United and Continental Airlines Agree to Merge

United and Continental Airlines made it official today, announcing the two companies will merge and become the largest airline in the world based on total volume. In a statement to customers, United said the companies are expected to combine later this year, pending governmental approval. Until then, the companies remain independent and will continue to compete with each other. The airlines have set up a new website which discusses the combined airlines and shows off its livery; note the Continental globe with the United brand name is proposed in this illustration.

United Announces New Award Travel Options

United Airlines has announced two new award travel options for members of its Mileage Plus program. Effectively immediately, you can now book a one-way flight for half the miles of the roundtrip award. This is great for people who don't quite have the 25,000 miles needed for a standard roundtrip. Click here for the official United announcement.

Miles & Money is another award travel option just introduced by United. If you find yourself a bit short of mileage, United will allow you to combine your miles with cash in order to secure the flights you want. Here's the announcement.

United to Bring Back SFO-Anchorage Flights

United Airlines resumes seasonal service between San Francisco (SFO) and Anchorage (ANC) airport this summer. The once-daily flight departs SFO at 3:50PM, arriving ANC at 7:32PM. The return flight departs ANC at 2:15PM, arriving back in the city at 8:01PM. Flights will operate between June 9 and August 30, 2010, utilizing a Boeing 757 aircraft.

Save 20% on United Frequent Flyer Award Redemptions

Monday is the final day to redeem miles at a 20% discount.

For the second time this year, United Airlines is offering customers a 20% discount off award certain award redemptions. This time around, United flights wholly within the continental U.S and between the U.S and Canada are eligible for the discount. For example, a flight between San Francisco and Boston which normally runs 25,000 miles, is available for 20,000 miles during this offer.

Ticketing period runs through October 19th for travel between January 10 and April 30, 2010.

Airlines Seek to Unload Frequent-Flier Miles

From the Washington Times Monday comes a story discussing why airlines, United Airlines in particular, are suddenly choosing to unloading miles from their "books" at an accelerated rate. For example, United recently offered discount award redemption's, and effective August 1, 2009 eliminated all "close-in" processing fees. Are United Airlines and other carriers putting customer service back into focus, or is there something more at play here? Read the full story here.

United Airlines To Reduce International Capacity By 7%

This week, during their quarterly earnings report, United Airlines announced an extra 7% cut in international capacity for the last four months of the year. According to airliners.net, all UA hubs are impacted by the reduction in flights. If you have upcoming international itineraries on United, be sure to check for possible schedule changes. Below is a listing of impacted flights from San Francisco:

San Francisco (SFO) to:

London (LHR) - 2nd daily flight suspended

Tokyo/Narita (NRT) - 2nd daily flight suspended

Certain other routes are flying fewer flights during the week and/or operating smaller aircraft.

United to Offer Complimentary Cocktails Over the Pacific

From UAflyer06 over on the Flyertalk forums comes word of some exciting food and beverage changes on future United flights. Effective August 1, 2009, United will offer free alcoholic drinks in economy class over the Pacific. Previously free booze and cocktail service was limited to folks in the front of the plane. This change better aligns United with Asia-based airlines, who have historically offered free drinks to all passengers on flights.

Other changes: For short-haul flights, those $6 snack boxes will each have a unique theme (Active, Classic, Luxe, and Organic) with tasty new goodies inside. The fresh food menu, offered on select routes in North America, will soon include a vegetarian option. These menu changes are also expected to begin August 1st.

Video: Complete Remodel of a United Airlines Boeing 747

(Thanks Andy)
Fantastic video here showing how United Airlines remodels their first and business class cabins on its Boeing 747 fleet, including lie-flat beds, and 15-inch personal TV screens. This massive overhaul is sped up and shrunk into a video less than two minutes long. Enjoy.