• A 5,000 mileage discount on all award tickets booked. This would indicate that a Domestic Saver coach award round-trip would cost 20,000 miles instead of 25,000
• Award processing fee waiver which equals to $ savings

I don’t feel like going over the full rules and restrictions, but I’ve attached a detailed scan of the brochure. It’s large and clear enough so you can read through all the rules here (2.2MB size).

Here’s a smaller version of the front and the back of the brochure,

Unfortunately, there isn’t a promo code one can mention when calling US Airways, so it’ll take some time for an agent to locate information for the new benefits. Involving a supervisor would be the best procedure, for now at least. A supervisor was able to assist and pull up information quickly, while a basic agent told me he never heard of this before, which is understandable given the benefits haven’t even started.

My Mom also carries this card, but hasn’t received this letter yet. I’m wondering if I should call Barclays bank to find out whether she is also a DM Select card holder.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Anyway, the flight which is a seasonal service operated by an ETOPS 757 seems to have to gone out with two empty Envoy seats and a rather light load in coach.

The flight is operated five times per week (doesn’t operate outbound on Mondays and Wednesday, thus no returns on Tuesdays & Thursdays). We all know what the means, right? It means tonight’s crew gets an extra night in Birmingham!

Personally, Birmingham, UK sounds interesting as it might be getting some heavy “action” in the upcoming months with an A380 service planned to/from the Middle East and a Greek airline possibly starting 747 service into the airport. When it comes to North American nonstop services, the only other airline- Continental, flies year round from Newark.

Hope US does well on the route.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I know that Continental will be moving to Terminal 1 to join United, so the the lounge operated together by Northwest and Continental will become a Delta SkyClub. I assume, Delta will prefer to pick up additional ‘E’ gates instead of moving to the F councourse . This makes sense due to the proximity of the lounge.

Since US Airways uses two (at times three) ‘E’ gates, this will surely cause trouble and limitations for Delta. The combined US Airways and America West need more gate space than what pre-merger US Airways had. I’m also sure US Airways would welcome an opportunity to consolidate gates into one specific concourse as walking from ‘E’ to ‘F’ or vice versa is a bit of a schleep!

I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks and I think it would be best for Air Canada to move to the E concourse, so United Express can operate out of Air Canada’s gates. That would free up F6 and F12 so US could use it permanently instead of sharing it with United Express.

Also, what would happen with Delta’s ‘L’ gates? From what I’ve heard, American Airlines would try to pick up most of them, but couldn’t JetBlue relocate from ‘E’ to the ‘L’ area to make room for Delta?

With the O’Hare’s largest carriers cutting back on flights, it does make sense to consolidate gate space and allow for those who are still operating at maximum capacity to ‘move about freely’. No pun intended.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

US is planning to use a 767 for this service, however there is a possibility of an upgrade to the A332 if all goes well and profitable.

Of all the carriers flying to GIG, I think Delta and United should fear the most. US Airways’ proximity of the CLT hub will most likely affect Delta’s ATL-GIG. United’s route from IAD will probably loose some passengers who will prefer to fly from DCA and connect through CLT instead of going out all the way to IAD. Fact of the matter is, DCA is so much more convenient than IAD and everyone knows it!

Again congrats and best of luck to US Airways on the route. May it do well an open up the possibility of new South American routes!

If you’d like to know what I think about US Airways opening an Envoy lounge in CLT, look here: http://www.usaviation.com/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=45319&view=findpost&p=675396

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

From what the media is saying, it seems that this will not have a happy ending like US1549. 

The Buffalo News has reported:

Forty-nine people reportedly died when an aircraft identified as a Continental Airlines flight crashed into a house in Clarence Center shortly after 10 p.m. last night, starting a huge fire which poured thick smoke throughout the hamlet.

Unconfirmed reports from a source at Buffalo Niagara International Airport said that the dead included 44 passengers, four crew members and a person on the ground.

County Executive Chris Collins said that there may have been as many as 50 people aboard the plane and crew members had reported mechanical problems as they approached Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Several injured people were taken from the scene to Erie County Medical Center for treatment.

There will be a news conference at 4AM Eastern Time on Friday, February 13, 2009. At this point, Continental is advising to call the following numbers,

• 1-800-523-3273
• 1-800-621-3263

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the passengers, crew and people on the ground, as well as their families, friends and loved ones. May those who were involved in this accident, rest in peace.

-Mark