Travel group promoting Trusted Traveler Program

by Chris Owen on
Should frequent flyers and business travelers get through airports faster than everybody else? Yes! says the U.S. Travel Association who is trying to convince lawmakers that big airport users need special attention.

“Travelers encounter much hassle at our nation’s airports, and it’s time for Congress to act,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “A one size fits all approach to security is inefficient. If Congress implements a trusted traveler program, we’ll see more Americans traveling – and that will create more American jobs.

Called the Trusted Traveler program, the idea is to have those who go travel extensively go through an extensive background check and basically be certified safe to fly. At the airport, the Trusted Traveler would zip through security and have a minimum of checks.

The “Be Trusted” campaign is a national grassroots campaign advocating Congressional implementation of a trusted traveler program. The campaign will include advertisements in newspapers and airports, social media, events at airports, an advocacy website and toll-free number to connect travelers directly with members of Congress, and an online petition.

Flickr photo by redjar

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Airline bumps get more profitable

by Justin Delaney on

Have you ever been bumped from a flight? Taken vouchers to involuntarily skip a leg of your journey through life? Told that you were removed from your flight to the Westminster Dog Show, forcing Bacon the Norwich Terrier to miss his best in breed event? Me either. We are the lucky 99.99%.

Some are not so lucky. According to Brett Snyder at CNN, 65,000 individuals were involuntarily bumped from flights in 2010 due to overbooking. That is a lot of angry people for sure, but actually only represents 1 in 10,000 air passengers. Regardless of the size of this small minority of travelers, the Department of Transportation heard their shrieks of anger and decided to significantly increase compensation awarded to “the bumped.” Being unlucky is about to get much more lucrative.With the old rules, an airline that delivered you to your destination within two hours of your original arrival time was obligated to refund the value of your one-way ticket up to $400. The new rule calls for double the value of your one-way ticket, for up to $650. For delays longer than two hours, the airline is now required to refund you four times the value of the original ticket, up to $1300. That amount is up from a maximum of $800 under the old rules.

So why do people get bumped in the first place? The majority of airlines sell more tickets to every flight than they have seats. They want their flights full, and since some people do not show up to fly, the airlines overbook to ride the line of maximum profitability.

Of course, an increase in fares will likely piggyback this increased compensation scheme. Since airlines must now account for these increased overbooking penalties in their profitability algorithm, they may sell less seats per flight. This could increase the price per seat marginally.

Who knows? Maybe you will make out like a bandit from this increase in bumping compensation. I would definitely not mind pocketing $1300 for arriving three or so hours late to my destination. What do you think?

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flickr image via Andrew Morrell photography

Virgin America’s flight for Chicago challenge

by Justin Delaney on

In May, Virgin America will begin flying to Chicago O’Hare from Los Angeles and San Francisco. To celebrate their service to an airport traditionally dominated by legacy carriers, Virgin is rolling out a social media contest to entice travelers to “put the smack down on everyday air travel.”

The contest invites Chicagoans to submit a photo or video via the Virgin America Facebook fan page that will be voted on by fellow Facebookers. Entrants will receive a two for one offer on the new routes, but the top ten vote-champions will receive a whole lot more.

The votes will be tallied to crown the top five videos and top five pictures. The winners of the vote will receive complimentary air travel for two from Chicago to Los Angeles or San Francisco on a competitor airline and return airfare on Virgin America’s inaugural flight to Chicago. The winners will be challenged to contrast the stale environs in the legacy cabins of the competition to Virgin’s neon aesthetics, clean lines, and personal touch screens.The winners will also be put up for three nights at either the posh Mondrian hotel in Los Angeles or the modern Clift hotel in San Francisco. For the cherry on top, Sir Richard Branson will welcome the winners on the red carpet for their return to Chicago O’Hare airport.

So get creative and upload some shots. Who knows, maybe come May you will be soaking in the pool at L.A.’s Mondrian wondering just how your life got so sweet. The contest ends on May 11. Virgin America will donate $5 per entry to Stand up for Cancer.

*Breaking* St. Louis airport damaged and closed by tornado

by Grant Martin on

The historic Lambert Field in St. Louis was damaged by an apparent tornado last night, wreaking havoc on the main terminal and disrupting operations. According to the Huffington Post, “The storm lifted the roof off Concourse C and sent plate glass flying everywhere. Four people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after glass shattered as the storm hit.”

All inbound flights were diverted, while operations ground to a halt internally. As of this morning, no flights are operating in or out of the airport.

If you happen to be flying through Lambert Field this weekend, be sure to check your schedule for any cancellations. American Airlines Southwest Airlines flies the majority of routes out of Lambert, so that carrier may see the largest disruptions. American currently has a travel waiver available on their site here while Southwest has one here.

Luckily nobody was fatally injured in the storm. Lambert Field, however, will remain indefinitely closed until repairs can be made.

*update, we just received this youtube video from inside of STL airport during the action. Scary stuff!*

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Earn free frequent flyer miles by purchasing dollar coins

by Grant Martin on

Rewards credit cards are a great way to earn a few percent cash back or frequent flyer miles for everyday purchases, but they’re geared against the consumer’s rate of purchase — the more you spend, the more rewards you earn.

Intrinsically this concept conflicts with the budget traveler. Sure, 2 miles for every dollar spent would be great, but few people spend enough money each month to make the miles worthwhile. If one spends 300 dollars and earns 600 miles per month, for example, it would take 41 months to save enough for a free flight on most airlines.

But a few savvy consumers have learned to game the system, all courtesy of the US mint. On their website, the mint advertises free shipping for over $500 in purchases of presidential $1 coins — at cost. This means that a user can show up at their online store, purchase $1000 worth of dollar coins on their rewards card and have them shipped to their front door for free. A quick walk to the bank puts that money back into circulation (hopefully for the payment of one’s credit card bill) and the user emerges a few miles richer. At that point, the user can repeat the cycle.

Sounds like a cash advance, right? Sort of, but mileage hounds have found that the neither the credit cards nor the IRS view it in that way, so they’re still buying dollar coins and reaping the rewards.

As to any impact on one’s credit score or the value of carrying 20lb boxes to the bank every day, the jury is still out, but for those with time and a bit of financial flexibility it seems like a great trick to earn miles.

You can read more details and extensive discussion over at Flyertalk and Milepoint.