American Airlines is getting rid of its traditional frequent flyer award chart as the carrier moves toward dynamic pricing for mileage redemptions, the latest shift in its lucrative AAdvantage loyalty program. Starting late Wednesday, the carrier will publish starting levels for how many frequent flyer miles are likely required to redeem for a ticket in certain regions — for example, 7,500 for a one-way ticket within the contiguous 48 US states and Canada. Previously, the chart showed redemption levels that were static. American in December said it would get rid of different redemption categories, MileSAAver and AAnytime awards, which have set minimum rates. The new redemption level will be called “Flight Awards” and the chart will serve as a reference guide. “Just like cash tickets, these are going to float based on demand,” Chris Isaac, American’s director of loyalty, said in an interview. American introduced dynamic pricing for award tickets in 2019, meaning the number of miles required to redeem for a ticket fluctuate based on supply and demand. “This product has become the product that our members have gravitated to,” Isaac said. That category required the same number or fewer miles than the awards that were set in the chart “up to 85% of the time over the last few years,” American said.<br/>
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Corporate travel agencies are now seeing wide discrepancies in airfares after the American Airlines overhauled its ticket distribution strategy. On April 3, the carrier moved 40% of its airfares to its “owned channel” as well as New Distribution Capability-enabled channels, and in the process stopping their sale through what it calls third-party legacy technology platforms (that use decades-old EDIFACT technology.) This includes EDIFACT technology and communications through global distribution systems, which most corporate travel agencies use. However, all three major global distribution systems (Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport) can also now provide access to American Airlines’ New Distribution Capability-enabled fares. Sabre was the last one to join party, just about, on March 29. While in Europe several major airlines have already aggressively pushed their direct retailing strategies, American Airlines is the first carrier in the U.S. to move ahead, perhaps reflecting its acknowledgement of fewer pure business trips being flown. And back in September, American Airlines said that its lower fares would no longer be available through third-party legacy technology channels. Corporate travel agency AmTrav said 35% of its itineraries had “lower fares in New Distribution Capability,” with average savings of $164 on those itineraries. For 13 percent of itineraries, the company was finding savings of more than $100, said CEO Jeff Klee in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday Another agency, DCM Elite Travel Planners, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has also seen big gaps.<br/>
Oneworld alliance partners Japan Airlines and Alaska Airlines have applied to the US Transportation Department to deepen their existing codeshare pact. The carriers originally teamed up in 2016 with a codeshare agreement and frequent flyer partnership, before expanding the arrangement in February 2018 to cover some former Virgin America routes, such as San Francisco to Boston, Denver and Newark. The existing approval gives Alaska authority to display JAL’s JL code on flights between domestic points in the US, as well as to international destinations in Canada and Mexico. The latest application expands the focus so that Alaska will be authorized to place its AS code on JAL’s routes between Japan and the US. If approved, the codeshare will cover JAL-operated flights between Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports and four points on the US west coast, namely Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. The airlines hope to have secured approval to begin operating these additional codeshare routes by mid-May. JAL said approval will “benefit consumers by providing additional travel options for passengers between the US and Japan.”<br/>
Finnair is axing domestic flights to two key Finnish cities, Tampere and Turku, replacing them with a bus service. The carrier is citing “economic and environmental considerations” for the decision to cut the air links, which takes effect from 1 May. Finnair, which uses ATR 72 turboprops on the routes, had already swapped some flights to the bus. When it removes the flights completely it will offer four bus connections daily to each city. Road and rail connections to Helsinki are a “more sustainable option”, states Finnair network vice-president Perttu Jolma. Finnair adds that the flights to both cities are short, about 25min, and that the low load factors – around 35% – mean their environmental impact per passenger is relatively high. “We understand that this decision disappoints customers who have used the flights, and we regret the inconvenience this causes them,” says Jolma. “We must, however, take both economic and environmental considerations into account.” Finnair points out that “most customers” already use road or rail to travel from Tampere to the Helsinki hub, and that this had been the case before the pandemic.<br/>
The US Transportation Department Wednesday imposed a $135,000 penalty on British Airways over a 2017 tarmac delay in which it failed to ensure the timely deplaning of passengers. As part of a settlement, the airline, which is owned by IAG, agreed to cease and desist from future similar violations. USDOT said British Airways must pay $67,500 within 30 days and the rest within one year if the airline violates the order. USDOT said the penalty stemmed from a December 2017 flight from Austin, Texas, to London that resulted in passengers being stuck on the tarmac in poor weather for more than four hours without getting a chance to exit. British Airways did not immediately comment Wednesday. It told USDOT the delay was caused after the deicing truck ran out of fluid. It said it did not believe the incident called for a USDOT enforcement action but "in the interest of resolving this proceeding" agreed to the settlement. USDOT in January said it planned to seek higher penalties from airlines and others that broke consumer protection rules, saying they were necessary to deter future violations. Under a 2011 rule, airlines are prohibited from allowing domestic flights to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours and international flights for more than four hours at US airports without giving passengers an opportunity to deplane.<br/>