More Than Points

We here at MTP usually focus on trends in the travel industry, rather than personal experience. However, a recent travel experience hits on an issue related to fuel economies and airline operations. I was recently traveling on a US Airways flight from Washington’s Reagan International (DCA) to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL). The weather en route was generally fine, though we did hit some headwinds and had to be routed around Tropical Storm Fay in northern FL.

As we neared our destination in South Florida, the flight had to be "re-routed" to stop in West Palm Beach (PBI) to pick up additional fuel. For those not familiar with PBI and FLL, they are 42.6 miles apart (give or take). Pilot said we had to stop and get gas; this turned into an extra hour for the flight to go the additional 40 miles.

It begs the question of just how low our fuel level was that the pilot was unable to go the extra 40 miles (or so). I’ve read some recent complaints that US Air is reducing the excess fuel on board to cut operational costs. Here are a few articles about how the pilot’s union is responding to pressure from the airline

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/18/20080718biz-usairways0718.html

http://cbs2chicago.com/national/us.airways.pilots.2.772910.html

To collect more details, I posted this message to a forum on the FlyerTalk website; feel free to read the responses of your fellow road warriors. Out of this whole experience, we did find a very interesting website which allows travelers to see the actual flight path taken by their pilot called FlightAware. Here is the actual path of my flight.

And that was how my day went.

The DOT has released some figures regarding air travel delays during the busy summer travel season.

• John F Kennedy International (JFK) in New York was worst among North America’s 40 busiest airports, with les than 55% of flights arriving on-time
• LaGuardia (LGA), also in New York, was the 2nd worst with 58% on-time arrival rate
• Rounding out the NY trio was Newark International (EWR) with a 60% on-time arrival rate
• For reference, the average at all other major airports was 74%
• JetBlue was the worst performing airline in July with less than 70% on-time arrival rate
• American Airlines was worst in June, with only 58% on-time arrivals

So, if you plan your travel around avoiding delays, then next year consider flying to Salt Lake City (on Southwest Airlines). SLC had nearly an 86% on-time performance, and as usual Southwest was the major carrier with the best on-time performance. Here is the full report

Delta, following the lead of its competitors, has announced plans to rollout wireless broadband internet access on all its domestic mainline fleet by mid-2009.

"Delta is joining with Aircell®, a 17-year leader in airborne communications for business and commercial aviation, to install the company’s Mobile Broadband Network on the carrier’s domestic fleet. The system, Gogo™, will enable Delta customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, to access the Internet, corporate VPNs, corporate and personal e-mail accounts, as well as SMS texting and instant messaging services.  Gogo will be available to customers for a flat fee of $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.
“Delta remains committed to providing a travel experience that maximizes the time our customers spend with us onboard by offering them even more productivity options,” said Richard Anderson, Delta’s chief executive officer. ”Our customers asked for in-flight connectivity, and we’re responding by rolling out the most extensive Wi-Fi network in the sky.  Beginning this fall, our passengers will have the ability to stay connected when they travel with us throughout the continental U.S.”

Gogo will be offered initially on Delta’s fleet of 133 MD88/90 aircraft and will rapidly expand to the remaining domestic fleet of more than 200 Boeing 737, 757 and 767-300 aircraft throughout the first half of 2009. The airline expects to have more than 330 aircraft complete by summer 2009.  The full fleet agreement between Aircell and Delta will provide a consistent, convenient experience for customers traveling on the airline who wish to use the Gogo Internet service."

Here is the original article from Delta’s News Room. By the way, American has already started this service on their 767-200 fleet; here is a review of the service by WSJ reporter Walt Mossberg.

In yet another round of travel issues with American Airlines this year (you may recall the issues with their MD-80 fleet), the world’s largest airline had to delay and cancel flights at New York’s JFK Airport due to malfunctioning software that controls the baggage sorting conveyor belt.

About 30 flights — of the 69 scheduled to depart from the airport Wednesday — have been delayed as of mid-afternoon by an hour to 90 minutes. The airline’s employees are sorting bags by hand and delivering them to the gates.

The airline is informing passengers that they can choose to fly without their bags and that it will deliver the delayed luggage "once the issue is resolved."

"We have brought in internal engineers and technicians from the system developer to conduct diagnostics," the Fort Worth-based carrier said in a statement. "We regret the inconvenience and we appreciate our customers’ patience as we work through this issue. Though it is not our normal policy, we will be waiving first and second checked bag fees today."

This is what you’ll see today in American’s terminal at JFK:

American did say that it would waive the fees it charges to check a first and second bag on Wednesday. Perhaps now is time to consider saying goodbye to baggage claims and ship those bags direct to your destination.

Kayak has an excellent reference for fees across all airlines which is updated on a regular basis.  I’ve attached a snapshot of the table as an example (Click on the thumbnail to get a readable picture).

 

It’s always a good idea to stay up-to-date on the fees so you can make the right decision for yourself and your clients.

A recently released Senate report estimates that flight delays in 2007 cost passengers, airlines and the broader US economy more than $40 Billion. Take a moment to absorb that figure. $40 Billion from lost productivity, added operational costs to support delays, increased jet fuel consumption, and impact to other industries.

Here are a few key findings from the Senate’s Joint Economic Committee Report

• The total cost of domestic air traffic delays to the U.S. economy was as much as $41 billion for 2007 including higher airline operating costs, lost passenger productivity and time, and losses to other industries.
• Delayed flights consumed about 740 million additional gallons of jet fuel totaling $1.6 billion extra in fuel bills. 
• Passengers were delayed by a total of 320 million hours, when accounting for padding in airline schedules.  Almost 20 percent of total domestic flight time in 2007 was wasted in delay. 
• Flight delays were longest during summer vacation months. Flight delays during the months of June, July and August averaged approximately 414,000 total hours of delay per month. Flights during December – the height of holiday traveling – totaled almost 438,000 hours of delay.
• 78% of flight delays in 2007 occurred before take-off, with 58 percent at the gate, and 20 percent during the taxi to the runway.
• 94 percent of all flight delays were caused by other flights arriving late, national system delays, or air carrier delays (less than six percent of delays were due to security or extreme weather)

The three largest airports in the New York City area, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports had a total of over 40 million passengers last year.  The New York City area airports combine for more than 27 million hours of passenger delays.And the average per-passenger delay at these three airports is nearly 28 minutes – among the highest in the nation. 

The full report and the technical appendix can be found here

In advance of your next trip, keep an eye on whether your connection takes you through any of ’America’s Most Time-Draining Airports’. Maybe you’ll seek a new route to your destination

Can you imagine what you’d do with that extra 20% of time spent currently in airport delays?

The Travel Industry Association commissioned a recent study on the state of the travel industry. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based association, said the research "should be a wake-up call to America’s policy leaders that the time for meaningful air system reform is now." "The air travel crisis has hit a tipping point – more than 100,000 travelers each day are voting with their wallets by choosing to avoid trips," Dow said in a statement.

From this study, we gleaned some very interesting nuggets worth sharing

• Nearly half of American air travelers would fly more if it were easier, and more than one-fourth said they skipped at least one air trip in the past 12 months because of the hassles involved.
• The 41 million forgone trips cost the travel industry $18.1 billion – including $9.4 billion to airlines and $5.6 billion to hotels.
• The lost tax revenue to federal, state and local authorities equals $4.2 billion in the past 12 months.
• When 28% of air travelers avoided an average of 1.3 trips each, that resulted in 29 million leisure trips and 12 million business trips not being taken
• 44% of the air travelers surveyed said they would take more air trips each year if airport hassles could be reduced or eliminated
• People who flew more than five times in the past 12 months were more likely to describe air travel as frustrating, at 52 percent, compared with 33 percent of infrequent travelers, defined as people who flew one or two round trips in 12 months, according to the survey.
• More than half of respondents said either efficiency or reliability is getting worse, 60 percent said the system is deteriorating, and 56 percent said flying is the "bad" or "worst" part of travel – though 62 percent said air travel security is improving

I’m surprised that only half of flyers find air travel frustrating. When was the last time you ran into someone who enjoyed their flight?

For the 2nd time since the TSA implemented it’s "No-Fly" list, I found myself on the list of flyers prohibited from checking in because I present a potential threat to national security. True? Doubtful. Here are my travel credentials: 1K flier with United Mileage Plus, Gold Medallion status with Delta, Silver OnePass with Continental, Platinum with Marriott, etc. Have I painted a sufficient picture? Needless to say, the frequency of my travel should remove me from this list immediately.

The most interesting thing is that I was placed on the list within days of receiving clearance for the Fly Clear card. If you’re not familiar with this program, it requires a significant background check by the TSA, so you’d think it would be safe for me to get on an airplane. Needless to say, for about 2 months I was unable to check in online and had to be manually cleared for check-in before boarding every flight.

Want to avoid being on the list? Here are a few steps you can take

1. Check Whether Your Name Appears on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals List
2. Check Your Credit Reports For OFAC Alerts
3. Check Your Name for Terrorist Matches at S3 Matching Technologies’ TeraMatch
4. Use the DHS TRIP Program to Resolve Appropriate Travel Related Issues
5. Contact an Attorney, If You are Placed on a No Fly List in Error
6. Get Up to Date Information
7. Vote For Candidates Who Support Watchlist and Civil Rights Safeguards

My approach was to file a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security TRIP program (#4). This worked and now I’m free to check in online and fly the friendly(?) skies again.

Here are a few celebrities and unlikely terrorists that have also been detained: Nelson Mandela, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), US Rep. Don Young (D-AK), US Rep John Lewis (D-GA), singer Cat Stevens.

You can find the full text of the article here

United Airlines recently added the feature for Mileage Plus members to purchase an additional 1,000 miles on upcoming roundtrip flights for a fee of $20. So, in addition to the miles you earn with your flight, they are letting you tack on a few extras. Registration in advance of your flight is required.

Terms and Conditions

As you are a valued United® Mileage Plus member, we are pleased to offer you a special opportunity: Receive an extra 1,000 bonus miles on your next United roundtrip for just $20. Simply register and pay $20, and your account will be credited with 1,000 bonus miles after your next paid, qualifying flight on United, United Express® or Ted^SM.

Registration is required prior to travel for each qualifying roundtrip completed before December 31, 2008. There is no limit to the number of bonuses you can earn, though only one bonus can be applied per roundtrip. The registration fee is $20 per bonus.

Members must register for this offer at united.com/addmiles between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Valid credit card will be billed immediately for the registration fee. Registration fees are non-refundable and are subject to change. Prices are quoted in USD and include applicable federal excise tax. Roundtrip is required. A roundtrip is defined as travel from an origin city to a destination city with return travel beginning in the outbound destination city back to the first origin city with all segments on United, United Express or Ted. Open jaw and circle trips do not qualify. Valid only on paid, qualifying roundtrips completed between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008. Members will earn 1,000 bonus miles on the first qualifying roundtrip originating and completed after offer registration. Valid only on flights operated by United, United Express or Ted and not on United-marketed code share flights operated by other carriers. Offer is combinable with other bonus mile offers. This bonus may be earned a maximum of one time per qualifying roundtrip. Members may register to earn this bonus an unlimited number of times for qualifying roundtrips completed by December 31, 2008. The registration fee is $20 per bonus. Must be a Mileage Plus member to participate in this offer. Miles for the completed qualifying flight must be posted to the Mileage Plus account in order to qualify for this bonus. Allow 1-2 weeks after your flight posts to your account for the bonus miles to be applied. Bonus miles do not count toward elite qualification. All standard Mileage Plus rules and conditions apply. Miles accrued, awards issued and bonus offers are subject to the rules of the United Mileage Plus program. The Mileage Plus program, including accruals, awards and bonus miles offers, is subject to change without notice. Offer subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. United and Mileage Plus are registered service marks. For complete details about the Mileage Plus program, visit www.united.com (MPD038)

This seems like a reasonable cost for miles ($0.02/mile) which is about market value of a mile. However, the miles do NOT count toward Elite Qualification.

This might also be viewed as a way for the airlines to capture more revenue from the consumer while further de-valuing the miles you accrue through actual flights.

For those who travel on the Monday to Thursday schedule, the idea of being out of town Sunday night can be both disheartening and de-moralizing. However, it does come with a few upsides: 1) airports are usually less crowded; 2) flights are less full, making it easier to get the elusive space-available upgrade; and 3) the added rest of not waking up at 4 AM on Monday helps you make it through a busy Monday out of town.

Starwood has just added an incentive to travel out on Sunday with added Starpoints for Thursday through Sunday stays. Register for the promotion here.

Terms and Conditions

Now through September 30, 2008, earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints for Sunday through Thursday stays at participating Starwood hotels and resorts.

*Participation dates vary by hotel. In addition, stays at Four Points^® by Sheraton hotels will receive 500 bonus Starpoints rather than 1,000.

View participating hotels in:   United States Canada Caribbean Hawaii

Happy travels.