• 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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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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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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British Airways will begin daily service between London’s Heathrow International Airport and Las Vegas this fall.

USAirways and United raised the fees for checked bags unless you pay for them online before reaching your departure airport.  It’s now $20 to check the first bag at the airport, and $30 for the second. You save $5 if you do it online.

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• Portland – Maui starts July 3rd
• A second Seattle – Honolulu flight begins July 2nd
• Oakland – Maui and Oakland -Kona begin November 9th and 10th, respectively
• Seattle – Houston begins September 23rd
• Seattle – Atlanta begins October 23rd

British Airways has opened a new 7,200 square foot Gallies Lounge at Washington Dulles which serves First and Club World customers.

SAS will operate it’s last flight in the Seattle – Copenhagen maket on July 31st.  They currently have an amazing business class fare of $1999 (plus tax and fuel charges) to select European cities from Seattle.

United has completed the installation of the new business class seats and first class suites on all international 767’s.

American Airlines is going to allow frequent fliers in its AAdvantage program to book one-way flights for half the reward miles of a round trip.

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