United-Continental Image and Policies

Image of United-Continental merger emerges

 

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And behind the image is the intention is to be put into effect when the merger becomes official at the end of the year. This morning's E-mail brought an upbeat message called "Let's Fly Together" to members of United's MileagePlus and Continental's OnePass loyalty programs. The message touted:

• Ten hubs (including the four largest cities in the US).
• Service to 370 destinations in 59 countries.
• Continuing vice to 140 smaller cities (they don't say whether through regional affiliates or what, but smaller cities usually bear the brunt of big-business decisions)
• Refurbishment and replacement of older aircaft + Continental's more fuel-efficient fleet. 
• Implementation of both carriers; "best-in-class practices."
• Affiliation with 24 Star Alliance members with service to more than 1,000 worldwide cities.

Icelandair Adds Destinations, Lowers Fuel Surchargers

Icelandair to fly to 20 cities in the UK and Europe

With connections through its hub in Reykjavik and the addition of Stavanger, Norway, and Düsseldorf, Germany, later this year, Icelandair's route system is expanding to some 20 destinations in Scandinavia, Great Britain and Continental Europe. These new flights will operate seasonally from May 8 to September 29, 2009. Year-round North American gateways are Boston and New York-JFK, with season service to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando Sanford, Halifax and Toronto.

United and Continental to Merge

Boards of Directors reportedly have approved joining of two airline giants

According to ChicagoBreakingBusiness.com, on Monday (tomorrow) United and Continental will officially announce a consummation of their courtship and become one -- the one being the world's largest airline, which is to be called United. Overlapping but not duplicate route systems and complementary corporate cultures are reportedly the benefits of this marriage of two airline giants. The corporate headquarters of the combined carrier will move its operations from Houston to Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), but Houston will become its biggest hub. Stay tuned for more information.

More on Snow that Stays & Snow that Slides

Followup: With great ski conditions come avalanches

Since December 29, when I wrote a cautionary post on avalanches in western North America, the snow has kept falling and fatalities have continued to rise. Even the New York Times, which doesn't often concern itself with our mountains, has noticed. According to an article called "Fatal Avalanches Rattle Ski Country in the West" in today's sports section:

"Since Dec. 14, avalanches have caused 13 deaths in the United States and
23 total in North America — one in a roof slide and the others in skiing,
snowboarding, snowmobiling and ice-climbing incidents, according to Dale Atkins,
vice president for the avalanche rescue commission at the International
Commission for Alpine Rescue.

"Perhaps most troubling to resorts and safety officials is that three
people died in-bounds — areas at resorts that are perceived as safe terrain.
Avalanches in in-bounds areas have led to deaths of skiers at Squaw Valley in
California, at Snowbird in Utah and at Jackson Hole. It is the most in-bound
deaths in one season since three skiers were killed in a single avalanche at
Alpine Meadows in 1976.

“'One in-bound fatal avalanche in a season is unusual; three separate
fatal incidents in one season is really rare,'” said Bob Comey, director of the
Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center. “It’s been a really big problem.
We’re doing what we normally do. Our techniques work really well, but they’re
not ever 100 percent guaranteed.'”

This is the rare kind of winter when reports of epic snowfalls at Western ski resorts are cause for both joy and concern. So again, skiers, snowboarders, backcountry skiers and snowmobilers are advised pack a good portion of caution when venturing into the high country.

Air France's Reservation-Hold Fee

Airline booking procedures carry financial risk. A new way to mitigate it?

So you've snared a low fare to someplace you want to go. So you know about yield management, which results in air fare quotes that can change in a matter of hours, if not minutes. So you have to check with a traveling companion or the dogsitter to make sure traveling on those dates will work. So you stare at the screen, reading about sudden-death booking conditions -- once you've clicked to book a ticket with a well-priced fare, it's yours with no penalty-free refunds or changes.

UpgradeTravelBetter.com reported that "in some [Air France] markets, you can reserve a low fare for up to two weeks, without buying the ticket, for €10." That certainly should be plenty of time to get your proverbial ducks in a row before you nail down your ticket. Don't get excited yet. North America is not one of those markets -- yet. The site quoted the translation of a Dutch report with details on this innovation. (Why a Dutch report? Because the same holding company owns Air France and KLM.)

When reserving online, you can choose the Time to Think option*. Starting at €10 per passenger, this new option lets you hold your reservation and fare for up to 14 days**.


To purchase your ticket, simply visit the “Manage your reservations” section.

If you decide not to confirm the reservation, it will be canceled automatically when your Time to Think period expires.

* This option is offered on our flights within metropolitan France and from France to Europe and North Africa.
** The period allowed varies according to your reservation date, destination and travel fare conditions. Option non-refundable and in addition to your ticket price.

Is it a good idea? Probably for expensive long-haul tickets, but maybe not so great for (presumably) less expensive tickets for short flights. As for domestic "within metropolitan France," I wouldn't bother flying at all but would take the wonderful TGV. Why go through all the annoyances of airports and air travel these days when a high-speed train whisks you through the landscape?

Even though North Americans are not yet given Time to Think, Upgrade blogger Mark Ashley did offer a suggestion: "When I do a test booking of an itinerary between Charlotte and Paris (via Detroit and/or Atlanta), I’m given an option of holding the itinerary for over 24 hours — until 10 pm the next night — at no cost. It’s not 14 days of hold time, but it’s not 10 euros, either."

Travel within France and to nearby European countries aside, this is another add-on that other airlines are surely looking at and might copy.

Front Range Hotels: One Very Old, One Brand New

The Boulderado celebrated its 100th as Aloft was set to take off

On January 1, the Hotel Boulderado passed the century mark with a swank party New Year's party and then a Sunday open house commemorating 10 decades of hospitality -- luxurious, minimal and then luxurious again. All were welcome to visit the hotel, listen to live music, enjoy free hors d'oeuvres and punch and birthday cake -- and watch ballroom dancers in period costume performing dances popular throughout its long history.

















Dancers in period costume (above); Boulderado birthday cake (right) by Shamane's Bake Shoppe. By the time I shouldered close to it with my little camera, several of the top tiers had already been taken off, sliced and distributed to celebrants. The Daily Camera published excellent pix.

Meanwhile, as the gracious Boulderado was entering its second century, the cutting-edge aLoft Hotel (or is it the Aloft Hotel? or the aloft? or the ALOFT?) was getting set to open in Aurora, near Denver International Airport. There are 17 other hotels with this name, one of Starwood's brands, already open or about to open, and I'm thinking that images on the photo page of the website are of some other them. It brand's design seems hip, high-tech and super-cool with mid-century modern furniture and Technicolor hues in the public spaces and Euro-toned down (natural wood + white) in the guest rooms.

I haven't seen the Denver area hotel or received any press materials, so all I can do is quote its own prose:

stay & play: public spaces
Meet & mingle with friends at our w
xyz(SM) bar, grab a sweet, savory, or healthy snack from re:fuel by aloft(SM),
our 24/7 pantry, or play in our re:mix(SM) lobby. Plus, you can always stay
connected with complimentary hotel-wide wired and wireless Internet
access!

rest & refresh: aloft rooms
Breeze into one of our aloft rooms,
featuring our ultra-comfortable signature bed, an oversized spa shower, custom
amenities by Bliss® Spa, and more. Our plug & play connectivity station
charges all your electronics and links to the 42” LCD TV to maximize work and
play.

Colorado's first aLoft/ALoft/aloft/ALOFT is at 16470 East 40th Circle, Aurora; 303- 371-9500. Others are planned for the Arista complex in Broomfield (opening in May 2009) and Glendale (near Cherry Creek and opening March 2010).

May 1: BYOB Day For Airline Passengers

Consumerist website declares Bring Your Own Blanket Day

CrazyAirlineFees.com's home page features a chart comparing the myriad add-ons that airlines are now charging in an effort to "unbundle" air fares and, in the end, wring the maximum revenues from travelers. Now, the site has declared May 1 as Bring Your Own Blanket Day to encourage passengers to bring their own blankets on board. Pretty soon, Linus, who goes nowhere without his blanket, will become the patron saint of fliers.

American Airlines' new $8 blanket-and-pillow fee in domestic economy cabins inspired this new "holiday." Obviously, it's a great attention-getter for this website and will surely drive traffic to it, but every day needs to be BYOB day -- like every day is now BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) Day. If this catches on, I'm half-anticipating American, maybe Spirit or an other carrier to start charging for blankets that passengers bring on board. I'll just keep wearing a jacket when I board rather than pack it. I've been doing this for a long time, because even when airlines had blankets and pillows available, there often weren't enough for all passengers -- especially in the rear of steerage.

"Forty winks in the air shouldn't cost you eight bucks," said Leonard Lee, a former airline pilot who founded of CrazyAirlineFees.com. According to the site, USAirways, JetBlue and Virgin America have been selling what they are calling "sleep kits" with blanket and pillow (hopefully freshly laundered since they are charging) and Lee added, some of them also "conveniently include an eyeshade and ear plugs so you don't have to listen to other passengers complaining about all the in-flight fees."

The site also offers the following info about blanket fees:  "Delta Airlines is the only major U.S. airline that still provides free pillows and blankets for its Economy class passengers.  Several airlines, including Continental, United and Southwest, no longer carry pillows and blankets onboard for their Economy class passengers. Southwest removed its pillows and blankets last year because of concerns during the H1N1 flu scare." I guess it was OK for front-cabin passengers to catch the flu!