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Another one bites the dust. American Airlines is the latest airline to cut your frequent flyer miles’ lifespan, this time from 3 years to 18 months.

In an e-mail to members, American announced that the changes would go into effect on December 15, 2007. On that date, if your account hasn’t had any activity after June 15, 2006, your account will be zeroed out. If you’re not a recent customer, consider your past loyalty discarded.

At least they had the decency to write, though the letter essentially reads, “What have you done for me lately?”

Frequent flyers who continue to regularly earn (or spend) miles on the airline don’t have anything to worry about, since the clock is reset every time you accrue or redeem. But for infrequent flyers who are slowly collecting their points, watch the calendar.

The change follows the trend: United and US Airways have recently introduced a similar 18-month account activity window to keep miles alive. Delta’s window is 24 months. Air Canada’s is merely 12 months — and even if you remain active in their program, they expire your miles after 7 years. Nasty.

Northwest and Continental sort of have expiration policies. Your miles don’t technically expire, but if you have no activity, the account may. (Northwest’s window is 3 years, Continental’s is 18 months.) That may be a matter of semantics, but from what I’ve experienced firsthand and heard from others, they haven’t been canceling stagnant accounts wholesale. Yet. Just a matter of time, I’m sure…

The lesson: No hoarding! So spend those miles, if you have them. If you don’t have enough for a trip, and want to burn through them, consider magazines.

Related:
- AAdvantage Mileage Retention Policy (aa.com)
- United cuts the lifespan of frequent flyer miles
- Air Canada joins race to the bottom on frequent flyer mile expiration
- Reader mail: Whose miles are worth the most?

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When free drinks aren’t welcome
Why would there be an uproar over an airline giving a customer a free bottle of wine? When that customer is a celebrity who just left rehab for alcoholism. A well-meaning Qantas flight attendant gave a bottle of red to singer Keith Urban, who apparently declined. But come on: give the flight attendant a break! Unless the airline is giving CIA-style background briefings about the passengers in the cabin, you can’t be expected to know the ins and outs of every celebrity’s (or every passenger’s) personal life. In fact, I was quite content to be blissfully unaware of Mr. Urban’s specific addiction before this imbroglio. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

Group hug: Mergers and partnerships
JetBlue merging with Delta? Rumored, but unlikely. Brazil’s TAM and Germany’s Lufthansa? Not a merger, but a codesharing partnership. United is getting in on the hot codesharing action with TAM, too. Lufthansa also joined up with El Salvador’s TACA, already a United partner. Are the Star Alliance invitations far off? And keepin’ it Star, is Singapore Airlines buying China Eastern? They’re buying a piece, but how big will that piece be?…

Can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?
British Airways, apparently in a response to the all-business class service from startups like Eos, Silverjet, and Maxjet, is considering rolling out all-premium service between unnamed European and American cities. Premium economy in the back, business in the front. No straight-up economy, and no first. (Thanks, Benet!)

Countdown to 7/8/07
Boeing has started assembling its first 787 Dreamliner, a plane manufactured in prefab pieces around the world and bolted together at the Everett factory. The debut is scheduled for July 8. 7/8/07… 787… har har har.

American updates website, makes it more like Southwest
American Airlines revamped their website, giving you an overview of the different fares you can book. The layout will be familiar, if you’ve ever booked on Southwest. Or Air Canada. Or Qantas. Or Ted. (Does anyone ever actually book tickets at the Ted site?)

Yapta comes alive!
Yapta, the service that tracks fares after you’ve bought, mentioned here last week, is now live.

Alaska Airlines downgrades their upgrades
If you used miles to upgrade flights on Alaska Airlines, you’ll have to buy far more expensive tickets in order to do so. Thumbs down. Gary Leff has the full scoop.

Reader Michelle C. writes:

I got this e-mail from American Airlines about a club with American Airlines: “Save $400 on airfare when you join the TrAAvel Perks® program! No inventory restrictions. No hassles…” It costs $134 to join. Is there a catch to this?

As a rule, I am extremely wary of any “club” that requires cash up front and then promises discounts in the future. There are usually numerous strings attached, with lots of fine print. The terms and conditions for this club are no exception.

American promises that its club will save you $400 in airfare. It’s possible, but you’ll have to work for it, and your timing will need to be right.
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Upgraded: Onboard pizza delivery
If you’re stuck on a plane for eight hours, the pizza is free! (While supplies last.) Yes, another airline incident, again on American Airlines, with passengers trapped on board the plane for hours on end. Been there, done that. It happened on April 24th, when a Dallas-bound 757 was diverted to Midland, Texas, but it took weeks for the news to trickle out, not even making real headlines anymore. (So when is that Passengers’ Bill of Rights making its way to the Congressional floor for a vote?…) But the reporting of the story contained this nugget that demonstrates the absurdity of the event: “Pizza was delivered, but only 50 to 70 slices, along with 30 bags of chips.” People weren’t allowed off the plane, but it was okay to order takeout?! And whom do we blame for messing up the order? Were they taking requests? If I were onboard and called in an order for barbeque, could I have had that delivered as well?

Upgraded: Ryanair’s pricing
Euroskinflint Ryanair took a consumer-friendly step in the right direction this week: The airline started quoting their prices inclusive of taxes. Considering the number of mandatory fees and taxes that are added on, that’s a significant change in policy. Good for them!

Downgraded: jetBlue’s CEO and his many apologies
JetBlue founder and CEO David Neeleman, who took a beating for the way his airline kept passengers stuck on board its planes for hours on end back in February, may have won some sympathy for his incessant apologizing after the incident, but his board of directors fired him anyway. “Sorry” doesn’t pay the bills, I guess.

Upgraded: Hotel wi-fi…for hotel management, not you
Next time you check in to a hotel, your minibar may get better internet access than you. Hotel managers are rolling out new features that link their back office to your room via wi-fi, as well as creating in-house wi-fi powered walkie-talkie systems for staff members. In other words, yes, they’ll use wi-fi to keep tabs on your minibar, but they’ll continue to charge you $10.95 a day for you to access your e-mail from your room. Lovely.

Upgraded: Deodorant
If your armpits have that certain je-ne-sais-quoi after you lug your rollaboard around for a few hours, then the TSA may soon try to register you in a database of travelers’ odors. I’m not entirely kidding. Wired reports that the federal government’s Technical Support Working Group is soliciting proposals for a system designed to collect human scents and record them in a database “for future use to track a specified target.” For civil libertarians seeking to avoid detection, the solution is simple: Start dousing yourself with other people’s sweat. “Freedom sweat,” anyone?

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Northwest axes its standby program
While yesterday’s guest blogger Tyler Colman couldn’t hop on the earlier flight of his choice on American Airlines, he should thank his lucky stars that American still actually has free standby as an option.

Today, with a press release that trumpets the good news and buries the sad reality, Northwest proudly proclaimed the expansion of its “FlyNow option,” which allows travelers to confirm flight changes on the day of travel for a $25 fee. But here’s the real nitty-gritty:

Northwest WorldPerks Elite customers will still maintain the ability to stand by for alternate flights throughout the entire day of departure and will not incur a fee if a seat becomes available. Beginning April 24, all other customers traveling on non-refundable tickets will be charged a $25 fee for same day flight changes, whether boarding via standby status or confirming through the FlyNow option. The $25 fee for boarding via standby status replaces the current option that allows non-Elite customers traveling on non-refundable tickets to stand by for eligible flights at no cost.

Bottom line: Free standby is gone at Northwest, much like it’s no longer available at US Airways. You’ll pay $25 to confirm, or to standby. Why isn’t there a discount for the non-guaranteed standby option?? (Hat tip to reader Sarah in the comments!)

United kills Silver Wings Plus and Ameniti
United has pulled the plug on its two travel clubs. Silver Wings Plus, aimed at seniors, and Ameniti, targeting paying business and first class flyers, are closing shop at the end of June 2007. Ameniti was fairly short-lived, but Silver Wings Plus was around forever. The clubs each cost money to join and provided discounts for certain tickets. (Ameniti gave free companion tickets on full-fare tickets.) But therein was the problem. Much like learning the rules of a frequent flyer program seems to require an advanced degree, the rules for getting the benefit of these clubs weren’t always obvious. Members will receive prorated membership fee refunds. (Thanks to reader Richard!)

Delta to offer carbon offsets
Travelers feeling guilty about the carbon emissions spewing out of their plane’s jet engines will be able to buy carbon offsets through the Delta website beginning June 1. It won’t be mandatory, like all-business class Silverjet requires. It’s more like Expedia and Travelocity’s optional offsets.

Some seat changes on American cost $15
Bought your American Airlines ticket from a travel agent or website other than aa.com? Then you’ll pay $15 to change your seat assignment over the phone with the airline. Seat changes via the American website are still free.

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American Airlines has launched a website aimed at women. Is this a step in the right direction, or a marketer gone amok?

Granted, I’m a man, and I’m not in marketing, but I think the site is awful. For starters, I’m skeptical of a gender-specific airline booking site to begin with. How gendered is a plane ticket? After all, this is American Airlines, a traditional international airline, and not Hooters Air or its women-oriented equivalent. (Chippendales Air? “Chicks dig planes!” Umm, no.)

But I could understand it more if American were pitching itself as an airline that actually catered to women’s needs more than other airlines did. But what are women’s needs, when it comes to air travel, and how could American really cater to those needs any better than their competition?

More after the jump…
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Upgraded: American Airlines’ fleet
American is boosting its delivery schedule of Boeing 737-800s, to replace the aging, gas-guzzling McDonnell Douglas MD-80s that make up half their fleet. The new planes will burn 25% less fuel.

Downgraded: Cash on Frontier Airlines
Frontier will no longer accept cash for onboard payments, beginning April 1. They join other airlines like ATA and Spirit in going cashless. Cash may be downgraded, but overall, and many will miss the choice of cash or plastic, but as an aficionado of credit cards (more miles! receipts!) this is fine with me.

Upgraded: European airline merger fever!
The open skies treaty’s passage on the European side of the Atlantic is sparking chatter of mergers and acquisitions. British Airways has expressed interest in bmi, Lufthansa is peeking around Iberia, bmi, and Alitalia, and Virgin Atlantic has supposedly been poking around the continent’s airlines as well. No trans-Atlantic mergers rumored quite yet.

Upgraded: Lufthansa lounges
Lufthansa is spending $130 million worldwide to upgrade its airport lounges, which are already pretty decent. U.S. airlines’ lounges, already a sad also-ran in the global lounge wars, will seem even more outdated and under-serviced.

Downgraded: Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer program
It’s not just U.S.-based carriers who seem hell-bent on reducing benefits for their frequent flyers. The Global Traveller bemoans the latest changes in Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program.

Upgraded: Luxury hotel brands’ geographic reach
Looking for a Ritz-Carlton or other high-end hotel? It’s getting easier. The luxe chains are spreading to second- and third-tier cities.

Upgraded: Regulation
Travel companies, from cruise ships to airlines, haven’t done a sufficiently good job of self-regulating, so here come the regulators! Beyond the PBOR, we’re seeing moves toward regulating the cruise industry as well as airlines. The pressure to re-regulate is snowballing.

Upgraded: Your stinky wardrobe
Brilliant! A charcoal garment bag that deodorizes your stinky clothes. (Via Dethroner)

Upgraded: Airport bathrooms
Coming soon to Raleigh-Durham Airport: Better bathrooms! Wider/longer stalls let you keep your stuff in sight. But this has me scratching my head: “Tilted mirrors will be placed above the urinals so men can keep an eye on computer cases even as they’re going about their business.” Won’t these mirrors provide others with a great show, too? I’ll settle for cleaner bathrooms, as a start.

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You’re sitting in coach and have to use the toilet. The line in the back of the plane is huge. So you walk to the front of the plane, perhaps pushing aside the wispy curtain separating first class from the cattle car. But you’re denied: You’re told to return to your own cabin to wait in line at the back of the jet.

Not anymore! Your lavatory is liberated!

At least on American Airlines. Starting today, coach passengers will be allowed to use first class toilets.

The ban on coach passengers using the first class toilets was imposed after 9/11 as a “security measure.” Presumably, passengers congregating at the front of the plane, waiting to pee, was a threat to the pilots. It was dangerous then, but somehow isn’t a threat anymore.

I’ve honestly got mixed feelings about this. The security argument always struck me as suspect, especially after the cockpit doors were reinforced. And I’m glad to see one fewer policy in this society that’s justified by the bugbear of security.

But, as long as the economy toilets aren’t overflowing, I don’t necessarily have a problem with separate bathrooms for first class. You paid for premium seats (or upgraded with your hard-won miles or certificates), so why not get a premium toilet?

So which is preferable? Democratized communal water closets, or a premium pissoir for a premium passenger? Sound off!

As reported a few days ago, American Airlines is trying to undermine the proposed Passengers’ Bill of Rights by announcing policy changes that promise service improvements, such as limits on the time passengers spend sitting in aircraft while parked on the tarmac. But should we trust this new policy?

Over the weekend, Joe Brancatelli wrote in to give the issue some historical context. The last time there was a real effort to legislate passenger rights, in 1999, airlines responded with “customer commitments” or “customer service plans,” which are still alive and well on various carriers’ websites.

These plans amount to a list of promises and goals, to which each company vows to adhere. Notably, however, these plans are NOT incorporated into the contract of carriage, and therefore carry no legal weight. They’re a voluntary set of promises, but promises are made to be broken. (Much like Delta’s promise to never put expiration dates on their frequent flyer miles, a promise they went back on recently… but I digress.)

In a 1999 column, Joe argued that the customer service plans were a sham. To this day, American Airlines’ customer service plan still includes this final paragraph:

We take the customer service goals in this plan very seriously. We know that you expect nothing less. However, the Customer Service Plan does not create contractual or legal rights. Rather, our contractual rights and obligations are set out in our conditions of carriage, applicable tariffs, and ticket jacket, all of which provide additional details on the matters discussed and must be consulted to fully understand your rights and our obligations. For example, we are not responsible for any special, incidental, or consequential damages for delays, cancellations, lost baggage, late refunds, or instances in which we do not meet our service goals.

So I share Joe’s pessimism. It’s nice that the airlines would acknowledge that a problem exists, but if the industry doesn’t put any legal meat on these customer service bones by incorporating them into the contract of carriage, then it’s really not worth celebrating. The proposed policies are probably just a cheap imitation of a real set of passengers’ rights. They’re a cynical effort to head off legislation. Keep up the fight.

Related:
- Earlier posts on Passengers’ Bill of Rights

Consumer interest in the proposed Passengers’ Bill of Rights must be gaining momentum, because American Airlines just blinked. The company is publicly making policy changes, in an obvious attempt to avoid regulation.

The Global Traveller caught wind of this last night, and details are now more readily available:

American Airlines Inc. says it won’t hold passengers on grounded aircraft more than four hours, a policy born from a December debacle in which thousands of passengers spent hours in Austin and elsewhere waiting for storms to pass inside crowded parked planes.
[…]
In addition to the four-hour policy, American is making changes at its systems operations control center in Fort Worth to better handle diversions and make sure officials are aware when passengers’ wait times are building up.

The airline is creating a position to oversee diversions and help schedule flights to get passengers back to their connecting hubs.

It is developing automation tools to warn managers when passengers have been on the ground a long time.

The carrier said it also was “reviewing all procedures related to customer handling and make appropriate changes as needed.”
[…]
4,600 customers on 67 planes sat more than three hours Dec. 29, a good portion of whom were kept on board for more than four hours.

American is sending apologies and vouchers of up to $500 to passengers who were subjected to waits of three hours or more on the ground.

Four hours in a parked plane is still more than the three hours that the draft passenger bill of rights calls for, but it’s better than nine…

Interestingly, too, the airline is trying to buy off the angry passengers by throwing them $500 in vouchers, six weeks after the debacle.

Something tells me that Kate Hanni and the other “stranded passengers” won’t be mollified by a promise and a voucher. They shouldn’t be. It’s good that the airline is acknowledging that there are problems with the way it does business, but more needs to be done.

Related:
- Will a passenger bill of rights be enforceable?
- Update: How to support the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights
- Do we need a passenger bill of rights?

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This isn’t living up to the blog motto of living the first class life at coach prices, but it IS living the first class life at business class prices…

If you’re flying to London, American Airlines is offering a complimentary upgrade to first class from semi-discounted business class fares. Full details here, with instructions on how to book it on aa.com.

The fare basis code for this fare is DUP — much like the Y-UP fares that seat you in first class under an economy class booking code on domestic flights. But be warned: these aren’t the cheapest fares you’ll find, so the value proposition is questionable. But if you’re booking a business class trip anyway…

(Thanks Todd!)

Related:
- Reader mail: Why are there no Y-UP fares to Europe or Asia?
- More tips on finding discounted first class fares (Y-UP, Q-UP, etc.)

The war on runway safety
Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport hasn’t worked out as everyone hoped, with cost overruns, insufficient bathrooms, and shoddy workmanship. But now, by virtue of its failure to renew its safety certificate, it’s officially unsafe. Runways have been plagued with cracks and debris. (You’ll be pleased to know that the airport is still operating as normal. Nice. Wouldn’t want to let safety get in the way of the schedule!)

The war on skycaps
Skycaps at Boston’s Logan Airport have filed a class action lawsuit against American Airlines. The suit alleges that the airline’s policy of charging $2 per bag for curbside check-in is cutting into the skycaps’ tips. Indeed, many people assume the fee goes to the skycap, but it actually goes to the airline. The fees exist at plenty of other airports and with plenty of other airlines. Will more skycaps organize and sue?

The war on horse meat
I really don’t know what to make of this. “American Airlines and Delta Air Lines said early Thursday afternoon that they had suspended transport of horse meat to overseas markets – mainly France, Belgium and Japan – where it is consumed.” Horse butchers are angry. It’s a long story.

The war on fusion cuisine
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture will soon travel the world, inspecting Japanese restaurants and certifying their authenticity. I realize that this is as much cultural nationalism as it is a marketing device, but it’s moronic. California rolls aren’t authentic to Japan, but they’re a standard of sushi restaurants in America. Deal with it. It’s a globalized world, and the notion of a “pure” cultural product is a sham. And it’s been a sham for some time. We’ve been globalizing for hundreds of years. (The spice trade, anyone?) But if the Japanese taxpayer wants to pay for this culinary boondoggle, have at it. (Thanks Dr. Vino!)

The war on broken in-flight entertainment
I get as irritated as the next guy when the audio-video system is broken on a long flight, but attacking the staff is probably not the way to go. Customers on board several Qantas aircraft that have been experiencing technical trouble with their video system “are becoming openly abusive and threatening” to flight attendants in flight. Not cool. Better bring a book.

The war for Delta
US Airways really, really, really, really, really wants to buy Delta. They’re now offering to raise their offer by another $1 billion if the creditors agree to postpone a meeting to discuss Delta’s in-house restructuring. Wake me up when this is over.

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