United moving flights to Terminal 1 at SFO
Terminal 1 at SFO
Just in time for the peak summer travel season….and with little warning… it appears that United Airlines will move many of its southern California (and Vegas) flights to Terminal 1 at SFO. Its “primary domestic operations” will remain in Terminal 3.
In an email, airport spokesperson Charles Schuler confirmed ”that there is a plan for UA to start operations from T1 sometime in early June.” Schuler also said that United would be utilizing old Continental Airlines gates in Terminal 1 which were abandoned when flight operations were consolidated into Terminal 3 last year.
So far United has only confirmed that it is adding “new gates at SFO.” I have not been able to confirm that the slides below (sent to me by a reader) are from United. I’ll post confirmations and dates here when I do.
So… this means that if you are flying from SFO to Las Vegas, Orange County (SNA), San Diego, Ontario, Burbank or Santa Barbara, you’ll catch your flight at Terminal 1 starting in June or July. Those poor souls arriving on a United flight at SFO’s Terminal 3 and then connecting on a United flight to one of these cities will have to take a bus across the ramp all the way around to Terminal 1. Below, United says buses will run every 5 minutes.
Another downer: There are no United Clubs in Terminal 1, so if you were planning on a Club visit to load up before your flight to Vegas, you’ll be sorely disappointed. In addition, there are no dedicated United GS/Premier security lines at Terminal 1– flyers with status will share special lanes with the other airlines operating in Terminal 1.
Please leave your thoughts and questions about this change below….
Summer business class sale beckons bargain hunters
Lufthansa's A380 flying SFO-FRA has a whopping 98 business class seats
Economy class round trips between SFO and Europe during peak summer travel season (July/August) are now approaching $1,500 round trip– and will continue to creep up to near the $2,000 mark over the next few months.
However, airlines have a tough time selling those big business class seats on transatlantic flights because a lot of business travelers are on vacation during July and August. Due to the drop in demand for business class during summer, airlines are dropping prices– from the standard $6,000-$8,000 round trip to as little as $2,250 round trip.
For example, Lufthansa’s round-trip, all-in business class fares from SFO range from $2,250 to $3,500 depending on your final destination. (See chart below.) You must book your trip by May 31 for trips beginning June 29 and ending before September 1.
These fares are good on Lufthansa as well as its Star Alliance partners Air Canada, Swiss or United. United has matched Lufthansa’s business class sale. So have SkyTeam airlines such as Delta, KLM and Air France. Virgin Atlantic has joined in the fun. However British Airways does not appear to be joining in on the sale at this time.
Lufthansa fares from SFO:
With fares that low for business class…would you pay the premium for a big seat up front?
Spring-Summer fare sales creep out
Virgin America's new San Francisco Giants bearded livery. Thoughts?
Some good news for travelers… but not such great news for the economy today…
Typically summer fare sales don’t start until AFTER Easter. But this week, and in the weeks leading up to it, we’ve seen airlines kicking off the summer fare sale season a little bit early.
That’s good news for travelers worried that high oil prices that could translate into higher ticket prices, which could put a crimp in their summer vacation plans.
But when airlines put fares on sale early, it’s a signal to me that advance bookings for the summer might be a little weak. To me, this means that consumer confidence is still waning as travelers take a “wait and see” approach to summer vacation.
For the most part, spring and summer fare sales so far have been fairly restrictive– for example, many require travel on slow days like Tuesdays or Wednesdays in order to get the lowest fares. Most sales only last for a few days. Plus, I’ve not seen too many sale fares that go deep into peak summer travel season– most up to this point have been good for trips into mid-June only. A quick scan of peak (July-August) fares still shows a few eye-poppers– with no sales so far during the summer peak.
Here are the details on the current crop of early summer fare sales– they are led by low fare carriers, but majors are matching these deals, too. (All sample fares below are for roundtrips and include all taxes and fees. These fares were available when I checked on the morning of April 3, but are subject to selling out.)
VIRGIN AMERICA: In honor of its partnership with the San Francisco Giants and the newest member of its fleet taking to the skies this week (see the Giants-inspired “Fly Bye Baby” bearded aircraft above), Virgin America launched a “#flythebeard” fare sale. Sample roundtrip fares for travel through June 13 are: $160 to Las Vegas, Los Angeles or San Diego or $280 round trip to New York. A special introductory fare of $218 to Portland is good for flights from June 5 through Oct 17. Sale expires April 5. Details.
JETBLUE has a great one-day sale that expires tonight at midnight tonight, but you can fly all the way through June 20. Not available on Fridays or Sundays. Sample sale fares from SFO: Long Beach $100. Austin $200; New York JFK $240 or to Boston or Ft Lauderdale for $280. Details
UNITED is offering round flights to Seattle for just $200; Austin for $249; Denver $278; Dallas Ft Worth or Newark for $320. Details.
SOUTHWEST is offering a 24-hour sale for flights to/from Chicago Midway. From SFO, you can fly for $287.50 round trip on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Saturdays through May 23. Details
Are these fares low enough to spur you into action, or are you going to wait and see what else might come along? Please leave your comments below!
Is United melting down?
photo credit: Flickr / PDX.rollingthunder
As most frequent flyers in the Bay Area know by now, United undertook the massive job of “cutting over” to a new reservations system last week.
While United has been putting a good spin on how well the process is going, I’m hearing from readers and reading online reports that things are still a bit bumpy.
The timing is unfortunate because this week is the beginning of the peak spring break travel season when frequent travelers have to share their precious space at airports and on airplanes with marauding crowds of rowdy college students.
Here’s the latest from United, which hints at some issues:
United and Continental recently migrated to a single passenger service system. This was the single largest technology conversion in aviation history, and the vast majority of our systems are functioning as planned. After the conversion, we have had dependable airline operations and good on-time performance. However, we have had some technical issues that have affected our customers, as would be expected with a very complex systems change. We have already solved many of them and are working to rapidly solve the remaining issues.
You may have a longer wait time to reach our phone-contact centers and we are working to reduce the time it takes for you to reach us. We have increased staff at our contact centers to serve you better. We apologize if you have had difficulty with your travel planning, and we are grateful for your patience.
We have been rapidly identifying technical issues and improving the performance and functionality of our systems. We will be making even more progress in the days ahead.
I called United’s toll free number on Monday morning (Mar 12), and was told that my wait time would be 35 minutes.
Business travel writer Joe Brancatelli opines that bad weather in United hubs is magnifying the issue for travelers trying to get around or out from under flight delays or cancellations are spending hours on hold– or being told to call back. NOTE: Meteorologists are forecasting a week of foul weather here in the Bay Area that is sure to affect on time performance at SFO, OAK and SJC.
Blogger Gary Leff says that non-elite travelers are having a tougher time than elites when it comes to getting through on the phone to United. He suggests that travelers phone Australian call centers instead, which are not experiencing the same overloads.
A reader on Leff’s blog suggests an interesting new service I’ve never heard of… but sounds like a great idea:
Try using LucyPhone.com. It’ll let you initiate the call and then hang up and it will play a pre-recorded message (by you) to the agent who answers the phone while it calls you back. No more waiting on hold!!
The Houston Chronicle reports massive delays, long lines and frustrations over the weekend at United’s Houston Intercontinental hub– but reported that delays are more likely due to the peak collegiate spring break crowds (combined with bad weather) than the cutover.
So let’s hear it from the Bay Area! How’s it been going on your United flights over the last week? Is the situation getting better or worse? Please leave you comments below.
Traveler beware: United’s big “cutover” starts this weekend
If you are flying United Airlines this weekend or in coming weeks, it’s time to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That’s because this weekend United will undertake one of the toughest parts of its integration process with Continental: The Cutover.
In the wee hours of the early morning on Saturday, March 3, Continental’s reservations system and frequent flyer program will combine with United’s, and both will switch to a new electronic platform.
While everyone hopes everything will go smoothly during the transition, history has not been kind to airlines undertaking such major changes. Remember when Virgin America cut over to a new system last fall…. resulting in massive mix ups, lost upgrades, inability to manipulate online reservations or check in, and hours (and hours) spent on hold? Keep in mind that Virgin America is teensy tiny compared to United, which is now the world’s largest airline. On the other hand, when Delta and Northwest cut over in 2010, the process proceeded smoothly.
Things could go swimmingly, or things could go horribly wrong…very wrong. The best advice for now is to plan ahead. Get to the airport early. Print hard copies of your itinerary, boarding passes, upgrade confirmations, etc and be sure you have “record locator numbers” handy at all times.
Also, keep an eye out on frequent flyer bulletin boards such as Milepoint or FlyerTalk– both of which have published the following missive from United. If problems develop, you’ll hear about them first on these sites– from either United or its frequent travelers. You can also expect to see plenty of action on United’s twitter page @United.
If you are traveling on United or Continental this weekend, good luck! If you encounter any problems or issues…or even if you find smooth sailing, leave your comments below to let fellow travelers know what to expect.
Here’s what United is saying as of Thursday evening, March 1:
Hi Everyone, as you know, we are making final preparations to migrate our two airlines into one reservation platform (Passenger Service System, or PSS) on March 3rd. There are a lot of changes coming on this day – we’re going to have a single loyalty program, a single set of policies and a single system.
This master thread will hopefully serve as a singular resource for:
Answering your questions about the conversion. There are already many threads with questions about this change. We posted some initial tips last week, and there’s more to come. We will do our best to keep track of your questions and answer them here.
Keeping you updated before during and after. Starting tomorrow, we will be here 24/7 through the weekend and will be tracking issues that you report. Specific examples of issues are appreciated, and you’re welcome to post them here or send them to us via PM.
What to know in advance
We won’t be able to serve you online or over the phone for a couple hours. Specifically, starting at 1 a.m. U.S. Central Time, online check-in, united.com, our mobile applications and our contact centers will not be available for approximately 3 to 4 hours.
Some capabilities will not resume immediately. As we begin to bring systems back online, updates to some features may still be in progress and not immediately available. We’ve started a list of known items below.
Tips if you’re traveling March 3rd. If you are unable to print your boarding pass in advance, or if you have bags to check, please allow extra time at the airport. Also, all flights that were scheduled to operate as Continental Airlines (CO) will be operating as United Airlines (UA) so, be sure to check united.com (once we’re back up) or monitors at the airport for correct terminal and gate information.
MileagePlus Account Experiences
Combined balances may not display right away. If you check your MileagePlus account balance right away, you may find that your 11-digit and 8-character account balances do not display your combined balance (even if you’ve linked your accounts) right away. The process of combining balances will begin once our systems come back online and we’ll process these by status. Many accounts will be combined in the first couple days. If you log in and find your account balance has not been combined, the action of logging in will trigger the process which should then complete within a day or two.
Worth noting: If you would like to book award travel before your full mileage balance displays, you can reserve your flights on united.com and choose to hold your itinerary free for up to 72 hours with our FareLock option.
Most, but not all, profile information will be carried forward from the former united.com. For those of you who have credit card information stored in your united.com profile, this data will not be migrated to the new platform for security reasons. When you log into your account for the first time, please confirm your profile details, email subscriptions and Flight Status Notification options.
Status for Million Miler companions will not be updated until mid-March. Status for Million Miler companions that were designated on the subsidiary United system, will take up to two weeks to reflect. Once the status is updated, new credentials will be mailed to the member.
As always, thank you for your feedback and support as we take this important step toward becoming United.
Shannon Kelly
Director, Customer Insights
United Airlines
SFO gets new nonstops to Washington DC Reagan National Airport
Reagan Washington National Airport is so close to DC that you can see the city's monuments from runways. (Photo: MWAA)
Starting May 14, United Airlines will (finally) offer nonstop Boeing 737-700 flights between San Francisco (SFO) and the close-in, convenient Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Since Washington National is slot controlled, United is only able offer a single daily flight departing SFO at 12:30 pm and arriving Washington at 8:45 pm. On the return, the flight will depart DC at 8:00 am and arrive at SFO at 11:10am.
Because the service is still subject to government approval, a United Airlines spokesperson declined to offer more details until the flights are loaded in its reservation system and for sale.
For those with business in downtown DC, the new flight will eliminate the lengthy, frustrating 45-60 minute ride from Dulles International into the city. Currently, United and Virgin America fly nonstop between SFO and Dulles.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is located across the Potomac from the Capitol, and the drive into the city takes about 15 minutes—by cab or by the convenient METRO rail system with a stop inside the airport.
SFO is finally getting these flights as a result of new FAA legislation signed into law by President Obama on February 14. The legislation grants a total of 16 exemptions to old “perimeter rules” that forbid nonstops into Reagan National from airports located more than 1,250 miles away.
Eight of those slots will be awarded to legacy carriers such as United, Delta, US Airways or American—and another eight will be awarded to new entrant carriers such as SF-based Virgin America. However, Virgin America has confirmed that the low-fare carrier must apply for the right to offer nonstops between SFO and DCA – as there is a different process for legacy airlines versus smaller carriers.
“As the only airline headquartered in San Francisco, it is absolutely our hope to serve SFO-DCA since the Bay Area has essentially been shut out of nonstop DCA service until now. Any move to increase service is a good thing for consumers and we hope that we will be able to bring low-fare competition to the route—when more airlines compete, consumers win,” said Virgin America spokesperson Abby Lunardini.
Will you fly into Reagan National instead of Washington-Dulles? What are your thoughts on this new option? Please leave your comments below.
Take a look inside United’s newly configured Boeing 777
You can spot a Boeing 777 by the pinched (vs cone-shaped) rear tip of the fuselage (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Slowly but surely, United is rolling out its popular true lie-flat business and first class seats across its international long haul fleet.
According to its website, all of the carrier’s Boeing 747′s and 767′s now have the new business and first class seats. The revamp of its Boeing 777-200 fleet is about halfway there– with 24 out of 46 completed.
United is also installing brand new coach seats in its B777′s, and reconfiguring the cabin from a 2-5-2 to a 3-3-3 layout. (You can see a seat map here.) United’s B777′s are 11-13 years old, on average. Eventually, Continental’s 22 B777′s will be folded into the United fleet, but for now will remain with Continental’s BusinessFirst configuration– which also offers a true lie-flat seat.
From SFO, United has deployed the newly configured B777s on nonstop routes to: London, Tokyo-NRT, and Shanghai.
In December, United invited me out to its maintenance hanger at SFO where most of the reconfiguring is taking place. Below you’ll find photos and info on the new design. Once you’ve had a look, or if you’ve flown on one of these birds, leave your comments about it below!
Check out how big the first class section looks without seats-- like a gymnasium! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
At the back in coach, the B777 is now configured 3-3-3 vs. the old 2-5-2. The new Weber seat "pivots" back, instead of leaning back into the face of the person behind you. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Knee-room in Economy Plus is not bad! Economy Plus provides 34" of "pitch" -- three more inches than standard coach at 31". (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Every coach seat gets a new 7" seat back screen with 150 hours of programming with a variety of movies (all free), television programs, games, and music. If you'd rather BYO entertainment, United's also installed two power outlets for every row of 3 coach seats-- which means you might have to share the juice. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
United and British Airways are the only two carriers to offer front AND rear-facing business class seats. United said it can fit more business class seats into the cabin this way-- and has received few complaints from rear-facers. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Here's another angle so you can see what I mean by forward and rear-facing seats. All biz class seats now have a power plug, USB 2.0 plug and iPhone/iPod input plug. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Seats are configured 2-4-2 which means two middle seats for each row. But there's a nice wide armrest separating them. However, it will still take some maneuvering to get out of the middle seat if your seatmate is in full recline. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Plenty of legroom and a big 17" screen in both business and first class (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
There are eight "First Suite" seats on the B777 configured 1-2-1. Niiice! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Here's a full frontal view of the big First Suite seat. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
There's plenty of storage space for personal effects in the First Suite-- nice on those long hauls to Asia! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Many thanks to the fine folks at United Services at SFO for taking us behind the scenes! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
So, what do you think? In coach, is 3-3-3 better than 2-5-2? The lie-flat seats in biz are clearly better than the previous version. And how do you think the First Suite stacks up against competitors? Please leave your comments below.
(Chris McGinnis publishes The BAT and The TICKET blogs for frequent travelers. Do you have comments or questions about this post? Email Chris.)
- United and British Airways are the only two airlines in the world to offer forward AND rear-facing business class seats. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Update on United-Continental merger
There’s an excellent article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer this week about how the United-Continental merger is coming along. The piece does a great job showing how the merger will touch customers– especially frequent travelers.
>For example, the red carpet that United customers are used to seeing at boarding gate for elite level members will be switched out for Continental’s blue. (“Red is not in our color wheel.”)
>Cocktails at Red Carpet Clubs will be complimentary as they are now at Continental Presidents Clubs.
>United’s famous “Rhapsody in Blue” will remain the boarding music on the merged carrier.
>As many of us already know (and are thankful for), United’s Economy Plus seating will be installed on the Continental fleet…but not until next year.
>Not included in the piece (since Cleveland is a Continental town) is that Continental’s flights at SFO have already moved from Terminal 1 to United’s Terminal 3.
United execs say that the melding of the two carriers is currently about half done.
Here’s the link to the full story.
How you YOU feel about the United-Continental merger? Are you pleased so far? Or not?
Average age of US airline fleets
The roof of this Aloha Airlines B-737 peeled off during a flight between Hilo and Honolulu in 1988. Only one person, a flight attendant, died.
In light of Southwest’s recent fuselage failures, it’s interesting to take a look at which U.S. airlines have the oldest fleets.
Here’s a rundown, from oldest to youngest.
- Allegiant Air: 21.5 years
- Delta Air Lines: 16 years
- American Airlines: 15.1 years
- United Airlines: 15 years
- US Airways: 12.8 years
- Hawaiian Airlines: 12.1 years
- Southwest Airlines: 11.7 years
- Continental Airlines: 10 years
- Alaska Airlines: 7.7 years
- Frontier Airlines: 6.3 years
- JetBlue Airways: 5.8 years
- Spirit Airlines: 4.2 years
- Virgin America: 3.4 years
——
Source: Ascend Worldwide Ltd.
First United B-747 in new livery revealed
The first Boeing 747 with United’s new livery. Old plane, new paint. (Photo: United-Continental Holdings)
Today United unveiled the largest aircraft in its fleet, the 374-seat Boeing 747-400, in the new United livery.
With the first 747-400 rebranding completed, the carrier now has at least one of each of its mainline fleet types painted in the new United livery.
The company has completed painting 309 mainline and regional aircraft, which is more than 20 percent of its total fleet.
The ongoing visual rebranding of the company will accelerate in the months ahead, and you’ll begin to see rebranded airport facilities and new advertising.
One highly anticipated piece of news was revealed last week: The new United is making its popular, roomier Economy Plus section permanent and will expand it to Continental aircraft starting next year.
What do you think of the new look? Any thoughts about the new United? What changes are you most looking forward to?
Virgin America’s messin’ with Texas
A Texas-style greeting for Virgin America’s inaugural flight to DFW today.
First it was the San Francisco-based Giants. Now it’s San Francisco-based Virgin America tearing into Texas and hoping to tan some hide.
Virgin America is throwing a big hoedown in Dallas today to celebrate its arrival at Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport, the primary hub and headquarters of American Airlines. (American also happens to be the former employer of Virgin CEO David Cush.)
Dallas is also home to Virgin archrival Southwest Airlines, so it is time to pull out all the stops.
Those lucky enough to be on Virgin’s first flight (from LAX…SFO service starts Dec. 6) were treated to a catered Texas-style barbecue lunch on the tarmac upon arrival. Mayors of both Dallas and Ft. Worth along with small herd of Texas longhorn steers were there to greet them (see photo above).
Tonight, there’s a big party benefiting cancer research at the Dallas Opera House that will include a performance by Willie Nelson and an appearance by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson (natch).
American Airlines is not about to take a whoopin’ from a San Francisco-based outsider like Virgin, especially when it comes to the lucrative business travel market. To fight back, it’s pulled out its most powerful (and expensive) marketing gun: double elite qualifying miles on all flights between DFW, SFO and LAX from now through February 28. (To get the bonus miles, AAdvantage members must register prior to travel.)
From SFO, Virgin will operate just two flights per day compared to American’s nine. Its arrival in the market has brought down fares, with the lowest promotional ones now running about $260 round trip– matched, of course, by American and United. (Like Virgin, United offers only two SFO-DFW roundtrips per day and so far has not matched American’s double mileage promo.)
How will Virgin’s fleet of brand new planes equipped with seatback TV, Wi-Fi, signature cocktails and mood lighting stand up to American’s more conservative offering? Wrangling business travelers could be a tough for Virgin according to San Francisco resident Henry Harteveldt, principal travel analyst at Forrester Research. He said,
“It’ll be tough for Virgin America to get many business travelers with its limited schedule. Still, American’s actions show that it takes Virgin America seriously as a competitor, as they should. American will have to work hard to defend its market share. Virgin’s product and experience are tangibly better than what American offers. If Virgin adds more flights between Dallas and LAX/SFO, or adds other cities from DFW, they will give American a run for its money.”
In addition to some tough competition from American, Virgin is going to have to fend off nonstop competition between SFO and Dallas Love Field from Southwest starting in 2014. That’s when the Wright Amendment fizzles out, allowing Southwest to offer nonstop flights from SFO, OAK, SJC to Dallas Love. (Currently, it’s only allowed to offer one stop or connecting flights.)
United 747 buzzes SF Bay. Good or bad idea?
A United Airlines 747 swoops in over Golden Gate for a low-level fly over the Bay. (Photo: DGies / Flickr)
I was out on the San Francisco Bay with thousands of others for the Blue Angels show on Saturday. What a day!
Part of the show included a low-level flyover by a giant United Airlines Boeing 747.
I thought it looked pretty cool. But I heard some grumbling among the crowd I was with about it. When I posted some shots and video (below) on my Facebook page, a minor scuffle broke out between some friends who liked it, others who said it reminded them of 9/11, and a vet who was appalled at the invasion of corporate sponsorship into a military show.
Personally, it did not bother me much. Since I’m a window-seat sorta frequent flyer, I would have loved to have been on board peering out at the Golden Gate at such close range. Wow!
What about you? I’d like to get your reaction to seeing this big bird fly over the bay.
Please leave your comments below!
United tweaks new logo, livery
The new combined United/Continental released a “tweaked” new look today. (It originally just replaced the word “Continental” with “United.” This is a bit more refined.)
The new logo displays the combined company’s brand name in capital letters (UNITED) in a custom sans-serif font, joined with the global mark which has represented Continental’s brand image since 1991.
A corresponding update of the combined airline’s aircraft livery will adopt Continental’s livery, colors and design, including its blue-gold-white globe image on the tail, combined with the new-style UNITED name on the fuselage.
Scroll down to see both and leave a comment!
Summer fares soar out of SFO
I’ve been predicting a busy, expensive summer when it comes to air travel for a few months now. That’s because airline capacity is down, but demand is increasing as the economy continues to strengthen. When you combine those two factors, the result is higher prices. Which is exactly where the airlines want us to be.
So now that it’s time for me to start booking my summer trips, it looks like those predictions of high prices are coming home to roost.
Here’s a sampling of what I’m looking at…and what you’ll find, too. Ouch!
$500 to New York City. I need to be in New York in early June to meet with a large international airline. I need to take a morning departure from here to arrive in New York in the evening. The cheapest midweek nonstop fare I can find is $513 on American. There are a few one-stops or red-eyes in the $400 range, but I’m not willing to do that for $100 in savings.
$520 to Boston. I’m taking a work/vacation trip to Massachusetts straddling the July 4 holiday weekend, which means peak prices, so there’s no getting around high fares– in this case $520 round trip on United. Again, I can get a slightly cheaper fare for a one-stop or red eye, but I’m not willing to take that much time out of my holiday to save less than $100.
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$380 to Atlanta. I own a rental house in Atlanta that I like to go check on each summer. The cheapest nonstop coach fare on AirTran in June is running $377. Delta wants $409. Not horrible, but I’ve paid as little as $220 on this route in recent years.
$450 to Houston. In August, the National Business Travel Association is having its annual convention in Houston. I try to hit this one up each year because it’s so important to my business. But that $450 fare is making me think twice. This might be a case where I’d be willing to take a one-stop flight on Frontier or Southwest where the lowest fare is running about $340.
$1500 to Europe. Since I’m going to Massachusetts for my summer vacation, I won’t be hitting Greece in August. But I still like to THINK about going to Greece in August (despite the recent unrest). But not this year. With airlines reducing frequencies across the Atlantic, and demand increasing, fares are soaring. The least expensive one-stop flight from SFO to Athens in mid-August is now $1520. It’s like that all over Europe this summer. London nonstops are already about $1200 round trip. Frankfurt nonstops are $1500 in August. If you find anything under $1000, book it now!
(Note: I did a quick scan of fares on Kayak.com on Tues. May 11. Fares will undoubtedly change…but I doubt they will decrease much!)
Where are YOU going this summer? Have you checked fares yet? Please leave a comment below and let us know what sort of fares you’re looking at.
What United + Continental means to YOU
The new United livery keeps the Continental look, but changes the name. (Photo: United Airlines)
United and Continental boards have approved a merger of the two carriers, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
What does all this mean to Bay Area Travelers?
FARES: While consolidation and fewer competitors ultimately leads to higher prices, the reality is that Continental and United never really competed with each other out of Bay Area airports. And there are few routes from here that are dominated by the two. For example, nonstop flights between SFO and Houston on both United and Continental have always been expensive– expect them to stay that way. Those who want a deal on the route should consider a one-stop flight on low-fare carriers Southwest or Frontier.
FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS: Since it appears that United will be the surviving entity, Mileage Plus members should not expect any huge changes. If you’ve got any extra Continental OnePass miles lying around, those will be added to your Mileage Plus balance. Good news: OnePass has always been one of the best rated frequent flyer programs out there, so maybe Mileage Plus will cherry pick the good parts? Time will tell.
EARNING, BURNING MILES: Mileage Plus members already have access to the Continental network due to its recent inclusion in the Star Alliance, which added nice earning and burning opportunities where Continental is strong, such as in Mexico, Central and South America as well as the South Pacific (on Air Micronesia). See Continental Route Map.
ECONOMY PLUS: United is the only legacy carrier to offer its frequent flyers roomier coach class seats. Continental does not offer the equivalent of United’s Economy Plus seating (which I really appreciate on the long haul) so I hope the concept survives.
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P.S. FLIGHTS: I’m wondering if we’ll see those nice P.S. flights between SFO and New York-JFK shift to Newark where Continental has a large, efficient hub operation and better club space… at least nicer than United’s minor presence at JFK.
SFO AIRPORT: The combination of United and Continental will mean Continental will leave Concourse 1 and operations will move to United’s hub at Concourse 3, which will get even MORE crowded than it already is at peak times.
BRAGGADOCIO. SFO will also get bragging rights for being a hub of “the world’s largest airline” which will result when United and Continental merge. The new United will take that title away from the new Delta, which when it merged with Northwest, enjoyed a short life as the biggest player.
WHO NEXT? American and US Airways are likely entering a major flirtation stage at this point. They are the remaining two legacy airlines and will be dwarfed by the new United and new Delta.
More info from United on the merger here.
It’s a little early to tell, but here are my initial thoughts. I’d be eager to hear what you think about the merger and how it might affect your flying. Please leave your comments below.
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