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US Airways announced an $8 billion cash and stock bid to buy Delta out of bankruptcy. If it goes through, the new company will fly under the Delta banner.

It’s pretty remarkable that US Airways is doing this, since they’re not even finished digesting their previous merger (when America West bought the old US Airways and took over the older rival’s name.)

The merger would mean a 10% cut in capacity (i.e., fewer seats, higher prices, fuller planes) and inevitable job losses in cities served by both airlines. Consumers and employees are likely losers here.

Two questions on my mind:

1) Will the emergent Delta be a member of Star Alliance or SkyTeam? I’d put my money on SkyTeam, given Delta’s size and international presence, compared to US Airways.

2) Will this announced offer lead to more mergers? United+Continental has been talked about for some time, though the latest buzz has United going private. But airlines are making money, for now, and the impetus to merge has faded somewhat. US Airways is striking now, while Delta is still in bankruptcy court, and control of the company rests with creditors.

We’ll see what happens.

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It’s not Halloween, it’s ‘Take Your Columnist To Work Day’!
The New York Times’ Joe Sharkey, apparently tired of writing about business travel for his business travel column, pays a visit to someone’s place of business instead. But it’s no ordinary cubiclefest, but the wacky offices of Vegas.com. Joe’s money quote that makes the whole article worthwhile, though, is this: “Once, for a newspaper story in Philadelphia, I went to the animal shelter to bail out a stripper’s boa constrictor that was part of her act (the job of the snake, who adored her, was to untie her bikini top on stage).” Baby, that’s journalism.

It’s not Earth Day, either
Environmentalists in the UK aren’t cutting KLM any slack. The airline is introducing coffee grown on “sustainable” plantations, but the announcement was greeted with scoffs. Since airlines pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a few acres of shade-grown coffee apparently don’t matter. Okay… but the airlines aren’t going to stop burning jet fuel overnight, and they have a choice TODAY regarding shade-grown vs. clear-cut-the-rainforests coffee. Give KLM a little credit.

Tehran is lovely this time of year
Iran is looking to attract tourists, and what better way to get them than to offer cash incentives? Iranian travel agents get a $20 bounty for every Western tourist they attract. Maybe they should start a rewards program for the visitors, though…

Air New Zealand goes ’round the world
Last week, Air New Zealand started flying from Hong Kong to London, making it the only airline to fly around the globe. (United gave up its Washington-London-Delhi-Hong Kong-Los Angeles-Washington circle in 2001, the previous holdout of single-airline RTW travel.) You can fly the loop for £801 (US$1521) including taxes for flights starting in London with stops along the way in Hong Kong, Auckland, and Los Angeles — cheap for a trip around the earth.

The life and times of (lost) luggage
Jane Engle follows the path of checked luggage. It’s a long but interesting tale, with some of the bags ending up at the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama. Her suggestions at the end for making your bags identifiable are good ones, classics of travel advice. One variation on her suggestions, which I keep meaning to employ in practice, but somehow keep neglecting, is to print out your itinerary and put it inside the checked bag. That way, if the tracking tag falls off, it’s presumably easier to reunite you with your luggage.

Better food on Continental
Continental Airlines announced revisions to its menus, featuring recipes concocted by the airline’s “Congress of Chefs.” Call me a skeptic, but a stable of celebrity chefs doesn’t necessarily make the food taste any better at 39,000 feet. It still tends to taste like airline food… But change is good, and I’m all for trying out new recipes, so good on ‘em!

Reader Dave C. writes:

Rumors about United merging with Continental are in the news lately. What’s your take? Will it happen? What can passengers expect?

For a while now, these rumors have been floating around. Months ago, Continental’s CFO said he would be happy to see United offer a merger, as long as it came with a “bucket of dough.” (They’ve backed off that rhetoric, and now say publicly that they’d prefer to go it alone.)

It sure looks like United really is shopping itself. They just hired Goldman Sachs to “explore a range of strategic options, including possible mergers with other carriers.”

I’m no financial analyst, but when is the last time an investment bank DIDN’T recommend a merger or acquisition to a company that hired it? Call me a cynic, but the money is in making the deal, not in giving long-term advice.

The executives at United would stand to make a pretty penny on a merger, too. (United’s CEO just re-upped through 2011.)

So I think that SOME sort of deal is inevitable. Will it be with Continental? I have no idea. Route networks between the two airlines are complementary, but there are equipment differences and probable conflicts in determining seniority among employees. Plus, Northwest owns a stake in Continental and can play spoiler to any merger, unless it’s bought off. And the federal government can block any merger if it deems it uncompetitive.

You might also see some more complex deals. Hypothetical scenario: United buys Northwest but agrees to sell off the Pacific routes to avoid monopoly. Then United and Continental can merge. (Doubtful.) Alternatively, the companies merge but operate separately, like Air France-KLM in Europe. One company, two airlines. Who knows!

But the bottom line for travelers doesn’t look good. Planes are full, demand is there, and airlines are eking out a profit, even with high oil prices. When airlines say there’s too much capacity, it just means that they want to charge more. A merger would drive out competition and increase prices — at ALL airlines, not just United-Continental. Not to mention the mess that could arise from merging two frequent flyer programs.

I’m wary of a merger, and hoping it doesn’t happen.

(image: caribb)

Upgraded: Coach Seats on Cathay Pacific
You don’t hear much about economy class seats improving much. Sure, there’s lots of talk about upgrading business and first class. But it’s good to see the back of the bus being considered for upgrades. Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong, considered by many to be one of the best rides in the sky, is installing new seats that function much like business class pods: hard-shell seats that recline within the shell, not by pushing back into the space behind you. The tinkering extends the legroom without technically increasing the seat pitch. Sounds great! (via RoadGladiator)

Upgraded: Economy Snacks on American Airlines, at a Price
American Airlines will start testing a new program this week — and ONLY this week — to sell snacks in flight. Flights between Dallas and LAX, Dallas and Miami, and JFK and San Francisco are included in the test. Klondike Movie Bites ice cream, Otis Spunkmeyer Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Lay’s Stax Crisps or Twix ‘4 To Go’ candy bars will run you $3. Dannon bottled water (how many ounces??) will be $2 per bottle. Cookies, etc., fine. I wonder if the $2 bottle of water was devised before the latest airport security rules were relaxed. Not sure how many people will bite. Can’t you just get a cup or two poured for you for free?

Downgraded even more: The Ryanair Experience
Sensory overload! Ryanair is adding advertisements on the underside of the tray tables, so you’ll be staring at the ad for the duration of the flight. Yay. It just keeps getting classier. (via The Cranky Flier)

Upgraded: Continental’s Reputation
Boston’s Logan Airport wanted to make a buck by providing wi-fi access and charging everyone for it. Problem was, Continental’s clubs already provided wi-fi for free. The airport tried to shut down the free connection, but Continental resisted, took it to the FCC, and won. Hats off to Continental for defending the interests of their customers. (And if you want free wi-fi, hang out near the Continental Presidents Club and try to pick up a signal…)

tags: travel | airlines

The business class deals keep rolling in. Up next: Continental.

The cheapest:
Newark to London-Gatwick, $1141 roundtrip including all taxes. Great fare for business class.

But Continental has also upped the ante for leisure travelers by offering these fares during the peak holiday travel season, and including a range of other cities besides London. See here for the broader sale details. Purchase by October 25, travel must be completed by January 11.

(thanks to reader Craig!)

Related:
- Attention Atlanta: British Airways joins business class fare sale
- Delta: New York-London in business class for $1141 ROUND TRIP including taxes
- First class for less than coach?

tags: travel | business class | low fares | British Airways

Reader Anya writes in:

Hi, I’ve got some miles in my Delta and Continental accounts, but not enough for an award. Is there any way to combine these miles into my American Airlines account so I can have enough for a free ticket?

There are ways of converting miles from one airline to another, but not just transferring them directly, like you might move money from savings to checking. Delta, for example, is notorious for being the Roach Motel of mileage programs. Miles transfer in, they don’t transfer out.

You will almost always end up with fewer miles than you started. Frequent flyer accounts are proprietary currencies owned by the airlines that issue them. Any transfers or conversions are at their discretion.

There are two potential methods of moving miles:

1) Convert points from one account to another… to another…
Sometimes, you can move points from airlines to hotels or other services, and then back to an airline. Airline to airline is harder without an intermediate stop. You’ll have to open a number of other accounts, and there’s a time lag as your points move from program to program. Your options generally stink, because you lose a lot of value. 5000 Continental miles can be transferred to Amtrak, then transferred again to Hilton HHonors, and finally transferred to American Airlines. What’s left? 1500 miles. You lost 70% of the miles, but maybe that’s still worth it to you. If you’re looking for options, there’s a calculator and planner at Webflyer.com that offers conversion alternatives.

2) Points.com
Points.com recently merged with Milepoint.com. The combined firm exists to capitalize on people like you, Anya, whose mileage balances don’t add up to a ticket. Not every airline participates here, either, and (even better) they don’t let you know how what the conversion rates are until you’ve signed up AND registered your accounts with them. Then they’ll bombard you with junk mail on a nearly daily basis.

Neither option is particularly appealing, but if you’re desperate enough for that free ticket, maybe one will work for you.

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I received an account update from Continental Airlines OnePass this past week — it’s an airline I have some orphaned miles with, but I haven’t flown with them in a while, and I’ve never had status with them.

What struck me was the way my OnePass membership was framed. Right up top, I was labeled “Non-Elite.”

Why not call me “Riff-Raff” or “Pond Scum” while you’re at it? Will the airline be honoring my reservation, or will I need to wait at the bar?

I can understand the idea of incentivizing flyers to attain elite status, but labeling me “Non-Elite” sure doesn’t make this customer feel like the airline is interested in winning my business.

So I pulled up other family member accounts to see how other airlines label their low-rung riff-raff can’t-get-an-upgrade board-last sit-in-the-back middle-seat “non-elite” members.

Northwest: “Base Member”
United: “General Member”
Delta: “SkyMiles Member”

Notice the word “Member” appears again and again. Inclusive. Part of the club. Continental’s scheme doesn’t allude to membership at all, and focuses entirely on how close you are to elite status. Aspirational? Maybe. But it’s kind of off-putting. How would you feel if you logged into your bank account and before you even saw your balance, your account was labeled “Low Margin Checking”? (Unless you’ve got a 7-figure balance, of course…)

I guess I’ve learned my place.

Related: Debating the value of elite status

tags: travel | Continental Airlines | OnePass

If the airlines are going to charge for meals, drinks, headphones, and what-not, then it’s high time they made it easier to pay for the stuff, rather than having the flight attendants state that “exact change is appreciated.” Finally, in a country where everyone seems to use credit cards for everything, onboard use of credit cards is finally hitting the airline mainstream. American Airlines began accepting plastic on board many of its planes this week, with a promise to accept cards on all flights by June.

While credit cards have been accepted on international flights for some time (for duty free purchases), domestic U.S. flights have been oddly credit-card-free.

American Express Co. will provide the airline with portable electronic terminals. We’ve seen similar machines before — if memory serves correctly, United had them briefly a few years ago, but they were unreliable and were pulled after a few weeks. Alternatively, Continental has made it possible to buy “Continental Currency” using credit or debit cards at the self-check-in kiosks. These certificates could be exchanged onboard for alcoholic beverages or headsets. A good start, but still an additional layer of planning for the customer.

Making it easier to buy stuff onboard is in the interest of both the airlines and the flying public. For business travelers on an expense account, having a receipt or charging it to the company card reduces hassle tremendously.

Of course, I’d rather not have to pay for every little thing in the first place, but if I am shelling out the cash, I’d like the option of using my card. Which earns me more frequent flyer miles, after all…

(Update: ATA has also begun accepting credit cards in flight, but goes a step further: not accepting cash. Via USAT.)

tags: travel | air travel | credit+cards | American Express | American Airlines | Continental Airlines

USA Today’s Ben Mutzabaugh follows up the recent fracas over possible cellphone use in flight by contacting individual airlines and asking them what their policy on cellphones is.

The roundup:

AirTran: no to voice
Alaska: not sure yet
American: hedges, noncommittal
Continental: no comment
Delta: not sure yet
Frontier: hedges, noncommittal
JetBlue: yes to silent mode/texting, no to voice
Northwest: not sure yet
United: yes to wi-fi, no to voice
USAirways: not sure yet

Conspicuously absent from the list: Southwest. (The singing of “Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” will remain permitted, encouraged, and complimentary, though.)

Consider writing to your air carrier of choice with your views on the matter, too. So many of these companies say they’re “listening to their customers,” so they need to hear from you.

tags: travel | air travel | cellphones | inflight wireless

The New York Times’ Joe Sharkey says he’s giving up on elite status, and calls those of us who try to keep status “looney tunes.” He doesn’t see the value of his Continental gold elite status anymore, and he offers a single attempt at booking a 7-day advance purchase transcontinental flight as an example.

Baby, meet bathwater.

Maybe Joe should ditch elite status — on Continental.

While he is right that elite status on the major airlines is not the same today as it was even five years ago, it’s still a heck of a lot better than being a general member. My Star Alliance Gold status still gets me access to nice lounges around the globe, ability to reserve the better economy seats (without a fee a la Northwest), higher baggage allowances, faster check-in, and shorter waits at security lines. (Not to mention the bonus miles, which he says he can’t use.)

Joe mentions the difficulty of redeeming his miles for awards. This is another case where the specific airline may be the issue, not elite programs in general. Continental is notorious for limiting its inventory of saver awards, and its OnePass program has the nickname “Nonepass.”

Perhaps Joe should request a status match on a different airline and see how it works. Continental controls most of Newark, so other options might involve connections along the way, or a trip to LaGuardia, but if Continental isn’t giving him what he wants, why stick with them?

Getting a status match involves writing to an airline, with proof of your existing status on one of their competitors, and telling them you’d like to switch over to them. Each airline will generally only allow one status match per lifetime, so choose wisely.

An excellent Flyertalk thread on the subject, updated periodically with guidance on how to obtain that status match, is located here.

As posted here, business class fares from North America to Europe are often on sale in the summer.

That sale begins today: Continental Airlines has opened what could be a business class fare war over the Atlantic.

One thing to keep in mind is the 60-day (!) advance purchase requirement for these “Z” fares. No last minute trips here…

Prices are particularly good out of Newark. Other airlines may be matching or beating these fares in coming days.

(photo: Continental)
tags: travel | air travel | Continental Airlines | business class