Earn elite qualifying miles on Delta with Hilton stays

by Grant Martin on

It’s pretty common in the travel world to see alliances between airlines and hotels when it comes to earning miles and points; a few points exchanged here and there among giants is an easy way to keep brand loyalty and momentum among the masses.

Normal earnings, however, are almost always limited to redeemable miles — that is, mileage earned won’t count towards elite status or any tiered thresholds that the airline or hotel measures you against over the course of the year.

With this new promotion between Delta and Hilton, however, that’s different. Now, any stay at a Hilton property will earn the traveler upwards of 1000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), which means that you can earn part of your elite status on Delta without even flying. While these miles are only limited to 10k over the promotion period, this could be a good way to top up a few extra miles to reach 25k or 50k miles before year’s end — and you can do it without suffering the loss of leg room.

Sign up for the promo over at Hilton and don’t forget to make Delta your earnings partner.

[via Gary at View from the Wing]

Airlines provide change fee relief because of Hurricane Earl

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As Hurricane Earl works its way up the east coast, airlines are letting passengers take one item off their lists of concerns. Delta has announced that passengers affected by the storm can make one-time changes to their plans without incurring any fees. This applies to flights scheduled for today and tomorrow and covers more than 20 airports in the eastern United States, including the New York area, Washington, Boston and Baltimore.

AirTran Airways has gotten in on this concept, as well, with passengers hitting a number of airports, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, being able to change their plans without paying extra. It only works for flights taking off by Saturday.

[Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video via Flickr]

Delta set to expand at JFK, tear down Pan Am terminal

by Grant Martin on

The battle for New York’s John F. Kennedy airport continued in earnest this week, as Delta Airlines announced plans to remodel and expand it’s currently leased footprint.

With current operations now taking place in both terminal 4 and the former Pan Am Worldport (aka, terminal 3), the airline plans to expand all of their operations to terminal 3 with a full remodel, all set to be complete by 2013. The somewhat legendary yet sorely outdated Worldport will be demolished and used for taxiway and aircraft positioning.

Delta’s remodel at T4 will play a key role in expanding their presence at JFK, both in integration of passengers, gates and operations and in increased capacity for a stronger flight network out of the largest city in the nation. For New Yorkers, the good news is that you’ll have better access to Delta’s cities around the globe. In turn, competition from other carriers may also mean lower prices across the board.

For everyone else, more flights from the delay-prone New York corridor means that we may experience more trickle-down delays from the east coast.

Expect operations at terminal 3 to wind down as the year comes to a close. Fans of the nostalgic Worldport best book your tickets and bring your cameras while there’s still time.

Sweaty passenger chastises Delta on YouTube

by Tom Johansmeyer on


It’s bad enough to hear about the misery of being stuck on the tarmac, but to see it adds another dimension. When Tony Morales was stuck on a Delta plane in Phoenix, sweat dripping from his head, he recorded a portion of his ordeal, even though he risked “getting yelled at for filming right now.”

Morales described the situation on the plane as “uncomfortable, hot, miserable – it just wasn’t fun,” according to MSNBC.

The passengers were stuck in their seats, since the plane had pushed back from the gate, meaning that they were stuck in a hot cabin, without any fluids except those gushing from their pores. One passenger was allowed to deplane, but Morales recalls that it was for medical reasons.

Delta says it’s looking into the incident, MSNBC reports:

“We have reached out to this customer for more information on his experience as the timeline we have does not coincide with his account,” Delta spokesperson Susan Chana Elliott told msnbc. “Although, we can confirm that the flight did return to the terminal, passengers were offered water during the delay and provided the option to deplane when it was determined that the flight could not depart due to the maintenance issue.”

Passengers were finally offered water as the plane was headed back to the gate, and they were permitted to get off, but only after the situation had dragged on for two and a half hours, Morales says.

Top five reasons you’ll pay more for flights

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It looks like flight deals are a thing of the past. The airline sector is starting to recover, as evidenced by an aggregate $1.3 billion in earnings for the six largest U.S. carriers last quarter, and more profits are said to be on the horizon. Of course, we’re still in the early stages, and those earnings do pale in comparison to the $22.7 billion in losses sustained in 2008 and 2009. So, the airlines are making up for lost time and taking advantage of a swing in the economy … that means you’re going to pay for it.

Good news for the airlines, of course, translates to a thinner wallet for you, but it indicates that you’re at least willing to handle the higher cost, since airlines tend to be price-takers rather than price setters.

Why are you going to pay more for flights? Here are the top five reasons:

1. Extra fees no longer “extra”: they’re part of the package now. Airlines raked in $13.5 billion from fees in 2009, a 43 percent spike year over year. They aren’t going away. As the industry recovers, this will help keep fares higher.

According to the Associated Press:

United and American led the way on “ancillary revenue,” including fees, at about $1.8 billion apiece last year, according to IdeaWorks. United Airlines President John Tague calls fees “an unequivocal success,” and suggests his airline could still double the amount it’s bringing in with baggage fees.

2. The market supports higher prices: airlines charge what they can get, as it is a consumer-driven market. So far, consumers are responding favorably to price increases, with fares up an average of 18 percent this summer.

3. Airlines to hold the line this fall: demand is expected to decline through the end of summer, and the airline will try to keep from offering deep discounts. In fact, many are offering deals to get passengers interested but are able to convert into higher-priced seats.

4. Shared armrests the norm: the planes are full. Delta filled close to 90 percent of its seats last month, with Continental at 87 percent and American at 86 percent. This means there are more fares covering the cost of the flight, which delivers favorable financial results.

5. Temptation to add flights resisted: rather than bring more planes out to handle this increase in demand, the airlines seem to be fighting the urge, because bookings are sluggish and the economic recovery is tenuous.

[photo by Ma1974 via Flickr]