Upgrd.com

The bulk of my travel is for business, and of that travel, a lot of it is on complicated itineraries. Sometimes I'll do a swing of the East Coast and visit three or four cities, I'm frequently jumping between hotels, and I often have rental cars to deal with, too.

All these reservations are a pain in the butt to manage, which is why I've become an avid user of TripIt.

TripIt is an online trip planner that basically takes all your reservations and automatically (and with very little effort from the user) puts them into one place.

Here's how it works: You know how when you make an air, hotel, or rental car reservation, you get an email confirmation with all the details? Once upon a time I used to print those out and carried them with me in a file folder. Now, I just take those emails and forward them on to TripIt. They have a software engine (they call it their "Itinerator") that reads the email and puts all the pertinent information into a custom built itinerary.

Here's an example of how I use TripIt.

1. I'm traveling to Chicago and Boston in late March/early April. First, I booked plane tickets on AA.com. Because of some intricacies of my plans, I actually booked three one way tickets: LAX-ORD, ORD-BOS, and BOS-LAX. When AA.com sends me my email confirmations, I forward all three to plans@tripit.com. (I do the same for my hotel and rental car reservations in both cities.)

When you sign up for TripIt, it learns your email address. That way it knows that email confirmations forwarded from me should go into my account. (In my case, TripIt actually knows both my work and personal email addresses, so no matter which I use to send TripIt my plans, it puts them in my account.)

2. I can now log into TripIt.com, where I can see that my account now has in it a trip to Chicago and Boston. I click on that trip, and there I can find all my reservations, including confirmation numbers, dates, and times. TripIt's software knows which city I'll be in on which date (because it knows how to read my reservations), so it also compiles all the weather forecasts for each day in each city, as well as links for maps from the airport to the hotel.

3. Over the course of the next few days, I continue to build my itinerary. I make a restaurant reservation on OpenTable.com for one of the days I'm in Chicago, and book theatre tickets for an evening in Boston. I also realize I have to see a client in New Haven, CT during the time that I'm in Boston, so I book a train ticket on Amtrak. In all those cases, I forward my email confirmations to TripIt. (And when I log onto the site, I can see all those plans conveniently filed in the proper order in my itinerary.) I also make a few meetings with some clients in Boston and New Haven. Though I don't have official email confirmations for those meetings, I can enter them by hand into my TripIt itinerary.

4. The next bit of magic happens in the days before my trip. TripIt provides every user with a custom .ics calendar feed to which I can subscribe using my calendar software (in my case, that's Google Calendars). By subscribing to that feed, my calendar automatically shows all my trips, as well as all the individual pieces within those trips (flights, hotel check in and check out times, rental car drop off times, restaurant reservations, etc.). You can actually customize that feed to provide your calendar with just the information that you want.

This isn't just useful for my own calendar. I've also given that feed address to my boss and to my wife. That way, they can see my travel plans, too.

5. TripIt gets really useful on the day of travel. First, if you're a low-tech kind of person, you can use TripIt to print out a single master itinerary of your whole trip. Instead of having to sort through a whole sheaf of papers with all your confirmations, you can carry just one sheet of paper with everything in one place.

My preferences are a little more, um, electronic. I have TripIt's free iPhone app on my phone (they also make apps for Blackberry and Android smart phones), which allows me to have easy access my itineraries at my fingertips. When I get into the rental car and fire up my GPS, I can pull up my TripIt itinerary on the iPhone to get the address of the hotel (if your smart phone has a GPS, you can even click on the address to map it right). If I'm at the airport, I can pull up my flight reservation to see departure and gate information, links to learn more about an airport, and phone numbers (click to call) for the airline. TripIt offers even more features to Pro members, including the ability to instantly search for alternate flights (with options for multiple airlines, and information on seat availability).

TripIt has a bunch of other features that I don't use so much. They can track your point balances from a number of award plans. They have a social networking feature that allows you to see friends' travel plans. (This would be useful for Ryan Bingham and Alex Goran for planning a romantic rendezvous. The TripIt software could automatically tell them when they're next going to be in the same city.) They also have some cool partnerships with other travel tools (Yapta, for example) that add lots of functionality.

My wife spent the past few days in Florida visiting family, and was scheduled to return to LAX today, FLL-DFW-LAX. Her itinerary had her on flight 697 from FLL to DFW.

When she got to the airport today, she found that flight 697 had a pretty long mechanical delay. At the Priority AAccess check-in counter, the AAgent immediately rebooked her on a non-stop MIA-LAX flight and arranged to get her on a shuttle (paid for by AA) to MIA. My wife didn't ask for this to happen. She did indeed have to be home in LA tonight (she has to work tomorrow morning), but she didn't even get a chance to tell the AAgent that before she was rebooked. In other words, AA solved the problem before my wife even realized there was a problem.

This was obviously a super nice thing for the AAgent to do. Basically, my wife now has a direct flight home, doesn't have to endure the lay over at DFW, and she arrives a couple hours earlier than scheduled.

But here's my question: Why?

First, her original flight wasn't cancelled. It was just heavily delayed. Yes, it was delayed enough to prevent her from making her originally scheduled connection at DFW. But there are three or four DFW-LAX flights she could have made, and (according to ExpertFlyer) all those flights have available seats on them.

Second, my wife is pretty sure that AA didn't accommodate all the passengers on the delayed FLL-DFW by sending them to Miami. As far as she could tell, the only people given this option were elite and first class passengers.

(For the record, my wife was AAdvantage Gold when we booked her itinerary. Her status expired at the end of February, but her boarding passes still said Priority AAcess on them, and she wasn't charged to check a bag.)

What's more, most people on her shuttle to MIA weren't connecting onward from DFW. So it wasn't like AA was avoiding the hassle and cost of rebooking their connections.

As best I can figure it, the AAgent knew that a planefull of seriously delayed passengers flying into a major hub was about to create a giant IRROPS nightmare, seeing as many of them were going to have to reschedule connections. (And because the delay was a long mechanical, any costs to the airline would be greater, seeing as they might end up having to overnight some people in Dallas.) By getting some customers on MIA flights, she basically limited the number of passengers who would need to be accommodated.

But even then, this seems above-and-beyond for AA. To accommodate passengers on a different flight is nice enough, but to also pay for transportation is icing on the cake. In addition, to provide such a service for passengers who weren't even connecting seems to really be going the extra mile.

Follow Up: Just for fun, I called the EXP line to see if an AAgent could tell me why they were so nice at FLL. She basically said, "Well, if a passenger has to be somewhere at a certain time, we do everything we can to get them there." That's impressive, and certainly inconsistent with the usual stories we hear about airlines, especially legacy carriers. AA could just have soon said, "Sorry. We'll get you out of here as soon as this problem is fixed." Instead, they turned a problem into a win-win. Maybe AA needs to do a better job of getting the message out about situations like this to combat all the negative press they get.

Today, a DFW-LHR flight was met by Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets and received permission for a priority approach at Heathrow. Was there some VIP aboard the flight? Nope. From the Telegraph:

The Typhoons, from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, went to assist an American Airlines Boeing 767 heading for London from Dallas/Forth Worth in Texas following reports of a woman passenger trying to get on to the flight deck. 
The Typhoons returned to base when it was realised the incident on Tuesday was not terrorism-related. 

An American Airlines spokesman said: ''Our flight 078 from Dallas/Fort Worth was met on arrival at Heathrow by police. 

''A female passenger became distressed during the flight and reportedly attempted to gain access to the flight deck. She was calmed by flight attendants but, as a precaution, a priority approach to London was requested and police were asked to meet the aircraft.''

You won't find the rest of the story in the Telegraph or on their website, but here at UPGRD.com, our crack team of reporters filed the following:

The woman, who has yet to be identified by police, was apparently suffering an anxiety attack over whether or not American would be offering a double elite qualifying miles promotion this year. Other passengers on the flight reported her yelling, "I want my DBEQM!" at the top of her lungs while charging the cockpit. When flight attendants explained that the pilots had no knowledge of forthcoming corporate promotions, the woman muttered, "Why should I listen to you anyway? You didn't even follow FEBO!"

According to eye witness reports, other passengers on the plane managed to physically restrain the woman while flight attendants attempted to calm her down. She then asked for a glass of orange juice, at which point flight attendants "flipped out," handed her a letter from the captain, and arranged to have the RAF fighter jets scrambled.

Though the woman has yet to make any statements to police, her attorney told media outlets that she would be requesting "full mileage credit" for the flight.

[Originally posted on FlyerTalk.]

This past week, Hilton sent letters (with both Hilton HHonors and American AAdvantage logos in the letterhead) to certain AA frequent flyers. The letters say, in part,

Congratulations. As a valued member of the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you’ve been selected to receive two great offers from Hilton HHonors.

Enjoy Gold VIP status. You’ll be treated to an elite level of perks reserved for our favorite guests. These benefits may include HHonors bonus points, a room upgrade, breakfast, snacks or other amenity.

Earn 25,000 HHonors bonus points. After completing four qualifying stays by May 15, 2010, you’ll earn 25,000 bonus points to use towards free nights.

Attached to the letter is a HHonors Gold card that expires in March, 2011. In a FlyerTalk thread on the topic, some AAdvantage members report offering 35,000 or 50,000 bonus points and various dates for their accrual.

My wife got one of these letters, and I’m annoyed. She’s an AAdvantage Gold member (or at least she has been… her membership expires at the end of this month).

I’m not annoyed because I didn’t get one. I already have Gold status with Hilton. Actually, the fact that I have Gold status is the reason I’m annoyed.

Based on the response on FlyerTalk, it seems that many many AAdvantage members (including some of them who don’t even have elite status with AA) received this offer. Hundreds, probably thousands. I can’t help but think that this is a further devaluation of the HHonors program.

Some people are Gold members with Hilton because they actually fulfilled the program requirements (16 stays or 36 nights in a year). I earned Gold status by successfully completing a challenge (four stays in 90 days).

That's the funny thing. I'm an EXP on American, and I stayed around 55 nights in hotel rooms last year. My wife flew 18,000 miles and stayed three nigts in hotel rooms. I did the challenge so I could get status. If my wife does the same thing — four stays in 90 days — she’ll not only have Gold status, but she’ll have an extra 25,000 points to show for it. (In fact, her four stays will be arguably easier than mine, seeing as she got the Gold status before completing those stays.)

Hilton’s program isn’t great. In fact, with the tougher redemptions and lack of promotions, I’d say it’s a downright crappy program. But I can say that in my three four Hilton stays since becoming Gold, I’ve really felt a difference at Hilton properties. My status is recognized by hotel staff, and I’ve been offered generous room upgrades and other perks. In other words, I’ve been made to feel like my status is worth something, and that my business is worth something to the company. By giving away mid-tier status (and lets be honest… Gold is basically top-tier status since Diamond doesn’t really get you much more), Hilton is basically sending the message that being an elite member in their program isn’t worth much to them. It’s worth so little, in fact, that they’ll just give it away to random AA flyers who didn’t even request it.

This may be a good business move for Hilton because all these random recipients of Gold memberships may be more willing to stay with them. But in the long run, it seems like this move is a nice way to alienate those of us who earned Gold status the hard way (by challenging in!) or the really hard way (16 stays or 36 nights, which, come to think of it, isn't so hard). Those are the people who spend the big bucks, and the chain should do more to keep them happy.

For my wife and me, this can’t hurt… We might find a way to go for those bonus points and put them to good use. But in the big picture, I’m not feeling so happy about Hilton these days, and I’m feeling more and more inclined to take my business elsewhere.

On Thursday evening, I flew home to LAX from IAD. This was an eventful trip because (1) my upgrade didn't clear, the first time that's happened in several months, and (2) I rode Dulles' new "Aerotrain" for the first time.

A bit of background: Washington Dulles International Airport has three terminal buildings. When you pull up to the airport, you enter the main "Z" terminal. That's where all the ticketing/check-in counters are, where TSA security is, and it's where you'll depart if you're flying a select few international flights and if you're hopping on a US Airways Express flight to Charlotte. All the other flights depart from terminals A and B (which share one "midfield" terminal) or terminals C and D (which share another "midfield" terminal).

These midfield terminals are basically just buildings that are not physically connected to the main terminal building. For many years, you got to them by hopping on a "mobile lounge", which is basically a giant bus with seats inside that look vaguely like a mini version of a gate waiting area. These silly looking things are 54 feet long, and a bit more than 15 feet wide, and their mounted on a scissor lift that basically raises the thing to the level of the terminal for passengers to get on and off.

(Alternatively, Dulles also features "plane mates", which are basically just specially-designed mobile lounges that connect directly to airplanes. This allows an airplane to park away from the terminal at special spaces called "hard stand." The "plane mates" take passengers directly from planes at these remote parking spaces to the main terminal.)

This entire system was designed before the advent of jet bridges, and before the design of the modern airport. The jet bridge allows airplanes to park right next to a terminal gate, and for passengers to walk down the tunnel from the plane to the building.

For the past several years Dulles has been trying to catch up with modern times. They've been building an underground people mover system (basically, a train) that would allow passengers to move themselves from the Z terminal to the disconnected outer terminal buildings. This train system, when fully functional, will basically make the mobile lounges obsolete.

So I arrived several days earlier to IAD and rode a mobile lounge from the B terminal to the main terminal building. When I arrived on Thursday to take my flight home, the new train system — dubbed "AeroTrain" — had been inaugurated, and I got to use it to get from Z to B.

All that background information serves to inform my report on riding the train, which basically boils down to this: It's nothing special.

The remarkable thing about the train system is that it is totally unremarkable. After going through TSA security, you take an escalator down into the train station, where trains going in each and every direction arrive every few minutes. Automated doors open, you hop in, and the train takes you to the terminal. The ride is quiet and smooth, and the whole thing is totally automated. You arrive at the terminal, the doors open, you hop out and take an escalator up to the main level. End of story.

Basically, IAD basically operates just like the trains at ATL and MIA. And that would make sense, since they all use the same kind of train system. It also feels a lot like the trains at DFW, LAS, DEN, JFK, and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. In other words, IAD's train system makes it feel like any other airport.

I don't have any philosophical ruminations on the modernization of IAD. I'll leave that to the United folks who fly in and out of that airport on a regular basis. As an AA flyer who only occasionally flies in or out of Dulles, I have to say that the airport feels a little bit easier to manage.

Some pics below.

Take the escalator down to board the train:

The station in the Z terminal:

The train arrives:

Take the escalator up to the B terminal:

I'm sitting in the (very lovely) IAD Admirals Club right now as I await my flight to LAX. Unless something crazy happens, I'll be sitting in economy for the first time in six months or so.

Here's the math, according the AAngel at the front desk:

• AA only flies 757s on the IAD-LAX route, which has "only" 22 seats in first.
• There are only three flights a day to LAX.
• And its not like there's many other options out of IAD. You can fly IAD-MIA-LAX, or IAD-DFW-LAX. And that's about it, unless you switch to DCA or BWI. (And in this case, I needed to fly in and out of IAD.)
• On Thursdays, flights out of IAD can have as many as thirty (thirty!) Executive Platinum members onboard, and lots of people paying full-fare first. That's because lots of beltway lobbyists and consultants take Friday off, and they fly home on Thursday evening. This morning, AA had four open seats on my flight. All of them sold. (Also, I'm an EXP who booked my ticket three months out. And I'm fourth on the list. That's pretty damn unusual for a flight in January.)

So if you want an upgrade, don't fly out of IAD on a Thursday evening.

(By the way, stay tuned for my full report on IAD's new train system. Buh-bye MoonBuggies!)