US Airways, American join free-upgrade trend
By Barbara De Lollis
USA Today
Hoping to hang on to their best customers, major airlines are making it easier for them to travel in first-class on coach fares.
This month, US Airways and American Airlines start offering unlimited, free upgrades on domestic trips to more of their elite-level frequent fliers. In January, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines also started offering unlimited, free upgrades to elite fliers. Only United now requires top customers to pay for extra upgrades beyond those they earn.
Thom Nulty, a travel-industry consultant with the Corporate Solutions Group, says the changes in upgrade policies provide powerful incentive for frequent fliers to stick with their airline. "It's definitely going to motivate people to try to make elite status," he says.
Most major airlines require travelers to fly at least 25,000 paid miles to become an elite member, with top-level status requiring at least 75,000 or 100,000 miles. The rules vary by airline, and some carriers such as Delta now take fare paid into account, which makes it harder for some travelers to retain elite status.
Upgrades are the No. 1 reason frequent fliers try to earn elite status on major airlines, Nulty says. The status is so coveted that some people take extra flights to ensure they maintain status each year.
"Unless I have status with an airline, I'm not flying them," says frequent-flier Steven Friedman, a consultant from Kensington, Md., who has elite status on Continental and United. "The agony is not worth it."
Continental pioneered the free upgrade for elite-level members about a decade ago, says Randy Petersen, who publishes Inside Flyer magazine.
Continental spokesman Rahsaan Johnson says free upgrades have helped Continental capture the biggest share of high-paying passengers among major carriers.
United Airlines says it's sticking with its policy of giving elite-level fliers a certain number of free upgrades and having them purchase additional ones. United's policy assures first-class space stays available for elite-level travelers willing to pay, spokesman Jason Schechter says.
Most employers don't reimburse employees for upgrade fees. So the new upgrade policies come as welcome news to frequent fliers who have been paying from their own pockets to get into first-class.
"People who are cheap get a break," says Matthew Bennett, who publishes the Web newsletter FirstClassFlyer.com.
The fees can add up. On a recent New York-Los Angeles trip, for instance, Nulty, the travel consultant, paid $200 each way to upgrade — more than the price of some roundtrip tickets.
By forgoing the extra revenue from upgrades, American and US Airways hope to capture more full-fare fliers, Bennett says. They also hope to gain a marketing edge against low-fare airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue that don't offer first-class cabins, as well as low-fare airlines such as AirTran that have two-class cabins, he says.
Petersen of InsideFlyer says it could take at least a year to tell whether the free-upgrade strategy works for the big airlines. But he expects it to be helpful in certain markets like Dallas, where American is based and low-fare rival Southwest continues to grow.
Changes in upgrade policies affect high-mileage customers differently. Whether you benefit depends on:
• How much you pay for your ticket. Your airfare will determine how far in advance you can confirm an upgrade. Many airlines will confirm upgrades at the time of booking for the highest coach fare, but from there, it ranges by price. US Airways, for instance, will confirm an upgrade for its top-level elite fliers seven days before departure. Delta will do so for its lower-level elite members just 12 hours in advance, if they're still available.
• Your frequent-flier status. Because American is giving free upgrades only to its top-level Executive Platinum members, lower-level members may have a tougher time confirming an upgrade in advance. Yet American's lower-level elite members get a benefit, too. Starting March 18, American is cutting the price of upgrade certificates by 40 percent. An upgrade between New York and Los Angeles will cost $125 instead of $200.
• Where you fly. For passengers who regularly fly from cities where one-class-cabin regional jets rule, free upgrades will go unused. For example, Becky Luck, a mortgage-loan auditor who lives in Greensboro, N.C., is entitled to free upgrades as a midtier US Airways elite member. But she says she rarely uses them because she flies routes mostly served by regional jets.
