United Airlines finds $64 million lying around – thanks to your expiring miles

by Scott Carmichael on

Hands up if you have checked your mileage account, only to notice that you forgot to have any activity, and all your miles are gone.

Well, thanks to you, United Airlines just managed to make an extra $64 million.

The bonus bucks were earned thanks to a new accounting method and a huge stash of previously undiscovered expiring miles.

So, yes – air miles are big, big business. So big in fact, that last year, American Airlines managed to “advance sell” Advantage Miles to Citi in exchange for $1.6 billion.

Lesson to be learned here? Always keep a close eye on your miles. It doesn’t matter how many you have in your account, every mile that expires just adds to the bottom line of the airline. Here are some quick tips to add miles without too much hassle:

  • Find a shopping portal that earns you miles (check the airline web site for links)
  • Eat out (and register for a dining rewards program like Rewards Network)
  • Find a mileage promotion from your airlines (many of these involve non-flight activities)
  • Check for mileage discrepancies (did you take any flights without getting miles awarded?)
  • Earn miles when you stay at a hotel

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American Airlines delays start of Chicago-Beijing flights

by Scott Carmichael on

Yesterday, American Airlines was scheduled to start a new non-stop route from Chicago O’Hare to Beijing – but a last minute snag has forced them to delay the launch. American had requested a preferential take-off and landing slot from the Chinese Government, but was handed slots for a 2:20am arrival, and a 4:40am departure – making the whole thing pretty useless.

American Airlines is working behind the scenes to negotiate a better schedule, and as of right now, the first Chicago-Beijing flight should leave on Tuesday May 4.

Customers who were supposed to be on the inaugural flight are being offered a full refund or free date change to the later flights. Of course, nobody knows yet whether those dates will stay put, or what the final departure and arrival times are, so keep checking AA.com for updates.

Video of the Week (4.23.10)

by Kent Wien on

Today’s video of the week is a time lapse of a flight from Dallas to New York on an MD-80 from Andrew Wonder. Andrew created it using an iPhone and the $3 iTimeLapsePro application. You may have to be discreet about it, and you’ll definitely want the phone in airplane mode, but the results are well worth the effort.

Nice work, Andrew.

Do you have a great travel related suggestion for our Video of the Week? Fill out this form or just include my twitter handle @veryjr in your tweet about it. Maybe we’ll use it as next week’s Video.

Airlines try for more edible food options

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Let’s not even bother with the jokes – we all know airplane food is awful. But these days, with most carriers looking for new sources of revenue, several of the major airlines have been stepping up the quality and taste factor of their on-board food offerings.

The days of free (and terrible) airplane meals are coming to an end. With Continental, the last carrier to offer complimentary in-flight meals, discontinuing its free service this fall, the in-flight meal industry is ramping up to better serve customer demand. Airlines ranging from Air Canada to United and American are shuffling their food offerings, realizing that if customers have to pay for it, it better bear some resemblance to something edible. Air Canada is introducing healthier food options like veggie sandwiches and yogurt, American Airlines is partnering with Boston Market and United Airlines will be letting customers pre-order in-flight meals before the end of 2010.

So will customers find these new in-flight food options more enticing? Not necessarily. Many frequent travelers have given up finding food on board, opting instead for the array of food options in the terminal like Cibo Express, Wolfgang Puck Express and the ever-popular fast food vendors. But for those looking for tasty, quality food to go with their air travel, keep looking. A top-notch meal on the plane or even at the airport remains a fantasy.

American Airlines, JetBlue Airways sign slot swap agreement out of East Coast cities

by Melanie Nayer on

Washington DC travelers rejoice: JetBlue Airways will begin flying to Reagan National Airport as part of a new agreement with American Airlines. In return, American Airlines will take over some gate slots at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The news, announced this morning, also says American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are joining forces to help boost international travel. The two airlines signed an agreement for commercial collaboration that will allow JetBlue customers in New York and Boston access to American Airlines’ international flights.

The payout: American is giving up eight slot pairs at Ronald Reagan National Airport and one slot pair at White Plains, N.Y. to JetBlue, and JetBlue will transfer 12 slot pairs at John F. Kennedy International Airport to American.

In a press release from both airlines, “The partnership will focus on routes into and out of JFK and Boston that extend and complement each others’ networks. For example, it would provide seamless service for customers who wish to fly nonstop from Nantucket to JFK on JetBlue and from there to London on American. Likewise, customers can board American from Paris to JFK and connect to a nonstop flight on JetBlue to Burlington, Vt. JetBlue customers will be able to effortlessly connect on flights to 12 of American’s international destinations from JFK and Boston including Barcelona, Spain; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.”

In addition to the international flights, award program members of each airline can book flights with the other airline to collect miles. For example, American Airlines customers can book JetBlue flights from JFK or Boston to Portland, Maine, and collect miles.

As someone who has covered the travel and airline industry extensively for years, this relationship between American Airlines and JetBlue is intriguing. On the one hand, JetBlue prides itself on in-flight customer service and amenities (something American Airlines has been chastised for over the years, according to customer complaints). On the other hand, American Airlines has consistently prevailed in down economies, even introducing new routes and destinations when travel is at an all-time low. How it all pans out we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, maybe American Airlines can learn a thing or two about effective customer service, and maybe JetBlue can pick up a few tips on how to manage customer demand.

You can the entire press release here.