U P F R O N T
It's the Seats, Stupid
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Taking aim squarely at American -- and also shaming other self-proclaimed "full service" carriers which offer cramped coach-class seating exclusively or predominantly -- JetBlue kicked off the Independence Day weekend by announcing that they will reconfigure their entire Airbus A320 fleet. When the exercise is completed in mid-Nov., each plane will have 1 fewer row of seats, and 2/3rds of those seats will have gained 2 inches of legroom, for a total of 34 inches.
Low prices AND more legroom? This changes everything!
JetBlue's "comfort quotient" -- comprising new aircraft, enthusiastic customer service, seatback TVs, and now premium legroom -- combined with its simple, low prices will give JetBlue a significant value advantage over their competitors. And that advantage extends to ALL their competitors, from the AirTran/Southwest end of the spectrum to the Big Six.
Any airline which charges more than JetBlue, and expects its customers to endure seats with less legroom than JetBlue offers, simply doesn't deserve your money.
JetBlue has weaknesses, perhaps most notably in its frequent flyer program. As I've said before, offering a mileage program which expires points after just 12 months borders on the dishonest. And it's all the more flagrant for being so out-of-step with the carrier's otherwise customer-friendly approach.
But JetBlue's positives so conclusively outweigh the negatives that trotting out the minuses is done dutifully rather than with passion or conviction. One benefit at a time, JetBlue is winning the hearts and minds of the traveling public.
And more profoundly, they're raising the bar for the entire industry. Let's hope the competition rises to the challenge.
At United, Fuller Flights = Less Comfort
As if to underscore the importance of JetBlue's comfort initiative -- albeit inadvertently -- United just announced its operating results for June.
On a year-over-year capacity decline of 14.2%, traffic was down 9.8%, resulting in a load factor -- the percentage of seats filled -- of 82%. And that, the world's 2nd-largest airline crowed, is the highest load factor in the company's history.
Well and good, perhaps, from the standpoint of those with a financial stake in United.
But for customers, who have a stake in comfort, a load factor of 82% translates directly into dis-comfort, especially if they're confined to a coach seat with 31 or 32-inch pitch.
Elsewhere, Business as Usual
Meanwhile, American and Continental are touting their new e-device policies, which allow passengers to fire up their cellphones a few minutes sooner, both prior to take-off and after landing.
And Delta is experimenting with higher-quality meals, hoping apparently to deflect attention from their "less room throughout coach" seating. Ironically, they've reserved that cramped seating for their full-service flights; fly Delta's low-priced Song subsidiary and you'll enjoy an extra 1 - 2 inches of legroom (33 inches).
Carriers with a "Let them eat cake" response to JetBlue, and toward the traveling public, should bear in mind the fate of Marie Antoinette. (For those who've forgotten their French history: the uppity queen was paraded through the streets of Paris in an open cart and then publicly beheaded.)
M I L E S & P O I N T S
From AirTran: Discount + 50% More Points
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AirTran is offering discounted fares systemwide, and extra A-Plus Rewards points as well.
Tickets must be purchased through July 17 and may be used for travel through Nov. 19, 2003. Discounted fares require a 7-day advance purchase and are not valid for travel on Fridays or Sundays.
During the sale, tickets booked at airtran.com earn a half-point A-Plus Rewards bonus for one-way travel, and a full bonus point for roundtrips.
> More...
Alaska Puts Retro Credit Requests Online
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Mileage credit missing from your latest Alaska Mileage Plan statement?
If the missing miles were for an Alaska or Horizon flight, and you still have your ticket numbers, you can now apply for the credit online.
Go to Alaska's website and select "Mileage Plan," "More," and "Missing Credit." Key in the requested info and the system will verify the claim and automatically post the miles.
Sofitel Offers AAdvantage Bonus
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Through Sept. 3, AAdvantage members will earn double or triple miles for Sofitel stays at corporate, preferred corporate, company and Summer Getaway rates (discounts of up to 40% off published rack rates and breakfast).
Triple miles are offered at 9 Sofitel Hotels in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Germany, Egypt and North Africa; and double miles will be awarded at over 145 other participating Sofitels worldwide.
(There's an AAdvantage double-mile bonus in effect for Le Meridien stays through Aug. 31 as well.)
> More...
Northwest Permits Mileage Transfer
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Northwest's new mileage-transfer program allows WorldPerks members with a credit card billing address in the U.S. 50, Guam, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, to transfer miles between accounts through Dec. 31.
The cost: $0.01 per mile, plus a $25 processing fee. A maximum of 50,000 miles may be transferred from 1 account per calendar year.
(If this sounds familiar, Continental had a similar program in effect through May 30.)
> More...
Buy 1 UA Int'l Ticket, Get 1 Free
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United is offering Mileage Plus members 1 free coach ticket for every United international first or business-class roundtrip taken between July 9 and Sept. 14.
The freebie is a Mileage Plus award ticket, valid for international roundtrip coach travel. Award tickets are transferable and must be used between Sept. 15, 2003 and March 31, 2004.
There's no limit to the number of free tickets that can be earned.
Registration is required, at http://united.com/ or by calling 1-800-447-6772, promo code 793.
And yes, the same trip that qualifies for this promo counts toward United's "Fly Three, Fly Free" promotion.
Earn United Miles at Wine.com
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The latest addition to Mileage Plus is wine e-tailer Wine.com.
Earn 3 miles for every $1 in purchases, and a 500 or 1,000-mile bonus for enrolling in Wine.com's monthly or yearly wine clubs.
To earn miles, enter your Mileage Plus number at checkout using the "Gift Certificates & Promos" button.
> More...
S T E A L S & D E A L S
Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
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This week's hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...
Sale fares to/from the East Coast as low as $68
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AirTran and US Airways are offering sale fares for flights to and from the East and Midwest through Nov. 19, starting at $68 roundtrip. Delta has released a similar sale to/from Atlanta.
Book tickets on all 3 airlines at least 7 days in advance and by Thursday, July 17, for AirTran and Delta. US Airways has not announced a specific booking deadline.
> More...
JetBlue sale fares starting at $58
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JetBlue is offering sale fares for travel to and from California, Florida, and San Juan, PR. Travel is valid through Feb. 10, 2004. No specific booking deadline has been announced, but you must book your tickets 7 or 14 days in advance, depending on your destination.
> More...
S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S
American and Kellogg's Great American Getaways
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Through Mar. 31, 2005, American and Kellogg's will give away 112 3-day/2-night trips to U.S. cities, including New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Trips include roundtrip air, hotel, and $100 gift checks.
Receive 1 sweepstakes entry each time you redeem 5 American Airlines AAdvantage Certificates located on the back of specially marked packages of Kellogg's cereals for AAdvantage miles. It is also possible to enter without making a purchase.
Random drawings will be held on the 7th of each month for the duration of the promotion.
> More...
R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S
This Week's E-Mail Bag
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"Tim, there is currently a promotion with Key Bank that offers Delta Sky Miles for opening a new account. It looked like an easy opportunity to earn some miles. Open a new checking account and receive 2,500 miles, include a money market account and receive another 2,000 miles. Minimum deposit is only $1,000. Before anyone bites on this offer, however, be warned that the miles are considered a gift, and you'll be issued a 1099-int. The miles are valued at the
standard 2 cents per mile, but that means the 1099-int reports the Sky Miles as a $90 gift to the IRS. Next year you'll need to declare the gift as interest income and pay taxes on it.
"I've seen lots of promotions to lure in new customers using frequent flyer programs, but incurring a tax liability to attract me as a new customer is a ridiculous promotion. Delta Airlines should be embarrassed to be associated with this.
"If there is an award for the worse marketing programs involving frequent flyer programs, this deserves to be in the top 10."
- David
"Since ORBITZ is getting lots of TV advertising and promotion, I'm guessing many folks will try to use it for travel planning. Thought I'd share a recent experience with ORBITZ looking for hotels/motels closest to the Pittsburgh Airport this past week. When I ran a search using PIT as the location, the ORBITZ responses I received back as being closest to the airport were, in fact, DOWNTOWN hotels/motels some 9-12 miles away! I happen to work this area often, so I knew right away the Hilton and Sheraton Station Square, for example, were not anywhere near the airport. When I e-mailed ORBITZ about this problem, here is the exchange of responses (in reverse order from last to first) I received back, edited to remove the names of the customer service reps. Just wanted to alert other travelers to double check the locations of hotels they find on ORBITZ as the information can be inaccurate by miles.
"Thanks for your work and outstanding publication! I'm in my sixth year of heavy business travel (150 days a year) and your newsletter is read as soon as I get it to keep me updated!"
- Steven
"I recently received an email from American Airlines that they were ending the FF program with MCI and using ATT instead. There was a link in the email to sign up with ATT and you get a 5000 mile bonus when signing up. Well, I used the hot link, switched my long distance to ATT, which was all duly confirmed and completed with phone calls and confirmation letters. But none of the forms or confirmation letters ever mentioned the AA miles bonus or miles program.
"I finally called ATT and they said I had to sign up for that separately. After a couple phone calls and 20 minutes on hold with ATT Customer Service I finally got the ATT miles program phone number (888-359-2881) and got signed up for the 5,000 mile bonus and 5 miles per $1 spent with ATT.
"Perhaps you should tell your readers if they signed up with ATT, they should make sure to give ATT their Advantage miles number or they won't get the bonus.
"Thanks for your newsletter!"
- Gary
F R E Q U E N T F L I E R F U N N I E S
True (Funny) Travel Stories
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"On a recent AC flight from Montreal to Toronto there were the following 2 announcements:
"As we began our decent the Flight Attendant announced that the attendants would be coming through the cabin collecting any items you may no longer need such as headsets, newspapers. 'However, we cannot accept spouses and children, you will have to take them with you.'
"After landing the same person was making the announcements and reminded us to take our personal belongings with us and if we had any complaints about the service to please write them on a $100 bill, preferably a US one because 'God knows we need the money.'"
[Thanks to Steven, who contributed this week's story for the enjoyment of Crier readers.]
Until next week...
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