(June 17, 2010) – Delta Air Lines recently announced a major enhancement of its domestic schedule, with plans to make First Class service available on all domestic flights longer than 750 miles, or about two and one-half hours of flight time, beginning this fall.

The enhancement means Delta customers can enjoy the benefits of First Class service on more domestic flights, and SkyMiles members will have more opportunities for upgrades to First Class seating.

When the upgrade is complete, 50 routes that currently feature Delta Connection flights with only one class of service will be upgraded to two-cabin aircraft with First and Economy Class service. Some of the routes scheduled for enhanced service include flights between Atlanta and Albany, N.Y.; Boston and Memphis, Tenn.; Detroit and San Antonio; and Cincinnati and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Delta Connection aircraft featuring First Class cabins include Embraer 170, Embraer 175, Bombardier CRJ700 and Bombardier CRJ900 models.  The aircraft feature between nine and 12 seats in First Class and between 56 and 64 seats in Economy.

First Class service onboard flights operated with these aircraft is consistent with the amenities offered on Delta mainline flights.  Meals, china and linen service, pre-departure beverages, and complimentary cocktails, beer and wine are offered on all Delta Connection flights featuring a First Class cabin.

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 (May 18, 2010) – Delta Air Lines today announced it has received final Chinese government approval to launch nonstop flights between Seattle and Beijing, beginning June 4. The new route, which will operate five times weekly, will connect customers from destinations throughout Delta’s and code-share partner Alaska Air Group’s network to the Chinese capital via convenient connections at the Seattle hub.

Departure and arrival times have been revised from the initial announcement of the route based on the slot times granted at Beijing’s Capital International Airport.  Flights will operate as follows:

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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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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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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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Icelandair begins Seattle-Reykjavik service July 23rd on a 757 configured with 3 classes of service:  Saga (business class), Economy Comfort (2×2 seating) and Economy.  The flight will operate 4 days per week on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday with returns on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  In addition to Iceland, they  offer great connections to many Scandinavian cities as well as London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam via their Reykjavik hub.

Southwest will now allow pets in the cabin for a $75 one-way fee. Unaccompanied minors – ages 5 to 11 traveling alone – will also now have a fee of $25 per flight.

New Service:  Frontier returns to the Denver-Tulsa market on August 2nd.  Delta begins service this week from Salt Lake City to Fargo, Bismarck, Lincoln, Chicago Midway, Des Moines, El Paso, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Nashville and  Sioux Falls.  Seaport Airlines now serves Astoria and Newport, OR from Portland, OR.

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Alaska Airlines is the latest to announce increases in checked baggage fees this week.  MVP and MVP Gold are exempt from baggage fees until the third checked bag. The new fees go into effect on July 7, 2009.

Alaska will have a baggage guarantee but only from July 7 through December 19th:

Effective July 7th, if your baggage is not at the baggage claim within 25 minutes of your plane parking at the gate, you’re entitled to a certificate for either a discount code for $25 off a future Alaska or Horizon flight or 2,500 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan bonus miles. If we don’t meet our 25 minute guarantee, simply see an Alaska or Horizon Customer Service Agent and let them know. They’ll ensure that you receive your Baggage Service Guarantee certificate or Bonus Miles.

Of course, the guarantee does not apply to baggage system malfunctions, severe weather delays or other conditions out of their control.

Other baggage changes:

• Delta will now charge $50 for the second checked bag on international flights to/from the U.S.
• Beginning July 9th, USAirways will allow you to pay for checked bags when you check in online.  But note:  you will be charged an additional $5 if you decide to pay at the aiport instead.
• Southwest still says NO to check baggage fees

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