First Class Is Dead. Long Live First Class

Qantas is suspending first-class service on three of its long-haul routes.

It’s a sure sign of the times, but is it the first step toward the transformation of major airlines toward one-class service? I don’t think so. What’s happening here is, I think, more of an evolutionary shift.

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Low-Fare Trash, Unite!

Are you a valued, elite, premiere airline customer or low-fare trash? Yeah, me too! And proud of it.

I ask because I’ve noticed an uptick lately in the contempt level for us folks in the back of the plane. Sometimes it’s subtle, as when United Airlines refers to its “most-valued guests,” raising the inescapable notion that the rest of us are “least-valued.” Sometimes it’s more obvious, as when an analyst mentions “low-fare trash” or cabin crew call their passengers “chavs.”

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Burning Those Frequent Flier Miles

I didn’t tell you to cash out of the stock market, but I did tell you to redeem those frequent-flier miles. Were you listening?

No? Oh, well. That’s OK. Nobody listens to me. I only half listen to myself.

The husband and I have burned through 180,000 miles of late, but we’ve got at least that much still hanging around.

The Associated Press reports that we’re not the only ones trying to use up the miles. Passengers are redeeming more miles for more award tickets of late, dodging high fares and scurrying to beat deadlines for newly imposed fees.

Do it now, folks, before it’s too late. Load up your wheelbarrow with those miles and see if you can get a ticket to Duluth.

Airline Miles Tanking

The value of your airline miles is dropping like a stone. Or, as business travel guru Joe Brancatelli recently described it to the Wall Street Journal:

 ”Inflating the currency and then having less product to buy and charging you fees to do it — it’s hyper-inflation,” he says. “It’s Zimbabwe.”

Hah! Great line. I love it. To quote Homer Simpson, “It’s funny because it’s true.” (Given the level of burn Joe can turn out, I’m honored that he calls me snarky.) Read Joe’s take on the situation in his Portfolio column.

I believe the WSJ piece came out before the latest hyperinflationary move from American Airlines. Soon it will take 50,000 Aadvantage miles and 1 billion Zimbabwean dollars to buy a cup of coffee.

Delta Restructures Frequent-Flier Program

Delta Air Lines has announced changes to its frequent-flier program, but not exactly what I expected.

I was betting on a straight-up, across-the-board increase in the number of miles required for award tickets. But it’s more complicated than that.  

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Time To Ditch The Airline Affinity Credit Cards?

I was already thinking about ditching my Gold SkyMiles American Express card when I got billed for the annual fee. It has gone up to $95.

The main reason I want out is that the miles I earn on Delta with that card are losing value. The fee increase just sealed the deal. I’m also going to take a hard look at my Citi / AAdvantage Mastercard, which earns miles on American.

I’m just no longer sure airline affinity cards are worth it.

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How Much Is That Free Ticket?

I was once lectured by an airline customer service agent when I complained about a fee he proposed to charge me for booking award tickets. “Those tickets are worth at least $1,200 each,” he said, adding that I was getting them “practically for free.”

It was a ridiculous and infuriating argument. Award tickets aren’t free at all. They’re purchased with a currency called frequent flier miles.

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Northwest Announces Cuts, Fees, Plus More Cuts And Fees

Airline customers who feel that service has gradually been chipped down to nothing while fees have been gradually piled on may appreciate Northwest Airlines’ latest announcement. Nothing gradual about this pile of bad news.

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Delta Adding $50 Fee To Award Tickets

Award tickets that you buy with frequent-flier miles used to be otherwise free of charge. Then there was an additional $10 charge to cover the Sept. 11 security fee. Now Delta has announced plans to tack on a  fuel surcharge — $25 for domestic tickets and $50 for international travel.

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How Not to Spend Your Frequent Flier Miles

There’s a new way to spend your frequent-flier miles and, like most deals being offered by the airlines these days, it’s not a very good one.

The deal is this: you can use miles to pay for part of a ticket. (Delta and Northwest offer this option, with restrictions. Other airlines seem likely to follow.)  So if a ticket costs $600 you could cut the price to $300 by throwing in 30,000 miles. 

It’s tempting.  Fares are going up and we could all use some help paying them. The trouble is with the exchange rate of 10,000 miles for $100 off the ticket price. It sucks.

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