I admit, I had been following this story with a fervency akin to the way a sorority girl latches onto celebrity gossip websites, waiting for any new news besides frenetic speculation. Essentially, according to this thread on FlyerTalk.com, it had been rumored, as all good United rumors begin – by some passenger having a conversation with a United employee – usually, a flight attendant, customer service rep, or gate agent (exactly the type of people within a company that would have access to the haps on imminent big, corporate, higher-up policy changes), and bringing it to FlyerTalk for discussion, where all rumors are combed, picked and ruminated over, and blown out of proportion and veracity until the thread reads like a game of drunken Telephone – that United would offer one-way award tickets on February 1, 2009.

Usually, the rumors perpetrated by folks on FlyerTalk, again, often picked up in the haze of a few too many Crown Royal and Sprites in first class on the run down to San Diego in some ephemeral conversation with an employee, and shared on FlyerTalk with the excitement of a six-year-old at a birthday party, before he pukes his cake and ice cream in the moon bounce house, as if the passenger had received a piece of exclusive and privileged information, coalesce to the legitimacy of a Bigfoot sighting. But, today, our friend and United Airlines online Twitter/FlyerTalk presence, UnitedPR (who, to be fair, is getting much better at this Twitter thing, but that’s for another  time), posted a letter from Vice Prez of Mileage Plus, Robert Sahadevan, announcing that come Monday, February 1, as rumored (!), passengers will be able to book one-way award tickets online for one-half of the number of required roundtrip miles, on United and United Express. It also looks as if United is introducing some sort of cash-and-miles option, of which details are sparse. I steal an excerpt from the letter, from this FlyerTalk post, for reprinting here:

With Mileage Plus’ One-Way Awards, you can travel one-way for half the miles of a roundtrip award (starting at 12,500 miles for a domestic Saver award) on United or United Express. Miles & Money Awards enable you to book a roundtrip flight, hotel stay or car rental for fewer miles by making up the difference in cash. More information about these new awards will be available on Monday at www.mileageplus.com.

Our work continues. Initially, One-Way Awards and Miles & Money Awards will only be available online. You will be able to call Reservations to book these awards later this year. The ability to mix and match award levels – Saver or Standard Awards – for a roundtrip award ticket will be available in the summer. I realize that you can mix and match awards now (or shall I say starting on Monday) by creating multiple PNRs. That will change and you will be able to do this on one PNR in the near future. Other new products continue to be developed and will transform Mileage Plus into the most rewarding loyalty program for you.

Everyone loves the idea of one-way awards. It’s a common traveler lament to be unable to redeem miles on United for one half of a journey only, when it just seems like such a simple concept. After all, if one can buy a one-way ticket, and earn miles on said ticket, why not be able to redeem miles for the same type of travel, especially if United’s cool-kid bigger brother American, and slightly renegade/out there/probabaly in an indy rock band of some sort cousin Alaska Airlines already offer one-way awards. Besides the basic necessity some travelers have for one-way awards, one-way award tickets could prove invaluable for positioning flights for mileage runs (runs that originate in some other  city besides your home base), and for when you just have to take the flight on some route that is usually frighteningly expensive (San Diego – Los Angeles, for instance). Moreover, with United eliminating close-in mileage award booking fees last year, I could see passengers enjoying the extra flexibility of the option to book one-way award tickets for last minute travel, when fares usually run quite high.

I do like the idea, as well. But – part of me remains a bit trepid because, as one can discern, this letter is just a smidge vague on, uh, pretty much all of the details. I’m truly worried that a one-way award benefit change will cause United to follow their bro American Airlines, and remove straightforward stopovers on award tickets, as American implemented when they brought one-way awards to fruition. There do still exist, however, ways to work in a stopover on American, but their rules are so complex that it’s like trying to understand quantum mechanics from a book written in Sanskrit. Personally, I love the ability to book a stopover on an award ticket. The stopover allows for a visit to an additional city within a larger itinerary, at no extra mileage cost. On my three major international awards I’ve booked with United, to China, Uzbekistan, and Iraq, I’ve used the stopover option on each one. As someone who actually enjoys the destination, as opposed to someone who only pretends to find enjoyment in the destination, but really only enjoys the temporary nice treatment and respect from a first class award ticket, I would be incensed if United removed the straightforward stopover option. I already have a spring break award ticket idea brewing in my head, complete with stopover.

Even more worrisome, too, are the glaring technical issues. I can already foresee a cornucopia of problems and complications resulting from the new system. One can only book online, and can’t book one-way awards over the phone until next year. Okay, but, what if I run into a technical issue> As every good United flyer knows, the United website is rife with technical issues, error messages, and plagued by the inability to execute anything besides the simplest of itineraries. Is one going to be able to call Web Support, and have them book one-way awards for you? Why train Web Support to finish booking, and not your phone agents? As well, if one wants to book multiple one-way awards, for, say, hopping around multiple cities on one-way tickets, the letter informs us so kindly that each ticket will have to be booked on a new passenger record – leading to more hassle, more areas for technology to fail or become garbled, and more for which the traveler and the airline to keep in mind and monitor. Basically, it sounds as if they’re rolling out a really clunky and questionable prototype of this one-way award system, like sending an airplane out for a test flights with only a wing on the right side.

Of course, we will have to wait until Monday for more answers – such as, will one-way award tickets be available, eventually, for booking on Star Alliance partners, or solely on United, and the stopover rules. I’m still a bit worried that United will eliminate the free stopover. The dear airline tends to follow American’s cues.

We’ll check out the hooplah in just a couple of days.

With United’s announcement yesterday of how they plan to continue to allow 1K Mileage Plus members to earn confirmed regional upgrades (CR-1s), it’s pretty much been a ticker-tap parade and a scene reminiscent of the 1960s for the airlines top-tier elites, with flowers, cheesecloth shirts, tambourines, a muddy field, and psychoactive drugs. When United announced its new “Unlimited Domestic Upgrade” program that is to premier midway through 2010, they planned to place all elite members in an electronic lottery for seats at the front of the airplane at the time of ticket purchase, and eliminate all upgrade instruments except for systemwide upgrades (SWUs). Passengers could also choose to upgrade with an extortionist fee, euphemistically deemed a “co-pay,” and part with thousands of miles for a confirmed upgrade. Now, United has changed, and confirmed that 1Ks and Global Service members (all of whom are 1Ks), will continue to earn two CR-1s, maximum, per quarter, for 10,000 miles flown.

Top-tier Mileage Plus members have exalted in universal celebration, and launched a veritable lovefest, heaping adulation, praise, laurels, and various keys to various cities on the airline, praising them for actually listening to their customers. Frequent flyers are professing their love for United with the fervency and poignancy of a Shakespearean sonnet. And, many are proudly proclaiming, in their throes of passion, that with the return of confirmed regional upgrades, United now features the best frequent flyer program among all the legacy carriers for top tier elites.

I’m really not so sure.

First, I applaud United for returning CR-1s to the mix for 1Ks. I’m please I’ll have a method to upgrade on Premium Service (p.s.) flights from NYC to San Francisco, which United previously exempted from their unlimited domestic upgrade fray, thereby forcing members to either burn an SWU or miles and cash to move forward a cabin. Moreover, I always enjoyed being able to upgrade mileage runs all the way to Hawaii from New York, eking out close to 6,000 miles worth of upgrade for one instrument. So, yes, United, returning CR-1s is most appreciated, but I’m not going to go swallow a tab of acid and dance in the streets in celebration with someone strums a sytar.

The program still remains besmirched by Starnet Blocking. As about which I’ve written before, Starnet Blocking is United’s insidious and cowardly practice of actively blocking fancy award seats on Star Alliance partner airlines from mileage redemption. There exist several tools to fully ascertain partner award availability, and United often will simply say they cannot see the flight, period, or that particular airline does not operate that route (Such as Thai Airways from Bangkok, Thailand, to Singapore). That, to me, is treating your customers as fools, when they can easily see that the award availability exists.

Some flyers, though, really fail to see the gravity of Starnet blocking. I love the attitude on FlyerTalk of the four or five people who act completely bewildered as to why blocking is such a prominent issue with MP members, with the, “Wait, I’ve never been affected by *net blocking – how could anyone else possibly be affected by *net blocking if it hasn’t happened to me?” I would hazard a guess that it’s a major gripe for 90 – 95% of people attempting to book international first/biz class awards with Mileage Plus miles.

I’ve only ever had one award trip where I have called MP, and each flight I requested was deemed available. Sure, with MP, it’s often not too, too difficult to book a trip that’s “good enough,” even with blocking, but – why must we remain complacent, and only book trips that are “good enough?” Why compromise – they’re our miles, we use the ANA tool to confirm flight availability, we know the flight is available. It’s a simple idea – but, one, that until Mileage Plus actually recognizes its cogency, and stops hiding behind cheapness as its defense, Mileage Plus will never, ever be the best frequent flyer program.

I remain puzzled, too, why United, and many, many of its elites, are citing this change with CR-1s as a glorious day, and proof that the airline is listening to feedback. How little have we come to expect from airlines when we celebrate the return of benefit that United spins as an actual change, but in reality, reflects the current system? In a larger context, I think it’s a slimy move. The airline is giving a benefit back that A) they never took away, officially, B) even without CR-1s, it’s not like the idea of upgrading suddenly disappeared on United, and C) isn’t really causing them any extra effort or trouble to return – the CR-1 upgrade system has been in place for eons. But – somehow, people are going nuts over the announcement. I think that UA management is hoping that with this recent lovefest for UA (again, I don’t mind keeping CR-1s!), that people will somehow push Starnet to the aft of their mind. Or – in typical UA fashion, they can use it as a defense, even though the items are completely unrelated – “We returned CR-1s, therefore, we don’t have to lift *net blocking.” While I generally like the move, it certainly doesn’t render Mileage Plus a superior program to American Executive Platinum. From what I’ve heard, ExPlats are upgraded almost every flight on the JFK – SFO/LAX transcons, the equivalent of United’s p.s. service. American does not engage in any partner award blocking, either.

If UA really “listens” to customers, they would lift Starnet blocking. I don’t think it was really too difficult for them to keep a benefit that already existed. Good for all the people who can use CR-1s – I am one of them, but I think we need to ration our praise, and be less effusive. United has really not improved – they’ve simply spun a gimmick as evidence of real change, and listening to customer feedback.

How about, instead of accepting what UA has already given us as some sort of revolution, let’s push the airline to go further. Let’s get them to listen to real complaints of those who provide revenue, earn miles, and can’t use them. A true reward for loyalty, indeed.

Everyone’s favorite taciturn PR-rep United PR, made an official announcement on FlyerTalk yesterday that United plans to change its domestic upgrade procedure in the second quarter of 2010, by offering unlimited upgrades to elite members. You can read the official announcement, written in typical United Airlines PR-dreck, here, on FlyerTalk.

The change indicates a marked departure from United’s current upgrade scheme, in which any passenger wishing to upgrade must support their upgrade request with an actual upgrade instrument, including 500 mile certificates, regional upgrades, systemwide upgrades, or good old fashioned frequent flyer miles. In the current system, upgrades, therefore, were limited by the number of upgrade instruments one had at their disposal (the more one flies, the more they earn), and further limited by the passenger’s status with the airline, available upgrade space, and whether one could confirm the upgrade immediately. In 2010, United will morph into a more, dare I say, conventional upgrade system. If we define conventional as the way in which most other airlines process upgrades, United joins the group of most other large, legacy carriers (American, Continental, Alaska [not really a legacy carrier, but that smiling eskimo hands out complimentary upgrades], Delta, the erstwhile Northwest) by offering unlimited upgrades to their passengers, by simply entering them into an upgrade queue at the time of booking. In accordance with fare class, status, and space availability, upgrades would be processed automatically. Now, United makes the change.

I’m going to start my thoughts by saying, let’s not panic, people. Let’s try to refrain from rampant speculation, prophetic decrees, and the histrionic calls of the airline apocalypse. Currently, the discussion thread on FlyerTalk has reached over 300 posts, with cries of doom that rival those on Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus. There’s more drama and woe-is-me type raillery in the thread than in your typical FlyerTalk “I had to sit for more than 15 minutes on a regional jet and I am sooooooo upset” type posts. Remember, folks – we don’t actually know the specifics and the details of the change yet. According to the syrupy PR announcement, we should expect some sort of announcement today from Mileage Plus with more specifics. Until then, let’s try to control ourselves. We may actually be pleasantly surprised by the details of the announcement. I’m having flashbacks to when Southwest announced their decision to bid for Frontier, in which almost every single blogger (yours truly excepted – yes, I am very smug), lambasted and pilloried the deal, generating blog posts and podcasts that deemed Southwest crazy and illogical. Then, when Southwest actually announced some details, and there actually existed some uh, what’s that word – facts available, then, most bloggers reversed their stances, lauding the logic and craft behind the business decision. Is it too much to wait until we have some actual information?

Let’s return to the old maxim of “Don’t just do something – stand there!”

People are reacting to the inkling of news without any real facts with more fervor than a cable news channel.

But – let’s consider some reasons why people might be worried about the decision. Note – these are not speculations, but logical and reasonable questions based on the facts of the current upgrade schemata over various airlines.

1. Will United preserve any iota of their instrument-based upgrading? Instrument-based upgrading allowed (theoretically) instantly-confirmable upgrades, instead of throwing themselves in an auto-queue to fight against other passengers for an upgrade. Some people are wondering whether 1Ks will still earn CR-1 (regional upgrades – and my personal favorite type of upgrade instrument) for every 10,000 miles flown. Preserving instrument upgrades to allow elite members the chance to confirm an upgrade would certainly be a boon for those who rack up the upgrade instruments with thousands upon thousands of flight mile, and provide a bit of personal peace knowing one does not have to enter the upgrade fray.

2. How hard will securing an upgrade become? With unlimited upgrade systems, general logic exists that it’s extremely difficult to secure upgrades, even as a top-status passenger, on transcontinental flights. Continental Airlines is often cited as the primary example – unless you’re buying first class, or their reasonably-priced full fare tickets, you generally ain’t gettin’ an upgrade on the Newark – San Francisco flight. I might be heading into the speculation department, here, but, I could really foresee difficulty upgrading on p.s. flights, Boston – SFO or Chicago – SFO flights, typical flights in United’s sytem that are quite difficult to upgrade, as is. Moreover, with about two billion new 1K members based on what seems like ten months of DEQM promos this year, how adversely will Premier Executive and Premier members be affected by the upgrade lottery? Those folks face a tough-enough upgrade battle currently. It may only get worse for ‘em.

3. Gee, what will it be like if United actually has full F-cabins on all domestic flights? Yeah, I’m wondering how United’s flight attendants will react by having to contend with a full F-cabin on pretty much every flight. With staffing levels cut to FAA minima on most flights, they’re already chugging to handle an even three-quarters full cabin. Man, imagine a full cabin with whiny 1Ks fresh off their unlimited free upgrades. Work will only be harder for already overworked FAs (well, the ones that do actually serve an F-cabin, instead of sitting sour-faced on the jumpseat with the latest issue of US! Weekly and an emery board).

3. Reciprocal upgrades on Continental? Some seem to think that UA is begining to align themselves more and more with Continental as a true partner, as opposed to simply a codeshare buddy, as Continental readies to join the Star Alliance on October 29th. Gee, what can Continental take from UA in the form of reciprocity? Starnet blocking?

4. Will United actually have to start whipping up more of those horrendous omelets? One major gripe from people flying in full first class cabins during breakfast flights, is that United’s catering doesn’t provide enough of those horrendous omelets, the ones made from egg powder, filled with a substance of dubious provenance, and then cooked to the texture of a potholder. Gee, with the amount that 1Ks whine about not receiving first choice of breakfast when flying F (god forbid you might have to eat the more healthful fruit plate), United may have to ramp up their omelet cooking. With United, you can be sure that cooking more of something will mean lowering costs somewhere – and the quality of omelets will become even lower. Yecccch.

5. Can Gary Leff Survive? Everyone’s favorite New Zealand cabinet minister Gary Leff, writer of View From The Wing, very nearly became permanently disfigured as he had to sweat out a transcon from New York on Delta with the masses in economy class. What happens if he can’t confirm an upgrade instantly on UA? As Thomas Jefferson once said, “If Gary Leff must sit in Economy Class, I tremble for my country.”

Most of all, let’s await today’s announcement.

Readers of other aviation/travel blogs and FlyerTalk already know that the aviation community is going ga-ga over United’s decision to eliminate (in their typically clunky corporate-crap parlance) “Close-In Processing Fees” on award tickets. Because ten billion other websites have already covered the particulars, I’m going to simply stick to a brief summary of the changes, but essentially, United removes an irritating fee of 75 – 100 bucks for non 1K and Global Services Mileage Plus members that booked award tickets within 20 days of departure. This particular fee had bothered people for about three years. Now, just like that, United announces it’s gone.

As I mentioned, the change has been almost universally positively received, causing forum posters and bloggers to launch into an interminable repetition of the disbelief-imbued rhetorical question “An airline that removes a fee in this day and age?” Many have applauded the business/corporate/board room/Power Point presentation behind the rationale and claim that United rightly began to view the fee as illogical. Overall, it’s engendered almost universal good will towards one of the world’s most maligned and prickly airlines.

But – call me jaded and cynical – but – I ain’t buying it, mostly because of United’s decision making history in the past year. United is an airline that is not your friend, and is never, ever, ever nice. They flaunt an oft-repeated rationale by their executives that don’t make reflections in the mirror and  polyster-pansuit wearing PR-people of, “If we give you something ,we have to take something away.” Said mantra is often quoted in relation to United’s most despised policy for frequent flyers, StarNet blocking. It’s a Pavlovian response – whenever someone who is anyone is asked about Starnet blocking, they curtly respond with some dreck that “United offers 100% miles earned on all fare classes. Shut up and be happy.” Simply – United is like the first law of thermodynamics. The energy of the universe is constant – as in, if energy enters one system, it has to be equally removed from the surrounds. United operates in identical fashion in a petty battles with their customer, forcing them to trade benefits somewhere else, for supposed new ones in another spot.

I think United’s found a cheap way to serve its flyers a whole lotta Kool Aid. The airline now looks more pristine than it has in over a year – and even more polished when compared to the other major airlines, two of whom even raised checked bag fees over the weekend. I’m worried that United will use this goodwill they’ve purchased to announce something major, and perhaps even more detrimental – more fees somewhere else, or harmful changes to Mileage Plus. Hey – it’s worked even in its nascent stages. See how quickly the decision covered the rancor that flowed over the weekend when people learned that United’s Twitter fare deals didn’t earn miles? No one seems to be crying over that now.

If an orphanage serves gruel three meals a day, seven days a week, and then tosses in an orange as a treat one day, the reality appears better, but you’re still back to eating gruel the next day.