer Lover’s Airport Guide” to 15 U.S. airports. Beer bloggers and others are compiling airport lists, too.

“More airports are transforming themselves into places that travelers enjoy,” said Carl Schwartz, a Cheapflights.com executive. “The addition of specialty brews to their beverage lineups is helping to decrease stress levels while providing unique enjoyment at the same time.”

Given the turbulence in aviation, and the scary state of the economy, we have to hope so.

Jerome Greer Chandler, of Cheapflights.com, singles out Portland, Oregon’s airport for its Laurelwood Brewing Co. outposts — both are located post-security — in concourses A and E. Laurelwood’s Organic Tree-Hugger Porter is “robust and dark, with a chocolate malt ambience and a dry, roasty finish.”

Chandler favors another exemplar of American micro-brewing in the Denver International airport. This is New Belgium, a brewery that pours its beers in a pub called The Hub in the Mile High Aerodrome in concourse B of the regional jet terminal. “Nicely balanced” Fat Tire Amber Ale is showcased there.” ( via www.msnbc.msn.com ) by David Armstrong. (image moonbattery.com)

Pointswizard.com Spin: read more Waiting for your flight? Relax and have a beer

“He knew he had the miles and thought he had plenty of time.

Yet when Greg Marzolf tried to redeem frequent-flier miles early last year for a ticket to Colorado over Christmas — several months away — the Pendleton, S.C., resident said US Airways told him the return flight was off limits.

That’s a blackout date, they said. What gives, Marzolf wondered.

As it turns out, US Airways — Charlotte’s dominant airline, with more than 80 percent of daily flights — has flagged several dozen dates on which travelers can’t use Dividend Miles. Some apply to U.S. travel, while others are for overseas flights.

As the cost of tickets continues to climb, travelers who hope to cash in frequent-flier miles are finding more hurdles to getting a free flight.

Besides requiring more miles and making fewer seats available, airlines have expanded blackout dates so they can keep seats open for paying customers, said David Stamey, director of consumer and industry affairs for the International Airline Passengers Association.

“The restrictions have gotten tighter,” said Stamey, whose group promotes passengers’ rights and provides discounts on hotel rooms, rental cars and insurance. “You don’t get to redeem your miles, sadly, for the trip you would like to take.”

Policies on blackout dates vary by airline. United Airlines and American Airlines said they don’t have blackout dates. Southwest Airlines, like US Airways, posts dates on its Web site.

Travis Christ, vice president for sales and marketing at US Airways, said the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier shares those dates so customers can better plan their frequent-flier travel. The dates are off-limits for miles, he said, because US Airways can fill planes with paying passengers.

“It’s pretty simple economics,” Christ said. “Those are very high demand days, and we want to be upfront with our customers.”

If US Airways made even a small number of seats available for frequent fliers, he said, it would have to make up that lost revenue somewhere else.

“You’re pushing down on the balloon, and it’s going to pop up somewhere else,” he said. “There’s no free lunch.”

Forget Thanksgiving

Some blackout dates are obvious, such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward. US Airways also has blacked out every Saturday from June 14 to October 11 — nearly four months — for flights to and from Europe.Other dates in March and April are in high demand because of school spring breaks and the Easter holiday, Christ said, adding that blackout dates are studied by the airline’s revenue management division.” (via www.charlotte.com ) by JEFFERSON GEORGE

Pointswizard.com Spin: Read more-click here

“If you’re a frequent user of Priceline like I am, you know there are bidding restrictions. These restrictions can lead to overbidding.

You may still get a pretty good deal, but not the lowest rock-bottom price that Priceline has hidden in its computer system.

You can’t simply increase your bid by $1 after each rejection. If you don’t want to change your dates of travel or hotel class or add an additional hotel zone, Priceline makes you wait 24 hours before you can bid again.

But there is a way to manipulate your bidding, find the cheapest price offered, get around the 24-hour rule and stay exactly in the area you want. ”
[Via komotv.com/news]

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
To see the rest of the article click on blue line above

“The country’s effort to move away from a dependence on foreign oil and embrace green initiatives appears to be behind a change in one of New York’s purest traditions, the menu of the classic steakhouse.

The production of ethanol, which is made from corn, is one major reason classic cuts of prime beef are becoming more and more expensive, an analyst at the cattle market analysis firm Cattle-Fax, Tod Kalous, said.

“It’s getting worse,” the owner of Ben Benson’s Steakhouse, Ben Benson, said. “The problems the ranchers are having are making it more difficult because feed is getting more expensive.”

Brooklyn’s Peter Luger Steakhouse now serves a rib eye. On some nights at Ben Benson’s in Midtown, diners can order buffalo steak. The Old Homestead of the meatpacking district serves one of the city’s best Kobe burgers.

The new menu items at some city steakhouses are a result of an increase in the price of top-notch beef and a decrease in its availability.
Corn is the primary feed for cattle that produce USDA-grade prime beef. Corn is also the main ingredient for what many believe is the fuel of the future, ethanol. The production of ethanol has not only increased the demand for corn, it has made harvests more profitable for farmers, who receive the fruits of government subsidies when it is sold to ethanol producers.” [Via NYSUN.COM]

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Well, There’s always Ranch1 for chicken.

The fact is that these smaller upstart airlines like JetBlue, Air Tran, Spirit, etc have taken away business from the major airlines. They’ve done it by competing with new planes, better service, different entertainment, and some times better fares. Sometimes things go terribly wrong-read what happened to this JetBlue customer.

Here is a letter from one of our readers about JetBlue:

Let me start off by saying I was a huge JetBlue fan and supporter that is until the night of (Feb15-16)

This was by far the worst JetBlue experience I have ever had from start to finish.

First my JetBlue flight was canceled (3PM las-jfk Wed. Feb15- Next the flight I was put on was supposed to leave a 12:30am (FLT# 190 las-jfk) the website and phone system said it was on time.

I arrived at the Las Vegas airport at 11pm on Thurs (Feb15) to discover that I was completely mislead. It turned out FLT#190 was delayed 6 hours. I had to wait and wound up passing out on the airport floor from exhaustion. At 4:30 AM now (Feb. 16) I was put on what I was told was going to be a “JetBlue” flight and that my luggage would arrive with my flight as well.

Then I find out its a charter plane from a company called Omni which is probably one of the worst planes I have been on with non JetBlue employees as the attendants. with the luggage coming 2hours later on another plane.
I spent over $400 for one way to fly the JetBlue experience and nothing less – that’s not what I got.

Because of the misinformation I lost a whole day of work and a nights sleep. The charter plane got me into JFK at 1:30PM Fri. I missed an important business meeting that I had to be at on Friday AM – losing thousands of dollars in sales.
Needless to say my loved ones were confused as the JetBlue web site said the 1240am flight was cancelled, then taking off at 6AM

Even though as a new airline They don’t participate in Rule 240.(with rules about what to be done in a case like this)

No effort was made to see if a seat could of been found on another airline going back to New York City- which was the least that could of been done. Then to top it all off my luggage didn’t come on another plane 2 hours later as was promised to be delivered on Friday- I got it Monday at 1PM.

Saturday AM and early PM I was on the phone for hours as JetBlue’s special baggage line (866— —-) rang 3-4 times and went to dead air and on a second phone calling 800 JetBlue and could not get through.

After having my luggage missing for the 2nd day with no clean clothes to go to a wedding celebration I tried calling JetBlue to get permission to buy clothes I needed for a wedding and toiletries and health and beauty aids. Not being able to get to talk to somebody I did what other airlines allow I had to go out to buy clothes and health and beauty aids I needed

When I finally got my baggage from the flight on Monday I find missing my black pinstripe suit from Barney’s New York that cost $975

the following are the monies I asked to be paid back to me by JetBlue

$ for clothes to be used for 2 events on Saturday since luggage was missing $301.41
$ for health and beauty aids needed since luggage was missing $ 75.61
$ missing men’s suit from luggage upon delivery $975.00
$ back for Wed.-Thurs flight screw ups (las-jfk) $400.00
—————
Total $ 1.752.02

Truly Blue,
A JetBlue customer

P.S.- After many calls, certified letter, still more calls to JetBlue etc, etc – they finally gave back money for flight, clothes, and lost item in luggage, but it wasn’t easy.

The Pointswizard.com Spin:
Thanks to our reader JB for sending us your story