Triangle Trip

All major airlines except Southwest are using domestic change fees to make up for lost revenue. United is notorious for imposing strict penalties on changes to your airline ticket. Below is an example of how they are doing it.

I will not be able to depart on my scheduled return flight from JFK to LAX on March 11, 2009. I went to United.com to modify my itinerary to change my return date from JFK to LAX to next Sunday, March 17, 2009. I noticed United has repriced my ticket to: $319 plus a $150 change fee making the new ticket $469. United then subtracted my original ticket of $279 and tells me I will need to pay $190 for the change. Below is a print screen directly from united.com.

I then went to Kayak to see how much the one-way JFK to LAX ticket for the same flight with the exact same date and time is worth. The result (below) is $200.

United is basically telling its customers that they are getting a $10 discount for making a change on a return flight vs buying a new one way ticket. United and other airlines should reward their customers for booking round trips with them. Booking a round trip used to be cheaper and customers were rewarded for being loyal. Under this circumstance, I do not see why I should be booking round trips with United or any airlines that charges a hefty change fee. I recalled back in 2005 when United would only charge you their change fee ($50 or so) and put you on the next available flight.

Based on my current finding, I will cancel my United return flight on the very last minute to make sure United cannot sell my seat to another person. As long as you cancel before the flight takes off, United must issue you a credit. In the meantime, I will monitor Kayak and other sites for a cheaper return – I noticed American has a 9AM return on the same date for $180 which is a $10 saving.

Taking advantage of customers through change fees should be reviewed by our Justice Department. Here’s a link to my previous post regarding airline change fees making your ticket under $200 worthless.

United Airlines now operate out of Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) Terminals 6, 7, and 8. Following my previous post on how to get quickly get through LAX security in Terminal 7, this post gives you two more options should the LAX Terminal 7 garage security checkpoint is closed for whatever reason or becomes too crowded.

Option 1 – Use United Premier Line in Terminal 6:  United has their Premier check-in counters and security line in Terminal 6. Unlike LAX Terminal 7 (or other airports), Terminal 6’s security checkpoint does not have a pre-screener to look at your ID or re-validate that you are a United Premier member. If you walk into Terminal 6 and make an immediate left, you will see the United Premier security line. This line is generally empty and connects you to the normal Terminal 7 main security line. However, the Terminal 6 security line is much shorter as it does not wrap around like Terminal 7’s main line. If you do see a pre-screener and he/she does not let you go through, just tell him/her that you were dropped off by the rental car bus and have to catch the flight that’s in an hour. If that fails, go to Option 2.

Option 2 – use LAX Terminal 6’s TSA security line to get to Terminals 7 and 8:  This option will require some walking. Terminal 6’s normal TSA security is to the right of United Premier check-in. LAX Terminal 6 does not have many big airlines (AirTran, Continental, Spirit, Virgin America, etc.) so the security lines are generally shorter than Terminal 7. After you have cleared the Terminal 6 security line, make a left and walk through a tunnel that connects you to Terminal 7.

For your convenience, below is a map of LAX highlighting the United Terminals. I have labeled locations for Options #1 and #2 in red.

LAX United Terminal Map

I have tried both options and both worked like a charm. I was at LAX at 3:20PM to catch a 4PM flight and there was no pre-screener at the United Premier security line in Terminal 6. I bypassed the normal Terminal 7 pre-screening and the long wrap around line. I have also tried go through security at Terminal 6 and walking back to Terminal 7. The entire process (clearing security to walking to the gate) took less than 15 minutes as no one uses the TSA security lines in Terminal 6.

I am still waiting for Clear to show up at the world’s 6th busiest airport. Here’s a link to my previous post regarding this topic. I would also like to give credit to Statusmonger for telling me about the United Terminal 6 secret.

Now you’ve secured that vacation time, what do you look for when buying an international ticket? For us seasoned travelers, there are only two factors – airline and price. Since each of us have already aligned with a specific airline, our choices probably falls with our primary airline and all of its alliance partners. And of course, since this vacation (unless you’re  Madoff) is not exactly on an expense account, every dollar counts! So looking for the best combination of airline and price becomes a science and a work of art. Does this mean you should click on that “purchase now” button once you found cheapest flight operated by your airline/partners? Not just yet! Check out the following tips to make sure you have fully maximized your purchase!

1.  Co-share – As you price out your ticket, the airline that you see on your itinerary may not actually be the actual carrier. What does this mean? Typically, it’s a partner airline operating the route but using your favorite airline as the label!  Have you even see an UAL flight from LAX – PEK? A quick check on the UAL site says it’s UAL #4456. Look closer, you’ll see it’s actually not UAL, but an Air China operated flight. So what now? To me, this is more of a personal preference. Co-shared flights will still give you the full potential of earning miles and alliance benefits. But every airline (especially foreign) operates differently – age of aircraft, crew experience and expertise, service, cabin configuration, food options, movie options, just to name a few. So do your research and homework before jumping on that co-share flight!

2.  Earn miles – Yes, make sure to earn your miles for your trip!!! This may sound easy, buy a ticket and give the agency/airline your frequent flyer number and you’re set, right?  Not exactly! Depending on your class of ticket, there are actually tickets that do not earn miles. The adage you get what you pay for comes in play here. If it’s too good and too cheap to be true, you may want to double check the class of ticket with the airline. So before you buy that ticket, inquire or look for the class of the ticket (H, Y, K, W, etc).  It varies among airlines, but call them directly to ensure that your ticket class allows you to earn your miles!

3.  Upgradable – We all worked hard to earn our miles. The best redemption for miles? Upgrades! International upgrades to be exact!! Real business class seats, legroom, reclining seats, special meals, and most importantly, that curtain to keep out the riff raffs! Of course in order to enjoy these amenities you must be willing to part with your miles. Ironically, and this has happened to me on several occasions, the airline may not want to take your miles! Conspiracy? Miles dilution? Not exactly. It’s all due to the class of ticket. Just like earning miles above, there are several class of ticket that are not upgradable. So do your math and homework. Find out if your class of ticket is upgradeable and if not, which classes are. Upgradable tickets usually cost a little more, but it might be worth your while to redeem those miles.

Now you can click on that “purchase now” button! Safe travels!

-coach