Archive for the ‘Virgin America’ Category

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of my Bay Area travel news round ups. Here are 17 things frequent travelers need to know this month:

>SIGH OF RELIEF. Ah, fall! If the madding crowds of tourists have knocked you around this summer, relief is on the way. Over the next few weeks, packed planes, sold out hotels, lines at the breakfast bar and shrieks and squeals in the hotel pool area should subside. Airlines and hotels are already rolling out the fall deals and discounts, which is a signal to me that they’re a little skittish about declining demand. That means lower prices, more deals and some welcome breathing room for travelers.

>FREE WI-FI AT SFO. San Francisco International has finally joined Oakland and San Jose airports offering FREE Wi-Fi throughout the airport. Log on and look for the “sfo free wifi” network. I’ve not used it yet. If you have, please let us know how it works below in comments.

>IHG HOTELS PAY BAG FEES. Here’s a deal that should be music to the ears of non-elite air travelers forced to pay those dastardly new fees for checked bags. IHG Hotels (which include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Staybridge Suites, Indigo among others) is offering to rebate $50 to travelers who book two or more weekend nights now through Dec 30. Must use Visa card to pay for your stay. Details.

>A NICE PAIRING. Two very popular brands among Bay Area frequent travelers have hooked up their loyalty programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards & Starwood Preferred Guest. Details.

>JETBLUE PASS SOLD OUT. It only took about three days for JetBlue to sell out of its unique one-month all-you-can-fly pass. The pass is a great idea for someone with a lot of time and flexibility on their hands. . .like the retired or unemployed. Not really something that a frequent traveler would be able to use…but still a fun concept! (Not to mention great PR for the airline.)

>DELTA TO DEMOLISH JFK WORLDPORT. I love Delta’s Business Elite service between SFO and JFK. But I hate using Delta’s dilapidated, ex-Pan Am Worldport facility there. Good news: it will soon be demolished and Delta will move international flights to an updated Terminal 4. Not so good news: Delta’s holding on to its mediocre Terminal 2 for domestic flights.

>VIRGIN AMERICA EXPANDS. Earlier this summer, SFO-based Virgin America bought a bunch of new planes. . . Now they’ve got to find more places to fly them. In coming months, Virgin will add flights from SFO to: Orlando, Dallas, Cabo San Lucas, and Cancun. I’m still hoping that they’ll get into Chicago O’Hare one day soon, but I suspect entrenched legacy carriers American and United are successfully blocking that for now. We’ll see.

>NEW NERD BIRD. Southwest jumps into the Bay Area to Austin, TX fray with new Nerd Bird nonstops from San Jose starting Nov 7. (Looks like Southwest is trying to beat Virgin to the punch…it’s recently been hinting about its own SFO-Austin flights.)

>BUY ELITE SEATS. No longer an elite level on American Airlines? Now you can buy many elite privileges per flight with it’s new “Express Seats” plan. Example: Pay $39 extra when you check in for SFO-JFK and you’ll get a coach seat near the front and early boarding. Details. Worth it?

>AMERICAN SLIMMING DOWN AT SFO. American Airlines is eliminating its non-stop flights to Boston later this year, which seems strange given its big investment and pending move into Terminal 2 at SFO. Did you know that it’s putting in a 10,000 square foot Admirals club, complete with a real FIREPLACE? I learned that little tidbit last week while attending the NBTA convention in Houston.

>KEEP AN EYE ON HAWAII FARES. Mahalo very much! Periodically over the last month, SFO-HNL fares to Honolulu have fallen to just $257 round trip on Delta. If you are interested in getting out from under all this fog, set up a fare alert on routes to Hawaii and then jump when you see a fare of less than $300. Here’s evidence of just how low those fares can go.

>MORE AIRPORT PERKS FOR AMEX PLATS. If you fork over $450 per year for your American Express Platinum card, your benefits just got better– cardholders now get access to US Airways airport clubs, as well as those from American, Delta and Continental airlines.

>SF-BASED PARTNERSHIP. Virgin America Elevate members can now earn one point per dollar spent at participating Joie de Vivre Hotels. To qualify, you must also be enrolled in Joie de Vivre’s loyalty program, Joy of Life Club. In addition to your Elevate points, you’ll also earn Joy of Life Club points for each stay through Dec 31, 2010.

>iPHONE TO THE RESCUE. There’s a very helpful new iPhone application from the TSA that allows users to check airport security wait times and flight delays in real time.

>FREAKISH FEES? The smart folks over at TripAdvisor have fashioned a very helpful “fees estimator” to its search engine– allowing users to enter the number of bags they plan to check as well as their frequent flyer program affiliation and status. Then the site calculates the TOTAL fee you’d pay and presents it for comparison on a matrix. Nice! See www.tripadvisor.com/flights and try it yourself.

>EASIER SEAT SEARCHES. I’m a big fan of Seatguru.com when trying to pick the perfect seat for a long international or transcon flight. In the past it was tough because there are so many different airplane configurations flying around out there. Seatguru’s solved that by letting you enter your actual airline flight NUMBER first, which means you’ll always see the exact layout of your plane. (I just used it to check out the nice business class seat I’ll have on my South African Airways flight to Cape Town next week. Stay tuned for more on that trip.)

>WATCH THOSE VALUABLES. A 47-year-old Air France flight attendant is facing 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to stealing from business class passengers sleeping on long haul flights. She said that she targeted passengers who would fall asleep after a big meal with lots of alcohol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh1LlEhRzD4

Terminal 2 at SFO, the future home of Virgin America and American Airlines is expected to open next spring.

Earlier this month, airport authorities took The BAT on a behind-the-scenes hardhat tour to check on construction progress.

Take a look at the three-minute video to see it for yourself!

A few interesting things frequent travelers should know about T2:

>The terminal will be shared 50/50 by San Francisco-based Virgin America and American Airlines.

>Each airline will operate seven gates.

>American Airlines will occupy the left, or north side of the terminal. Virgin will occupy the right or south side.

>American will operate a brand new 10,000 square-foot Admirals Club. There are no plans for a Virgin America club, but airport officials say, “The entire terminal is going to feel like a club.” But if you really need a club, you can buy a day pass to the Admirals Club for $50.

>Tentative opening is April 2011.

>There will be eight security screening lanes.

>The terminal will offer free Wi-Fi throughout. (The entire airport will transition from paid to free Wi-Fi this September.)

>There will be 12 restaurants and nine retail stores in T2 including a Marketplace area that should resemble the Ferry Building on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Most restaurants will specialize in organic, local and “Slow Food” menu items. (See below for map of concessions.)

>The renovated space will be bathed in natural light and include sky or cloud themed public art displays. Officials hope the terminal will be LEED certified.

>Total cost to renovate Terminal 2 is about $400 million.

Take a look at the three-minute video to see it for yourself!

By now you’ve probably heard about the Virgin America flight from Los Angeles to New York-Kennedy that had to divert to another airport during a freak storm last Saturday evening.

In case you’ve not heard about it, here’s a digest: Virgin flight 404 departed LAX on time at 7:30 a.m., flew to the NYC area where it was scheduled to land at 3:30 p.m. But with a storm raging and JFK closed, the flight circled and was eventually ordered to land at Stewart Airport at about 5:30 p.m. to wait it out. The storm lasted longer than expected so bus transportation was arranged and passengers eventually made it to JFK by about 1 a.m.

Then, for the next few days, headlines blared about the HORROR! The NIGHTMARE! The STRANDING! The CRYING BABIES! The FORCED RATIONING! Another “FLIGHT FROM HELL!”

Oh, please. Gimme a break. And let’s all give Virgin America a big break here, too.  Here’s why:

Bad weather happens!

I’m getting the impression that many mainstream media writers and producers are not frequent travelers. They may not realize, like most grizzled veterans of the skies do, that bad weather and delays are part of the deal. Sure, they can slow you down and magnify your emotions. But they are not unexpected.

Blogger on board!

Did you know that there were eight other marooned planes at Stewart and hundreds of other planes parked and waiting at odd airports up and down the east coast on Saturday night?  JetBlue alone diverted six of its jets to Stewart Airport.

It just so happened that David Martin, the CEO of a social media web site that solicits visitors to “Show what you’re doing” was seated in first class with a web cam and Wi-Fi access. He’s since posted the 30+ media interviews he’s done about the incident, and publicly thanks CNN “for the one million people whack.”

I don’t blame the guy for taking this opportunity to boost hits on his site. Instead, I think the media outlets that took his story hook, line and sinker (and then sensationalized it) need to do a little soul searching.

I contacted Chris Elliott, the reader advocate at National Geographic Traveler magazine about this ordeal and he opined, “The way this story has played itself out in the mainstream media, you’d think Virgin America was solely responsible for the delay. You’d also think the airline wanted to imprison its passengers on a plane. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

TV Star on board!

There’s nothing like a little star power to jazz up a travel story and it just so happened that Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba was seated next to Martin in first class.

Virgin staff did the best they could!

They allowed passengers two opportunities to get off the plane at Stewart if they wanted to. Twenty out of 126 did get off, and took cabs home. The others elected to stay on board.

They kept lavatories clean and operable. Live TV and Wi-Fi were available throughout the ordeal. They divvied up what food they had on board. Five cases of water were delivered to the aircraft.

They called police and had a passenger escorted off the plane when she became belligerent demanding cigarettes, vodka and medication.

It’s reported (although not captured in the aforementioned videos) that flight crew and passengers got a little snappy with each other. Um, hello? Human beings stuck in a tense and uncertain situation tend to get snappy and disagreeable. Babies cry. People get hungry and grumpy.  Uncomfortable, yes. Unusual? No.

Pilots provided personal updates.

From the online videos I’ve seen of the incident, I’m very impressed that the captain made the effort to exit the cockpit and stand at the front of the plane in full view of all the passengers to offer updates and announcements.

I have endured similar incidents throughout my career as a frequent traveler, and I’ve never seen a captain do that.  They typically stay in the cockpit with the door shut. Kudos to the pilots.

Passengers made it to JFK. For free!

In the end, the flight was scrubbed, passengers deplaned at about 10:30 p.m., buses where called in and everyone made it to JFK by about 1 a.m. A little worse for wear, but they got there. Even better, they got there for free. Virgin gave a full refund to everyone on board, plus a $100 certificate to use on a future flight. (Here’s a link to Virgin’s apology to passengers and its official report of the incident to the Dept. of Transportation.)

So I obviously think the whole ordeal was overblown.  What do you think about the whole affair?

RELATED: Virgin America announced today that it will add new nonstops from SFO to both Toronto and Orlando on August 19, but will shutter its nonstops between SFO and the “OC” (John Wayne Airport in Orange county) in May.

I’m a huge fan of in-flight Wi-Fi, especially for flights longer than 90 minutes, so I’m excited to learn that two more airlines that serve the Bay Area in a big way are adding it. But not for a while.

First off, Alaska Air announced that it’s reached a deal with AirCell’s Gogo—the same provider used by Virgin America, United, Delta and others. But don’t hold your breath. The carrier still has to go through testing and certification with the FAA. It plans to outfit its fleet of new Boeing 737-800’s first, but has not officially set a target date for installation.

One downside: Much of Alaska Airlines’ flying is over water or desolate areas in Alaska, Canada and Mexico where the ground-based Gogo system is currently out of range of the network of radio towers it depends on. That means I’ll get a good Wi-Fi signal in-flight if I choose an Alaska Airlines flight from here to Seattle or Austin. (It adds a second daily “Nerd Bird” nonstop between San Jose and Austin next week.) But my Wi-Fi is not going to work on those new Alaska Air flights from here to Hawaii. And it will be spotty at best on the long coastal flights between Seattle and Anchorage.

Here’s where this story gets ironic. Southwest Airlines, which flies almost exclusively over land, has chosen another in-flight Wi-Fi provider called Row 44, which uses a satellite-based system that works over water and just about anywhere else.

At one time, Alaska Airlines seemed close to landing a deal with Row 44, which would make sense given its flying patterns. Instead, it’s gone with land-based Gogo. Why? “Ultimately Alaska Airlines decided to go with Aircell’s Gogo service because of its proven track record of deploying affordable inflight Wi-Fi services to travelers. Its lower-cost equipment, coupled with the ease and speed of installation and finally its system reliability, allow us  to rapidly deploy a desirable service to customers,” Alaska Airlines spokesperson Bobbie Egan told The BAT.

Anyway, Southwest plans to start outfitting its fleet of 540 Boeing 737’s this spring, and says Wi-Fi will be available fleet wide by late 2012.

Frequent travelers from the Bay Area are lucky… they have more in-flight Wi-Fi choices than nearly any other major city. (Except maybe Atlanta, where AirTran offers it on all flights from its hub there, and Delta’s got it on well over half its fleet.) From the Bay, all Virgin America flights offer it. Delta, United and American offer it on all flights between SFO and JFK, and on select flights to other cities. AirTran offers it on all flights between here and Atlanta and beyond.

Have you tried in-flight Wi-Fi? Are you as big a fan as I am? I can’t think of a better way to take advantage of a long flight. To me, it’s the greatest thing since the introduction of the in-flight movie. I don’t mind paying for it either. It definitely drives my airline choice, especially when planning flights longer than 90 minutes. Please leave your comments and experiences with in-flight Wi-Fi below.

Here’s an interesting video that explains how Gogo’s ground-based in-flight internet works:

One of the most frustrating things about Virgin America’s frequent flyer program has been the fact that points expired after 18 months…even if you were flying Virgin all the time. That set it apart from most major airline programs that allow members to keep points as long as they do business with the airline at least once every 18 months.

Today, Virgin eliminated that frustration. Now, members of its Elevate program retain their points indefinitely, as long as they either earn or redeem points at least once every 18 months.

Elevate points will not expire as long as a member has at least one qualifying activity every 18 months. Qualifying activities include: purchasing Virgin America flights; completing Virgin America reward travel; earning Elevate points with partners like Avis/Budget and Hilton Honors; and accruing points via the Virgin America credit card or the Red store. Elevate members can earn free flights just by shopping online at the Red Store,

If you are not yet familiar with Virgin’s Elevate program, here are some key features:

• No black-out dates – guests can redeem points for any available seat on any flight
• Simple “points per dollar” system, instead of typical miles or segments flown
• Members earn five points for every $1 spent on base fares and can book a free flight with as few as 2500 points
• Visible “price in points” for booking flights online
• Price in points varies based on class of service and seat availability
• Ability to use points to book one-way travel and book any class of travel
• Customized member profile to help speed bookings – go from flight to confirmation in just a few clicks
• Points do not expire as long as member has earned or redeemed in the past 18 months
• Members receive exclusive offers to unique Virgin America events, including past opportunities to fly with the Victoria’s Secret supermodels, tickets to the in-flight premiere of HBO’s Entourage and the chance to earn a seat on a Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space flight.

Stay tuned: More Elevate partnerships and rewards are planned to roll out later this spring. For more on Elevate or  visit Virgin America’s Web site.

(scroll down two view my two-minute video tour of the new terminals)

The sleek new look of Mineta-San Jose’s new airport terminal reminds me of my iPod. Or a space ship. Or a museum. In any case, it’s cutting edge design is now a much more befitting symbol of the Silicon Valley than the version 1.0, which sort of reminded me of my 60’s-era elementary school. (Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

[The BAT is now on SFgate! Check it out here.]

Last month, the Silicon Valley Business Travel Association invited me to their monthly meeting, which was hosted by airport officials. The SVBTA is a 240+ person organization that represents the interests of corporate travel buyers in the South Bay region—to the tune of just over $1 billion per year. (see svbta.org)

San Jose airport authorities brought in SVBTA members for a look-see because they are eager to get support from the business community necessary to attract more flights and more airlines to its fancy new digs. Why? Because the new digs cost a whopping $1.3 billion, and that mortgage will be repaid in large part by the fees airlines pay to fly in and out of SJC. (The airport is self-sustaining and does not rely on local tax funds.)

Despite its location in largest city in the Bay Area and adjacency to some of the world’s largest tech companies that spend billions of dollars each year on travel, San Jose airport handles less than 20% of all commercial flights in the region.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

The tech bubble burst and recession have had a severe impact on the airport. For example, the number of daily flights at SJC has fallen from 232 in 2001 to just 125 in 2010—that’s a 42 percent decline. The number of destinations served nonstop has declined from 39 to 28 in the same period. International flights to Tokyo and Paris were scrubbed long ago. Passenger numbers have declined nearly 40 percent.

Airport authorities blame a lot of this decline on what they call the “Virgin Effect.” They say that when Virgin America cranked up operations at San Francisco International in 2007, airlines quickly “herded” around the new entrant, concentrating their Bay Area flying at SFO and slashing prices to protect their market share. That means SFO added 83 new flights since 2007 while OAK and SJC have experienced losses in flights and passenger numbers.

However, there are some notable new flights at SJC: Alaska starts flights to Maui and Kona in March; Horizon just added new flights to Mammoth Mountain and will add flights to Spokane next month. In May, JetBlue adds nonstops to Boston.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

Airport Primer:

If you find your way to San Jose for a flight in the near future, here’s what you need to know:

>All that’s left of the old structure is the current Terminal C, which will be demolished by this summer. Currently, if you fly into Terminal C (Alaska/Horizon, Delta, Frontier, US Airways), your bags will actually arrive at Terminal B due to construction. (This will change in June 2010 when all airlines move to A or B.)

>Terminal A (16 gates), originally opened in 1990 but has gotten a complete makeover, with a brand new ticketing area, concessions, and a big, bright new security screening area which opened last November. Terminal A handles American, Continental, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Mexicana and United flights.

>The bright new Terminal B Concourse (see video) partially opened last summer with six gates for Southwest Airlines flights. However, until Concourse B is complete this summer, Southwest passengers must enter security at Terminal A and take a rather long walk to their gates. (Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

>Eventually, an entirely new south Concourse will rise from the site of the current Concourse C, but that depends on when  airport traffic levels recover enough to justify the expansion.

>A new consolidated car rental center and parking deck (the building with the exterior skin featuring giant hands, which can be seen for miles) should open in June.

For more information on airport changes, maps, and services, go to www.flysanjose.com.

(Take my two-minute video tour of SJC)

[The BAT is now on SFgate! Check it out here.]

NEW!! See The BAT on SFgate

Love what Virgin America as done for flying from the Bay Area? (There are a lot of chihuahuas that sure do! See video below) Then you’ll be glad to know that it’s cleared an important challenge to its U.S. citizenship. This just in from the AP:

The Transportation Department has rejected an Alaska Airlines challenge to the U.S. citizenship status of privately held carrier Virgin America.

The agency said Friday that Virgin America remains a U.S. citizen and remains under the actual control of U.S. citizens. Under U.S. law, foreign ownership in a U.S. air carrier is limited to 25 percent of the voting interest in the carrier.

The Virgin Group, controlled by British billionaire Richard Branson, is a minority holder in Virgin America. DOT said the Virgin Group holds a 25 percent equity stake in Virgin America.

Here’s a link to the complete AP article

And Virgin America’s public statement on the decision

YO QUIERO VIRGIN AMERICA:

And here’s a very cute Chihuahua story that was a publicity coup for Virgin America…it got the brand on ALL the big morning talk shows in New York, plus tons of Bay Area and national media coverage. It was a feel good travel story in the midst of a bad travel news week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rjmRSHemqs

(Too bad the voice over says “Virgin ATLANTIC” instead of Virgin America! I bet the PR’s are cringing down in Burlingame!)

NEW!! See The BAT on SFgate

UNITED ORDERS NEW PLANES. While they won’t be touching down at SFO until at least 2016, United recently announced that it’s placed orders for 50 new wide-body aircraft. It split the order 50/50 between the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” and the Airbus A350. Both are about the size of current Boeing 767 or 777 aircraft and will eventually replace them.

NOT SO DREAMY. We’ve got an issue with the whole “Dreamliner” name… and get irritated when we see reporters get all wistful and dreamy-eyed thinking that everyone’s going to get a massage and a flat bed for sleeping (and dreaming) on every flight. Sorry folks—the plane is a dream to the airline, because it purportedly uses about 20% less fuel. But it’s not so dreamy for passengers sitting in coach– it’s just another twin-aisle, wide-body plane…okay, with bigger windows, maybe, but still…. (See photo above. Look beyond those dreamy first class seats!)

LOOK RIGHT>>> AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW ADVERTISER! Cavallo Point, located next to the Golden Gate Bridge (down and to the right if you are headed north) has been on our list of must-see Bay Area hotspots since it opened last year. While it’s a gorgeous, historic and luxurious resort, locals should visit to sit in the winter sun on the veranda at it’s Farley’s Bar, soak in the rays and the views, have a great meal and a bottle of wine….and look for your BAT editor! I’ll be there! Really, folks, if you like what you are reading on The BAT, please support our advertisers! It helps us help you! –cjm

UAL: BEST ON TIME PERFORMANCE—EVER? Yep, it’s true. According to the DOT, United was on time 91% of the time this past November, its best performance since the government starting tracking it in 1987. How did this happen? It’s all about the money according to gadling.com. Since last winter, United has offered all employees a $100 bonus each month the airline tops the DOT on-time ranking. They get $65 for second place.

MORE JETBLUE TO THE BAY. Starting May 13, JetBlue will add new nonstop flights between San Jose and Boston. (Introductory fares start at $99 each way.) JetBlue already offers nonstops from San Jose to New York-JFK. It also offers nonstops between Boston and SFO and Oakland.

CONNECT IN THE BART TUNNEL…EVENTUALLY. If you take BART to/from the airport or to/from work, you’re gonna like this: AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel and Verizon flipped the switch on their wireless networks in the Transbay Tube on Dec 20. However, the Chronicle reports that despite the announcement, the service did not work as well as expected, so seamless use of mobile devices in the tunnel could take a while…

FLOWN LOW COST LATELY? Did you know that just 10 years ago, 90% of all air travel in the U.S. was on so-called “legacy carriers” like United, Continental, Delta, etc. Only 10% was on low cost carriers such as Southwest, AirTran or JetBlue. Well, what a difference a decade makes. Legacy dominance has declined to just 74% of the market this year…low-cost carriers have 26% of the market and low-cost giant Southwest owns 64% of that market.

NO MORE THAN THREE. Lengthy tarmac delays are a rarity at Bay Area airports, thank goodness! But they do happen (but mostly back east and most often due to snow and ice or de-icing.) Nonetheless, the feds have enacted new rules (effective later this winter) that will force airlines to provide food and water after two hours on the tarmac and a mandated return to the gate if they’ve been on the tarmac for more than three hours. If they don’t, they are fined $27,000 per passenger (that’s $5.5 million for a planeload of 200 pissed off passengers). Ouch! While the airlines are saying that the new rule will do more harm than good, the reality is that when faced with a fine like that, they will be forced to make operational changes that, in the long run, will prevent the horror stories we’ve all heard about folks stuck in stinky planes for hours on end. Your BAT editor has a comment about the whole brouhaha in this ABCNews.com article.

NEW MEMBERSHIP REWARDS PARTNER. Got a big bank of American Express Membership Rewards points that you are aching to redeem? You’ve got a new option: British Airways Executive Club recently became the 17th participating frequent flyer plan in the program. BA flies to 150 destinations worldwide from SFO via its two flights a day to London. (Stay tuned for a first hand BAT report later this winter from the Maldives…BA’s newest, and perhaps sexiest destination ever!)

VEGAS WILL BE PACKED. All indications are showing that this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Jan 7-10) is going to be full to overflowing. Why? Pent up demand. This time last year we were all in economic shock. Attendees for CES and many other conventions were forced to cancel their plans. With things looking up this year, everyone wants to go back. So expect FULL flights between the Bay and Vegas, full hotels, and the necessity of restaurant reservations. The city is expecting in excess of 100,000 visitors for this, the city’s largest event of the year.

NEW ARRIVALS TAX IN ARGENTINA. Effective immediately, all U.S. citizens arriving at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport must pay a one-time “reciprocity fee” of USD $131.00 upon arrival. Why? Because that’s the amount the U.S. charges Argentines applying for entry into the U.S. (Several other South American countries such as Chile, Brazil and Bolivia already require such fees.) While the fee might make travelers wince, the Argentine government stands to pull in a cool $52 million from the 400,000 or so Americans that arrive each year.

REGIONAL UPGRADES ARE BACK FOR 1K’s. United is getting very good at listening to their best customers. After the backlash surrounding the elimination of regional upgrades, this announcement recently appeared on the UAL site: “Sometimes no change is good news. After our last announcement, we heard from our 1K members how much they value their Regional Upgrades. To thank them for their ongoing loyalty, we’ve decided to continue issuing regional upgrades to 1Ks, even after the unlimited domestic upgrades program launches.” Regional upgrades are considered more valuable than the newer “unlimited upgrades” because they can be applied at the time of reservation.

HILTON HHONORS—GOOD AND BAD NEWS. First the good. Members of Virgin America’s Elevate program can now earn miles for stays at Hilton’s family of hotel brands. Now the bad: Hilton is increasing the number of HHonors points required for award redemptions starting on January 14. Most reward categories will require an additional 5000 points for a free night stay. Stays at Hilton’s poshest brand, the Waldorf=Astoria Collection, are now pretty much standardized at 50,000 per night in the low season and 60,000 in high season.

SOUTHWEST BUMPS UP AT OAK—REINSTATES NASHVILLE. In May, Southwest will restore a single daily nonstop service between Oakland and Nashville, Tennessee. It will also add frequency between OAK and the cities of Albuquerque, Denver, and Seattle-Tacoma.

WHICH BAY AREA AIRPORT DO YOU USE? From a VERY interesting article in the San Jose Mercury News: “Among domestic passengers departing or arriving in the Bay Area, 57 percent use SFO, up from 43 percent just three years ago. By contrast, Oakland’s portion of the region’s passengers has dipped from 33 percent in 2006 to 23 percent now, while San Jose’s share dropped from 24 percent to 20 percent during that span. The analysts contend that the turning point arrived in 2007, when SFO landed low-cost carriers Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Virgin America. Southwest and JetBlue have long been Oakland territory, with nearly six of every seven passengers taking those two airlines, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. About half of San Jose’s passengers fly Southwest. Now, Southwest has quickly become the third-most popular airline at SFO, even though it does not fly international routes.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khIytDRus58

Delta’s now offering a schwanky new transcon Business Elite service for flights between SFO and New York-JFK.  Fares run in the $1000 to $3000 range.

I have only flown United P.S Business and Delta on this route and would love it if someone could chime in with some comments below about American’s premium classes or Virgin America’s first class on the route.

Delta’s upgraded service brings it up to par with rivals on the busy route.

Like United’s PS flights, Delta flies only Boeing 757’s on the route. However, Delta offers 16 Business Elite seats in the front section of the aircraft (forward of the galley and to the left when you enter the plane). The rest of the plane is coach (no first class.)

United P.S. offers 12 first class, lie flat seats and 26 business class, cradle style seats which are similar to Delta’s. (On United, first and business class comprise about two thirds of the on-board real estate.)

Delta Transcon Business Elite offers a wide range of entertainment options, but no live TV on its in-seat AVOD system. United passes out portable, individual inflight entertainment units that offer more limited choices than Delta’s.

United currently has in-flight wi-fi on ALL P.S. flights. Delta says that its wi-fi installation on these flights should be complete by the end of Dec 2009. Both United and Delta offer in-flight power plugs for laptops.

Anyway, The BAT recently went along for a test ride— see our 2.5 min video review. Enjoy! Take a look and let us know what you think. LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!

MORE $$ FOR MORE SPACE. United says that it will raise the price for annual membership to its Economy Plus Annual Option from $349 to $425 starting Jan 10. This promo is a good idea for someone who does not fly UAL enough to get elite status (and therefore automatic upgrades to more spacious economy plus seating) but would like to have access to roomier seats onboard.  Note: While you get the ability to reserve Economy Plus seats with this plan (for you and a companion), you are not always guaranteed one.

FARES A TWITTER. The new flight search engine Fly.com is now tweeting last minute flight deals from Bay Area airports…as we go to press, some deals:  SFO-Cabo for $294 round trip. Vegas for $99 round trip. Twitterati should follow at: #SFfares

RED CARPET CLOSED AT FRANKFURT. United has closed its Red Carpet Club in Frankfurt and encourages members to use partner Lufthansa’s (distant, but much nicer) clubs instead. (Notefrom BAT reader Mark: “The Lufthansa clubs in Frankfurt aren’t always farther away.  A good number of United’s daily departures leave from the A gates and the new Tower Lounge @ FRA’s A concourse is in the right spot to make relaxing before the flight a breeze.”)

KOREAN AIR TO BRING ON 747. Korean Air will switch out its current 777 flying between SFO to Seoul with a 747 starting next summer.

MILWAUKEE BOUND? Midwest Airlines, which abandoned SFO a while back, will return with new nonstops to Milwaukee, WI using an Airbus A319 starting in April.

UNITED COPAYS. After going back and forth on the issue,  United will begin charging copays for upgrades in January. This pay-to-play move is both good and bad: Good in that you can now score a confirmed upgrade off of any discounted fare, which was prohibited in the past. Bad in that you actually have to shell out some coin to get out of coach. So, BAT readers, what do you think….is this a positive or a negative? Would you rather UAL stick to the old plan, or is this new one a good thing?

SO LONG 737. In case you missed the celebration, United has officially grounded its last Boeing 737. (We’re glad. They were getting a little tatty and worn out.)

MORE FLIGHTS FROM BAY TO HAWAII. Fresh off its inauguration of new flights between Oakland and Hawaii, Alaska Air has announced that it will add new nonstops between San Jose, Sacramento and Hawaii (Kona and Maui) starting on March 11. It will use a two class 737 on the route. Current lowest fares for travel next spring are running at about $350 roundtrip.

SFO TERMINAL 2 TOPS OUT. Workers welded the final steel beam into place on the renovation at Terminal 2 at SFO, which will be the new home of Virgin America flights in about another 18 months. (Scuttlebutt: American Airlines is a possible Terminal 2 tenant as well. This would make sense if United’s new partner, Continental, moves into AA’s space in Terminal 3.) The state-of-the-art, LEEDS certified terminal will have 14 gates, a “slow food” marketplace (more wholesome, locally produced selections), a spa, and two 500-sq foot kiddie play areas. Bring it on! (The terminal is paid in part with stimulus funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Thank you President Obama.)

DOWN HOME WITH SOUTHWEST IN MANHATTAN. BAT editor Chris McGinnis checked out Southwest Airlines “porch” in New York’s Bryant Park. Southwest is using the porch to woo Big Apple business travelers to its new flights to New York’s nearby La Guardia Airport. Would you fly SW to New York? To do so, you’ll have to make a quick stop at Chicago Midway, and sale fares are currently running at about $300 roundtrip.

TRAIN TO/FROM THE PLANE IN SEATTLE. Starting on December 19, the long awaited light rail link between SEA-TAC and downtown Seattle will open! The station will be connected to the airport via walkways through the parking garage. Stops along the 35-minute trip to downtown Seattle Link include: SODO, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley neighborhoods and Tukwila.

NO UAL PREMIER OR 1K FOR YOU NEXT YEAR? If, like a lot of folks faced less frequent travel due to the recession, you’ve lost your elite status on United, you can buy your way into the perks you’ve grown accustomed to. Depending on flight length, you can pay a premium of anywhere from about $50 to $175 each way for “United’s Premier Travel Package.” With it, you’ll get access to the elite security lines, priority boarding, upgrades to Economy Plus, two-free checked bags and a Mileage Plus bonus. Pay twice that much, and you’ll also get a pass to the Red Carpet Club. (Purchase online or soon at United check in kiosks)

MORE ON TIME. With airlines parking more planes in the desert, airport congestion has become less of a problem at most airports (But not NYC!). In September, airlines had their best on-time performance since 2003, with 86% of flights arriving on time. That’s an improvement over August when just 80% arrived on time. It’s also slightly better than last September when 85% arrived on-time. Alaska Air and Southwest topped the list for best on time performance at about 90% on time.

AA TRANSCONS GET CREAMED. Starting Dec 1, business class passengers of American’s transcon flights out of SFO will get Ben & Jerry’s sundaes.

Travelers who pay anything for Wi-Fi over the holidays are paying too much…In addition to teaming up with Virgin America to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi, Google will pick up the Wi-Fi tab for travelers logging on at 47 airports across the country now through January 15.

Regrettably, the only Bay Area airport getting the Google freebie is San Jose. You’ll still pay at SFO (via T-Mobile), and you’ll still get it for free at OAK, but Google is not footing the bill there.  The list of participating airports is a mish-mash of some big majors (Baltimore, Boston, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Seattle) and some tiny ones…such as Central Wisconsin, Kalamazoo or Spokane.

We asked our contacts at Google why SFO was not on the list and here’s what they said: “We worked with a variety of providers to make this happen and reached out to all top 50 airports (and the relevant providers) in the U.S. – unfortunately not every airport or provider chose to participate (for a variety of reasons) but we are always open to consider adding other airports or providers should they be interested.”

If you find yourself at one of the 47 airports listed below, just fire up the laptop and select the option for free Wi-Fi. NICE! No credit card or lengthy sign-in process required. This is a good thing because I think the long login process using services like T-Mobile dissuades use more than the nominal fee…just my two cents!

The catch: when you sign on you will be asked if you want to set Google as your home page or try it’s Chrome browser. Also, Google will have access to some aggregate, non-personally identifiable information from each airport.

Austin (AUS) Baltimore (BWI) Billings (BIL) Boston (BOS) Bozeman (BZN) Buffalo (BUF) Burbank (BUR) Cent. Wisconsin (CWA) Charlotte (CLT) Des Moines (DSM) El Paso (ELP) Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Fort Myers/SW (RSW) Greensboro (GSO) Houston (HOU) Houston Bush (IAH)

Indianapolis (IND) Jacksonville (JIA) Kalamazoo (AZO) Las Vegas (LAS) Louisville (SDF) Madison (MSN) Memphis (MEM) Miami (MIA) Milwaukee (MKE) Monterey (MRY) Nashville (BNA) Newport News (PHF) Norfolk (ORF) Oklahoma City (OKC) Omaha (OMA) Orlando (MCO)

Panama City (PFN) Pittsburgh (PIT) Portland (PWM) Sacramento (SMF) San Antonio (SAT) San Diego (SAN) San Jose (SJC) Seattle (SEA) South Bend (SBN) Spokane (GEG) St. Louis (STL) State College (SCE) Toledo (TOL) Traverse City (TVC) West Palm Beach (PBI)

Okay all you mileage-obsessed mileage mavens, mileage junkies, travel addicts, road warriors or anyone who has ever held an elite level membership with a frequent flyer program. You know who you are. This video is for you.

This 20-minute documentary (“Frequent Flyer”) is actually the master’s thesis of Gabriel Leigh, journalism grad student at UC Berkeley. I don’t normally have 20 minutes to devote to an online video, but this was time well spent. (The video is very professionally made and easy on the eyes…)

So sit back, relax, hit the full-screen button and enjoy this….it will be like looking in the mirror for many of you!

Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.

My buddy Tim Winship, who blogs for SmarterTravel.com picked up on an interesting comment made by Southwest CEO Gary Kelly in a recent conference call. The comment portends some BIG changes in store for the Rapid Rewards program. While the company remains tight-lipped about what they are calling “Rapid Rewards 2.0,” Winship lays out some possible scenarios for change. (SEE UPDATE BELOW)

To me, the most likely change will be a shift to a DOLLAR-based program versus flight-credit-based one. Basically, members are rewarded based on how much they SPEND, not how many miles or segments they fly. Virgin America and JetBlue have already switched to this sort of program. I’m surprised others have not. If Southwest does it, I bet more will follow suit.

Here’s Tim’s insightful post.

Stay tuned for more!

UPDATE: The BAT contacted Southwest spokesperson Linda Rutherford for further comment and here’s what she said: “We’ve been saying for a few years that we have a goal to revamp our frequent flyer program, Rapid Rewards, in order to bring greater value and relevance to our most frequent travelers. That might mean different ways to earn rewards, or even different kinds of rewards that can be earned. We haven’t divulged more detail than that, as we know our competitors are watching closely. Late next year is the current timing for the changes to roll out, so nothing is imminent.”

The optimal price for inflight Wi-Fi seems to be … FREE. At least on Virgin America, Delta, AirTran and American…

Some really great news today from Virgin America and Google– especially for those like us who have become addicted to in-flight Wi-Fi and expect it on EVERY flight. Especially those transcons! Although this offer has a time limit, we are thinking that this could be the beginning of a trend….free SPONSORED in-flight Wi-Fi. What do you think of that?

Here’s the announcement from Virgin:

San Francisco – Oct. 19, 2009 – Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today announced an exclusive partnership with Google to offer free in-flight WiFi to all of its guests during the holidays. The two California-based companies known for innovation, entrepreneurialism and for connecting people in new ways, have again joined forces to give Virgin America fliers the gift of in-flight connection during the holiday travel season. From Nov. 10, 2009-Jan. 15, 2010, guests on all Virgin America flights will be able to check email, gift shop online, stay in touch with family and friends via social media, or just go wherever the web takes them – all for free. In May, Virgin America became the first airline to offer Gogo® Inflight Internet service on every flight. Here’s the whole story: http://www.freeholidaywifi.com

This comes on the heels of an announcement by a company called Row 44, which is working with Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines to install a new, free, commercially sponsored in-flight Wi-Fi system that works via satellite, versus the current Gogo systems which use a network of ground based antennae.

• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on Delta Air Lines (thru Dec 31)– just use the code DELTATRYGOGO when you log on.
• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on AirTran (thru Dec 31)– just use the code AIRTRANTRYGOGO when you log on.
• Here’s how to get FREE Wi-Fi on American Airlines (thru Dec 31)– just use the code AATRYGOGO when you log on from the plane.

UNITED SLOWLY ADDING WI-FI ON NYC FLIGHTS. Some (but not all) United P.S. flights between SFO and New York-JFK now offer the Gogo in-flight wi-fi system offered on many other carriers. United promises that ALL P.S. flights will be outfitted my mid-November. (UAL is a little late to the game here…AirTran and Virgin America offer it fleetwide and it’s on about half of Delta’s fleet.) Fees range from $8 (for PDA’s) to $13 (for laptop users). Using it is a breeze…just log on as you would in an airport or coffee shop, pay with your credit card, and voila! High speed internet. Sure makes that five-hour schlep to NYC go by a LOT faster!

FLOOD OF NEW FLIGHTS TO FLL. Virgin America will launch new nonstops between SFO and Ft Lauderdale on November 19 using a two class Airbus A320 (the only bird in its fleet.) And guess what? JetBlue is launching nonstops on the same route on Nov 17! And both depart from SFO’s international terminal. Eastbound flights on both carriers are red-eyes (yuck) but mid-January fares are currently only $218 round trip. Not a bad place to go when its cold and wet here by the bay. Winter in Fort Lauderdale (located about 30-40 minutes north of Miami) is gorgeous, sunny and 70’s for most of the winter. JetBlue pro: more legroom in coach, a free sleep kit, and Dunkin Doughnuts coffee in the morning. Virgin America pro: in-flight wi-fi. Which one would you choose and why? Leave your comments below.

ECLECTIC EATS. Virgin America’s got a new fall menu that offers a virtual puu-puu platter of choices. Some of the more interesting-sounding fare for sale onboard: Banh mi flat iron beef sandwich: “A traditional street-vended Vietnamese sandwich made of grilled Asian marinated sliced flat iron steak with shaved cucumber, green leaf lettuce, baby frisée, fresh sprigs of cilantro and topped with a Vietnamese slaw of julienne carrots, daikon radish and red onion. Asian ginger dressing served on the side.” ($10)

HE’S A GOOD GUY! Your BAT editor recently spotted Virgin America CEO David Cush on a San Diego-SFO flight sitting in coach! With the traveling masses. Back there with the rest of us! Apparently Virgin employees, including the CEO, are forbidden from riding in those big white seats up front. Soon after witnessing this display of humility, we heard from a reader who spotted Delta CEO Richard Anderson in coach on a flight to Atlanta. Are we on to something here?

DELTA BATTLES ON SFO-JFK RUN. Delta is now flying 757’s equipped with international business class “cradle” seats on all nonstops between Los Angeles and and New York-JFK. By the end of October, the cradles will be on all JFK-San Francisco flights. Big seats are a nice addition and should do well competing against similar internationally configured nonstops from American and United P.S. as well as the swanky first class on Virgin America. Bad news is that chances of upgrades in DL flights are now slimmer— previously, the 757’s had 24-26 first class seats while the new ones will have only 16 business class cradles. (PLUS: All Delta’s 757 flights offer inflight wi-fi.)

NEW USE FOR UNITED MILES. Maybe. United is now allowing Mileage Plus members to redeem airline miles for hotels and car rentals. I’d say that this is only a good deal for folks desperate to dump miles because the redemption levels are quite steep. It also might work if you are faced with otherwise exorbitant rates. For example, if I wanted to redeem miles for a one-night stay at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago later this month, it would cost me 24,500 miles! (The best available rates are about $300/night incl tax.) That’s nearly enough for a domestic round trip award. Car rentals in Chicago are running 10,000 miles for a compact for one day.

ALASKA AIR BRINGS BACK THE NERD BIRD. Last month Alaska Air picked up where American Airlines left off, launching a new nonstop between San Jose and Austin. A second daily flight is planned starting in March. Both flights use a two class Boeing 737. Current fares are running just $219 round trip for mid-Nov departures. (JetBlue offers non-stops between Austin and SFO for about the same price.)

SJC SKIERS DELIGHT. Horizon Air will fly nonstop from San Jose to Mammoth Mountain starting Dec 17. It will use a propjet on these flights, but fares are now running just $168 roundtrip for mid-January flights.

FLYING TO NYC ON THE CHEAP. Here’s a nifty nugget from our friends at airlineweekly.com: “Q1 of 2007—before Virgin America arrived on the scene—United passengers flying between New York JFK and San Francisco paid an average of $620 each way. In Q1 of 2009, those same passengers in that same market paid only $421 each way.” Thanks, Virgin America!

LESS OF A SWA CATTLE CALL FOR $10. If you frequently end up forgetting to check in for your Southwest flight exactly 24 hours before departure, and then ending up stuck in a middle seat at the back of the plane or having to gate check your carry-on, there’s a new fix. With its new Early Bird Check-In, you pay Southwest a $10 premium (each way) when you make your reservation. Then you don’t have to play the 24-hour check-in game and you are allowed to board before everyone else, but AFTER A-Listers and those flying on Business Select fares. I personally don’t have a problem paying $10 for a nearly guaranteed good seat and space for my carry-on. But Southwest has taken a lot of heat for this new fee since it prides itself as being a fee-free airline.

NEW OAKLAND-HAWAII FLIGHTS. Picking up where Aloha left off last winter, Alaska Airlines will fly nonstop between Oakland and both Maui and the Big Island (Hawaii) on Nov 9 using a two-class Boeing 737. Mid-January round-tip fares are currently running about $500-$550.

TOILET KITSCH. Leave it to our hometown carrier Virgin America to spice up the toilet kit. For $10 you can order up a “How Could I Forget Kit” from the seatback of your next Virgin flight. (Just in case you forgot your own, or the one you had got nabbed by TSA screeners.) Contents include shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, lip balm, night cream and breath mints all packed up in a nifty little quilted kit. There’s a similar red-eye flight kit selling for $12 that includes a blanket, pillow, eyemask and ear plugs.

MORE GOOD NEWS. SORTA. Worldwide airline passenger traffic dipped just 1 percent in August compared to the same month last year. That’s the smallest year-over-year drop in 2009, says the International Air Transport Association. The biggest decline this year was in March, when traffic dipped 11 percent year-over-year. Despite the recent improvements, airlines are still having a very tough time withpricing—economy class ticket prices are down 18 percent; first and business class fares are down 22 percent.

AIRLINES BAGGING BIG BUCKS. Those irksome new baggage fees are helping to keep a lot of airlines afloat in these lean times. According to the DOT, it’s the low-cost carriers that are bagging the most fees as a percentage of their overall revenues .The top four fee earners in q2 are (in descending order) Spirit, Allegiant, AirTran and Frontier. Nearly 9 percent of Spirit’s revenue was baggage fees. AirTran earned 7 percent of its revenue that way. Delta came in at 3 percent. Southwest, which does not charge for the first two checked bags, bagged less than one percent of its revenue that way.

FULL NAME AND BIRTHDATE, PLEASE. The TSA now requires airlines to book your ticket under the EXACT name as it appears on the ID you will be using to check in for your flight. IMPORTANT: Check your online booking profiles to be sure that your profile name matches your ID and modify it if necessary.  Airlines are also now required obtain your birth date. Why? Supposedly this should help folks mistakenly placed on terror watch lists.

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