Vietnam Airlines is joining the SkyTeam affiliation. SkyTeam includes: Air France-KLM, Delta Air Line, Korean Air and more smaller carriers. Today, I worry that being a member of an alliance will bring down the level of service that I have come to expect from Vietnam Airlines.
You’re not a really frequent flier. Or, maybe you’re a lower level elite — i.e.: basic Delta Medallion, United Mileage Plus Premier, Advantage Gold. But, you’ve been stockpiling your miles. The miles have come from a credit card, maybe from travel, and you’ve finally gotten enough miles to upgrade two tickets to Paris, and you’re booking more than nine months in advance.
One of the most sought after benefits for frequent fliers is not free tickets, but the chance to escape the cattle car in the back, and sit up in business or first class with an upgrade.
It hasn’t been front page news, certainly compared to the wayward Northwest-Delta pilots, but Continental is dropping their partnership with Delta and Skyteam. They have joined with United and USAir in the Star Alliance. Now, the ramifications of that change are becoming a frequent flier reality.
United Airlines just quietly announced a significant change to their proposed Mileage Plus co-pays. It seems feedback from their top-level fliers was significant enough to make United delay the programs, eliminate some of the co-pay pain and, finally, make some discounted fares upgradeable.
United Airlines is joining the airline with frequent flier programs that demand a co-pay to upgrade. The new regime starts July 1st. Get ready — the co-pays are hefty.
When a client has a problem with an airline and their mileage upgrade, it’s usually an isolated incident caused by a temporary glitch — or more likely, human error. (One of the more common ones is an airline reservationist waitlisting an upgrade for the wrong flight or date.) But when several people have the same complaint, maybe something is wrong with the system.
Everybody loves earning frequent flyer miles. And bonus mile promotions are even better. Except when they are not. “Up to 50,000 bonus Mileage Plus miles per trip!” A great deal, right? Not exactly.
For many frequent fliers, the carrot on the end of the long stick is a dream vacation trip to Hawaii or Europe. Especially when that trip can be in business class. But travelers who are planning such a trip with United or their partner carriers in 2009, should start planning such a trip now.