One Way Awards now available on United

• One-Way Awards are available for both Saver Awards (fewer miles) and Standard Awards (more miles and more flexibility).

• You can use these awards to fly United- or United Express-operated flights only. Sorry, these awards cannot currently be used with our airline partners.

• You must fly the most direct route from origin to destination. That means no stopovers. You can, however, make connections. Tip: If you want to visit multiple cities, you can use multiple One-Way Awards to create your itinerary.

• Complete One-Way Awards rules

Did your flight depart late but arrive early?

Airlines are padding their schedules by adding minutes to the flight duration to ensure that more flights arrive on time and boost their “on-time” performance ratings.   It used to be that if your flight left late, you knew you would arrive late.  But now, travelers are beginning to notice that you can leave late and arrive early.

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, it analyzed 50 different domestic flight times and learned they are about 10% longer in March 2010 than March 1996.  Airlines say they have to build in congested airports and air-traffic control delays.  In addition, planes are flying about 2% slower to save fuel costs.  Airlines use historical data to estimate schedules and aim for about 65% of flights getting to the gate exactly at the scheduled arrival time.  The DOT gives a 15-minute cushion to rate “on-time”.

Northwest Airlines is no more

Delta has completed their integration of Northwest Airlines and January 30th saw the last flights operating as Northwest.  Any future flights that were ticketed as Northwest were automatically converted to Delta flight numbers over the past weekend.

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Delta announced an increase for checked baggage on domestic flights.  For tickets purchased after January 5th for travel beginning January 10th and beyond, it will now cost you $23 for the first bag and $32 for the second – that is a whopping 53% increase for the first bag.

Plus there is the added fee if you don’t prepay online.  From Delta’s website:

Effective for tickets purchased on or after January 5, 2010, for travel on or after January 12, 2010, customers who check in and pay bag fees at an airport kiosk or with an agent will incur a $2 surcharge for the first and a $3 surcharge for the second checked bag

Fees continue to be waived for SkyMiles Medallion Members and passengers purchasing full Y or first class fares.

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I had the opportunity to fly British Airways Club World (business class) on my recent trip to Europe.  It had been about 5 years since I had flown on British and was looking forward to experiencing their new Club World seat as well as the inflight service – neither one disappointed. 

Check in was breeze in Seattle as I had printed my boarding pass the night before  and had only carryon for this trip.  There was no one in the business class line so with a quick swipe of my passport I was off to the lounge.  The Terrace Lounge in the South Satellite at Sea-Tac is small but well appointed with plenty of seating, drinks and snacks.  Free Wi-fi is provided throughout the lounge and shower facilities are available.  There is a separate quiet lounge for first class passengers.

 My outbound flight was on a Boeing 777 with 48 seats in  Club World.  The configuration may seem a bit odd to those who have never flown on British.  The basic layout is 2 – 4 – 2.  The window/aisle seats on each side face each other.  The person in the window seat is facing the rear of the plane and the person on the aisle is facing the front which means you are looking at each other when seated.  This is a great setup when traveling with someone you know but can be awkward to be staring down a complete stranger.  But with a push of a button, a privacy screen raises and creates a very private space.  The flight attendants will lower/raise the screen during meal service but otherwise it can remain up the entire flight.  The seats in the center section of the plane are configured as follows:  the aisle seats all are forward facing and the two center seats are rear facing.  Those center seats are good for people traveling together but again, a bit awkward if you don’t know the person next to you.  The privacy screen doesn’t offer much privacy in those center seats.  My favorite seats on the plane are the window seats in the last row of Club World  (15A and 15K).  In these seats no one has to crawl over you when you lay flat and you don’t have to crawl over anyone. It’s a very quiet space, far from the toilets and galley.   

Next up:  review of the seats and inflight service

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Hawaiian Airlines: pilots have scheduled a strike authorization vote this week.  Pilots begin voting Tuesday on a move that could allow them to strike, if the federal government approves it.

The Air Lines Pilot Association says last week’s contract negotiations did end in progress. But the union says the company won’t give salary increases over 1% without pilot concessions.

Hawaiian Airlines released this statement:

These tactics are not unusual at this point in labor negotiations and will have no effect on our operations. Progress was made at the most recent round of negotiations and more meetings are scheduled for October.

International bag fees are coming:

from USA TODAY

You may have gotten used to paying a fee to check a bag on a domestic flight, but are you ready to start paying to do so on international flights, too? American Airlines announced on Friday that it would begin charging customers $50 for checking in a second bag on flights to India and most of its European destinations. Reuters says “the fees would apply on routes to, from, or through India, as well as the countries of Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland.” Customers can still check one bag at no charge.

Southwest selects WiFi:  A recent entry in the Southwest blog announces that “this fall we will be moving to the next step of certifying Southwest’s full fleet with plans to begin fleetwide rollout of the Row 44 satellite service in the first quarter of 2010.  Southwest is ready to have this service up and running as soon as possible and we are excited about these next steps.”

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Airline ticket prices are falling at the biggest rate on record even though carriers have slashed capacity, new data show. The average cost of a plane ticket within the U.S. plunged 9.1%, to $315, during the first three months of the year from last year’s fourth quarter, the largest quarter-to-quarter drop recorded by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

In fact, domestic airfares are cheaper than they were 10 years ago, federal data show.

Passengers paid 5.1% less to travel on average during the early months of this year than they did during the same period in 1999, when fares averaged $332 — not adjusted for inflation — according to federal data. Inflation over that period was 28.9%. Second-quarter data aren’t yet available, although prices probably rose slightly during the busier summer travel months.

Major carriers Continental, United, Delta and American all saw revenue declines of greater than 20% during the second quarter of this year.

Most airlines are offering bargains for travel between August 18 and November 18, 2009 in a bid to gain customers during a typically slow period.  Travelers can secure lowest prices by booking Monday, Thursday, or Friday flights.

Excerpts taken from an article by Julie Johnsson published 7/31/09 in the Los Angeles Times.

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After more than 40 years, SAS  ends their Seattle – Copenhagen route with the final departure this evening.   Stellar Travel and SAS have had a very close partnership dating back to 1983 and all of the great people in the Seattle sales office and at SEA-TAC airport will be greatly missed.  Everyone at Stellar offers a big thank you for taking great care of us and our clients over the years!

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British Airways sponsored a report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services to review the effect of business travel economic reductions and business effectiveness.

2,211 business executives said face-to-face meetings remain a critical part of selling new business as well as building key partnerships.  79% view in-person meetings as a highly effective way to meet new clients to sell business.  87% agree such face-to-face meetings are the key to success in building long-term relationships.

52% of those surveyed said restrictions on the numbers of flights they take for business would hurt their business.  69% reported a reduction in their travel budgets over the last six months.

Across the board, face-to-face meetings were seen as the most effective method for conducting business with key stakeholders, compared with videoconferences, teleconferences and webinars.  Specifically, face-to-face meetings are seen as most effective for negotiations on important contracts, interviewing for key positions, listening to important customers and bridging cultural gaps.

Edited from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 7/16/2009 preliminary results; full report will be published August 2009.

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Alaska Airlines has begun charging $15 for the first checked bag.  You previously were allowed 1 free bag. MVP and MVP Gold members are exempt.

Southwest is having a 48 hours sale.  No one way fare is greater than $90 (plus taxes). Travel September 9 – November 18, any day except Friday or Sunday.  Purchase tickets my end of day July 8th.

Lufthansa will halt Portland, OR – Frankfurt service on Sep 12, 2009.

After more than 40 years of service, July 31st will be the last day for SAS flights between Seattle and Copenhagen.  They will be missed!

Delta has completed the integration of Northwest Airlines at SEA-TAC.  All ticket and gate counters are now branded with the Delta name.  All Delta flights have moved from the A concourse to the South satellite gates used by Northwest.

Virgin Atlantic will suspend London-Chicago service for the winter due to low demand.

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Expect some tough going today if you are flying United to/from/through Chicago O’Hare.  The check-in system is not operating and United is doing manual check in for flights.  You can imagine the mess.  This could also cause delays throughout the United system so patience will be required today.

From United’s website as of 7am PDT:

We are currently experiencing some delays and cancellations due to an airport check-in system issue at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. We advise customers to check in on united.com, confirm the latest information on their flights, and allow extra time at the airport. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we are working to fix the issue as quickly as possible.

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• Double miles credit for Alaska Airlines MVP Gold members continues to be available through 6/30/09. There is still time to sign up and get double miles credits for June travel.
• New Alaska Airlines group travel policies make it easier to conduct business meetings in other cities, or travel with sports teams, etc. Stellar Travel corporate advisors are group planning experts and will assist with group and meeting arrangements.
• 10% discount off all fare levels for Alaska Airlines “meeting fares” where 10 or more travelers are going to the same city (and attendees don’t have to be on the same flights to qualify for the discount).
• Did you know Alaska Boardroom Members can use the Delta’s Crown Room when traveling and vice versa?

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