Jaunted

Frequent Flyer Miles / United / United MileagePlus / Airline Loyalty Programs / → All Tags

Why You'll Need More Than Miles for Elite Status on United

Wow. Travelers on United Airlines flights have had it rough this week. First, there was the incident of the unruly passenger shouting "you've all been poisoned" to a plane full of fellow passengers, and then one of their Dreamliners flying between Denver and Tokyo made an emergency landing, and finally United went and raised their award ticket change fees, effective immediately.

What we're most concerned about, however, is the announcement made yesterday that United will begin requiring a minimum spend on flight tickets in order for travelers to qualify for elite status, a move they're totally copying from new SkyMiles rules laid down recently by Delta.

At time, it was widely believed Delta would remain both the first and only US airline to have such a stringent qualification, at least for a little while. But of course when an American airline smells blood in the water money to be made, all bets are off.

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New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / Alaska Airlines / Delta / United / AeroMexico / US Airways / → All Tags

Alaska Airlines, Delta and United Load Up on New Routes

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Alaska Airlines:
Everyone loves Hawaii, and that’s especially the case over at Alaska Airlines. To fill the need for all that island love the carrier is starting up some new service. This week they’re doing the nonstop thing between San Diego and the island of Kauai. We’re not sure if the awesome new livery will be making the journey halfway across the Pacific, but it will be a Boeing 737 doing the flying fun. Flights leave San Diego around 10am local time, and they arrive over in Hawaii at 12:30pm—local time once again.

· US Airways:
It’s time for residents of Charlotte—or those just connecting through CLT—to get out of town, as US Airways is sending some planes elsewhere. This week the carrier started flying nonstop between Charlotte and São Paulo. Just in case you’re keeping score—this is destination number two down in South America for US Airways. Boeing 767s will be the planes doing the heavy lifting, so hop aboard and hit the skies.

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Green Travel / Biofuels / United / Airlines / Airline News / Travel News / → All Tags

United is All Set to Go All-In with Biofuel Flights

At this point it seems like everyone who’s anyone in the airline industry has filled up the tanks with the green gas at least once and has taken a test flight. We acknowledge that we might be slightly exaggerating things here a bit, but there have been plenty of biofuel test flights all over the place. The ultimate goal being to help out the earth while at the same time saving some cash at the airport gas station.

Now it looks like United is getting ready to go all in—or at least half way in—with the whole biofuel thing, as the carrier just announced that they will ordering up around 15 million gallons of the friendly fuel over the next few years. AltAir Fuels is their gas station of choice, so let’s hope they have one of those gas reward credit cards or something—they’re going to need it.

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New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / Alaska Airlines / United / Delta / Frontier / Philippine Airlines / → All Tags

Delta, United, and Alaska Airlines Lead The Week's New Routes News

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Delta:
If you’re thinking about heading to Costa Rica later this year, then it might be a good idea to check out what Delta has to offer. They’re expanding their offerings between Minneapolis-St. Paul and San José, as they’re starting a new seasonal nonstop option that will run on Saturdays. Boeing 757s will head back and forth, as things are scheduled to run between December 21 and March 29 of next year. If Minneapolis doesn’t work for you—or your connection—Delta will also be flying to San José from both Atlanta and Los Angeles.

· United:
No big international news from United this week, but we’ll take what we can get. This week it sounds like airline officials are ready to add a new flight—or resume an old flight—from Cleveland, as the plan is to start nonstop service between Cleveland and Austin. SkyWest will be doing the flying with some less than spacious CRJ700s, and the flights are scheduled to do the nonstop thing six times each and every week. The flying fun begins on September 25, so feel free to check things out.

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Airline News / Flight Attendants / Uniforms / United / Fashion Travel / EWR / → All Tags

Where's the Wow Factor? United's New Uniforms Eschew Designer Inspiration

Last week we told you how United decided to spruce up their home at Newark to make it all a bit more modern, but that wasn't the only excitement. Part of the festivities included a first glimpse of the new uniforms for staff.

In a move that seems like it's coming from every corner of the globe this season, United joins Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and China Eastern with a full refresh of uniforms. For United, travelers can expect to see flight crew donning their new duds in the skies and terminals starting June 25th.

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Travel Photography / American Airlines / United / Airline Rules / Travel News / → All Tags

Is It Against the Rules to Take Photos on a Flight? Yes and No.

There’s a (not so) new rule when it comes to your air travel adventures, and this time it has nothing to do with small pocketknives or snow globes. As it turns out, airlines aren’t really cool with passengers snapping certain photos once aboard, and they've recently started cracking down.

After that totally odd story about a woman who treated the cabin as her in-flight karaoke studio it was time for American Airlines to reiterate their policy about filming and photography on their property. Just like charging for your first checked bag, there’s rules when it comes to picture taking onboard. We’re paraphrasing here, but it’s only cool to snap personal events; that means airline personnel, other passengers, and aircraft equipment are off limits.

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United / Airline News / Airports / Airport News / EWR / → All Tags

United Drops the Big Bucks to Spiff Up Their Scene at Newark

Someone must be a little bit jealous of all the hard hats and bulldozers over on the other side of the New York City area, as United is now thinking about sprucing up its home at Newark Liberty International Airport. In case you missed it the New York City area is a pretty decent spot to battle for the wallets of the traveling public, and Delta has been putting in a lot of work to ensure that New York-JFK will look snazzy for years to come.

Now United is getting ready to do something similar over in New Jersey, as we guess they aren’t too cool with flyers heading to Queens in order to catch their flights. In total it looks like they’re planning to spend—or invest—a good chunk of change, as they’ll grab around $150 million out of the corporate piggy bank to get stuff done.

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New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / United / Austrian Airlines / British Airways / Southwest / Lufthansa / → All Tags

Austrian Airlines, United and Southwest Lead This Week's New Route News

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Austrian Airlines:
We try not to pick favorites when it comes to the week’s new routes, but we just might be most excited about the new option that’s heading to Chicago-O’Hare. This week Austrian Airlines filled up the tanks for the first time, as they started flying between Chicago and Vienna.

In case you’re interested in what they’re using to head across the Atlantic, it will be Boeing 767-300ERs doing all of the heavy lifting. With their hub at Vienna International Airport the fun just doesn’t stop in Austria, as connections will get you to here and there over in Europe as well.

· Lufthansa:
It’s been about a week since the first planes started heading back and forth, as Lufthansa is now flying from Vancouver all the way over to Munich. It’s Airbus A330s that are doing all the flying, as the carrier adds another option to go alongside their service between Vancouver and Frankfurt.

According to the press release this is the only international long-haul route Lufthansa is adding to the scheduled this year, so you might as well go ahead and enjoy this one. We’re not really sure if this is the best flight for a long weekend, so go ahead and ask for that time away from the office—you’ll need it.

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New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / Frontier / United / Aegean Airlines / Delta / Ethiopian Airlines / → All Tags

Delta, Aegean Airlines and United Debut a Slew of New Routes

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Delta:
It’s the season for new routes that aren’t really new routes, as carriers are bringing planes out of the attic and sending them into the skies to restart seasonal options. This week Delta was the carrier dusting things off, as they just resumed their nonstop service between Shannon Airport over in Ireland and New York’s JFK International Airport.

Things began on May 11, and the plan is for things to head back and forth throughout the summer season. Boeing 757s will be doing the flying fun, and it’ll be a daily option. The flight might be a little less busy than some other transatlantic routes, so check it out if you have some frequent flyer miles to burn this summer.

· United:
One of the airport’s in Puerto Rico is getting a little bit busier, as United is getting ready to bring in some more of their planes. New nonstop flights will be heading between Chicago-O’Hare and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico beginning on November 5.

Boeing 737-900s will be doing the heavy lifting on this route, and first class, economy plus, and economy will all be seating options. Now all you have to do is just find a beach, an umbrella drink, and get ready to relax.

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United / United Airlines / Drinking Travel / Drinks / Booze / In-Flight Comfort / → All Tags

Why Your Next Vodka Tonic on United May Taste a Little Better

Cheers! Let’s raise a glass to United Airlines, as they’re bringing a new spirit to the in-flight beverage cart. They’re calling on an Austin, Texas based company to provide all the vodka to their flights all around the world. It’s Tito's Handmade Vodka that is now the exclusive choice of United Airlines.

We’ve got to admit that we’ve never had a sip of Tito's Handmade Vodka, but we’ve heard good things. We like that it's a somewhat local company, as the new United has family ties down in Texas—thanks to Continental.

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New Routes / Airlines / Airline News / United / Alaska Airlines / Norwegian / JetBlue / → All Tags

New Route News Thanks to JetBlue, United, and Alaska Airlines

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· United:
It’s time to head down to Central America, as United is getting ready to boost and improve some service to and from the area. A couple weeks ago they started weekly service between Washington-Dulles International Airport and both Guatemala City, Guatemala, and San Jose, Costa Rica.

Things will run all year long, but the carrier didn’t stop there. They’re also doing the nonstop thing between Chicago-O'Hare and San Jose—again it’s in Costa Rica. Boeing 737-800s will be operating these flights, which means plenty of room in United Business, Economy Plus, and regular ol’ United Economy as well.

· Alaska Airlines:
More flights are coming to Portland—the one in Oregon—as Alaska Airlines is getting ready to send their planes and people to both Atlanta and Dallas-Ft. Worth. The new flights will start up on September 16, and it’ll be Boeing 737s doing the heavy lifting between the new city pairs.

These flights will operate throughout the year, and the plan is to do one one-stop flight in each direction every day of the week. If you’re intrigued by these new flights head over to Alaska Airlines’ website and start booking, as they’re offering up one-way flights for as little as $129.

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Pet Travel / Animals / Lists / Airline Fees / Airlines / Virgin America / JetBlue / Southwest / United / American Airlines / Delta / Alaska Air / Frontier / US Airways / → All Tags

The Jaunted Guide to Pet Travel Fees on Major US Airlines

Just because you're on the move to a new destination or vacation doesn't mean your pet has to stay at home. Flying with a small dog or cat is actually pretty easy if all rules are observed and fees paid, as we recently discovered while flying with our new kitten.

Traveling with a pet means paying attention to many restrictions, such as on destinations, aircraft type, travel class, pet weight and size, breed, and how many other pets are already booked for your desired flight. Always check with the airline for the latest rules before purchasing and traveling. Just remember to have veterinarian paperwork detailing the pet's vaccination record, and have yours and your pet's travel booked in advance.

Now, for the details on pet fees on major US airlines:*

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