US Airways Company Store Sale

US Airways' company store is offering free shipping on orders greater than $25 and 20% all items with coupon code HOLIDAY.  I've purchased from them before and they do a great job; it also might be one of the last opportunities to buy US Airways branded gear.

US Airways A320's at CLT

Free Shipping at the Boeing Store

Free shipping plus discounts on orders over $50 through Sunday at the Boeing Store.  I like the 7#7 tee shirts and they have other fun trinkets and gifts for kids of all ages.

These Boeing Products Are On Sale Too

Update: Maybe not.  I just tried to order, but the shipping charge still appeared.  I sent an email to customer service, but nothing back yet.

Update 2: "Some technical glitch is asking for a code for the free shipping. So sorry about this! We spoke to the technicians and the freeship promo is being reset and will be in effect at 5pm PT."

United Mileage Shopping 50% Sale

With United's pending award chart devaluation, 50% off in the mileage shopping mall is a deal worth considering.  Here's the link: http://www.mileageplusawards.com/ualoyrewards/channelAction?channelCode=CHN30

A319 Ready to Leave

UPDATE: It looks like the sale ends 12/2/13.  I purchased a Tumi Alpha Continental carry on bag for 23,100 miles; an outstanding deal and I don't need a new carry on bag at the moment either.

Keep Spending United Miles

Spend United miles while they still have value (before Feb. 1, 2014).  I'll be booking trips for my parents too.  Since a stopover at a Star Alliance hub is still free, I sent the following message to help me search for trip ideas.

An Unequal Partnership Starting Feb1

Rank the following cities, 1-N
Istanbul, Ankara, Ljubljana, Pristina, Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Kalamata, Vienna, Brussels, Zagreb, Warsaw, Frankfurt, Munich, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Zurich, Lisbon, Porto

What are the top 10 European cities on these maps, not included on the list above?  (do not include codeshares or connections when searching)

http://lufthansa.innosked.com/(S(bxabv4zz1mh00n2lnkojnceu))/Default.aspx?lang_id=en&country=uk

http://www.flytap.com/Portugal/en/Homepage/DestinationsMap

http://www.lot.pl/us/en/web/newlot/routemap

http://www.flysas.com/en/us/Generic/Services/Route_map/

http://aerlingus.dynamicroutemaps.com/

Race to the Finish

There are only six weeks left in 2013 and I am sprinting across the status finish line (12,000+ EQMs in December).  I should wind up with 76 United miles more than I need for status.  2013 was a rough year for fare deals and 2014 will be worse because United will require distance and dollar minimums for status (not to mention massive points inflation).  This might be the last year of the mileage game.

I'll Miss Flying Lufthansa on Miles

Never Hurts To Call

I finished a business trip early and headed to the airport to try to catch an earlier flight.  I was booked on an 8:30 direct flight, but arrived at the airport at 1:30.  The check in kiosk only gave me flight options for the following day, even though a wave of flights to EWR, ORD, CLE, IAH, and ORD again were leaving in the next two hours.  Any of those cities could get me to Denver faster and spare me having to kill 7 hours air side.  The agent at 800-UNITED-1 was amazing    She grabbed the last seat on the flight to EWR and then on to Denver.  Twice the miles (I'm borderline on status this year), an earlier arrival, and saved me untold hours of boredom.  Even if the self serve options say 'No,' it never hurts to call.

Self Service Isn't Complete

Helsinki Airport Newsletter

The Helsinki Airport newsletter is very good.  Really, you should subscribe too.

Picture taken at BCN, but the A321 was just at HEL

Frontier Airlines Coupon Discount Code

Book a round trip flight on FlyFrontier.com with promo code SALUTE before 11/15 and get 20% off the fare.  This is the best discount code I've seen in a long time for any airline.

Frontier Airbus in Denver

Spend United Miles Now

United is making the Venezuelan bolívar look like a stable currency.  MileagePlus miles will be worth significantly less on February 1, 2014 if you intend to use them for anything other than coach flights in North America or to Europe.  You can still book flights at the current prices until February 1, but don't wait; availability will deteriorate every day as more and more flights are booked.

I like using United miles for Lufthansa travel

Singapore Air Is Self Centered

Singapore Airlines announced an expansion of their partnership with SAS in their email newsletter today.  Partner announcements always have an image of the partner aircraft, see Qatar joining oneworld announcements last week for ample examples.  But Singapore Air does things differently and with a strong focus on Singapore Air, so no SAS picture in the announcement.  

Singapore & SAS

Frontier Business Bookings

Frontier doesn’t want anyone making a reservation outside of FlyFrontier.com.  To discourage third party bookings, they charge $25 for a carryon bag, don’t allow advanced seat selection, and award 25% for flown mileage.  All great motivations to book on FlyFrontier.com, but I have to use the corporate travel service at my new job, so my flight is booked through AMEX travel services.  I feel Frontier could refine this policy to not alienate business travelers that don’t have a choice in the booking method.  I can book Southwest flights through SWABIZ, I'd like Frontier to create a similar portal. 

Frontier A319's at Denver

My Postcard to Jeff Smisek

Jeff,

The greatest value of a points program is the aspirational aspect of the awards; the unattainable is now in reach.  The new MileagePlus pricing model moves the unattainable out of reach, destroying the value of the program. 

-Andrew Bussa

Protest Postcard

I feel this is an appropriate method to protest the new MileagePlus pricing model.  You too can write to Jeff Smisek, co/United Airlines, PO Box 66100, Chicago, IL, 60666.