United Global Services Mercedes SUV Houston

There was a big spender on my flight to Houston because United sent a Mercedes SUV to take them to their connecting flight.  Oddly the person was flying coach or not observant because the agent was still waiting in the jetway for them after first class had emptied.  United offers transfer service at hubs to Global Service (top 1% revenue passengers) members when able. There was an agent in the jetway with an iPad showing the passenger's name waiting for the flight to arrive.  It's a cool service, similar to part of the Lufthansa First Class service, but isn't guaranteed. 

United SUV Transfer in Houston

Same Day Standby Problems

There's an AP story with the headline "Empty seats increase at United Airlines" and I don't believe it.  From my observations United is flying planes 95%+ full 90% of the time.  Take today for example, I'm trying to stand by onto an earlier flight, but there is not one available seat, even with connections, for the 12 hours before my trip.

United 737-824 Pushing Back Full Probably

DFW Spends $1.2M to Study Airport Lounges

DFW wants to issue a contract for $1,200,000 for consultants to study international airport lounges and make a recommendation on what DFW should do (existing lounges aren't of the caliber foreign carriers expect).  That sounds like an amazing consulting gig, travel around the world and spend large amounts of time trying out all the features of airline lounges.  I wish I had bid on this contract (I did conduct a customer experience analysis at Helsinki Airport).

United First Class Lounge at SFO

Boeing Store Free Shipping Coupon

Free shipping at the Boeing Store with coupon code PROFIL14; offer good until Wednesday.

Boeing Products Last, This 737 is from the 80's

O'Hare Airport Moved the Wildcat WW2 Fighter

The Wildcat WW2 fighter like the one Butch O'Hare flew has moved at O'Hare Airport.  It was always next to the windows in terminal 2 on the way to terminal 1.  It moved to where a security checkpoint was by the terminal lobby. The new position is less prominent and opens up some prime retail space for a restaurant or bar. I hope the airport expands the display with the new space and revenue; the fighter is my favorite feature of ORD.  Also Midway airport has a large and interesting display on the Battle of Midway, so maybe a similar display could be added at O'Hare.

Grumman F4F Wildcat Fighter in ORD Terminal 2

Prime Retail Space Where the Wildcat was Displayed

Airline News Emailed Every Day

The Airlines for America SmartBrief email is a great collection of airline news from around the country.  It is a great read every weekday and you should sign up.

CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 in Denver

United is Selling Half of Premier Status

The United Airlines premier qualification system is somewhat complex with four components.  To qualify you have to do the following in a calendar year: fly four segments on United (Express and Copa count on all these), spend a certain amount of money on fares on United (taxes, fees, and Star Alliance partners not included), and either fly (all partners count) a certain number of segments (PQS) or miles (PQM).  A tad complicated for my tastes and most members too I suspect. 

United 737-900ER in Denver

If you are running short of segments or miles, United will sell them to you for an exorbitant fee, 15,000 PQM / 15 PQS - $1950 14,000 PQM / 14 PQS - $1820 13,000 PQM / 13 PQS - $1690 12,000 PQM / 12 PQS - $1560 11,000 PQM / 11 PQS - $1430 10,000 PQM / 10 PQS - $1300 9,000 PQM / 9 PQS - $1170 8,000 PQM / 8 PQS - $1040 7,000 PQM / 7 PQS - $910 6,000 PQM / 6 PQS - $780 5,000 PQM / 5 PQS - $650 4,000 PQM / 4 PQS - $520 3,000 PQM / 3 PQS - $390 2,000 PQM / 2 PQS - $260 1,000 PQM / 1 PQS - $130.  I’d rather just book a cheap flight or two and enjoy a weekend of flying around.  These trips also help with spending requirements while also adding to my million miler total.  My goal is to hit a million miles with United and relax because I’ll have lifetime Gold status.  Until then the annual premier qualification math and email offers like this will bug me.