American AAdvantage is changing the qualification rules for lifetime elite status from 1 December.  Currently they have the most generous qualification rules of all airlines in that all mileage counts, even ones earned through credit card spend.  From 1 December 2011 further accrual towards lifetime elite status will only be for miles earned by flying. 

This is still at the more generous end of the spectrum of airline elite status qualification requirements (some frequent flyer programs have no lifetime status, or only count flights on their home airline).  The notice given for the change has been relatively short, which makes it difficult for some who wish to accelerate their earning to earn lifetime status before the rule change.

I’ve updated the full listing of lifetime elite frequent flyer status.

From 1 October American Airlines’ Admirals Clubs in USA will have free booze (spirits, beer and wine) bringing them into line with the international Admirals Clubs and lounges of most other airlines (United’s Red Carpet Club now being a notable exception).

So at last it will mean an end to fiddling around with drink chits (available for non-AA Oneworld elite members on entry).

A while ago I asked how long is it reasonable for an airline to take to refund a fare?   Most responses suggested up to a week.

American Airlines took over 100 days to process a refundable business class ticket which unfortunately I needed to cancel due to change in circumstances.  When I commented that this was an inordinate amount of time, far in excess of their own policies published on the AA website, they weakly responded that they were busy.

Aeroplan has introduced lifetime elite status for those who’ve flown a lot on Air Canada and Jazz.

1 million status miles for lifetime elite (Star Alliance gold)
2 million status miles for lifetime elite for yourself and a nominated partner (Star Alliance gold)
3 million status miles for lifetime super elite for yourself and lifetime elite for a nominated partner (Star Alliance gold)

My post summarising all the lifetime elite statuses has been updated.  The new Aeroplan lifetime status levels are relatively difficult to earn (there are easier qualification criteria for some other lifetime elite statuses, American AAdvantage for example counts all mileage earning), but also offer relatively generous benefits.

Recently both EU and US regulators approved anti-trust immunity for American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia on the important trans-Atlantic routes with minimal conditions.  Oneworld was the last of the 3 main airline alliances to get approval to co-operate closely on flights between USA and Europe.  This means finally members of British Airways Executive Club and American AAdvantage will (in the near future) be able to earn and redeem on each other’s flights which has been a source of irritation for many frequent flyers for years.

Today, Oneworld announced Air Berlin will be joining the alliance (hat tip View from the Wing).  No firm date has yet been given but normally it takes 12-18 months for an airline to complete entry into an alliance (Air India joining Star Alliance being a notable exception to this rule of thumb).  Air Berlin is considered by some to be an odd choice – they aren’t quite full service nor low cost, and remind me a little of Australia’s Virgin Blue.  I’ll be watching how well they integrate into the alliance with interest.

Gary Leff on View from the Wing today wrote about transfers at San Francisco (SFO) or Los Angeles (LAX), and in particular about which is better for travellers flying to/from Australia and NZ.  This is a subject I am very familiar with, more than I’d like to be, since I travel between Australasia and USA and Europe several times a year – and SFO and LAX happen to be the most convenient gateways or transit points to use.  So I have lots of experience, but too much to put into a comment on Gary’s post. I hope he doesn’t mind this piggyback post.

Both Star Alliance and Oneworld have options for both SFO and LAX to both Australia and New Zealand – except there is no direct Oneworld flight between SFO and New Zealand. Skyteam only has the Delta flight from LAX to Sydney.

Why use SFO?

For me, the main reason for flying through San Francisco is the far easier immigration process for non Americans. While I have sometimes been stuck behind a few hundred others at SFO immigration, I have never waited more than an hour. At LAX, the immigration lottery sometimes sees well over a thousand people in the queue ahead of me and a wait at immigration alone of more than an hour with further lengthy wait at customs (those thousand people have managed to get their checked bags in the time you’ve been waiting).

If the connection is long then it is quick and very easy to hop on the BART and spend some time exploring the city, meeting friends or shopping.

Transfers are also fairly simple at SFO due to the design of the terminals and smaller size.  Even though some require going back through security this is generally quick in my experience. International connections within an alliance are straight forward (or rather as simple as any in USA – other countries which don’t require immigration for international transit are simpler still).  International to domestic connections or vice versa are also fairly easy.

Why use LAX?

As Gary writes, the main reason for transferring through LAX is the far greater flight options.  SFO has relatively few flights to/from Australia and New Zealand whereas LAX has plenty.  American and United both have lots of routes from Los Angeles.  Alliance partners also have more international flights at LAX than at SFO.  Not only are there more routes, but also more flights which means greater availability and more chance I can get a flight closely matching my preferred schedule. 

Note for both LAX & SFO there are the constraints that most USA to Australia/NZ flights leave late evening, most flights NZ to USA leave in the evening and most flights Australia to USA leave in the afternoon.  Taking Auckland to LAX as an example – there is a choice of an afternoon flight on Qantas, an early evening flight on Air New Zealand or a mid evening flight on Air New Zealand. If none of those times suit you can fly via Australia leaving NZ in the morning and arrive in LAX early morning instead of later in the day, or via Vancouver leaving NZ late evening.

The airline lounges at LAX are much nicer, at least for the airlines I fly. When I fly Air New Zealand or Air Canada there is the great Air New Zealand lounge in T2 – probably the best lounge of all at LAX and one of the best anywhere in USA.  American and Qantas have a great lounge in T4.  Star Alliance and Oneworld lounges in TBIT are average – not terrible, but not great either.  Compare this to SFO where both Oneworld and Star Alliance have very mediocre lounges.  Although the Singapore Airlines lounge at SFO is nice it is only open for limited hours (often not coinciding with flights Down Under).

Weather at LAX rarely delays or cancels flights, whereas I’ve had a whole day waiting in vain to fly to SFO when rain or fog closed the airport.

My choice

While the LAX immigration and transfer processes are downright unpleasant I almost always fly via LAX. The other advantages are just too good to outweigh the negatives. If SFO had nicer lounges and more flight options then I would probably switch.

In the meantime I’m also looking out for news on new routes between Down Under and airports east of California – Chicago or Dallas for Oneworld, Chicago or Houston for Star Alliance. They’ve been talked about for years but so far have not eventuated.

A beef which many members of American’s AAdvantage and British Airways’ Executive Club have long held is the restriction on earning and redeeming miles on each others flights between USA and UK. Ie AAdvantage members cannot earn or redeem on BA flights between USA and UK, and nor can Executive Club members earn or redeem on AA flights between USA and UK.

The restrictions are one step closer to being removed (in the future) with US Department of Trade’s announcement that it intends to approve the requested Anti Trust Immunity for Oneworld airlines (source BBC news).  Very limited restrictions are included in the announcement of the decision, which also opens the way for a proposed joint venture between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.

Naturally Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson isn’t happy.