For last second fares, watch for United’s Twares

by Grant Martin on

As the social media monstrosity known as Twitter continues to grow by the nanosecond (did you know that the Whole Foods in Evanston, IL is now on Twitter?), more and more companies in the travel industry are now taking advantage of their followers to lure in new sales.

Sure it’s just another marketing technique, but where travel consumers and producers can really benefit is in the wholesaling of last minute capacity.

In United Airline’s case, the product is called a Tware. We first covered these Twitter Fares around this time last year, and since its inception the concept has really taken off.

In a nutshell, here’s how Tware’s work: Airline capacity managers identify a group of routes that are significantly undersold over a period of time, say, all flights from the US to Australia over the course of June. Knowing that there’s a low probability of all of those seats being sold at the current market prices, the capacity managers block off a bucket full of seats on select flights, heavily discount the fares and call the folks at the Twitter desk.

At the count of three, cheap seats open up and an advertisement goes on Twitter announcing that “A Tware to Australia!” has started. 70,000 highly focused, highly motivated followers suddenly tune in, everyone starts booking and the seats sell like hotcakes.

In the end, United makes some cash, when they formerly would have been flying empty seats and a few passengers get a great deal on tickets. Oh, and United gets a ton of free PR.

The only catch? Since the airline is clearing out empty seats most Twares are for travel within the next month or two. But if you’re flexible, adventurous and have a few extra dollars the formula is perfect for a quick jaunt to paradise.

You can follow @unitedairlines to tune into upcoming Twares. Be forewarned that most Twares only last a few hours, so have your credit card and calendar ready!

[Image credit, Pylon757]

Continental and United Airlines approve merger

by Grant Martin on

Two of the nation’s largest airlines, United and Continental have taken one step closer to joining forces to becoming the world’s largest carrier. Early last week, news in underground was that the two airlines were in high level talks to discuss merging operations. Things became more official with the announcement late last week that their respective boards had approved the undertaking.

The new airline, which would be called United Airlines, would have Continental’s CEO Jeff Smisek as the man in charge and would be based in Chicago. Continental’s livery would absorb United’s.

Despite the positive steps last week, several major milestones still need to be addressed before the merger gathers steam. Primarily, the airlines need to obtain regulatory approval from the government before joining forces, and in this political climate, that permission may be difficult to find.

Issues with unions, operations and finances will also take time and patience to address; as a result, even if an official announcement comes on Monday there are months left of negotiation and heartache. Get ready for a long ride.

BREAKING: United and Continental airlines to merge?

by Grant Martin on

We hear rumblings of airline mergers every day here at Gadling headquarters, but this one is starting to pick up traction. Chicago-based United Airlines and Houston-based Continental Airlines are reported to be in merger talks, with each respective board meeting to discuss possibilities and logistics this week.

What would a merger this mean for the average world traveler? The combined airline would overtake Delta Airlines as the largest carrier in the world, and with fewer players in the market, prices will undoubtedly go up. As of this year, both Continental and United are in the same Star Alliance, so those saving miles won’t be seriously affected by the merger.

The main concern that travelers will need to mull is the change in customer service. Larger ubiquitous airlines tend to cover the spectrum of destinations well but fall short on loyalty programs and public relations (see: Delta,) so those looking for a more boutique experience may shirk away to JetBlue or Virgin America.

Conversely, if the mega-airline can emulate the current outstanding service that Continental hosts then they’ll earn some serious passenger loyalty and subsequent cash. Let’s hope that’s the route they take.

An announcement on the merger could come as early as next Monday.

United now lets you redeem miles for one-way trips

by Amy Chen on

Don’t have enough miles to book that free ride? United is the the latest airline to let frequent flyers redeem their hard-earned points for one-way trips. United’s One-Way Awards program, which was announced today, mimics American Airlines’ One-Way Flex Awards, which were introduced in May 2009.

Under the One-Way Awards program, you can now book a Mileage Plus award trip starting at just 12,500 miles–or half of what a domestic round-trip flight requires. Even if you don’t travel very often, this increases your chances of racking up enough miles for an award ticket, especially if you use a credit card to earn even more points.

Frankly it has always annoyed me that the major carriers penalized you for buying a one-way ticket by jacking up the price. Low-cost airlines, on the other hand, are great for booking one-way legs. I’ve flown from New York to San Francisco on JetBlue but then I’ve booked my return on Virgin America. I’ve found that by mixing and matching, the schedules can be more convenient if I pair the low-fare carriers.

Tip: If a free round-trip ticket still eludes you, try cobbling together an itinerary using a one-way award ticket on United or American, plus the affordable one-way prices on airlines like JetBlue, Virgin America, and Southwest.

Personally, the One-way Awards program now gives me an incentive to use up my remaining United points, which lately has fallen short of the 25,000 round-trip benchmark, before they expire.

Holiday travel to fall 2.5 percent

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The airports may not be as crowded at Christmas this year. The Air Transport Association of America expects holiday flight traffic to fall 2.5 percent from 2008. The holiday period is measured as December 17, 2009 through January 6, 2010. The busiest days in the sky are most likely to be the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday after Christmas.

Don’t expect to have plenty of legroom, though. Part of the decline stems from the fact that airlines have cut flights, so fewer people may be jockeying for fewer seats, leaving you just as cramped as usual. Both the dip in the number of passengers and in the number of flights is a direct result of a recession that has had a magnified effect on the travel market this year.

Last week, Delta, American and United all came out and said that they’re seeing an increase in demand — and from those high-value corporate clients that keep the planes in the air.