August 2008
13 posts
No Blackout Dates With Delta SkyMiles
Delta announced today announced a (debatable) improvement in the structure of their SkyMiles frequent flyer program. Members of their program can now book ‘the last seat on the flight’ using up to 60,000 miles. This means no blackout dates, but a potential hike in the miles needed to redeem the seats.
The redemption levels start at 25,00, 40,000 and 60,000 round trip; a change from...
July 2008
17 posts
Obama Crushing McCain In Frequent Flyer Miles!
Colorado is gearing up for the Demoratic National Convention in August when people from all over the country will descend on the city of Denver to elect a Presedential and Vice Presidential candidate for their party. It is assumed that Senator Barack Obama will get the nomination and will officially be running against Sentator John McCain for the presidency. There are a myriad of polls reporting...
Stand Up For Your Frequent Flyer Rights!
Randy Petersen, a longtime frequent flyer expert and founder of the popular frequent flyer forum, FlyerTalk, has started a grassroots campaign for frequent flyer rights, specifically in response to U.S. Airways recent changes to their Dividend Miles frequent flyer program. Go to www.savedividendmiles.com to get involved in the movement. It calls for travelers to sign a petition that demands...
Chase Bank to the Rescue
Chase Bank swooped in pulled United Airlines out of some pretty murky waters, sources reported yesterday. The airline got tossed a lifeline to the tune of $1.2 billion dollars from their frequent flyer miles partner who owns United’s Mileage Plus affinity card. $600 million of the deal was directly related to an extension of their loyalty contract with United and a hefty pre-purchase of frequent...
TravelFli Mention in BCBR
The Boulder County Business Report released an article on Friday introducing the ten companies in Techstars ‘08. TravelFli is honored to be part of the program this summer and would like to thank Ryan Dionne for covering the group in the report.
A Better Way for Airlines to Make Money
The airlines will start selling ad space on boarding passes that originate from their sites, reports The Wall Street Journal and every airline blog on the Internet (including this one). Delta American, Continental, NWA, US Airways and United inked a deal to display contextual advertising, coupons, and weather information around the itinerary flight details in the upcoming months. Some of the...
Please Take Your Laptop Out Of The Bag...Or Not
At the beginning of July, the Transoportation Security Administration (TSA) ok’d the use of specialized laptop bags that will eliminate the annoyance of having to dig your computer out of your carry-on to run it through security. Nice.
Today’s laptop cases are made out of bulky material that make it hard for the TSA to see what is inside and often contain a variety of computer clutter...
I Am Airline, Hear Me Roar
Last week the CEOs of twelve airlines signed an ‘open letter’ that was sent out to customers with a call to action for Congress to stop oil speculation. All of the major airlines signed the letter, including American, United, Continental, Delta, and, oh wait…..Southwest? The airline that hedged 70% of it’s fuel costs at $51 a barrel? Interesting. Southwest explained that...
Part II: Is a Spin Off a Good Idea For Anybody?
In Part I of this series, we talked about how Quantas is considering spinning off their frequent flyer program to improve their bottom line. In Part II, we will explore how this might work for an airline, why it may or may not be a good idea, and also whether or not it would be a value-add for frequent flyer program members. When an airline spins off a loyalty program, the public company retains...
Part I: Spinning Off Loyalty Programs
Have you ever stopped to think about the value of a standalone airline frequent flyer program? Did you ever consider that it might be worth more than the airline itself? Loyalty programs are cash cows for airlines, and frequent flyer miles are crack cocaine for many travelers. But most of us never consider a program’s perceived worth as a separate entity from the airline. Now as the airlines fight...
Progress...Brought to you by Southwest
You heard it here first: good news from the travel industry.
Southwest announced today their intentions to become an INTERNATIONAL carrier…well, sort of. They’re going to start flying to Canada via a codeshare with WestJet…in 18 months. This is good news though! The partnership will eventually open up an array of low fares across the U.S./Canadian border. Seeing as how WestJet...
Is AMEX The Right Fit For You?
Techstars has given TravelFli the opportunity to talk freely with many individuals that make up our core demographics (frequent flyers that take 4+ trips per year, accumulate miles for business travel and use them for personal trips with family). A lot of different frequent flyer programs are discussed during these conversations, but one in particular seems to be far more popular than the others...
“We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.”
– Herb Kelleher, CEO - Southwest Airlines
Miles...The Crack Cocaine of the Airlines
Frequent flyer miles are one of the only profitable divisions in an airline, and also a reliable means for them to raise capital during an economic downtime. Why? Because frequent flyer miles continue to hold their value even in a bad market. On the contrary, traditional forms of raising money in sluggish capital markets end up being restrictive and expensive for airlines. For example, last month...
Delta's Fuel Surcharge
Delta is the most recent airline to add a fuel surcharge for award seating redeemed with frequent flyer miles. Starting on August 15th, travelers will pay $25 for domestic flights and $50 for International flights booked with miles. Delta says they are hoping to drop the fees when the cost of fuel drops.
A similar charge has been initiated by other airlines, including United and US Airways.
...
The Mile Mystery
Some of our regular readers know that Travelfli is working on solving some of the major problems related to award travel. We think our timing couldn’t be more perfect, taking into account the steady rise in fuel prices and the burgeoning costs of travel. So the problem for our users is not if we are going to help them use their frequent flyer miles more effectively, but rather, when? With that in...
The Poker Tourney
Square 1 Bank sponsored a poker night at the Bunker on Friday and it was a heated competition until the bitter end. Aziz from BuyPlayWin put in a valiant effort, as his reputation as the ‘gamer’ in Techstars rode on him being the winner. Unfortunately the lead negotiator of the Techstars program “Anchor High Austin,” Travelfli co-founder, swept in and took the...