Posted by Seth on May 25, 2012 under frequent flyer, News | 
I suppose it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. A customer upset with the changes to the MileagePlus lifetime elite program has filed a lawsuit seeking financial damages as a result of those changes. The filing, in the Eastern Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is seeking class action status on behalf "thousands of others" who are also affected by the changes in the program.
The actual filing can be read here.
I understand the frustration with change. I can even understand to some extent the desire to seek restitution for supposed damages incurred. At the same time, however, reading the claims makes me wonder just what version of reality the plaintiff is living in. Here are a few choice excerpts:
14. The second to top tier in the Mileage Plus Program was the Million Miler
status (sometimes referred to as the “Million Miler Program”). To obtain this status, a
United customer needed to actually fly one million or more miles on United flights only.
In other words, unlike programs today, one could not reach the Million Miler status
through any non-flying means, such as an airline credit card, or by flying on any other
“partner” or “code share” airline.
15. The Million Miler Program was not simply a gimmick or give-away product
under which United could change the rules any time it wanted. It was a bargained-for
program whereby consideration was given – and taken – by both United and the Million
Miler members.
…
17. The lifetime benefits Million Miler members paid consideration for included:
a. A one-time award of three system-wide upgrades;
b. Two free regional upgrades every year;
c. A 100% bonus on the miles the customer flies every year; and
d. Lifetime Premier Executive status in United’s Mileage Plus program,
providing extra benefits and priorities such as booking availability,
pre-boarding advantages, upgrade possibilities, and seating priority.
Here’s the thing: The definition of what the program was (¶ 14) is wrong. So are the defined benefits as listed in ¶ 17. And, despite the willingness to believe otherwise, the suggestion in ¶ 16 that it was not possible for the company to change the program, that explicit detail was actually granted to the company in the T&Cs of the program and it has been since the inception of the program.
The claims are interesting, to be sure. But they seem to be lacking in a certain amount of fact that is usually required to win a judgment. It seems a lot more like the suit filed claiming that it was illegal to only accept credit cards on board, a claim that was summarily dismissed, than a proper claim to me. Then again, I’m not a judge in the US District Court in Illinois, so clearly my opinion doesn’t really matter.
Posted by Seth on May 24, 2012 under Flying, News |
JetBlue has been big on their "Even More" suite of products. Starting with Even More Legroom a few years back and recently expanding to Even More Speed (priority security lines) and Even More Space (board first for overhead bin space), the product suite has been growing over time. The latest addition appears to be in-seat power on board.
Odds are they aren’t really going to call it Even More Power, but the concept is definitely there. The new A320 deliveries they are taking starting this year will have 110V and USB power ports installed in the rows which are also "Even More" everything else. This development was rumored starting this morning and unofficial sources suggest that the newest aircraft in the fleet, N804JB, is configured with the power outlets and is currently undergoing FAA certification for the new setup. It is not clear yet at what pace the existing 120ish A320s will be retrofit or whether the 50ish E90s will be similarly configured.
This is a great move in advance of the upcoming in-flight satellite connectivity solution that the company expects to begin deploying later this year. The only down-side is that the deployment is limited to the paid upgrade seats. Still, better than nothing and certainly a welcome development for the roughly 30% of the customers on the A320s who will have access to the plugs.
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Posted by Seth on May 24, 2012 under frequent flyer, News, points |
United Airlines and Avianca have announced a start date for cooperation between the two carriers, leading up to Avianca’s joining Star alliance, expected to be finalized later this year. The deal will see the two carriers operating codeshares on a number of routes beginning June 21, 2012. At the same time reciprocity for earning and redemption of frequent flyer points between the two carriers will also start.
Avianca currently has earning rates for flights on United on their website. The rates are pretty normal, with all economy fares earning at 100% and a 25% bonus for business class and 50% for first class. United does not yet have earning rates for Avianca-operated flights online. More updates to come when those are available.
United Airlines and Avianca Bring North and South America Closer Together Through Their Codeshare Agreement – Yahoo! Finance.
Posted by Seth on May 23, 2012 under News |
American Eagle, the regional carrier arm of bankrupt AMR, has announced cuts at the manager level of the organization. The cuts come as the company attempts to trim operating costs in their reorganization. The cuts are not all that surprising and the numbers involved – about 10% of the non-union management staff – seem reasonable given the situation.
That said, there is one particularly interesting role which is being cut. Two senior executives are retiring a part of the deal. One is Dave Brown, VP of Airport Services. The other is Ed Criner, the company’s top safety official. That’s the one which is somewhat surprising. The safety role is being subsumed into the office of the COO.
Clearly it is possible for the COO to also oversee safety, but cutting the position as part of the reorganization doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It won’t affect my plans to fly on American Eagle, but I do find it an interesting move.
Read more here: AA’s American Eagle details management layoffs – USATODAY.com.
Posted by Seth on May 23, 2012 under News |
Just how do the multitude of trains crossing the East River in NYC deal with navigating the labyrinth of tracks? Turns out some guy named Harold is responsible for it all. From the NY Times this week:
For decades, a standard response to delays and disruptions on passenger trains in New York City has been to blame it on Harold.
That would be the Harold Interlocking, a century-old intersection of 14 train tracks in Queens, where hundreds of trains traveling between Pennsylvania Station and points east and north are sorted out each day. The central role it plays in the life of the city is invisible to almost all New Yorkers. At least until something goes awry.
Then it could be poor Harold’s fault. Harold was incriminated again this week when officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that connecting the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal would take six years longer and almost $2 billion more than originally estimated. Harold again was the culprit. Tunneling beneath it and rearranging the spaghetti-like web of overhead wires and other equipment there is proving more daunting than expected, they said.
As for who Harold really is, no one knows. Poor guy.
Posted by Seth on May 22, 2012 under Flying, News |
When Southwest bought out AirTran they were quite up front about their desire to get rid of the 717s in their newly acquired fleet. Thanks to a new agreement between Delta and their pilot union, it seems like there is a deal on the table which will allow them to do precisely that. Assuming the pilots ratify the new contract Delta will lease 88 of the 717s from Southwest, putting them in to operation while also retiring the DC9-50s and some CRJs as well. The replacements will be in a capacity-neutral manner, which suggests more aircraft will be retired than will be brought in based on the seating densities.
The good news in this move is that fewer tiny regional jets generally should lead to a better in-flight experience for passengers. The bad news is that it may also lead to decreased frequencies as there will be fewer planes flying. Plus, the AirTran 717s are not known to be the most comfortable aircraft in the skies. That said, they are equipped with gogo’s in-flight internet service and Delta is also a customer of gogo so that should see the connectivity remaining in service.
As part of the deal with the pilots to bring the 717s into the fleet Delta will also be allowed to increase the number of 76-seat jets they have operated by regional carriers. These are not mainline pilot jobs, but the total number of regional pilot positions will likely remain steady as the smaller regional jets are retired and these are brought in to the fleet.
The overall position with the pilots at Delta seems to be quite positive these days. More flying will be mainline which means more pilots working for the parent company rather than a regional affiliate. It also seems relatively good for customers, with fewer of the small CRJs and the new planes all offering wifi and first class cabins. Seems to be mostly smiles all around.
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Posted by Seth on May 22, 2012 under Flying, News |
Looking to further leverage the value of the 787 Dreamliner on long, thin routes, United Airlines has announced today that they will be launching service between their Denver and Tokyo hubs starting in 2013. The route will begin with the 31 March 2013 departure from Denver; the first departure from Tokyo will be on 1 April 2013.
UA123 DEN1155 – 1500+1NRT 788 D 31MAR13-
UA122 NRT1640 – 1230DEN 788 D 01APR13-
Also of note on the schedule is that the total round-trip time for the flights is just over 24 hours. This means that there will be other connecting flights in and out of Denver to get the planes into position to operate the flights. Look for Houston-Denver to show up on the timetable operated by the 788 in the same timeframe.
Posted by Seth on May 21, 2012 under News |
In-flight internet provider Gogo has teamed up with AeroSat to offer Ku-band satellite connectivity to their customers. This offering will augment the other solutions the company has, including the current air-to-ground solution and the forthcoming ATG4 and Ka-satellite services. By adding this service option the company expects to be able to provide service to any customer anywhere in the world. The move also means that satellite-based service will be available later this year rather than 2-3 years down the line when the Ka-satellite services are expected to finally come online world-wide.
Said company CEO Michael Small,
Ku is the here and now satellite technology and will allow us to service airline clients who want an overseas solution today. However, in many cases we see this as a bridge technology that will allow us to offer overseas service until Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka satellite service is available.
The AeroSat solution is an established, reliable product which is currently installed on nearly 400 aircraft world-wide. By going with a proven solution the company will be able to more quickly ramp up the service offering.
Posted by Seth on May 20, 2012 under frequent flyer, News, points |
It seems that some folks are still in denial about the fact that some customers are more valuable to an airline than others. Then again, it is not common that the CFO of an airline comes out and says it quite so bluntly. United Airlines CFO John Rainey, speaking at an investor conference last week, seemed to have no trouble speaking his mind with regard to the company’s MileagePlus program and the driving forces behind some of the recent changes:
Additionally, we also changed our Mileage Plus program, some of the benefits that accrued to the members…. [W]e had certain groups in this group were over entitled if you will…we have realigned the benefits…and this is a good change going forward….
The philosophy is similarly represented in one of the slides included in the presentation (see the first full line of text):
In both cases the CFO has essentially made it clear that the company is moving towards a different version of defining customer loyalty than the days of yore. No longer is just flying a lot of miles the measure of a good customer. Now customers must also provide value to the company to be desirable and well rewarded. At least that’s the direction the company wants to be moving in.
But is it the right direction?
Once again, this question pits a number of folks who are low revenue, high volume against the company. The company seems quite willing to write those customers off without too much apprehension or concern. Those customers (of which I’m almost certainly one) are simply no longer desirable to the company, likely for being too expensive to service, or for getting in the way of the benefits offered to other less frequent but more profitable customers. Or the company just hates all its customers and wants to go out of business. But that seems less likely.
It is also somewhat interesting to note that every revision or release of a loyalty program I can think of from the past decade has shifted the balance more towards revenue and away from simply miles flown. There’s probably a reason that has been happening.
Perhaps the greatest challenge at this point will be for the company to actually deliver on the better benefits for those whom they see as valuable customers to keep them around. It will definitely be interesting to watch that unfold.
Also in the same presentation was an interesting slide on the benefits of the PSS integration effort which happened in early March:
Of course, all the benefits listed here are for the company, not necessarily to all customers. Still, there are some aspects of these changes which will probably be beneficial for different groups of customers at different points over the coming years. Yet another thing which will be interesting to watch unfold in the coming years.
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Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Flying, News |
And this one is working out in favor of the consumers. The recent hullabaloo about the premium cabin fares priced ex-Rangoon to various destinations at a very steep discount has been interesting to follow. Like most “mistake” fares the cycle of the booking process is following the usual steps. First euphoria at the deal, followed by apprehension and worry as to whether the fare would be honored and then confusion or outrage when the tickets were canceled. And now, euphoria again, as the tickets are being reinstated.
After trading emails with Vayama and ANA a couple weeks ago regarding the tickets I booked for our New Years vacation and their cancellation of those tickets I received the following today:
Dear Customer –
Following discussions with our airline partners the decision has been made to reinstate your previously canceled reservation from Rangoon.
There are more details, including a deadline to accept or decline the offer, but this is excellent news on the consumer rights front in the air travel world. For too long the airlines have held all the power in such situations. It seems that the tide may finally be turning.
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Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Flying, News |
The wait is over. A couple months after carriers applied to provide service for four new slot pairs at Washington’s Reagan National Airport the DoT has announced the winners of the coveted operating permissions. And the winners are exactly what I predicted back when the applications were revealed:
JetBlue won their first choice of routes, adding service to their quickly growing operation in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alaska Airlines won their first choice as well, with service to Portland, Oregon being approved. Austin, Texas had two different applications for service; both Southwest and JetBlue indicated that they wanted to add the destination. Southwest was awarded that authority. Virgin America won their only application, adding service to their hub in San Francisco. The route to SFO will be the only of the new operations with direct competition on it; United Airlines is also going to be operating on that route. Southwest will face competition on the proposed through-service aspect of their Austin service to San Diego from US Airways which will operate that route with a non-stop flight.
So no real surprises in the route authorities awarded. Probably for the best; the routes picked were the favorites because they made the most sense based on the economics of the markets. Still, every now and then I do wonder if the DoT has a sense of humor and would award something like the Colorado Springs application Frontier put out there.
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Tags: Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, Congress, DoT, FAA, Frontier, JetBlue, Portland, Puerto Rico, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Southwest Airline, United, United Airlines, US Air, Virgin America, Washington DC
