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Full-fare advantages
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June 8, 1998: 4:15 p.m. ET
Last-minute business travelers may get bigger luggage allowance, upgrades
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NEW YORK (biztravel.com) - When it comes to flying, no one wants to pay full-fare. Unfortunately, for business travelers, there's often no other option, since many business trips are booked at the last minute.
Recently, though, some airlines have begun offering a few extra perks for full-fare flyers. United Airlines (UAL), for instance, in December launched a test program in Des Moines that allowed all full-fare-paying passengers to bring an extra carry-on bag onto their flight. Passengers with lower-fare, restricted tickets could only board with one carry-on.
In addition, United recently changed its upgrade policies to benefit full-fare flyers who aren't frequent flyer program members, giving them higher priority for first-class upgrades than basic Mileage Plus members with discounted tickets. Also, in the event of a canceled flight, United first tries to place the highest-paying passengers on the next available flight.
TWA (TWA) has also become generous with its full-fare customers. Last summer, the carrier introduced its "Fare Rewards" program, offering full-fare-paying customers one bonus mile for each dollar paid for their tickets, in addition to the base miles earned for the trip.
In other words, a customer who pays $1,000 full-fare for a coach ticket on a 1,300-mile flight gets 2,300 miles (1,300 for the flight, plus 1,000 for paying full-fare). TWA has also started giving full-fare coach passengers access to the carrier's airport Ambassador Club lounges on the days they travel.
Several other airlines have also begun offering extra benefits to full-fare passengers, such as free first-class upgrades when connecting through a hub (Northwest Airlines (NWAC) and TWA) and priority seat assignments.
Most airlines see such developments as a win-win situation. They get a huge profit on the seat they sell. And it costs them virtually nothing to let their full-fare flyers into an airport club -- or to let them carry-on a few more bags.
Many frequent business travelers are welcoming the changes as well, arguing that since their higher fares help subsidize lower-fare-paying leisure travelers, they should be treated with a higher level of service.
Other travelers, though, claim such differential treatment is unfair to budget-conscious frequent flyers. They argue that airlines should reward its most-loyal customers, not the ones who pay the most for a ticket.
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United Airlines
TWA
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