Southwest’s “Bags Fly Free” Campaign Working
It seems as though Southwest Airlines’ big “Bags Fly Free” campaign might be helping it snare more flyers than its competitors.
While most major airlines reported continuing declines in passenger loads in November, Southwest reported a healthy INCREASE of 12% year over year. Continental was the only other carrier to report an increase (2.8%). (See chart below)
What do you think? Would you fly Southwest because of it’s free baggage policy? I’m usually not one to check bags anyway, but if I had two bags to check, and a one carrier wanted to charge me $20 for the first, $30 for the second (so $100 round trip!) I’d sure give my biz to Southwest.
Airline, rank Percentage gain (loss) Percentage gain (loss)
in November traffic in year-to-date traffic
1. Delta (8.3) (7.7)
2. American (0.5) (7.6)
3. United (0.6) (9.3)
4. Continental 2.8 (4.4)
5. Southwest 12 1.2
6. US Airways (1.8) (4.5)
Total (1) (6.2)
Mixed Bag of BAT News and BAT Tips
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.
Newsom Flies Southwest
Here’s an interesting item from the SF Chronicle’s Matier & Ross political column. We’d expect the Newsom’s to be particular to our hometown carrier (Virgin America) but it looks like they mix up their biz on other carriers. “Special service: It’s usually first-come, first-served seating on Southwest Airlines. So a passenger flying from San Francisco to Los Angeles bright and early Monday was a bit taken aback when, just as she reached the front of the line, two airline agents stopped her. ‘They said the mayor’s wife was running late, and they needed to save her a seat,’ said our flier, a local attorney who asked that we withhold her name. The line of passengers was kept waiting while one of the agents boarded the plane and placed a ‘reserved’ sign on a window bulkhead seat. And, indeed, with plenty of time to spare, the mayor’s wife, actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom, arrived and took her seat. Airline spokesman Brad Hawkins told us that although Southwest doesn’t often reserve seats for passengers, ‘we do make exceptions for anyone legitimately in a bind, and our employees are empowered to make sure the flight leaves on time.’ In this instance, we’re told, the plane left a minute ahead of schedule.”
$25 to LA, OC or SD? Yessiree. BIG Southwest Sale. And Some Sad News
Southwest offered up a whopper of a deal today for flights during winter dead weeks, which fall on either side of the big Christmas/New Years rush: December 2-16 and then January 5-February 10.
Act fast because these deals are only good through this THURSDAY, Oct 29. Here’s the deal:
- $25 each way for flights up to 374 miles (such as LAX, Orange County, San Diego);
- $50 each way for those up to 549 miles (like Denver, Vegas),
- $75 each way for those up to 999 miles (such as Phoenix, Tucson, Salt Lake),
- $100 each way for those longer than 1000 miles (like Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Dallas).
These fares do not include taxes and fees. (For example, the total for a round trip SFO-LAX is $72.) Other carriers have matched to a limited degree— but don’t forget: If you are checking bags, you’ll pay almost as much for your bag as your ticket on if you book on carriers with $20-$30 fees for checked baggage. Southwest does not charge fees for the first two checked bags.
To get the deal, you must book here: http://www.southwest.com/landing/fourthqrtr.html
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SAD: IRISH LUCK RAN OUT.
Aer Lingus’s big green jet will no longer be gracing the tarmac at SFO. The beleaguered Irish carrier will discontinue SFO-Dublin flights this Friday, Oct 29. Too bad.
Big Changes In Store For Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards?
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.
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.”
Free In-flight Wi-Fi — the latest trend!
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.
AIRLINE NEWS
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.
Like what you are reading? Then be sure and SUBSCRIBE to The BAT so you don’t miss a single nugget of info. Look to the right>>>> and click on the SUBSCRIBE links! RSS or email! Thanks! Tell all your friends to do the same! –chris
Double Miles De Rigueur
Most of the Bay Area’s biggest carriers are piling on the miles for frequent flyers this fall, making it easier than ever to attain or maintain elite status for next year. American gets the credit for kicking off this latest mileage bonus trend, followed by United. Then today, Southwest joined the party. Here are the various deals:
>Southwest: Rapid Rewards members who book and travel between Sept 17 and Oct 31 get one bonus Rapid Rewards credit per one-way flight in addition to normal earnings. This means you’ll earn four credits for every round trip, so if you make four round trips during the promotional period, you’ll earn 16 credits, enough for a free flight. Business Select customers will REALLY like this offer because they’ll earn 4.5 credits per round trip for flights less than 750 miles and six round trip credits for longer flights. Registration is required: www.southwest.com/rrbonus
>American AAdvantage members get double elite qualifying miles now through Dec 15. Register at www.aa.com/elite
>United Mileage Plus is offering double miles OR double segments, but not both through Dec 15. Register for double miles here: at www.united.com/offer/mpw049. If you typically fly more short-stage flights, go for the segments. Register here: www.united.com/offer/mpw059.
Also on the mileage front…..
Elite bonuses: United is making a special offer to Elite members who will earn at least 35,000 miles by the end of the year. They’ll get to choose between a one-time Red Carpet Club pass ($50 value) and 7,500 bonus miles. If you are Premier Exec and earn at least 75,000 by the end of the year, you get two Red Carpet passes ($100 value) or 15,000 miles. 1K Members who earn at least 125k miles get two systemwide upgrades or 25,000 miles. (You must sign on to your Mileage Plus account to register.)
American’s making a similar offer to it’s elite flyers: Gold members who fly between 40,000 and 50,000 miles by year’s end will be able to choose between two 500-mile upgrades, a one day Admirals Club pass or 7,500 bonus miles. Platinums who fly 75,000 to 100,000 miles choose four 500-mile upgrades or two Admirals Club one-day passes, or 15,000 bonus miles or one-year Gold status for a friend. Executive Plat members who fly 125,000 EQMs by year’s end can choose two one-way systemwide upgrades, a one-year Admirals Club membership, 25,000 bonus miles or the ability to gift a friend AAdvantage Gold status for a year.
Summer Airline News: Bag fees, AA shrinkage, nerds, Wi-Fi, more
BAG FEES CONTINUE TO RISE. Virgin America has increased its bag fee to $20 for every checked bag. Meanwhile, nearly every major carrier has quietly raised fees for checked bags to $25 for the first, and $30 for the second (that’s an additional $110 round trip if you check two bags…). Some airlines will knock off $5 per bag if you pay the fee online. For international flights, the new custom is one bag free, then $50 for the second bag. (As usual, fees don’t apply to first/business or elite level frequent flyers.) Southwest remains the only major carrier not charging for checked bags.
AA SHRINKS IN THE BAY. American has eliminated the once popular “Nerd Bird” flights between San Jose and Austin, (is the techie crowd switching over to more teleconferencing? Or is it the economy?) It’s also cut its RJ flights between San Jose and San Diego and reduced frequencies between SJC and Orange County. With Virgin America, Southwest, United and American all offering nonstop flights between SFO and Orange County, you just knew that one of them had to pull the plug. American will stop flying the route on Nov. 18. We think it’s only a matter of time before the great, shrinking United does the same.
HEY NERDS: YOU CAN STILL GET THERE FROM HERE. About the time American announced it was dumping the Nerd Bird flights, Alaska Air swooped in and announced a single new daily nonstop between SJC and Austin. The flight originates in Portland.
JETBLUE: MORE SFO, LESS OAK AND SJC. Hat tip to the fantastic Cranky Flier blog for this tidbit: “JetBlue will kill one JFK and one Washington/Dulles flight from Oakland. Those airplanes will now become a second daily flight from SFO to both JFK and Boston. JetBlue will also add two more daily flights to Long Beach from SFO and a single additional daily flight from Oakland to Long Beach. Those new Long Beach slots are coming from the three daily Long Beach – San Jose flights which are going away.”
MORE CREDIT CARD OFFERS FROM UAL. Chase is now offering United customers some new credit card flavors. The one that tempts me the most (since I lost Premier status) includes access to EconomyPlus seats ($275/yr). Another provides includes membership to the Red Carpet Club ($375/yr). Another gives Mileage Plus bonuses (such as triple miles for United purchases, double miles for everything else), paving the way to faster free flights ($130/yr). Details here.
UNITED CUTS REDEMPTION FEES. United has unilaterally dumped those obnoxious $75 fees for last minute Mileage Plus redemptions. Good move! Seemed mighty unfair to charge a fee for something that did not cost the airline a penny! (Interesting….other airlines have not matched this move.)
MY WI-FI EXPERIENCE. Your BAT editor has used in-flight wi-fi twice so far and was very satisfied with the experiences (The Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi system is now available on all Virgin America and AirTran flights and on about 60% of Delta planes. It’s also on American’s flights between SFO and JFK and should be on United’s PS flights at some point later this year.) Signing on is simple. The connection is as good as the one I have at my office (except when streaming video.) The only downside is that wi-fi hogs battery power (and the only carrier that offers in-seat power at ALL seats is Virgin America.) So my laptop shut down a couple hours into the four-hour AirTran flight between SFO and ATL—so I’m not sure I got my three-hour’s worth for $12.95.
ON-TIME PERFORMANCE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE. The DOT says that 76.1% of the flights operated by the nation’s 19 largest airlines arrived on time in June, compared with just 70.8% in June 2008. There’s a combination of factors at play here, including less congestion and more padding of schedules on the part of airlines. HOWEVER, NYC airports are still in the pits. Despite on-time improvements nearly everywhere, New York’s three airports are STILL stuck at the bottom of the list for major airports. JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports ranked 29th, 30th and 31st, respectively, for on-time arrivals at the nation’s 31 largest airports.
PLANES ARE STILL FULL. Don’t’ think that the down economy means you might find an empty seat next to you on the plane this summer. Airlines are pulling their large planes out of the skies, parking them in the desert, and using smaller planes instead. They are also cutting back on flight frequencies. As a result, most major carrier planes are running 80-90 percent full this summer…about the same as last summer.
HOW MUCH ARE THEY MAKING IN LUGGAGE FEES? According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, airlines are raking in the bucks when it comes to those obnoxious new checked luggage fees. American leads the pack at $108 million. Delta’s earned $103 million in fees. Which airline has made the LEAST on baggage fees (since it does not charge for the first two bags)? Southwest, of course, at just $6 million. And it even managed to turn a profit in the second quarter!
AMEX HONORING CLEAR CARD DISPUTES. If you charged your Clear Card on AMEX and disputed it, it looks like you should be getting your money back. BAT reader D. Cumpston was the first to email us with the good news: “I got a very welcome letter from AMEX last week saying, ‘We would like to advise you that the status of your claim on your account from Verified Identity Pass Inc. We suspended the amount of $179 and advised you we would contact the merchant on your behalf. Outcome: This dispute has been resolved in your favor. The merchant has not yet provided the information necessary to resolve your claim. Therefore we have issued a credit to your account and removed the previously suspended amount…’ NICE!” Thanks, Amex!
SPEAKING OF CLEAR CARD. After several recent Sunday afternoon flights and LOOOONG lines at SFO security (which looked much worse than they ended up being….they actually moved very fast) your BAT editor is still missing his CLEAR card fast track. It was such a nice insurance policy against security line disaster. Anyway….There are some rumors floating around about the possibility of a resuscitated program. Stay tuned as we sniff these out! But don’t get your hopes up.
NEW TERMINAL B AT SAN JOSE: The new Terminal B at San Jose International opened last month for Southwest Airlines flyers (only) since the carrier has laid claim to its first five gates. Delta and Alaska Airlines will move in when six new gates open in Terminal B next summer. For now, all other airlines use Terminal A, which is also under renovation, part of a much needed $1.3 billion makeover of the Silicon Valley airport.
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Like what you are reading? Then be sure and SUBSCRIBE to The BAT so you don’t miss a single nugget of info. Look to the right>>>> and click on the SUBSCRIBE links! RSS or email! Thanks! Tell all your friends to do the same! –chris
