DL Flight: So I was stupid, drank too much and vomited before take-off

I couldn't resist posting this story from over on the Delta forum at Flyertalk. It is the funniest post I've read in a long time.

Basically the flyer is traveling on Delta, and downs a few drinks before the flight, then the title explains the rest.

Mileage Specials offered by World Hotels on Partner Airlines

This one's a little different since many of us are loyal to a small number of hotel chains, but it's worth checking out. You may not associate independent hotels and local chains with frequent flyer programmes, but with WORLDHOTELS you can reap the benefits of a luxurious night’s sleep while still enjoying the service and individuality our members are known for.

As a frequent flyer, each time you stay at one of the participating member hotels worldwide at a qualifying rate, you can earn 500 miles (or equivalent) per stay through the mileage programs of their airline partners.

Just present your frequent flyer card at check-in and, if your rate qualifies, we will automatically credit your airline mileage account.

US Airways Special Promotions:

For Dividend Miles members:

5000 miles per night in a Suite!
500 miles per night
2000 miles per stay!
1000 miles: Miles, Fruit, Wine & More - Take to Italy!

For more details regarding our other airline partners click here.

US Airways Race to Preferred Status

Get ready for the fastest, easiest way ever to get (or keep) Preferred status. Just fly between October 1 and December 25, 2009 on any US Airways or US Airways Express flight, and you'll earn Preferred status faster than ever before. The more you fly, the more you'll earn. Think of it as an end-of-the-year shortcut.

Here’s how it works:
Fly 7,500 miles or 10 segments and earn Silver Preferred status
Fly 15,000 miles or 20 segments and earn Gold Preferred status
Fly 22,500 miles or 30 segments and earn Platinum Preferred status
Fly 30,000 miles or 40 segments and earn Chairman’s Preferred status

Don’t worry, the miles you fly will also count towards the total miles you flew for the year – you’ll be awarded the highest status between the two. So if you fly 55,000 Preferred miles for the year but only end up flying 8,000 Preferred miles during the promotion period, you’ll still earn Gold status for the year.

US Airways will determine and award your Preferred status on January 10, 2010. You don't need to register (we'll keep track of your flights). Hard to believe, but that's what it says.

Not a Dividend Miles member? Join now.

Terms & Conditions:

Only Preferred qualifying miles and segments earned on flights operated by US Airways and US Airways Express can be applied towards this promotion. Only base flight miles and segments, including Preferred segment minimums, count toward this promotion. Preferred-qualifying bonuses, e.g. class of service bonuses and miles earned on flights operated by US Airways’ partners, are not applied toward qualification criteria. Retroactive mileage credits will not count towards your status unless they are applied before December 29, 2009. Enter your Dividend Miles number at time of booking to receive your miles into your account. This promotion is subject to all Dividend Miles program terms and conditions.

Fly more and save more with United

United Airlines has come up with an inventive way of reducing flight costs in 2010 allowing individuals to earn an electronic certificate for up to 50% off a domestic flight.

How it works:
Simply register for this promotion, and with each qualifying itinerary you’ll increase your discount, as shown in the chart below. You can start earning your savings as soon as you book and fly.

- Offer valid in all paid, published fares in United First®, United Business® and United Economy® classes.
- Electronic certificate will be sent via email within 4-6 weeks after the end of the offer period.
- Your Mileage Plus account must include a valid email address in order to receive the electronic certificate. Update Profile

Terms and conditions of e-certificate:
To qualify for this offer, registered members must purchase and complete at least one paid, qualifying roundtrip flight on United® or United Express® operated flights within the following ticketing and travel periods. For this offer, roundtrip travel is defined as two each-way segments with outbound travel from an origin city to a destination city and return travel from the original destination city to the original departure city. All segments must be on United or United Express, booked under one reservation and on one ticket. Open jaw and circle trips do not qualify.

Offer valid for members residing in the U.S. (including Hawaii), Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ticketing period: September 14 - December 31, 2009
Travel period: September 14 - December 31, 2009

Not combinable with other noncombinable offers.
Registration requirement: Registration is required anytime prior to travel, or within 30 days after travel, but must be completed by December 31, 2009 in order to qualify for the program. To register for the offer, go to www.united.com/offer/mpd579.

Passenger must be a member of United’s Mileage Plus frequent flyer program in order for travel to qualify for this offer.

A maximum discount of 50% may be earned for 6 or more paid, qualifying roundtrips on United or United Express operated flights taken within the qualification period.

E-certificate is valid for travel between February 1, 2010 and May 31, 2010. Some blackout dates may apply.

E-certificate is valid for travel within the United States, or between the United States and Canada, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jumping Up Zones on Star Alliance

I know we all try to stay loyal to a couple airlines in order to maximize our miles and achieve the all mighty top echelon of status, but no matter how hard we try there are some instances where we just can't travel our preferred carrier. Which usually means last on the list as far as boarding goes equating to "give me the ticket so when you gate check my bag I have some way of locating it after the handler forgets to put it on the plane".

This doesn't necessarily always have to be the case. If you're flying on a Star Alliance carrier and at least Gold level status with one of the members, the others will let you board with their preferred/elite members. Giving you that precious head start on overhead bin space. I'm Gold with US Airways, but end up on United some of the time. I've used this process every time with no problems yet. The process is pretty simple.

When you book your flight, make sure that your membership number with the carrier holding your elite status is included instead of the membership number at the lesser carrier. You can't always do this through the website. I usually hit up the gate agent and he/she will exchange my ticket. One time I was running late and just showed the agent my card on the way through the line and away I went.

Give it a shot. It works.

Hit a Grand Slam with US Airways

Earn hits with our partners and score bonus miles. It's that easy. You can earn up to 50,000 miles, 4,000 of which are Preferred-qualifying, so step up to the plate! It’s time to join the big leagues with some big league miles. Earn as many hits as you can between September 1 and November 15, 2009.

Here's how it works:
Register online
Earn miles with our partners

US Airways Credit Cards (earn 1 hit per card type – max of 5 hits)
Hotels (earn 1 hit for every stay – max of 6 hits)
Hotel transfers (earn 1 hit for every transfer – max of 6 hits)
Cars (earn 1 hit for every rental – max of 6 hits)
Other partners (earn 1 hit – max of 1 hit per partner)
Watch your miles add up

Not a Dividend Miles member? Join now.

Check out the link below to view the terms and conditions.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/help/promotions/GS09terms.aspx

1000 US Airways Miles with each Starwood Stay

For all you US Airways and Starwood fanatics out there (I know there must be more than just me), check out the latest joint promotion awarding 1,000 Dividend Miles per a stay at select Starwood properties. This offer is valid on stays through December 31, 2009. To reserve, book online or call 866-716-8137 and ask for rate plan FDAILY0.

Terms and Conditions

The fine print is a little too much to list out here, so I’m just hitting the key points. The see the entire terms and conditions check them out here.

• Offer valid for Airline Direct DepositSM participants for stays at participating hotels & resorts in Arizona, California and Nevada consumed by December 31, 2009 using rate plan FDAILY0.
• To receive the bonus miles, guest must be a member of Starwood Preferred Guest®, and have selected UA Airways Dividend Miles as their currency of choice in advance at MoreMiles. With Airline Direct Deposit, the Starpoints® earned from only hotel stays and select bonus offers will be converted automatically to the member's airline account and may not be transferred back to Starwood Preferred Guest.
• Please allow 6-8 weeks for US Airways Dividend Miles to be posted to your airline account.

Bumping My Way to Happiness: Checking Flight Availability

To improve your chances for bumping take a look at AMEX Class Availability. This site allow you to search flights to determine how many tickets are available. If you are able to locate flights that have limited seating then your odds of being bumped, obviously, goes up. This site is fairly easy to use but may have information that is not accurate (ie. some flights or airlines may not provide data to the site). This site should be a tool in your bumping arsenal but not necessarily gospel.

First, select your flight:

Second, review your results:

Example of flight with seats (2+2+2+1=7) available.

Example of flight that is likely sold out.

These two examples illustrate when a flight has seats (any set of non-repeating numbers between 1 and 9 next to the fare class letters) and is likely sold out (all 0s). If a flight has all 9s, 7s, or some other repeating set of numbers next to the fare class letters then the flight or airline likely did not disclose the flight's ticket availability information.

My Prescription

Use this free site as guide in your quest to be bumped. The information seems to be accurate for the flights I have searched but anything can happen so do not expect a bump opportunity every time you see all 0s pop up. As I have already stated, just use this software as a tool in you arsenal. To further improve your bumping chances, I will be doing a review of ExpertFlyer, a fee-based site that also checks seats availability, soon to see if it is worth paying for this service.

Bumping My Way to Happiness: Your Rights for Involuntary Bumping

Although bumping can be an easy way to earn credit toward future flights, involuntary bumping can delay seeing a loved one, a missed opportunity, or a bad start to a vacation. To ensure you know your rights regarding involuntary bumping the following from DOT's website should help:

Involuntary Bumping

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't. Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to an on-the-spot payment of denied boarding compensation. The amount depends on the price of their ticket and the length of the delay:

* If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.

* If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to your one-way fare to your final destination, with a $400 maximum.

* If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (200% of your fare, $800 maximum).

* You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you choose to make your own arrangements, you can request an "involuntary refund" for the ticket for the flight you were bumped from. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for your inconvenience.

Like all rules, however, there are a few conditions and exceptions:

* To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline.

* You must meet the airline's deadline for buying your ticket. Discount tickets must usually be purchased within a certain number of days after the reservation was made. Other tickets normally have to be picked up no later than 30 minutes before the flight.

In addition to the ticketing deadline, each airline has a check-in deadline, which is the amount of time before scheduled departure that you must present yourself to the airline at the airport. For domestic flights most carriers require you to be at the departure gate between 10 minutes and 30 minutes before scheduled departure, but some deadlines can be an hour or longer. Check-in deadlines on international flights can be as much as three hours before scheduled departure time. Some airlines may simply require you to be at the ticket/baggage counter by this time; most, however, require that you get all the way to the boarding area. If you miss the ticketing or check-in deadline, you may have lost your reservation and your right to compensation if the flight is oversold.

* As noted above, no compensation is due if the airline arranges substitute transportation which is scheduled to arrive at your destination within one hour of your originally scheduled arrival time.

* If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result.In addition, on flights using aircraft with 30 through 60 passenger seats, compensation is not required if you were bumped due to safety-related aircraft weight or balance constraints.

* The rules do not apply to charter flights, or to scheduled flights operated with planes that hold fewer than 30 passengers. They don't apply to international flights inbound to the United States, although some airlines on these routes may follow them voluntarily. Also, if you are flying between two foreign cities-from Paris to Rome, for example-these rules will not apply. The European Community has a rule on bumpings that occur in an EC country; ask the airline for details, or contact DOT.

Bumping My Way to Happiness: Voluntary Bumping Performance 2009: Jan to Mar

Spent a few hours today reviewing the DOT's website reading about the performance of the major U.S. carriers. Focusing on voluntary bumping I was able to procure these nuggets of information for you. The data in this posts represents the first quarter of 2009.

________________ Flights Enplaned Passengers Voluntary Vol/Flight
US ______________ 35,594 ________ 12,580,587 __ 22,938 ____ 0.644
UNITED __________ 31,798 ________ 11,953,422 __ 19,330 ____ 0.608
AIRTRAN _________ 21,264 _________ 5,344,683 __ 10,270 ____ 0.483
NORTHWEST _______ 25,086 _________ 8,365,018 __ 12,089 ____ 0.482
CONTINENTAL _____ 21,950 _________ 8,626,868 ___ 9,797 ____ 0.446
DELTA ___________ 35,230 ________ 14,426,780 __ 13,981 ____ 0.397
ATLANTIC SE _____ 25,124 _________ 2,898,511 ___ 8,974 ____ 0.357
PINNACLE ________ 22,023 _________ 2,355,938 ___ 6,526 ____ 0.296
AMERICAN ________ 46,622 ________ 18,099,010 __ 12,910 ____ 0.277
MESA ____________ 20,714 _________ 2,494,444 ___ 5,720 ____ 0.276
SOUTHWEST _______ 97,696 ________ 23,366,897 __ 22,760 ____ 0.233
COMAIR __________ 14,495 _________ 1,377,802 ___ 3,365 ____ 0.232
SKYWEST _________ 44,689 _________ 4,592,875 ___ 9,654 ____ 0.216
EXPRESSJET ______ 25,292 _________ 2,569,898 ___ 5,191 ____ 0.205
ALASKA __________ 11,796 _________ 3,258,996 ___ 2,326 ____ 0.197
AMERICAN EAGLE __ 37,408 _________ 3,373,399 ___ 3,846 ____ 0.103
FRONTIER _________ 7,711 _________ 2,094,048 _____ 632 ____ 0.082
HAWAIIAN _________ 6,122 _________ 1,995,333 ______ 82 ____ 0.013
JETBLUE _________ 16,218 _________ 5,108,284 _______ 1 ____ 0.000

These numbers represent the number of flights, number of passengers on those flights, passengers who volunteered to be bumped, and the number of passengers who volunteered to be bumped per flight flown.

A lot can be derived from this information.

• Forget about volunteer opportunities at JetBlue, Hawaiian and Frontier. The opportunities will be few and far between for these airlines.
• The best chance for being bumped is with U.S. and United based on their number of voluntary bumps per flight.
• No major carrier has an average of voluntary bumps greater than 1. This further supports my case for getting to the gate as early as possible to ensure your name is first on the list. If there is going to be bump there is a very good chance it will be just for one person.

______________Enplaned Passengers __Voluntary __ Vol/10000
ATLANTIC SE ___________ 2,898,511 _____ 8,974 _____ 30.960
PINNACLE ______________ 2,355,938 _____ 6,526 _____ 27.700
COMAIR ________________ 1,377,802 _____ 3,365 _____ 24.422
MESA __________________ 2,494,444 _____ 5,720 _____ 22.930
SKYWEST _______________ 4,592,875 _____ 9,654 _____ 21.019
EXPRESSJET ____________ 2,569,898 _____ 5,191 _____ 20.199
AIRTRAN _______________ 5,344,683 ____ 10,270 _____ 19.215
US ___________________ 12,580,587 ____ 22,938 _____ 18.232
UNITED _______________ 11,953,422 ____ 19,330 _____ 16.171
NORTHWEST _____________ 8,365,018 ____ 12,089 _____ 14.451
AMERICAN EAGLE ________ 3,373,399 _____ 3,846 _____ 11.400
CONTINENTAL ___________ 8,626,868 _____ 9,797 _____ 11.356
SOUTHWEST ____________ 23,366,897 ____ 22,760 ______ 9.740
DELTA ________________ 14,426,780 ____ 13,981 ______ 9.691
ALASKA ________________ 3,258,996 _____ 2,326 ______ 7.137
AMERICAN _____________ 18,099,010 ____ 12,910 ______ 7.132
FRONTIER ______________ 2,094,048 _______ 632 ______ 3.018
HAWAIIAN ______________ 1,995,333 ________ 82 ______ 0.410
JETBLUE _______________ 5,108,284 _________ 1 ______ 0.001

These numbers represent the number passengers on flights, passengers who volunteered to be bumped, and the number of passengers per 10,000 who volunteered to be bumped.

These numbers show us the volume of voluntary bumping taking place and the rate that voluntary bumping takes place per airline. As you can see by the numbers, Atlantic Southeast, Pinnacle, Comair, and Mesa lead all carriers in the number of voluntary bumps per passengers flown. The largest carriers, despite having some of the highest number of voluntary bumps, are not among the top when considering the total number of passengers flown.

I hope you found this information useful as it illustrates the limited number of bumping opportunities available. More information will be forthcoming.

Bumping My Way to Happiness

When I am at the gate awaiting my flight my heart stops every time the gate attendant makes an announcement. Most times it is to declare a gate change or to announce the flight is ready to board, but sometimes they say such wonderful things. What makes my heart go pitter-patter is when they announce the flight is oversold and they are seeking volunteers to take an alternative flight. Oh how I melt every time I hear those words as they often lead to me being "bumped" and earning a few hundred dollars in vouchers. Mmmmmmm. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

This post will be the first in a series on bumping that should be of benefit to you in your travels. Today's post will be on the basics of bumping. Future posts in this series will provide advanced techniques for improving your chances of being bumped and also identifying flights that have a higher probability of generating bumping opportunities. I hope these posts are of value to you and open your eyes and heart to the joys that bumping can bring.

What is bumping?

Bumping is the act of being denied a seat on a plane when you have a confirmed reservation. This is a result of the flight being overbooked. Overbooking is a common airline practice designed to fill the empty seats that no-show passengers leave behind.

There are two types of bumps: voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary is when you are denied a seat and you want to be on the plane whereas voluntary is when you forgo a seat on the plane because you are savvy like me and love airline ticket vouchers. These posts are focused on the latter although there will be a future post that discusses involuntary bumping and your rights associated with this type of bump.

Why should I willingly volunteer to be bumped?

Why? For the good life that accompanies being bumped. Volunteers are often rewarded with airline ticket vouchers or free flights, meal vouchers, and hotel vouchers when asked to stay overnight. When first class seats are available on your new flight there may also be an upgrade to first class in the cards.

On Delta, typical ticket vouchers are either $200, for a short-term delay, or $400, for an overnight delay. My next post in the series will detail the rewards provided by each of the major airlines.

Which flights are the most likely bump candidates?

Generally speaking, there are four scenarios which result in a flight being overbooked:

• Peak Travel Periods. Spring Break, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and traditional vacation periods such as June, July, and August will likely result in an increased demand for tickets and, as a result, more opportunities for oversold flights and bumping.
• Inclement Weather. Storms, high winds, snow, or other forms of bad weather can cause flights to be cancelled. The passengers on these flights are often rebooked on flights departing later that day or the next. Passengers on later flights stand a good chance of benefitting from these cancellations.
• Traditional Business Flight. Flights to popular business cities that depart late Sunday night, early Monday morning, or Thursday afternoon and evening are prime candidates for being oversold.
• Popular Routes. Routes to and from major hubs such as Atlanta and Dallas are good candidates for overbookings.

What can I do to better my chance of being bumped?

My advice for improving your chances of being bumped is simple: First, check-in as soon as possible. Second, get to the gate early.

If you are able to check-in at home, do so. The sooner you check-in the greater your chance for having a confirmed seat on the flight. If you wait, you run the risk of being one of the people in the unenviable position of trying to get on the flight. Many airlines offer the ability to check-in from your PDA if you forget to do it at home. This is also a great way to check-in if the lines at the ticket counter are excessively long.

Typically, most airlines offer compensation on a first-come, first-serve basis. So get to gate as soon as you can (120 to 90 minutes before the departure time is optimal) and inquire with the gate agent about the status of the flight. I have three questions I ask:

• "Is the flight full?"
• Next, "Is it oversold?"
• Finally, "Are you looking for volunteers?"

If they are in need of volunteers I give them my name (or ticket if requested) and wait for more information when the bump is confirmed. Often, only a single volunteer is needed so be sure you are that person.

The Bottom Line

The information in this post is enough to get you started bumping. Watch out for future posts that provide more detailed information on bumping. I have been bumped 6 times in the past 3 months and I couldn't be happier. You will be too if you are prepared and ready to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Live Well, Get Miles: 35 Ways to Earn Miles (Plus a Few More From Us)

Yesterday on my flight, I read a good article on earning airline miles, Live Well, Get Miles. The Budget Travel article by Brad Tuttle provided various methods for earning miles from credit cards use to shopping to earning miles the through use of more traditional methods, such as travelling. The article provided a good overview of the various methods for earning miles but there were many more that were excluded.

Here are my top three options for earning miles that were excluded:

• Hotels - Nearly every hotel program offers the option of converting hotel points to miles. Several programs offer bonuses if a certain number of points are redeemed. There are even some hotel reward programs that offer limited-time promotions that can double or triple the conversion rate for points. Although hotel points are more valuable if redeemed for free hotel nights, redeeming hotel points for airline miles can be a great source for miles.
• Car Rentals - Car rental companies are a great source for airline miles. There are several rental car companies that have very generous airline mile promotions that can result in tens of thousands of miles in mere weeks. Avis is currently offering 5,000 miles for a 4 day rental.
• Airline Promotions - Airlines often have generous offers to entice and retain travelers. Before booking do a search of this site, or other travel sites, to see if there are any promotions that can add free miles to your account. A recent Delta CVG promotion offered 25,000 miles for 5 round trip from the Cincinnati airport within a 3 month period just as long as you signed up. Currently, Delta has a targeted promotion that can result in a 10,000 mile bonus for a round-trip purchase. Being aware of these promotions is the key.

My Prescription

Although stated in the article, being an informed consumer in regards to fare redemption costs, and promotions offered by airlines, hotels, car rental, and credit card companies is important. Just as important, if not more so, is to be a savvy consumer in regards to your credit and purchases. It does not make a lot of sense to have your spending outstrip your income just to earn miles. Nor does it make sense to overpay for items just to earn miles when the miles earned do not outweigh the increase cost to purchase the item. Be a wise consumer and point earner.

Saving on Airline Tickets Through Use of Stopover And Open Jaw

If you can’t decide between two locations or simply want to maximize your airline mile redemption value consider the use of a stopover or open jaw. Today I'd like to highlight two tricks we use often to maximum value when booking an airline ticket. You can use them separately or in combination to maximize the number of destinations you choose to visit and reduce the points or dollars required to get there.

Stopover

Booking a stopover allows you to fly to your destination and stay for a few days on either the outbound or return segments. This is a very effective dollar/mile maximizing strategy if you want to visit multiple countries or cities on a trip. For instance you could fly from New York to Rome through Paris, and on the way to Rome stay for 5 nights in Paris. Then after 5 nights you catch your continuing flight to you final destination of Rome. When your ready for your return trip home you will simply depart from Rome back to New York. Airlines generally limit stopovers to a maximum of 5 nights. Also keep in mind that its generally not considered a stopover if the layover is less than 24 hours.

Open Jaw

An openjaw is when you leave New York for Paris and return from Rome with no connecting flight between Paris and Rome. The trip from from Paris to Rome is not part of the ticket and it is up to you to arrange transportation between the locations. Getting between the locations is often accomplished on separate award tickets, lowcost carriers, trains, or rental cars. Alternatively an open jaw is when you leave from New York for Paris but return to Chicago. Generally airlines require the open jaw segment distance to be a shorter distance than the shortest leg on your journey.

Bottom Line

Combining the use of a stopover can be a very effective way to save airline miles. In my next post I'll demonstrate a recent example of how it can be used effectively.