Posted by Seth on May 23, 2012 under frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points | 
It is not at all uncommon for new routes to have fare sales associated with them to build hype and attract new customers. So it is not much of a surprise that United Airlines is doing exactly that with their new Denver-Tokyo route. What is somewhat surprising, however, is just how available the deal is.
Rather than booking the sale in one of their lower fare buckets, limiting the number of seats available, the current deal of $980 all-in ($298 r/t base fare) is actually booking in to the B fare class. That’s the second highest fare bucket in the coach cabin and it comes with no co-pays for miles-based upgrades (30K points each way) and it also earns 150% PQMs towards elite status. Oh, and it is basically wide open for availability any day you want to fly.
There was some concern yesterday that the fare was going to be updated and pulled from the system. It was updated, but the update actually wasn’t too huge a deal.
So, no, you can not book to join the inaugural flight on this deal any more, but any other trip in the first three weeks should be just fine. The fare has a 3 day minimum stay as well, so there’s an opportunity to explore Tokyo, too. The fare must be purchased by 24 May 2012, so another 36 hours or so before it vanishes. It certainly isn’t the best mileage run ever, but it is a pretty good deal and there is some 787 novelty value, too. Plus, it makes for a huge chunk of points in one trip.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 19, 2012 under frequent flyer, points |
Star Alliance is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, including a few promotions to get customers excited about the birthday. Alas, the promotions are somewhat less than stellar. Still, worth checking them out, I suppose.
First up, there is a 15% discount available for RTW fares. The deal is only valid for bookings completed by 29 May 2012 and it applies only to economy fares.
Next up there is a contest that each member program of the alliance is participating in. Within each program the 15 customers who fly on the most Star Alliance partners before 14 November 2012 will win 15,000 bonus miles. Seems a bit chintzy to me as a prize, though I suppose getting all the programs to agree on giving away a lot of points would be difficult. Also, as would be expected, only revenue flights count so award trips on partners don’t add to the count. Bummer. Some programs require registration while others don’t. Check the above link to find the details for your program of choice.
Finally, there is a grand prize contest being run by the alliance which actually sounds pretty cool. They have identified 27 different festivals around the world (a surprising number of which are tied to Mardi Gras/Carnival) and they are giving away a trip for 15 passengers, including business class tickets and "5-star treatment all the way" for hotels and such. There is a second prize (two RTW biz tickets, including a festival visit) and a third prize (15 pairs of coach tickets to a festival) available as well. This is probably the best of the opportunities out there, though also the hardest to win. And you have to pick which prize you want before you enter; I’m having trouble choosing so I haven’t entered yet.
Hey, it is all for free so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much, right?
Good luck!
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.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 14, 2012 under frequent flyer, News |
When the announcement came out that the PeoplExpress brand was looking to get back into the skies it also included an announcement about a loyalty program, Club Travelati. Customers could sign up as a lifetime member for only $19. In addition to other benefits (including a souvenir pin), the Club promised access to super discounted sales and deals from the carrier once they actually started flying. It turns out that the DoT isn’t so keen on such a marketing approach; the carrier agreed to a $10,000 fine based on the effort.
The company settled with the DoT, admitting no fault, and pulled all content relating to the Club off their website. At issue is whether selling access to discounts is permissible given that the airline cannot actually legally operate flights yet. By enticing customers with discounts for fares that they cannot actually sell the DoT felt that the company violated a couple CFRs. The company has stated they disagree with that position but that they are choosing to avoid litigation in an effort to not derail their pending operational certificate application.
The company has pulled the offer to buy in to the Club from their web site, showing only this now:
Club Travelati is an exciting new club by PEOPLExpress™ for people just like you! We can’t tell you all the details just yet, since we are not yet a certificated airline. But we can tell you it will be fun! Stay tuned here for more details.
Oh, and they apparently only sold about 130 of the $19 memberships since they launched the product per the DoT claim.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on May 5, 2012 under points |
US Airways and Disney are trying to drum up business for their vacation package tours for the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, and they’re doing so with a million point giveaway. Like most such contests, it is possible to enter without actually purchasing a vacation package (though that gets you an entry, too). Simply head to the contest website, fill in the form and submit. Repeat daily for better odds of winning. Of course, odds of winning are likely quite poor, but they’re better if you actually enter, right? The contest closes on June 4, 2012.
Of note in the fine print:
Residents of New York, Florida, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico and other U.S. possessions or territories are not eligible for entry. Void outside of the United States or where prohibited or restricted by law.
As for the prize itself, here are the details:
One (1) grand prize consisting of one million (1,000,000) US Airways Dividend Miles bonus miles (“Prize”), One (1) VIP Disney Vacation consisting of four (4) First Class tickets to Orlando from within the U.S. on US Airways, A four (4) night stay in a Walt Disney World® Resort, Four (4) Walt Disney World® VIP tours, Four (4) 4-Day Magic Your Way Tickets with Park Hopper® Option, One (1) $500 (five hundred dollar) Disney Gift Card will be awarded by random drawing following the close of the Sweepstakes.
Certainly better than nothing.
http://www.usairwaysvacations.com/consumer/DisneyMileSweepStakes.aspx
Posted by Seth on April 19, 2012 under Flying, News |
For each of the past several summers sales for premium cabin travel have been offered by a number of airlines, looking to cash in on the lower demand for business travel during the period. This year’s sales launched today. In addition to the first class sale that Lufthansa is advertising (coverage from Lufthansa Flyer here) there is also a business class sale on offer, with United Airlines publishing a number of fares.
The bad news (and it comes as no real surprise) is that the prices are higher than they have been in the past. Definitely still discounted fares, but not so many of the bargains that there used to be. Here are some sample numbers:
Definitely worth looking in to the numbers if you were thinking of dropping $2500-3500 on a trip to Europe anyways this summer and you can meet the advance purchase (60!! days) and minimum stay requirements. Some more of the fine print includes:
Travel must be booked by May 31, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. Sale is valid on UnitedBusinessFirst® fares for travel starting between June 29, 2012, and September 1, 2012. Return travel must be completed on or before September 6, 2012. Saturday night stay required. A 60-day advance purchase is required. Fares are nonrefundable and require a $400 USD change fee.
Also of note is that the fares, while advertised by United, are available across the anti-trust immunized group of carriers, so if you’d rather fly on Lufthansa or Swiss odds are you have that option.
Posted by Seth on April 16, 2012 under frequent flyer, points |
With JAL launching their Boston – Narita flights in the coming days there are a number of promos out there on the route. Other oneworld carriers are offering bonus miles and discounted redemption rates for the route. And it appears that United might also be matching, at least on the bonus miles side. Even more interesting is that the bonus miles are PQMs for elite status.
Sounds great, right? Well it is, assuming it is actually valid. But reading the T&C of the promo it isn’t completely clear that the bonus is going to work out. The very first section of the fine print includes this nugget:
Itineraries with connecting flights into or out of Boston and Narita are eligible for this promotion; however the bonus award miles only apply for segments between Boston and Narita.
And, unfortunately, that seems to be vague enough that the bonus might not actually apply. See, there are no actual flights between Boston and Narita on United Airlines. So unless all connecting flights between them are eligible the promo is actually useless. Some of the historical promos that the company has offered with similar language have required the segments to be on non-stop flights between the cities, so there is some precedent here.
Oh, and it only applies to tickets purchased after 1 April 2012 and only if you register for the promo.
Also, they don’t actually have the promo listed on the main promo page, so it isn’t clear if this is supposed to be some sort of secret deal or what.
Maybe it will work and maybe it won’t. If you want to give it a try go ahead and register here.
Posted by Seth on April 15, 2012 under News |
It seems that hardly a week goes by without another special offer from Porter Air. I don’t always post them but there are two out right now that are actually pretty decent and are dollar-off coupons rather than percentage off so the fact that they apply only to the base fare isn’t quite as limiting. The two coupons available right now are each for $100 off, depending on the dates of travel and routes.
First up is a $100 off any return trip coupon. It requires purchase by 16 April 2012 and travel by 31 May. The coupon code is 041412.
The other deal is more limited in terms of the route available – it covers only flights between Toronto‘s City Airport and Montreal. But it is also much broader in the dates it covers, requiring booking by 27 April and travel by 4 September.
Both are also valid for $50 off a one-way trip.
Paying full price to fly on Porter Air is almost never necessary, it seems, and these deals are just another example of that. And if you haven’t flown on Porter Air it is definitely worth giving them a try. I’m a big fan of the service and the fact that they fly out of the City airport downtown.
Posted by Seth on April 13, 2012 under Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run |
I’m a huge fan of Istanbul and Turkey in general. I’ve had nothing but wonderful experiences there (even with attempted scammings twice) and between the architecture, food and people it is one of my favorite places to visit and one that I return to willingly, which is a big step for me. When a visit can be had on the cheap that’s an even bigger draw. And right now there are some great deals out there for travel from the USA to Istanbul.
The deals are for the shoulder season so look for travel in September or October for great weather and even better rates. Here’s what the fare calendars look like for October, departing a few cities in the USA:
New York City
Washington, DC
Los Angeles
Chicago
In many cases the W fares on United Airlines aren’t too much more than these lowest fares (~$300 ex-EWR) and the upgrade inventory is plentiful. I’ve already confirmed my flat bed for a weekend in early October. It is going to be a lot of fun.
Tags: Chicago, Deals, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Mileage Run, New York City, Newark, Turkey, United, United Airlines, Washington DC
Posted by Seth on April 10, 2012 under Wandering Aramean Travel Tools |
The response since I released the FareFinder tool last week has been incredible, including a few feature requests that made sense to work on. I’m happy to announce that some updates have been made which hopefully will increase the utility of the tool significantly for users.
First up, all registered users can now toggle on/off all carriers in the filter:
If all are toggled off then you must go in an pick one to get the data to update. First Class members still have the ability to click on the icon next to a carrier name to immediately filter only to that carrier. Additionally, First Class members can set up default filters for excluded airlines from both the UP-fares and Low Fares searches.
Next, there are now a few more details available the fares that the system is publishing. The data grid now shows hyperlinks for the fare and fare basis columns:
Click on one of those links and a new window will pop up showing the details of the fare. These details include minimum and maximum stay, advance purchase requirements and fare validity dates.
The caveat here is that the detail data is only displayed where it exists, and it doesn’t actually exist for all fares. Even where it does exist it rarely exists for all categories. This is a limitation of the underlying data source and unfortunately not one that I can fix easily.
As always, I’m open to suggestions for other improvements so feel free to ask.
Related Posts:
Posted by Seth on April 9, 2012 under News |
JetBlue has been experimenting for a bit now with the idea of bulk ticket purchases for a specific route. Back in February they offered up packs of flights between Long Beach and the Bay Area. Now they’re offering a similar deal for flights between Boston and any of the three Washington, DC area airports they serve.
The Boston-DC deal is only available in 10-packs and is priced at $699, plus $7 per departure for taxes. The $7 fee is payable when the individual flight is reserved. Like the California GoPacks the DC ones allow for booking up to 90 minutes prior to departure, last-seat availability and they are transferrable to any passenger. Travel dates on the pack are April 23 to June 27.
Unlike the California pack, the 10-pack deal in DC actually appears to be better than the currently available fares on almost all of the dates/routes I checked. There are a few flights available for less, but not many, even with a $62ish fare published between BOS-BWI. The fare is there but inventory is quite spotty. I was somewhat hesitant to recommend considering the California pack based on the pricing but the DC one looks to be quite competitive, especially with access to all three airports and about 16 daily flights in each direction.
More T&Cs available on the page over at jetblue.com.
Related Posts:
