American Drops Close-in Processing Fees for Elites

Effectively immediately, American Airlines is dropping close-in processing fees for Gold and Platinum elite AAdvantage members. Previously, award travel ticketed within 21 days of departure involved paying up to $100.00 - known in the industry as a close-in processing fee. Executive members are already exempt from the fee, while non-elite's will still need to pay up.

American and JetBlue Starting a Relationship

American Airlines and JetBlue Airlines have launched a commercial agreement giving customers the convenience of booking interline service in non-overlapping markets from JFK and Boston airports. This allows customers to book domestic and international tickets on both carriers with a single reservation. The two airlines will also begin a frequent flyer relationship later this year on the cooperative interline routes noted here. This means customers will have the choice to earn either AAdvantage or TrueBlue points when flying select routes.

American Airlines to Drop San Francisco - Boston Route

In a bit of a shocker, American Airlines will reportedly drop daily nonstops between San Francisco and Boston. According to the AA timetable, the effective date for this change is November 17, 2010. Currently American operates twice-daily flights, a daytime and a red-eye, between the two cities. No immediate word on why the airline is dropping the route, but certainly Virgin America entering this market early last year may have played a role in the decision.

American Airlines to Charge $50 for Standby

American Airlines will begin charging $50 to standby for flights at the airport. That means if you show up at the airport and want or need to take a flight other than your originally ticketed one, you now must fork up $50 for that convenience. The fee applies to tickets purchased starting February 22, 2010, but is waived for American elite members, those flying in premium class, fully-refundable and military fares. American is calling the fee is necessary to improve flight operations.

United Picks Up San Francisco - St.Louis Route

United Airlines announced Thursday it will pick up operations between San Francisco and St. Louis (STL). The new once-daily flight begins February 11, 2010, operated by an Airbus 319 aircraft.

Last month, American announced huge forthcoming cuts at STL to destinations across the country, including to SFO. The AA timetable no longer shows nonstop service between SFO and STL beyond April 5, 2010.

American Dropping Bay Area Flights Into Orange County

The latest American Airlines scheduler shows all flights from San Jose and San Francisco to Santa Ana/Orange County will be discontinued effective November 18, 2009. Currently six daily departures are offered between these cities, operated by affiliate American Eagle.

American has been trimming away departures from the Bay Area the past several months, and over the summer announced plans to cut the San Jose - Austin "nerd bird" route at the end of this month.

American Hikes Baggage Fees Another $5

In a press release, American Airlines announced it plans to hike the fees for checked bags another $5. The extra charge applies to tickets purchased on or after August 14, 2009 for all flights within the United States and U.S territories. The new fee is $20 for the first bag, $30 for the second, up from $15 and $25 respectively. As is the current policy, elite members, full-fare economy, as well and first and business class passengers are exempt from baggage check fees.

To compare, many other U.S.-based airlines charge around $15 to check a single bag. Southwest and JetBlue are the lone airlines who continue allow one piece of luggage free of charge.

American Airlines To Ground San Jose-Austin Nerd Bird Route

The Austin American-Statesman reports American Airlines will cease flights between San Jose and Austin effective August 25, 2009. Flights between these cities, often dubbed the "nerd bird" route because of the large number of high-tech workers, have been part of the Silicon Valley for over 15 years. American cites the cancellation on the overall recession and a weakening demand on business travel, including on the Nerd Bird. Read the full story here.

American Airlines Now Offering One-Way Award Redemptions

Beginning today, American Airlines customers will be able to redeem one-way award travel for half the miles of a round-trip. Currently, all other major U.S carriers permit one-way award travel, either by booking a one-way trip or simply not utilizing the return segment, but the airlines still charged customers as if it were a round-trip. Now, for example, a one-way flight from San Francisco to Boston is available for as little as 12,500 miles. 

Here are some benefits: 

-It's great for people who don't have a mountain of miles in their AAdvantage account, but have enough to cover mileage for one direction.

-You can opt to use miles for the direction in which airfare is high, then purchase a separate one-way ticket for the less expensive direction. 

-You can redeem miles to fly into one city, and redeem miles to return from a different city. 

(Example: San Jose-Dallas and Austin-San Jose). 

-You can mix and match classes of service and book multi-segments on a particular trip. 

Here is one drawback:

-There are fees associated with some award travel, which essentially could double if you book two separate one-way tickets. Those fees include close-in processing fees (booking award travel within 21 days of departure), and re-deposit fees should you decide to cancel your trip. 

American Airlines Switching to Cashless Cabins

On Tuesday American Airlines announced that beginning this summer it will begin to transition to cashless cabins onboard flights within the United States and to and from Canada. On those flights, American will only accept major credit cards or debit cards for onboard purchases such as headsets, meals, snacks and alcoholic beverages.

In a press statement, the airline said the change will allow it to streamline the in-flight sales process. Flight attendants will use hand-held electronic devices that will scan credit cards.

(Photo courtesy of American Airlines)