With few exceptions, EQMs are earned primarily by flying, unlike the redeemable miles that can also be earned through credit card spending, rental cars, etc. So EQMs are a greater measure of loyalty to an airline (and its alliance partners) than redeemables.

The size of the EQM gift ranges from 5000 EQMs (20% of the way to entry-level status) all the way to 15,000, but according to reports on Flyertalk threads (here for Delta, here for Northwest), there’s no obvious rhyme or reason. A traveler with 140K miles under his belt for the year got a 5000 mile bonus (which doesnt’ really change anything) while a traveler with far fewer miles got more. I don’t get it.

Reader Cindy forwarded me a message she received from Northwest, quoted below:

A jump start can be the perfect beginning.

That’s why we’re excited to provide you with 10,000 complimentary Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) – which have already been deposited into your WorldPerks account – to help you requalify for Elite status in 2010.

We understand your ability to travel is more restricted this year, due to the economy and other factors, but we hope you’ll continue to fly with us and enjoy your elite status benefits while continuing to add even more Elite Qualification Miles to your balance. Take advantage of our vast new network, serving almost 400 destinations in more than 65 countries on six continents, including new routes to Johannesburg, Sydney, Saigon and beyond. Book a flight today.

You’re the reason we fly,

Jeff Robertson
Vice President – Loyalty Programs

This is bound to please many people who might have lost their status (and the commensurate perks) next year. On the flip side, it’s bound to annoy people who get fewer EQMs than they think they deserve, relative to others. It can equally annoy customers who earned their status through actual flying, instead of bonuses. But hey, it’s a business decision on the part of the airlines, and they think they’ll be able to keep more business this way.

Will other airlines follow suit?…

But the Sage site devoted to this offer makes pretty clear that you’re not guaranteed much of anything:

Complete 8 hours of volunteer service to a registered 501(c)3 non profit organization to qualify to receive 50% off the published room rate — or maybe a complimentary night (limited availability).

To qualify to receive maybe a complimentary night? What, were their fingers crossed behind their backs when they wrote this?

Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon, but if a hotel company is going to promote public service, they should have a more straightforward way of “rewarding” that service.

But if you read news reports, you’d get a very different view of the offer. Take the Associated Press. How could they so completely swallow the PR on this? In the AP’s report, they only tout the free night. There’s no mention of the 50% off voucher option.

If you want to take your chances, see this page for a list of participating hotels, and the contact information for booking a free night.

Hotels in the mix include the Sheraton Tempe, the Courtyard Monrovia, Courtyard San Diego, Homewood Suites Brisbane, Courtyard Denver, Hilton Garden Inn Denver, Residence Inn Denver, Hilton Garden Inn Orlando, Doubletree Atlanta, Sheraton Chicago NW; Courtyard Brighton, Detroit, Fairfield Inn Duluth, Sheraton Kansas City, Holiday Inn Omaha, Fairfield Inn Las Vegas, Marriott Charlotte, Fairfield Inn Cincinnati North, Courtyard Portland (Oregon), Renaissance Pittsburgh, Renaissance Providence, and Residence Inn Milwaukee.

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After musician Dave Carroll and his band Sons of Maxwell witnessed United Airlines baggage handlers tossing their instruments outside the aircraft, they feared the worst. And indeed, Carroll’s guitar was broken. He tried to get the airline to pay for its repair or replacement, but when regular channels failed, he broke out into song, instead. The result: The song and video, “United Breaks Guitars.” Watch it below. Toe-tapping may ensue.

Forget “Rhapsody in Blue,” this could become the new United theme…

I feel Carroll’s pain. In 1993, I checked a guitar as luggage on a British Airways flight from Zurich to New York via Heathrow. Though it was in a sturdy case, wrapped and taped up well, the guitar arrived (two days late) in pieces — the tape had all been cut off, and the case looked like it had been run over by a truck. Literally. Guitars and airlines clearly don’t mix.

Carroll has posted the entire backstory on his site. It’s not just the sight of guitars flying through the air. It’s the customer service runaround that got his goat. This is apparently song 1 in a three song trilogy.

It may have taken a video, but United is now ready to negotiate (the puns are included free):

Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based United, said late Tuesday afternoon that the airline has changed its course and wants to speak with Mr. Carroll today to settle the matter. She declined to comment further until she spoke to him. “This has struck a chord with us,” she said. “We’re going to contact him directly.”

(Thanks, Patrick!)

2 miles to upgrade an international roundtrip? Two?!!

Northwest and Delta both sent e-mails to their lists. Here’s a piece of a Delta e-mail, but the gist is the same for flights on Delta’s subsidiary, Northwest:

You can now upgrade to our award-winning BusinessElite cabin for one mile each way when you fly internationally on a paid Y, B or M Economy fare between June 30 and September 15, 2009.

[...]
Terms & Conditions
Eligible Fares/Booking: All taxes, fees and blackout dates are governed by the rules of the Y, B or M economy class fare purchased. Additional upgrade tax may apply. SkyMiles members can request a one-way upgrade Award for 1-mile for paid tickets purchased in Y, B, or M economy class between the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada and any international destination that offers J class fares (BusinessElite) where upgrade class of service is available on Delta or Northwest-operated flights only. SkyMiles members must call a Delta reservations representative for upgrades. Tickets: Must be purchased and upgrade requested no later than July 13, 2009. Travel Period: Travel must be completed by September 15, 2009. Restrictions: Availability of one-way upgrade inventory is limited and may not be available on all flights. Some markets may have more availability than others. Members may reissue existing tickets to be eligible for upgrade offer, but will need to pay applicable fees. Customers may combine this upgrade Award with other one-way upgrade Awards. Upgrades not available on Air France and KLM or any other SkyTeam® or codeshare partner operated flights. Tickets are nontransferable. SkyMiles accrual will be for class of service originally purchased. Miscellaneous: All SkyMiles program rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide. Fares, taxes, fees, rules, and offers are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. Please refer Delta reservations representative to 970222.

“Additional upgrade tax” ??! Be sure to get a full quote before you finalize anything.

Also, and very importantly: Note that the eligible fares — Y, B, and M — aren’t the rock-bottom cheapie bucket of fares, they’re at the top end — the most expensive range of economy fares.

You may in fact be able to find a cheaper fare confirmed in business class by looking for a business fare outright. (Most likely a fare with a “Z” an “I” or “S” fare code.) Shop around.

All told, though, spending 2 miles for a roundtrip international upgrade is fantastic value. The airlines are obviously having trouble filling seats. Summer months are typically slow for paid business class travel, and that’s on top of the recession’s crimp on high-fare spending.

Take advantage while you can.

You may have seen it before, but it’s a keeper in my book.

There were two statements in recent days that should give travelers, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers pause. And neither of them have much basis in fact.

The Times of London reported that Airbus was expected to “face calls to ground its worldwide fleet of long-range airliners” in the face of French investigators’ report on the Air France crash of an A330 off the coast of Brazil. Besides the unfortunate attribution of a “fleet” — a term more appropriate to airlines than to the manufacturer — to the European company, the report was wrong. French investigators didn’t make such blanket claims today about the airworthiness of the two-engine A330 and/or its sibling four-engine A340.

Second, actor and Twitter-holic Ashton Kutcher posted that “A 30 year vetran pilot recommended 2 me that I dont ride on an airbus until they prove that the composite tail is not creating ths accidents.” (sic)

There are several problems here. For starters, no one really knows what happened yet. It’s too early to say, and it’s irresponsible to make grand claims about the safety of these planes. A330s and A340s have flown millions of miles since the A340 design first rolled out nearly 20 years ago, and the Air France crash resulted in the first fatalities for that family of plane. The loss of those lives is awful, no doubt. But the planes have not been “flying coffins.” If there really is a safety reason to ground these planes, then by all means, let’s hear it.

But the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and its EU equivalent, the European Aviation Safety Agency, have not made any declarations on the matter. They haven’t even amplified the longstanding suggestion by Airbus (pre-crash!) that airlines should replace their speed-sensing Pitot tubes. And there hasn’t been much discussion of the composite tail, which Kutcher’s tweet references. (Though the tail, or vertical stabilizer, broke off on an American Airlines Airbus A300 — a completely different model — in 2001 after pilots encountered severe wake turbulence and overcompensated. I would be good money that the “30-year veteran” Kutcher references is an AA pilot.)

A worldwide grounding of these models of planes? If it were necessary, then sure. But it would be jumping the gun, and a huge inconvenience to the passengers on the nearly 1000 aircraft that would be grounded worldwide. And that’s highly unlikely before a more substantive investigation.

Second, as Benet Wilson pointed out, where the hell is Airbus in all of this? How can they permit their brand, and the confidence that millions of people have when they get on board an Airbus-built aircraft, to be squandered like this?

Airbus management has been royally screwing up on the PR front. They’ve been rather casual with regard to the Air France crash, and they’ve been nearly silent in the face of rampant speculation like that of the Times and Kutcher. Where is their response? That lack of dialogue with critics is hamfisted and dumb.

Let’s face it: Like it or not, comments like those from Ashton Kutcher matter. The man has readers — 2.5 million of them — and there will be celebrity-fetishists who listen to what he says, whether it makes sense or not. He has a bully pulpit, and he’s gone on record against Airbus.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that everything is okay, and that there’s no problem. There have been some incidents (beyond the crashes) that are being investigated. I’m not being an Airbus fanboy here. But overreaction isn’t productive for anyone, and that’s what’s happened here.

How about you? Have recent accidents shaken you up to the point of not flying on Airbus planes? Will you cancel flights or refuse to board a plane if you see an A330 or A340 — or heck, ANY Airbus — parked at the gate? Or is it business as usual? Hit the comments.

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When I first saw this, I had to check the calendar to make sure it really was July 1, not April 1. But sure enough, it’s being picked up by news services and MSNBC.

The standing jet could accommodate 40% more passengers compared to a traditional plane. It could also help airlines cut 20% of their costs, while lowering airfares for consumers.

Mr Wuan added: “It’s just like bar stools. The safety belt is the most important thing. It will still be fastened around the waist.” The airline would need government backing to go ahead with the plans. But Spring Airlines president Wang Zhenghua said that he was confident because the idea had been suggested by China’s vice premier Zhang Dejiang.

“He suggested that, for a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water, but very convenient,” said Mr Zhenghua.

History really DOES repeat itself. Back in 2006, sketches of an Airbus-designed standing configuration were floated in the New York Times. Airbus backpedaled when outrage erupted, but the idea clearly survived. And Airbus is being named again in this latest iteration:

[Mr. Zhenghua] added that the company had consulted with Airbus, the company which built most of its aeroplanes, and had been told the proposals were safe. “So once the government approves it formally, we’ll try it,” he added.

My only disappointment is that Ryanair isn’t the one proposing this.

Here’s a visual from the last time this concept was floated. It still reminds me of “The Silence of the Lambs,” and the means of transporting Hannibal Lecter; I still chuckle with smug self-satisfaction at my labeling of this idea as “Hannibal Class” back in 2006.

(Hat tip to Marilyn Terrell)

Related:
- Think air travel is like riding the bus? Think subway.
- Standing room only: real or not?
- Short hops — May 2, 2006 — Standing seats (again), miles for dry cleaning, and more
- Posts tagged “Standing Seats” | Upgrade: Travel Better
- Looking backward: Airlines considering alternating forward and rear-facing seats

Upon landing at Bali’s airport planes will be taken to a remote aircraft parking area where the plane and its passengers will be sprayed with disinfectant. Passengers will then be disembarked and subjected to thermal scanners.

However, the Jakarta Globe is reporting that Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is now requiring all arriving international air passengers to undergo a blood test. Nyoman Murtiyasa, the head of the airport’s health office, quoted in the Jakarta Globe said that all passengers arriving from overseas would be required to take a blood test at the airport.

Thermal scanners? Sure. Blood tests for everyone? Extreme. They make United States passport control seem downright lovable.

Downgraded: Airline uniforms
The airport administrators at Nepal’s Kathmandu Airport are taking an unusual step in an effort to reduce bribery: They are banning pockets in airline personnel uniforms. In a few months, expect reports of secret back-room sewing operations and black market tailoring.

Upgraded: Onboard duty-free, online check-in
Remember when airlines gave you extra miles for online check-in? It’s not coming back, alas. But Virgin Atlantic will give you a coupon for £6 off onboard duty free shopping when spending £30 or more. Whoo?

Downgraded: Jamaican sand wars
500 truckloads of white sand were stolen from a Jamaican resort development site in July 2008. Now, it’s going to trial, and other resort owners are among the accused. (hat tip to Veronica Stoddart)

Upgraded: Overview of disparate carry-on luggage rules
Steven Frischling at Flying with Fish has compiled a great list of 65 airlines’ carry-on baggage restrictions. Be sure to check the rules before your next flight.

Upgraded: Cruises with a theme
Downgraded: Pirates; Conscience
Finally, a cruise concept for the bloodthirsty: A Russian company is sponsoring pirate-hunting cruises. $5000 gets you on board, and you can rent AK-47s and buy ammo. The money quote: “They are worse than the pirates. At least the pirates have the decency to take hostages; these people are just paying to commit murder.”

Upgraded: Eclipse travel
THIS is a concept trip I could do: Special flights to view the upcoming solar eclipse. (Thanks, Kim!)

Tom Botts explains:

United [on Wednesday] informed a currently unknown number of travel agents that they would no longer be able to use the industry reconciliation system, ARC, to process tickets which were paid for with a credit card.

United is asking these travel agents to process credit card transactions themselves and then report the sale as a cash transaction. Until now, when a travel agency (or OTA) has sold a published ticket on United (or any other carrier) the credit card is actually processed by the airline. As such, the airline is responsible for paying the 2-3% (in rough numbers) that Amex, Visa, Mastercard and Discover charge for using their cards. In the new world proposed by United, agents will process the credit cards themselves (presumably along with an additional consumer fee) and then remit the full amount of the ticket back to United. This would obviously save a considerable amount of money for United if widely adopted.

“If widely adopted.” Which, in the airline industry, means that this practice is about to become universal.

This could mean the reversal of the online travel agencies’ “no fee for airline bookings” policies that took hold with the majors in the last few months.

And reinstating the fee would be justified, frankly, if this goes beyond United. If the agenc is the one charging the cost of the ticket, then the agency is the one who bears the financial risks (primarily from chargebacks), and the agency is the one who would need to seek the refund of their money from the airline.

This also messes with the economics of ticket sales from the airline’s perspective, and not necessarily in an obvious way. Previously, airlines wanted to bring all sales to their own websites. Now, there’s actually a financial incentive for United to have the agencies book the ticket. A $200 ticket purchased on united.com yields about $195 for the airline, after credit card fees are backed out. The same ticket sold by an agency would now yield $200 for the airline.

The bottom line: This is going to tick a lot of people off. Agencies are already upset. Customers will be soon.

Nicely played!

(Correction: the ad is from January 2009. Don’t let its age detract from your enjoyment.)

(via @laurably)

Emil Jacob’s website offers a range of patent-pending design options, from double-decker business class to tiered economy class designs. The Boston Globe recently profiled Jacob and his designs.

“I was looking up at all the height, and I thought it was absurd that people are suffering down here,” Jacob said. “Just a couple of steps away there is a lot of space and comfort.”
[...]
He eventually came up with the “step seat principle.” It involves elevating alternate rows of seats, from one to five steps above the cabin floor, to give passengers more room to lean back in economy class and enough space in business class to lie down, either by sliding their legs under the seat in front of them or stretching out in pods stacked on top of each other – no sweater on the floor required.

Maybe some images would help… Here are some sketches of the concept:

For a premium economy seat, this is pretty good. Hey, you get a bed! And it’s a little more defined than the Lufthansa bunk bed proto-design.

Another of Jacob’s designs is a bit simpler, but makes use of vertical separation to expand legroom while keeping density high. The trick: Inserting a seven-inch platform in alternating rows. Very clever:

Yes, these concepts aren’t perfect. I can imagine the steps causing problems for some passengers, either during boarding, or in an emergency. And some of the designs could lead to a seat shell coming quite close to your face. But I like the way Jacob is thinking.

Airlines, take notice.

Related:
- Three people, six arms, four armrests: Can they coexist?
- Looking backward: Airlines considering alternating forward and rear-facing seats
- Lufthansa considering bunk-bed style sleeper seating in economy class

(images via Boston Globe and Jacob Innovations)

Upgraded: Republic Airlines
Downgraded, eventually: Midwest Signature Service
Republic, best known for providing regional jet services to a range of carriers, has bought Midwest and Frontier Airlines. In the case of Midwest, they’re getting rid of the Boeing 717s and replacing them with Embraer 190s. That’s a narrower tube. Translation: Expect cuts or elimination of Signature Service seats at the front of the plane.

Upgraded: Holding TSA accountable
Remember the traveler who was harassed by the TSA for carrying $4700 in cash? He refused to answer questions until the TSA agents explicitly told him he was required to respond, and caught it all on tape. Now he’s suing the TSA, with help from the ACLU.

Upgraded: Continental miles
Well, not upgraded much, but here’s a quick way to earn 100 miles for “learning about” Continental-branded credit cards.

Downgraded: Boeing
Not only is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner delayed again, but some significant redesigning is necessary in order to get it airworthy. That’s bad news for the company’s management (or shareholders), or the airlines that have to wait even longer to receive their orders. As a passenger, I’d rather have a safe plane start flying late than an unsafe plane on time. Nonetheless, some are accusing Boeing of a coverup.

Downgraded: SkyEurope
SkyEurope, the Bratislava-based discount airline perhaps most famous for paying you to fly them, has declared bankruptcy. They’re still flying while they restructure.

Upgraded: Flight tracking
Visually cool, though not completely practical: Lufthansa has commissioned a neat representation of their flight traffic. Watch a fancy demo below. Be warned, the sound has some crazy-high-pitched sounds, which detract from the experience.

(Update: The designers deleted the video. No idea why. I’ll leave the embed up in case they bring it back. In the interim, have a still/screenshot instead.)

(via Dvice)