On the Road: Revised JetBlue frequent flier program, international flight cuts and more

By Joe Brancatelli

MILES & POINTS

JetBlue Launches Revenue-Based, Not Mileage-Based, Program: Since its first flights in February, 2000, JetBlue Airways has done most things right. But one glaring deficiency was its dreadful TrueBlue program, which is irrelevant even to many of the airline’s most frequent customers. Now everything but the name is being jettisoned when the carrier revamps TrueBlue on September 28.

The biggest news is that TrueBlue 2.0 will be revenue-based, not a traditional mileage-based program. In other words, like hotel programs, you’ll earn points based on the amount of money you spend. Program basics include three points for every dollar spent on tickets. While there are no elite levels, JetBlue fliers will receive bonuses for each 3,000 points they accrue. There’s also a bonus for booking transcontinental flights. On the award side, there are no blackout dates or capacity controls. If there’s an empty seat, you can claim it for points. But award levels are also based on dollars. The higher the cash cost of the ticket, the higher the number of points required to claim it. One-way awards start at 5,000 points and increase in 100-point increments. JetBlue executives say the vast majority of its seats will be available for 10,000 points or less. Points won’t expire if you fly JetBlue or use your JetBlue American Express card once a year.

INTERNATIONAL ITINERARY

Watch for Big Flight Cuts This Fall: IATA, the airline trade group, says that June revenues from international flights fell a startling 25-30 percent compared to last year. So you can understand why some of the following route cuts are happening.

American Airlines is dropping its Chicago/O’Hare-Moscow flights, mirroring a decision by Delta to drop its Atlanta-Moscow service.
Meanwhile, OpenSkies, the boutique carrier owned by British Airways, has dropped its New York-Amsterdam route.
But the big changes, as you might expect, are happening on routes to London, by far the largest transatlantic market. US Airways will drop its Philadelphia-London/Gatwick route on September 7.
Virgin Atlantic is dropping its Chicago-Heathrow flights.
And British Airways is making huge cuts. This fall, it will drop two of its eight daily Kennedy-Heathrow flights and one of its three daily Newark flights. It will also drop its Kennedy-Gatwick route (again) and eliminate three of its 10 weekly flights between Seattle and London.

NEED TO KNOW

On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter:

US Airways says it’ll install Wi-Fi on its fleet of Airbus A321s — next year.
Of more immediate interest, Continental Airlines and Alaska Airlines are ending their frequent flier program partnership. You can continue to earn until October 24. You must claim award seats by October 24 for travel within one year.
Here’s something you haven’t heard in a while: an airline is opening city ticket offices. Of course, the carrier is Qatar Airways, the free-spending airline owned by the Qatari government. The offices will be in Washington, Houston and New York, the three cities Qatar serves from its hub in Doha.
US Airways and ANA, the Japanese carrier, have forged a code-sharing deal. US Airways will put its code on ANA’s flights to Tokyo/Narita from San Francisco, Chicago/O’Hare and Washington/Dulles.
Several new hotels have opened at Canadian Airports. Sheraton, for instance, has opened properties at Toronto/Pearson and Vancouver airports in Canada. And Radisson’s new stand is the 100-room Radisson Mississauga near Toronto/Pearson.