Strategies on Finding "Free" Award Travel

By Mike Grasso

You've spent months, perhaps even years flying around the country and throughout the world. In return, you've earned yourself a mountain of airline miles. Now it's time to redeem them for "free" award travel. It sounds simple, but rarely is. Consumers, now more than ever, complain the airline frequent flyer programs are limiting availability of "free" seats, forcing customers instead to purchase tickets or fly at inconvenient times. But for the motivated traveler, willing to dedicate time, "free" tickets can still be found. Here are some recommendations:

• If your airline has no award availability, ask them if their alliance partners have any. For instance, if your airline is part of the Star Alliance Network and you want to fly from San Francisco to Frankfurt, check availability on United, U.S. Airways, Continental and Lufthansa. You can even mix and match, such as United to New York-JFK, then Lufthansa onward to Frankfurt. A search for this type of routing and mixed carriers is usually not possible online, therefore you must call your airline to help build you an itinerary.

• Book as far in advance as possible. Many airlines allow award bookings up to 330 days before departure date!

• If at first you don't find award availability, keep on checking. People change their mind and cancel travel plans, which may open up an award seat when you least expect it.

• Be realistic. If you are a family of four and want to redeem tickets on the same flight, your chances are pretty slim. Consider booking two family members on one flight, the other two on a different one. Then, call the airline and ask for the last two family members to be waitlisted on the earlier flight; if seats open up, they can be automatically confirmed - and everyone in the family rides together. Oh Joy!

• Consider First or Business class cabins. People are amazed this is within reach to the masses. The key is to look at your airlines tier system for award travel. For instance, on Delta a "medium" level domestic award ticket in economy costs 40,000 miles, while a "low" level domestic award ticket in First Class can be had for just 5,000 miles more. Although the "low" first class awards are more capacity controlled (harder to find), they are out there, even when coach seats are priced at a premium.

Hopefully these tips are useful and you find a good use for those hard-earned miles.

By the way, the "free" in quotations is intentional. We have long done away with a truly free award ticket. At the very least, most airlines pass on a $10 government fee to customers. Some airlines pass all the taxes, fees and fuel surcharges, which can amount to hundreds of dollars. Nonetheless, it is at least a highly discounted way to travel.

The "Cooling Off" Period When Purchasing Airline Tickets

By Mike Grasso

www.inFLIGHTout.com

Sale airfares come and go within a few days, while unadvertised drops in fares usually last just a matter of hours. Take some relatively recent examples such as Los Angeles to Fiji for a few hundred bucks, and San Francisco to upstate New York for $2 bucks. One minute you see them, next minute - poof, fare be gone. You're craving a vacation and the "deal of the century" is right before your eyes, but you're not sure how your significant other & work will feel about you taking more time away. How do you break free of your ambivalence to book?

While I don't have the perfect answer to that question, but perhaps more time to think it over will help! Most airlines offer some form of a "cooling off" period. They don't officially call it that, but essentially it allows you to purchase a ticket on their website and then later decide (usually within 24 hours) to cancel and receive a full refund, giving you plenty of time to chat up the S.O and Boss. This policy can can also be helpful if, for example, after booking you realized you selected the wrong date of departure, giving you an opportunity to make the correction at no charge.

A variation to the refund scenario is a 24-hour hold policy, whereby after you build a reservation on the airline website, you can place it on hold for up to 24-hours. Airlines offer a refund or hold - not both. Below I've outlined and linked the policies of major U.S. carriers. These policies are subject to change, and may not apply to every specific scenario, but do provide a general rule to follow when booking with the different airlines.

Southwest Airlines: (no link) 24 hour cancellation policy. Beyond 24 hours, Southwest does not charge a change fee, allowing you to hold as travel credit up to a year from date of purchase.

Continental Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

U.S Airways: 24-hour HOLD & cancellation policy

Virgin America: 24-hour cancellation policy

Delta Airlines: Cancellation until midnight the next day.

United Airlines: 24-hour cancellation policy

American Airlines: 24-hour HOLD policy.

What is Back-to-Back Ticketing? (Hint: It’s a No-No)

By Mike Grasso
http://www.inflightout.com/

Did you know there are literally dozens of pages of rules and regulations that apply to your airline ticket? It’s true. For example, check out United Airlines contract of carriage, which contains 47 pages worth! Now that looks like some fun reading. On the plus side, most of us will never need to know about most of those rules. But recently a reader wrote in asking about one such rule termed, “back-to-back” ticketing. Specifically, she wanted to know what happens if she is caught making this creative type of airline ticketing.

Back-to-Back ticketing occurs when two or more tickets are purchased for the purpose of circumventing rules of a particular ticket, such as advance ticketing or Saturday night stay requirements. Here is an example of two tickets purchased for flights between San Francisco and Chicago:

--Ticket 1: San Francisco to Chicago July 7 (Tuesday) (A)
Chicago to San Francisco July 12 (Sunday) (B)
Total cost: $170

--Ticket 2: Chicago to San Francisco July 9 (Thursday) (C)
San Francisco to Chicago July 13 (Monday) (D)
Total cost: $170

Notice a Saturday night stay requirement is met in each of the tickets, thereby ensuring the low airfare. But, if you intention is to actually fly July 7 (Tuesday) and return on July 9 (Thursday), you would not meet the Saturday night stay requirement, and be subject to a much higher airfare – perhaps up to $800.

One workaround is to purchase two tickets, as shown above. Then utilize the July 7th outbound ticket (A) and July 9th return ticket (C), and throwing away (B) and (D). This would meet the Saturday night requirement. Therefore, in this example, purchasing two round-trip tickets is far cheaper than a single round-trip.

Sound easy enough yes? Well bad news – it’s “illegal.” Most airlines spell out in their contract of carriage that this type of ticketing is not allowed. Perpetrators are subject to having their mileage account closed, pay a penalty, or perhaps even get billed for the actual cost of the ticket (the $800 ticket). How will the airline know if you did this? Using your name and mileage account number on the two tickets is a good hint! One workaround is to purchase ticket 1 with one airline, ticket 2 with another. But again, you heard it here, this type of ticketing is not generally allowed. So, proceed at your own risk.

United Drops Complimentary Refares

A long-standing benefit for frequent United Airlines travelers was the ability to, at no cost, refare ticket prices in the event the airfare drops after the initial purchase. With no notice to customers, United ended this benefit on March 20, 2009. The policy previous allowed customers to monitor their existing reservations, and if they find the fare dropped at any point prior to travel, they could call United and ask for a travel credit for the difference in price. There was no charge for this benefit. Now, United slaps on a $150 "administrative fee" for this service. The policy is effective for tickets purchased from March 20th onward; if you have tickets purchased before this date, and not yet flown, you may continue to refare these at no charge.

As a frequent beneficiary of this service, I have mixed feelings of the recent change. From a business perspective, few companies let you purchase a product then return it at any point up to a year later should the price go down, which is effectively what United was allowing customers to do. It was a generous benefit indeed! But I question how many people even knew about this policy - it was certainly never anything United marketed itself on. From a travelers perspective, Southwest Airlines again stands apart from United and many other airlines which charge for refaring, in that they do not charge to reprice an airline ticket if the fare drops. So if you were going to purchase a ticket between San Francisco and Orlando, for example, and the cheapest tickets were $300 on Southwest and $275 on United, you could have confidence in your Southwest ticket purchase that if the airline decided to have a sale, you could reap the benefits of the lower price. On United, you are stuck with that higher fare (unless you pay the new $150 fee), even if they drop their prices at a lower date.

Don't get me wrong, there are many great reasons to fly United Airlines. But based on this recent policy change, there is now one less reason to consider them a preferred carrier.

US Air to Resume Free Drinks

After months of negative publicity, US Air has decided to bring back complimentary drinks onboard its flights. This past summer, amid rising fuel and operating costs, the airline began charging up to $2 for soda, coffee and bottled water. No other airline followed suit.

In a memo to employees Sunday, company chief executive, W. Douglas Parker said, “With US Airways being the only large network carrier to charge for drinks, we are at a disadvantage. This difference in our service has become a focal point that detracts from all of the outstanding improvements.” The airline will resume free drinks March 1st.

Why Chesley Sullenberger III May be the Last of His Kind

Guest Contribution
New York Magazine

By landing his Airbus A-320 in the Hudson River without a single loss of life, Captain Chesley Sullenberger might have officially brought the golden age of the heroic pilot to a close, as automation takes much of the actual flying out of the job and the piloting ranks are filled with fewer Air Force veterans. As one longtime pilot says, “Twenty-five years ago, we were a step below astronauts. Now we’re a step above bus drivers. And the bus drivers have a better pension.”

Sully has been in the business long enough to witness firsthand the domestication of the airline pilot. In the early days, pilots were largely uneducated farm boys or blue-collar kids who left home to become barnstormers. Some might never have spent a minute in flight school or read a flying manual. But as commercial air travel began rapidly expanding, the airlines embraced the image of the heroic captain, the distinguished man in uniform you can trust with your life. The industry paid top dollar for a new generation of service-academy-educated aviators, many of whom had been through Vietnam. This was Sully’s generation. By the seventies, as many as 80 percent of commercial-airline pilots had served in the military. “When Sully first got hired,” says Keith Hagy, the director of engineering and air safety for the Air Line Pilots Association, the pilots’ union, “he probably made a pile of money.”

The airlines liked military pilots, in part, because “the government had done all that work for them,” says Don Skiados, who has worked closely with pilots for 40 years as a past chairman of the Aviation Accreditation Board International. The military had already tested the pilots’ psychological abilities, emotional traits, knowledge base, reaction time, and ability to make judgments. The only downside of the military background was that the pilots were, by necessity, trained to be risk-takers. “The approach to the mission is that this is war,” says Bob Ober, who worked as a pilot for Pan Am for 25 years and Delta for 10. “We gotta go. It doesn’t matter if certain things are inoperative, we’re gonna take some risks.”

Since that time, pilot culture has done almost a 180. The maverick pilot has given way to the professional—the captain who knows how to put aside his ego and not take unnecessary risks. The change began when the military started downsizing after Vietnam and its talent pool dried up. The pilots of the military made room for a generation of pilots largely educated in flight schools offering four-year degree programs. Candidates racked up flight hours on small commuter planes over Albuquerque and Toledo, not in fighter jets.

The planes also began to change. Where a Vietnam-era pilot could fly more or less by stick and rudder, today’s pilots fly primarily by computer. Sully, for instance, was flying the Airbus 320. On older aircraft, a pilot pulls back on a wheel attached to cables that literally pull the plane up. On an Airbus 320, he pulls back a joystick that sends a signal to the computer’s auto-throttle. If he’s doing it wrong, the computer often corrects him, thrusting if he doesn’t do it soon enough, never stalling if he pulls back too hard. Takeoff has preprogrammed speeds; the pilot just moves a lever into a notch. Practically everything about the Airbus assumes the human factor to be the most dangerous thing about the flight. Incredibly, you can go on autopilot from as low as 100 feet in the air. Although some pilots worry about overreliance on technology and the distractions it can cause, most like a tricked-out plane. Still, there’s no getting around the fact that automation has taken control away from pilots. It’s the same with regard to air-traffic controllers and airline operations. Pilots used to have to navigate themselves; now it’s all done with GPS systems. Pilots used to have more discretion over takeoff times and maintenance decisions; now they’re frequently overruled.

Read on at http://nymag.com/news/features/53788/

What to Do When the Airline Changes Your Reservation

By Mike Grasso

Reader question: United called to notify me of a schedule change for a trip this Summer. It's not a significant change, but requires me to catch an earlier flight. Can they do this?

Yes they can. But you don't always have to accept their specific change.

It sounds like you planned ahead and booked a Summer trip well in advance. Good for you! Hopefully you managed to get a convenient flight at a good price.

Unfortunately, a downside to booking far in advance is the reservation can be changed, sometimes more than once, by the airline.

Here's why: Based on historical data, airlines generally set flight schedules up well in advance. But sometimes unexpected events occur - much like in our personal lives, that cause us to drift away from a set schedule. For the airlines, that was the high cost of fuel, a downturn in the economy, and utilizing much of their remaining cash reserves to stay in business. In response to these events, airlines quickly trimmed capacity throughout the United States, selectively eliminating certain flights, and flying to fewer destinations. This practice is still going on into 2009 as airlines struggle to turn a profit.

One outcome of airline cutbacks is customers holding future reservations, such as yourself, are being consolidated onto other flights. Where an airline may have previously operated six daily flights between San Francisco and Las Vegas, then decide to cut one of those flights, everyone on that cut flight to be rebooked on one of the five remaining.

Routes that have high frequency, such as San Francisco to Los Angeles, mean your departure time may change by only an hour. But if you are flying San Francisco to Ontario, where only a few flights per day operate on this route, a reduction in one flight means a schedule change to your itinerary could become quite inconvenient for you. On the plus side, airlines are pretty good about notifying affected passengers at least several weeks in advance.

What to do when your flight is eliminated and/or the schedule is changed:

More often than not, the airline will rebook you on a new flight. If you are inconvenienced by the new itinerary call the airline and negotiate something that works for you. If they rebook you on an earlier flight but the later one is more convenient, ask for it. Depending on how significant the schedule change is, you can ask for a different routing (ie: connecting through different cities), travel on a different day, or a complete refund. A rule of thumb is any schedule change more than 90 minutes from your original reservation and the airlines are willing to consider any creative changes you propose. Is it a guarantee they will make the change? No. If you have elite status will it help? Yes. Will it depend on which airline agent you speak with? Maybe.

It all starts with you. If you come across a schedule change you are not particularly fond of, draft up some proposals of how you think the airline can make it right. Then give them a call, politely explaining how the schedule change negatively impacts you, and discuss some alternatives you have come up with.

JetBlue Unveils JetPaws Pet Program

Earlier this week, JetBlue Airways unveiled JetPaws, an exclusive new in-cabin program designed to provide pet owners with helpful Travel Pettiquette guidelines, which outline the social graces of jetting with small dogs and cats. As part of the new program, customers will also receive two bonus award points for each flight through JetBlue's TrueBlue customer loyalty program, helping two-legged customers earn free travel faster when traveling with Fido or Fluffy.

"With more than 80,000 pets traveling on JetBlue each year, the JetPaws program is designed to make traveling with pets smooth from start to finish, offering valuable TrueBlue points along the way," said Kim Ruvolo, Brand Manager of JetBlue Airways.

Other JetPaws program elements include a special welcome email for pet owners within one week of their booking and complimentary access to a downloadable e-booklet highlighting pet-friendly hotels, restaurants, parks and animal hospitals in some of JetBlue's top cities, including: Boston; Fort Lauderdale; Las Vegas; Long Beach/L.A.; New York; Orlando; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.

JetBlue accepts up to four small cats or dogs in the cabin of the aircraft on both domestic and international flights. The combined weight of the pet and carrier may not exceed 20 pounds. Only one pet is allowed per customer and the pet carrier does count as one personal carry-on item. For the safety and comfort of all customers, pets must remain in a closed carrier at the airport and in-flight for the entire duration of the trip. To book a pet, customers must call our reservations team at 1-800-JETBLUE.

Airlines Eye Additional Onboard Ads

On a recent East Coast U.S Air flight I came across this advertisement for Verizon on my tray table. This addition to the U.S Airways fleet, which began several months ago, is expected to provide additional revenue to the airline and help curb the high cost of fuel.

The idea and location of the ads, which at first glance seem a bit comical when lowering the tray table, are anything but funny for a suffering airline industry desperately to again fly high.

With the recent drop in fuel prices, can we still expect advertisement-covered tray tables to encroach on your airline of choice?

Possibly so.

Although the worst seems to be over for airlines' record high fuel costs, it has prompted an industry-wide reaction on methods to increase revenue, without necessarily raises the base cost of airline tickets. If passengers find the advertising on U.S Airways flights is not overly intrusive, it may go over well, and thus adopted by other airlines.

Although advertising revenue from tray tables will not alleviate all the financial pains of the airlines, it is one of many steps the airlines can take to move in the direction of profitability.

United Announces 2009 Mileage Plus Changes

In a press release Monday, United announced some fairly significant changes to Mileage Plus, its frequent flyer program. Depending on your specific travel habits, you will find the changes either favorable or as yet another example of the devaluation of frequent flyer miles. 

• Restoration of 500-mile minimum accrual for elite members. This past summer United eliminated this benefit for short-distance flyPublish Posters. The policy changes is retroactive for flights dating back to July 1, 2008.


• Mileage Award Adjustments. UA will maintain the 25,000 mile requirement for economy saver tickets for flights within the U.S. But, it will increase the mileage requirement between 5,000 and 25,000 additional miles for flights between the U.S and different regions throughout the world.


• Co-Payment and reduction in miles requirement for upgrades effective July 1, 2009. If you purchase an economy class ticket, United often allows you to upgrade that flight with miles. The airline will lower that mileage requirement, but institute a co-payment of up to $500 for this benefit. Additionally, the airline will allow international upgrades, regardless of the fare class purchased. Previously, only higher cost fares were upgradeable.

American Changes 'Minimum 500 Mile' Accrual Policy

Change impacts non-elite AAdvantage members

Following in the footsteps of United and U.S Airways, American Airlines says effective January 1, 2009, it will award frequent flier miles based on actual miles flown, stripping away the minimum 500 miles awarded for short-haul flights less than 500 miles in length. For example, a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles - about 337 miles in length, would earn the 500 mile minimum based on the old policy. With the new change, only 337 miles are earned. United and U.S Airways recently adopted the same policy.

Unlike the United and U.S Airways policy change however, American airlines has exempted its elite members from this. Thus, AAdvantage Executive Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum, and AAdvantage Gold members will continue to enjoy the 500 mile minimum on most flights.

Continental Reverses '500 Mile Minimum' Accrual Policy

Earlier this month Continental Airlines announced program changes to its frequent flier program, eliminating the 500 mile minimum travelers accrued in their account for flying short-haul flights effective November 15th. This meant a short flight of a few hundred miles would earn the actual miles flown, rather than the 500 mile minimum. Now, Continental has backed off from earlier announced changes, and is exempting its elite passengers from the policy change. This means Continental elite fliers will continue to receive a minimum of 500 miles for each flight, regardless the distance.

United and U.S Airways who also eliminated the 500 mile minimum recently, have yet to react to Continental's move.

Advantages to Online Check-In

By Mike Grasso

Online check-in (OLCI) has advantages for both you and the airline. In the past of course, you had to haul yourself to the airport, wait in those dreaded lines, and introduce yourself as a passenger ready to fly. You were then asked those generic security questions, "did you pack your own bags?" and "have you been in possession of your bags since you packed them?" Only then were then granted boarding passes to fly.

Today, the airlines are pushing folks to check-in online, or at the very least, to utilize airport self-service kiosks. The obvious advantage to the airline is fewer staff needed to assist customers.

There is yet another, more subtle benefit to the airlines when you opt to check-in online. By doing so, you are reconfirming with the airline you intent to fly. This provides the airline with valuable data, that when combined with everyone else on a particular flight, allows the airline to calculate how many passengers may not show up for a flight, thereby allowing them to sell a few more of those high-priced last-minute tickets. It's far from an exact science, but as a higher percentage of folks opt to go online to print boarding passes, the advantage to the airline increases.

For the passenger, OLCI has streamlined the process, allowing folks to print boarding passes at home or work up to 24 hours in advance of a flight. By checking-in online, you are telling the airline you are ready-set-go for your flight. They are expecting you, and with open arms, looking forward to your arrival. Should you not board the plane in time, the gate agent will probably have you paged throughout the airport. If you are still a no-show, then the airline may deny you boarding. In other words, unless you are running really late (everyone else has boarded), you will probably be fine, thanks to OLCI.

Similarly, if you are running late, but not excessively late, and without checked-luggage, you can proceed directly to the security line once arriving at the airport. Nobody at the airline really knows you're late (I won't tell). If luck is on your side, and the security line is running quick and efficiently, you can still catch your flight. In contrast, airport kiosks have a cutoff time, often 30-45 minutes before departure, regardless of how many people are in the security line. If you arrive very late, and have not checked in on-line, you will have a tough time convincing airport staff to issue you a boarding pass.

OLCI is particularly helpful when you are traveling. Online check-in does not mean you need to print boarding pass actually; you are simply confirming your travel plans. So if you are away from a printer, you can check-in for your flight, and then later print boarding passes at the airport. The key is to check-in for flights in advance.

Another added benefit of OLCI for passengers is the option for advance notice of irregular operations or special circumstances. If you flight has been delayed or even cancelled, online check-in should inform you of this information. Perhaps the airline is selling some last minute upgrades, online check-in allows you to purchase these before they are offered to other passengers.

Finally, the seats. Doesn't it always come down to the seats? With many carriers, checking in online gives you a last chance opportunity to appraise the seating arrangements, and whether you want to stay put, or move elsewhere on the plane. Online check-in allows you to visually see what seats are available, should you decide to change your seat.

Overall, OLCI benefits everyone. It provides the airline with useful information on potential flight loads, and gives greater flexibility to the traveler.

U.S Airways Eliminates Preferred Mileage Bonus

Considered a key benefit for being a loyal frequent flyer to an airline, the preferred mileage bonus perk will soon be eliminated to customers holding elite status with U.S Airways.

How it works: Once a customer achieves status with an airline (often after flying 25,000 qualifying miles with an airline in a calender year) they receive a handful of perks such as priority boarding, waiver of certain fees, and preferred seating. A huge benefit however was a 25-100% bonus of actual miles flown. So, where a non-status passenger flying San Francisco to New York would earn about 5,000 miles roundtrip, an elite passenger would earn between 6,250 and 10,000 for the same trip. With the new U.S Airways policy, elite (preferred) passengers will no longer receive the bonus mileage for tickets purchased on or after August 6, 2008.

This unprecedented move by U.S Airways will most certainly be watched by the rest of the airline industry and loyal flyers. While U.S Air may find their most frequent flyers abandoning them for the competition, it is possible other airlines will follow U.S Airways and make similar modifications to their frequent flyer programs.

Yesterday, U.S Airways announced the addition of two new fees: Onboard soft drinks, water, coffee or bottled water will soon cost $2.00. And, checking in the first piece of baggage will soon set you back $15.00. They also upped other administrative fees.

United & U.S Air Institute Charge For First Checked Bag

Breaking News: U.S Airways announced they will also begin to charge $2.00 for coffee, bottled water, juice and soda.
This afternoon United Airlines joined on and announced they too will begin charging $15 for the first baggage checked. U.S Airways quickly matched the United fee. The move follows American Airlines announcement of this new fee last month.

United said they will begin charging the fee for tickets purchased tickets beginning Friday for domestic flights of August 18 or later. The fee does not apply to Star Alliance elite passengers, those traveling in business or first class, or passengers flying internationally, excluding Canada. Based on current data, United expects about 1 in 3 passengers will be affected by this additional fee.

United Drops 'Minimum 500 Mile' Accrual Policy

In an email to customers today, United Airlines announced they are doing away with awarding a minimum of 500 miles on short flights. The policy to date awarded 500 miles even for flights that were shorter - such as down to Los Angeles or Las Vegas. With the changes, mileage plus members will receive credit only for actual miles flown.

In effect in makes sense. You earn miles for what you fly. But particularly for business travelers who travel short distances, the rounding up of mileage accrual to 500 miles was icing on the cake. Effective July 1st, the icing goes away. All travel from July 1st on is subject to the reducing earning standard.

This change aligns with a similar policy change U.S air implemented earlier this year.

United Airlines Increases Change Fee

By Mike Grasso

In what could result in a domino effect among other mainline carriers, United Airlines has raised change fees for non-award tickets to $150.00. The change appears to be effective immediately.

The news was initially mentioned on flyertalk, and although United has not made a public announcement of the increase, I just confirmed the change in the q&a section of the ual website.

Most mainline carriers, including United, charged no more than $100 (plus any applicable fare change) for making changes to a reservation. With the increase, United is making a bold move, one likely to upset business & leisure travelers worldwide.

But, in February United announced they would pioneer a special $25 fee for checking in a second bag, and despite grumbles from flyers, within weeks most of the larger U.S-based airlines announced a matching the fee. Here, they were successful.

In addition to increasing change fees, in the coming months I expect many airlines to find other creative ways to charge passengers, far beyond the price of the ticket. As fuel costs rise to an all-time high, the industry must find solutions to offset the higher cost of flying planes.

U.S Airways toughens Dividend Miles accrual

Beginning May 1, 2008, U.S. Airways will change the company's Dividend Miles program to award the actual number of miles flown rather than a minimum number of miles flown for each segment. The airline said the changes are necessary to offset record fuel prices and rising airline-related expenses.

The present policy of the Dividend Program, and many other airline programs, allows members to receive a minimum 500 miles for each flight segment flown, a benefit for those who travel on short-haul flights under 500 miles in distance. With the changes, passengers will earn only what they fly.

Consider a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles: 337 flight miles rounds up and presently would earn you 500 miles. But, come May 1st you earn just 337 miles. For business travelers who frequent these short distance flights, the shrinkage in miles will definitely be felt.

Here's how the policy will be rolled out:
Accrual Tickets purchased on/after March 1, 2008, for travel on US Airways on/after May 1, 2008 will earn the actual number of miles flown and will no longer earn a minimum of 500 miles per segment. Tickets flown on partner airlines after May 1, 2008, will earn the actual number of miles flown. Tickets purchased prior to March 1, 2008, will continue to earn the 500-mile minimum for travel after May 1, 2008. Accrual on flight segments greater than 500 miles in length are not impacted by this change.

Changes to Southwest's Checked Baggage Policy

Historically known for its liberal baggage policy, Southwest Airlines will soon modify its limits on checked baggage. According to the Southwest website, the airline states passengers may now check up to 2 bags free of charge effective January 29th. Previously, and generously, the airline had allowed up to 3 bags free of charge. The new policy is on par with the competition and is at least partially in response to rising jet fuel costs.

No 'Mile High Club' Memberships on Singapore's Airbus 380

Singapore Airlines has taken the unusual step of publicly asking passengers on its new Airbus A380 plane not to engage in any sexual activities. The potential problem has arisen because the first class area of its giant superjumbo contains 12 private suites complete with double beds.

Singapore, which is the first airline to start flying the A380, said the suites were not sound-proofed. It said it did not want anyone to offend other travellers or crew.
Singapore added that while the suites were private, they were also not completely sealed.

"All we ask of customers, wherever they are on our aircraft, is to observe standards that don't cause offence to other customers and crew," the airline said in a statement. "Nothing different applies for our Singapore Airlines Suites customers." -BBC News (Thanks Yih!)