I'm at Fool HQ this week. To get here, I once again flew UAL's
(Pause.)
Really.
I'm impressed by how UAL is using services to earn more from the seats it flies. The latest? A program called Award Accelerator. Pay a fee and United will double or triple your Mileage Plus mileage haul.
For $37, UAL offered to give me double credit for the 1,313 miles I flew from Denver to Washington, D.C. That's 2.8 cents per mile. I didn't pay the premium because I don't travel that much, and because UAL doesn't participate in American Express' Membership Rewards program, which I use to maximize vacation options. But I could easily see this system working for the regular business traveler who lives near a United hub city such as Los Angeles or (ahem) Denver.
Investors, meanwhile, should love the profit margins for this program. Charge $0.03 to fill unsold inventory? No wonder a Bear Stearns analyst estimated the Mileage Plus program to be worth $7 billion in a spinoff.
Award Accelerator is no panacea, of course. But I like the spirit of the idea: make more from every seat. That's the only strategy worth considering when labor relations are at an all-time low and oil prices routinely threaten to reach new highs.
And yet I see more that could be done with in-flight services. Make onboard Wi-Fi an option as Delta
Oppressive fees, on the other hand, are an instant turnoff. Just ask US Airways
As blogger Wayne Schulz put it last month: "US Airways introduces new free beverage service called bathroom sink." Funny? Yes, hysterical. But only because it's so freaking sad.
Join me in a golf clap for United, please. For all its faults, the carrier is trying to deliver value and make our overcrowded skies just a little friendlier. It's about time someone did.
Flap on over to this related Foolishness:
- These airline fees have ski resorts feeling cold.
- We can make airlines profitable again.
- Don't invest a dime in airlines unless you know the metrics that matter.