Please 'Prosead' to the Service Center (Pic)

Snapped this one up at the Denver Airport recently.

Really? This is the best United can do?

Let's prosead, errr... proceed with some new signage folks.

SFO-Phoenix $121 "all in"

United just released a Tware SFO-PHX for $100 - roundtrip + tax = $121. Valid for travel through August 26th. Tware's are very limited time offers, usually only lasting a few hours. Click here (until offer expires) for details and to book.

United Promo: 30% Off Short Haul Award Redemptions

For a limited time, spend 30% less of your United Mileage Plus miles for flights 700 miles or less in distance. For example, a roundtrip flight between San Francisco and Seattle which normally costs 25,000 miles, is now available for 17,500 miles. The 30% discount applies to tickets booked by August 31, 2010, for travel through January 7, 2011. These are pretty good deals particularly into regional airports, which are often costly to purchase. More details here.

Play United's Optathlon Games and Win Big (or Small)

Check out the United Airlines Optathlon games where you could win a million Mileage Plus miles, or some of the smaller instant prizes, such as Red Carpet Club passes and discount travel vouchers. I just played and scored a 10% off e-voucher for domestic travel. Good luck!

Oakland to Albuquerque $44 Each Way

HOT! United Airlines has tickets from Oakland to Albuquerque, NM for just $44 each way + tax. Comes to $129 roundtrip - "all in." Travel is valid any day of the week through May 2011, with the best availability October onward. Typical holiday blackout dates apply. Books into "K" class. Click here to check availability using the "my dates are flexible" button.

1,000 United Miles for Each Night At Hyatt Hotels

Earn up to 1,000 United miles for each night (not stay) you spend at a Hyatt property now through September 30th. This is in addition to the 500 base miles earned per stay. Maximum 30,000 miles can be earned with this offer. Click here for details.

San Francisco to Sydney $660 RT - Tax Included

San Francisco to Sydney is down to $660 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees. Travel is on United Airlines from end of July through end of September. Click here to book.

United Site Now Allows Star Alliance Award Bookings

OK, at least partially. United frequent flyers will appreciate the latest Mileage Plus site update. When searching for award travel, other Star Alliance (domestic) carriers will appear in the search results. For instance, if you are trying to book an award seat from San Jose to New York, availability for United, Continental and U.S. Airways may be displayed in the results. Previously customers had to call United directly to book seats on other airlines - which is still the case for international flights.

Ends Soon: Get $300 in coupons for future travel with a qualifying hotel stay when you book on Expedia! - Expires 6/30/10

San Francisco to Honolulu $351 "all in"

San Francisco to Honolulu is available for $351 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees. Valid for travel between August and November on United, Delta and Hawaiian Airlines. Click here, and search using the flexible dates function.

San Francisco to Honolulu $351 RT "all in" Through EOM May

Most of the major airlines continue to offer a pretty decent price SFO to Honolulu; just $351 roundtrip, including all taxes and fees. These are 1-day advance purchase fares! Meaning... you can hop on a plane first thing tomorrow, be on Waikiki or Queens Surf beach by afternoon. Travel must be completed by May 27th. Click here to book - using the "my dates are flexible" option.

U.S. Airways: We Have Discontinued Merger Talks With United

The Wall Street Journal is reporting U.S. Airways has discontinued talks with United Airlines about a possible merger. "After an extensive review and careful consideration, our board of directors has decided to discontinue those discussions," U.S. Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Doug Parker said in a statement. Attention now turns to ongoing speculation that another Star Alliance Member - Continental Airlines, may be in merger talks with United.

United Picks Up San Francisco to Missoula Route

United Express/SkyWest will again operate seasonal flights between San Francisco and Missoula, Montana. The flights operate once-daily between June 9 and November 3, 2010, utilizing a 50-seat Canadair regional jet.

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.

United Airlines Ends Partnership with Safeway

United Airlines will end the GroceryMiles program with Safeway come March 1st. The program which awards 125 United miles after every $250 in groceries purchased has been around for several years and was often considered a small extra perk (beyond to miles you might earn on your credit card) for shopping at Safeway. In an email last week Safeway said they plan to refocus the value they offered in the airline partnership into lower grocery prices. The GroceryMiles program includes other Safeway-affiliated stores such as Vons and Dominick's. Read more here.

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 Business/First Upgrades Now Require Co-Pay

Effective today, United rolls out its co-pay system for upgrade requests. Basically, buy a ticket it coach class, then use miles and cash to upgrade to the next level of service. The amount of miles and cash requires depends on the booking class (price) of your original coach ticket and where you are flying to.

One benefit to this change: Previously, if you bought a cheap United ticket you were unable to upgrade international flights. Now you can - for the right amount of money and miles. One drawback to this change: Many higher priced economy tickets which previously could be upgraded with miles alone now require a cash co-pay as well. Here are the specifics.

New United Q1 Promo: Fly Often, Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Miles

Check your email for a new United promotion awarding you up to 20,000 Mileage Plus miles when you book and fly roundtrips before March 31, 2010. This is a targeted offer, and registration is required prior to travel. Also, and this is a biggie, it appears only the higher fare buckets "H" and higher qualify. Therefore, inexpensive seats such as K/L/T/S/W booking classes likely won't qualify (check your specific offer to be sure however).

Cyber Monday Airfare Deals Available Today Only

United and JetBlue are both offering some decent "Cyber Monday" airfare deals. Here are some examples:

United:

San Francisco to Los Angeles/San Diego/Orange County/Seattle - $39/each way

San Francisco to New York-JFK/Boston/Washington-Dulles - $99/each way

San Francisco to Fort. Lauderdale - $94/each way

-Purchase by tonight at Midnight, for travel January 5- February 11, 2010.

JetBlue:

San Francisco to Austin $69/each way

San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose to Long Beach $39/each way

San Francisco/Oakland to New York-JFK/Boston/Washington-Dulles - $99 each way

-Purchase by tonight at Midnight, for travel December 1-December 16, 2009.

United, Continental Offer Free Upgrades to Most Loyal Customers

In a relationship that seems to be getting rather close, Continental and United Airlines jointly announced a wonderful reciprocal benefit for elite-level flyers: Complimentary Domestic upgrades. This means United Mileage Plus elite members can enjoy free rides up front on Continental (and United), and Continental One Pass elite members can taste United's first and business class product as well. The complimentary upgrade policy goes into effect next Summer.

Clearing order for complimentary upgrades (as space is available):

Traveling on United: United Global Service, 1K, and Premier Exec clear first, followed by Continental Platinum and Gold Elite.

Traveling on Continental: Continental Platinum Elite, followed by United Global Service and 1K, then Continental Gold and Silver members.

Continental just joined the Star Alliance program a few weeks ago but their relationship with United dates back to June 2008. Recently, for example, United announced Red Carpet Club members can now access the network of Continental President's Club lounges worldwide.

Listening in on United's Channel 9

By Mike Grasso

Among the variety of audio selections available on United Airlines’ aircraft is Channel 9, which is dedicated to air traffic control communications. This programming, unique to United, allows passengers to monitor the airwaves and listen in on discussions ranging from upcoming weather and pilot reports of turbulence. Although most of the communication between air traffic control and pilots is fairly routine such as orders to adjust altitude, occasionally some rather exciting conversations take place.

In one instance, I listened in on a JetBlue flight requesting a reroute due to a depleting fuel supply from unanticipated inclement weather. Conditions continued to deteriorate until the pilot demanded to immediately land the aircraft in a nearby city. In another example, our pilot was within 50 feet of landing on the runway at SFO when he decided to immediately abort landing and quickly ascend back up. The reason as heard on Channel 9: Onboard computer was warning of a spacing issue as another plane was landing on a parallel runway. Definitely some exciting activity and exchanges of words on Channel 9, although most of the time it is pretty tame.

Channel 9 is available on most mainline United Airlines (not United Express) aircraft, and is subject to pilot discretion whether to substitute alternate programming.