Educational Posts on Loyalty Programs

Spirit Airlines is offering several ways for loyalty program members to earn miles and save money this summer and beyond.

Alitalia, the national airline of Italy, serves 102 destinations in 51 countries. In the United States, the airline flies to Boston, Miami and New York, and seasonally to Chicago and Los Angeles.

Garuda Indonesia isn’t well-known in the United States. It doesn’t serve any cities in America, and it has a relatively small footprint, with only 21 international destinations in 14 countries. But this luxurious airline is worth getting to know, particularly if you’re traveling to Indonesia. Its frequent flyer program, GarudaMiles, offers excellent redemption rates on domestic flights within the country.

In a battle reminiscent of the Hatfield-McCoy feud of the mid- to late 1800s, which earned a storied place in American folklore for the bitter dispute between the two families, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines are duking it out over gate space at Dallas Love Field.

Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, is a luxurious airline with outstanding service. Its loyalty program, Alfursan, is well-regarded, offering members some nice perks.

Although the program’s redemptions for miles are generally priced conservatively, there are a few excellent deals hidden in its award charts. In some cases, Saudia Alfursan will give you better redemption rates than its partner Delta Air Lines.

SriLankan Airlines, the nation’s flag carrier, serves 46 destinations in 23 countries, though it doesn’t yet fly to the Americas. Before joining the oneworld alliance in 2014, the airline revamped its fleet and improved its service. Recent reviews suggest that customers noticed and welcomed the changes.

In an era when airlines keep cutting perks and charging for everything, Alaska Airlines has some good news for its passengers. Earlier this month the carrier announced that its Visa Signature cardholders can now check their first bag free of charge.

Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland, dates back to 1923, making it one of the oldest airlines in the world. From its main hub in Helsinki Airport, the airline flies to 88 destinations in Europe, Asia and North America. In the United States, it serves Chicago, Miami and New York.

Air India is the country’s flag carrier, and its third-largest airline, after IndiGo and Jet Airways. It flies to 60 domestic and 31 international destinations in 19 countries across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. In the United States, Air India flies to New York and Chicago.

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Those words from the venerable John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States, must have recently resonated with United Airlines.

If you fly to Asia with any frequency, and you care about service and quality, you’ll probably want to build a relationship with Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier. It ranks among the most luxurious airlines in the world. In addition to receiving a five-star Skytrax rating, it has been recognized as the World’s Best Airline more times than any other carrier.

TAP Portugal flies to 88 destinations in 38 countries, including New York and Miami in the United States. The airline has received several awards over the years for its excellent service, including the World’s Best Airline from Condé Nast Traveller magazine. Because it’s a Star Alliance member, its frequent flyer program, Victoria, can get you almost anywhere.

A travel report from Expedia and Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) predicts that plane ticket prices will continue to decline over the next year. Popular destinations, including Europe and Latin America, will likely see price drops of 4 to 6 percent.

In the first half of 2015, ticket prices dropped an average of 2 percent across Europe and North America, and about 7 percent in Asia-Pacific.

The report, Travel Check-Up: Air Travel Trends 2015, looked at global travel trends, ticket prices, consumer demand and the potential to save through travel packages. It was released in early June and is available here.

Top 10 Travel Bargains

The report predicts the top 10 routes that will be the best deals in air travel during the remainder of 2015. Analysis of pricing trends suggests that these routes will have the biggest percentage drops in average ticket prices:

• Malaysia to Australia
• Italy to Portugal
• Brazil to the United States
• Spain to Thailand
• Germany to Portugal
• Japan to France
• United States to Dubai
• Mexico to France
• Malaysia to Thailand
• Sweden to Spain

Packages Offer the Greatest Savings

One of the report’s biggest takeaways is that package deals offer the biggest savings. ARC and Expedia found that, on average, consumers saved up to $648 across all destinations when booking plane tickets and hotel rooms together instead of separately. The data was gathered on bundled air and hotel package prices for June through September 2015.

Trip Length Is Shortest From the United States

The report also studied how long people stayed when they traveled to various locations. Flights originating in the U.S. led to the shortest stays. In June and July, people tended to stay longer when they flew from North America to Asia-Pacific.

Travelers originating in Asia-Pacific and heading to Europe in August had the longest average stays. The report’s authors surmised that this could be because the Chinese yuan is gaining strength against the U.S. dollar, causing a surge in outbound travel from China.

About the Agencies Behind the Report

ARC provides services and products to the U.S. travel industry and has information on more than 9 billion passenger flights, providing a detailed view of air travel. Expedia encompasses Expedia.com, an online travel agency with localized sites in 31 countries, and also Hotels.com and discount travel sites Hotwire, Travelocity and CarRentals.com.

There are a few promos offering big bonuses in the six-digit range this summer. Here’s an overview of how to get those massive miles, and some ideas for spending your earnings. What would you do with that many miles?

Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier and largest airline, flies between Moscow and four U.S. cities: New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Miami. It also has an extensive network of routes in Europe and Asia, making the airline a convenient choice for connecting flights beyond Moscow.

You may not be familiar with it, but Malaysia Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world. It’s a member of the oneworld alliance, and flies to 60 destinations in 28 countries. Unfortunately, its four U.S. routes were recently eliminated because of financial issues and restructuring.

You probably have a short list of favorite airlines for free award flights. That’s all well and good, but it pays to have a cursory knowledge of a lot of different programs. That way, when the time is right, you’ll be ready to take advantage of terrific deals that will help you travel the globe. If you don’t know about Flying Blue and its monthly Promo Awards, which offer up to 50 percent off award flights, you need to read this article.

Thanks to partnerships between airlines and charities, you have the opportunity to reap reward miles for your generosity. Call it aviation altruism, if you will.

Air New Zealand is a global airline based in Auckland. It flies to four cities in the United States: Honolulu, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco.

Saudia, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, is the third-largest airline in the Middle East. Its main hub is Jeddah, with secondary hubs in Riyadh, Dammam, Medina  and Abha. The airline flies to 80 countries, including destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. In the U.S., it flies to Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Washington, D.C.