Not All (Air)Miles are Created Equal

       For tens of millions of airline passengers, both the casual traveler and the professional road warrior, one of the major benefits of air travel is collecting those airline miles so we can get those upgrades or free seats.  But according to a recent annual survey, the ability to use your miles varies greatly by airline.  The survey, reported in the Wall Street Journal, was conducted by the the the firm Switchfly Inc., and has become the standard for the airline industry, measures frequent-flier award seat availability.  In the survey, an online check is done for two seats at the lowest possible mileage level on both the 10 busiest medium and long distance routes for each airline.  By using the busiest routes, the survey checks where airlines have the most available seats and where travelers fly most often.

The following chart shows the shows the results of the 2014 survey for the major U.S. airlines, and the point change from the 2013:

     AIRLINE / % OF SEAT SEAT AVAILABILITY / POINT CHANGE FROM 2013

Southwest / 100% / No change

JetBlue / 92.9% / +4.3

United Airlines / 71.4% / -8.6

Alaska Airlines / 58.6% / +2.2

American Airlines / 55.0% / +6.4

Delta Air Lines / 55.0% / +18.6

US Airways / 35.0% / -1.4

      The reasons and the response to the survey by each airline is very insightful.  Southwest has some structural advantages in its high-frequency, short-haul route system which ensures plenty of available seats.  In addition, its points-based rewards system is shown for every reservation with a cash price and a point-based price.  US Airways has always been at the bottom of the survey, and has a management rule of being very conservative with frequent-flyer rewards.  Interestingly, after the merger with American Airlines, the US Airways management team will run the combined company.  Does anyone think American Airlines performance in the survey will improve next year. Delta Air Lines saw a tremendous improvement last year in its survey performance.  The airline started increasing award seats available on domestic flights on January 1.  But Delta is making some major structural changes to its reward program that could effect its performance next year.  Starting in 2015, Delta is awarding miles based on fare paid, and not miles traveled, and is reducing the miles required for consumers to redeem their miles.

     In its 5 years of existence, the reward seat availability survey has had a major impact on the airline industry. It is is the tool that has allowed consumers a method to quantify seat availability and compare airlines head-to-head.  Hopefully the airlines will respond to increased consumer demand.  I say any information that allows to make better decisions is always welcome.