MilesBuzz! - Unlimited flights for a fee?

I got the idea from a friend of mine. His wife works for Airtran and was telling me that a couple of her friends were selling their companion pass to the highest bidder.

Have any of you heard of a program with any of the major airlines that offers unlimited flights for a flat monthly rate?

His wife works for Airtran and was telling me that a couple of her friends were selling their companion pass to the highest bidder.

Sounds very much against corporate rules.


Have any of you heard of a program with any of the major airlines that offers unlimited flights for a flat monthly rate?
The closet thing currently is the Cathay Pacific All Asia Pass (http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/offer.asp). However, you do not accrue any miles.

The most recent (now expired) program would've been the American Airlines Lifetime AAirPass (http://www.shapeofdays.com/2004/10/its_called_aair.html), which offered unlimited travel on any AA flight in any class. Unfortunately, that required a $3 million payment up front.

Air Canada had a program like that last Fall. A fellow FTer (mtacchi) gained 1,000,000 miles during that program. A MR of the century.

A couple of US airlines offered such a pass to visitors living in foreign countries. Then they went to a pass whose cost is based on how many flights you take. I lived overseas for years and they were an incredibly good deal. In 1986 NW offered a 60-day unlimited pass for confirmed travel for about $400. They even extended it more than once for me. By about 1990 it had switched to 30 or 60 days of unlimited travel on a standby basis. DL offered a similar standby pass. Still about +-$400 for 30 days of standby travel.

I was able to accrue NW miles for many of the confirmed pass flights - my first introduction to airline frequent flyer program. Too bad they don't exist anymore.

I saw an ad for Suntrips that was doing unlimited flight from Bay Area (CA) to Honolulu for like $3k per year, not a bad deal if you go there all the time...

Jim

I got the idea from a friend of mine. His wife works for Airtran and was telling me that a couple of her friends were selling their companion pass to the highest bidder.

Have any of you heard of a program with any of the major airlines that offers unlimited flights for a flat monthly rate?

Welcome to FT!

I knew a couple that bought some kind of annual pass from Continental; they purchased it in the late 90's. They were both retirees. It gave them unlimited travel in FC. To the best of my knowledge, the program no longer exists.

German Charter Airline LTU has an unlimited yearly pass to Spain for I believe EUR 10,000.

The Suntrips to HNL sounds like a better deal, since the fares are mostly higher on this route.

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm actually considering an adoption so that I can be one of their immediate family.

Sounds very much against corporate rules.


The closet thing currently is the Cathay Pacific All Asia Pass (http://www.cathay-usa.com/offers/aap/offer.asp). However, you do not accrue any miles.

The most recent (now expired) program would've been the American Airlines Lifetime AAirPass (http://www.shapeofdays.com/2004/10/its_called_aair.html), which offered unlimited travel on any AA flight in any class. Unfortunately, that required a $3 million payment up front.
Haha, ask mtacchi, also google "great canadian mileage run".

Mtacchi got a million aeroplan miles flying on ac's unlimited pass, a 2 month promotion.

Within Australia, Regional Express Backpacker Pass (http://www.rex.com.au/Backpacker/default.aspx) offers unlimited flights around South-Eastern Australia for AU$499 for one month and AU$949 for two months. Only books into W class, so need to be on flights with lower loads.

You need to have one of VIP, YHA, ISIC (International Student Identity Card), IYTC (International Youth Travel Card) Card, or Nomad Membership Card (though getting the YHA card only costs you a few dollars, and you can be any age to get it). No miles earnt either, but if you wanted to see some of regional Australia, it's certainly a cost effective way of doing it - and they do connect the dots up between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide (http://www.rex.com.au/FlightInfo/Network.aspx) (and soon Brisbane too).

Jet Airways offers unlimited domestic travel with their Visit India Fares (http://www.jetairways.com/Cultures/en-US/Special+Offers/Overseas+Offers/Visit+India+Fares/) 350USD for 7days, 650USD for 15 days, 925USD for 21 days. I loved flying Jet, although a bit expensive compared to competitors, earns Worldperks miles, offers clean seats and excellent meals for short flights. Various restrictions apply, see website.

Skyteam has a Europe Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/airpass/index.jsp) for non-European residents, an America Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/americaPass/index.jsp) and an Asia Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/asiaPass/index.jsp). It's not unlimited, you buy a coupon book (between three and ten coupons) and use the coupons as you go; no advanced purchase requirements, it looks pretty flexible. I don't know if one coupon is for one segment or one trip (i.e. does ATL-SLC-SFO take one coupon or two?)

Air Canada had a program like that last Fall. A fellow FTer (mtacchi) gained 1,000,000 miles during that program. A MR of the century.
Is there a chance they will ever do this again?

I got the idea from a friend of mine. His wife works for Airtran and was telling me that a couple of her friends were selling their companion pass to the highest bidder.

Have any of you heard of a program with any of the major airlines that offers unlimited flights for a flat monthly rate?

Welcom to FT and what a great early post! :)

I think it was AS or WN that had something along these lines at one point long long ago. I heard about it from a family friend who used to use it.

Skyteam has a Europe Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/airpass/index.jsp) for non-European residents, an America Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/americaPass/index.jsp) and an Asia Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/asiaPass/index.jsp). It's not unlimited, you buy a coupon book (between three and ten coupons) and use the coupons as you go; no advanced purchase requirements, it looks pretty flexible. I don't know if one coupon is for one segment or one trip (i.e. does ATL-SLC-SFO take one coupon or two?)Any idea what fare class these show up as?

EDITED TO ADD: Never mind. I found the answer:Passengers with SkyTeam Europe Pass coupons must be booked in the following classes for flights inside Europe
AF: Q
AZ: K for international sectors, T for domestic flights in Italy.
KL: Q
OK: Q
The passenger's transcontinental ticket number must be issued on AF/AM/AZ/DL/CO/KE/KL/NW/OK ticket stock only and has to be printed in the endorsement box on the SkyTeam Europe Pass ticket

Fare conditions Local taxes and charges to be added.
Ticket including taxes and charges must be issued manually

Skyteam has a Europe Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/airpass/index.jsp) for non-European residents, an America Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/americaPass/index.jsp) and an Asia Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/asiaPass/index.jsp). It's not unlimited, you buy a coupon book (between three and ten coupons) and use the coupons as you go; no advanced purchase requirements, it looks pretty flexible. I don't know if one coupon is for one segment or one trip (i.e. does ATL-SLC-SFO take one coupon or two?)

There is also a Star Alliance pass for Europe, similar to the Skyteam one. I find these fairly good deals if you are hopping around the continent and going to places where low-cost carriers don't fly. But with the proliferation of low-cost carriers, they are not as good as they used to be. You pay per flight number. Only for non-residents of Europe. Two variations. The cheaper one is if you use a Star Alliance carrier to Europe. The more expensive one is if you use a non-Star Alliance carrier to Europe.

The America pass mentioned above is generally not a good deal. Other airlines offer a similar pass. You also pay per flight number so unless you are based in a hub, you need four coupons to get somewhere and back. They are convenient if you can't nail down your exact dates until the last minute but you still must fix your route in advance. Generally if you can fix your dates and buy 2-3 weeks in advance, the normal fares are better. These are available only to non-residents of the US and Canada (i.e. you live outside N. America).

There are other rules like not visiting the same city more than once or twice (depending on the pass, except for transitting which can be done more often).

Skyteam has a Europe Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/airpass/index.jsp) for non-European residents, an America Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/americaPass/index.jsp) and an Asia Pass (http://skyteam.com/EN/benefits/asiaPass/index.jsp). It's not unlimited, you buy a coupon book (between three and ten coupons) and use the coupons as you go; no advanced purchase requirements, it looks pretty flexible. I don't know if one coupon is for one segment or one trip (i.e. does ATL-SLC-SFO take one coupon or two?)

I checked a couple of those links, but I can't find a link to buy coupons. Does anyone have a link?

Is this for non US residents only?

yes it was so long ago I just remember it

Air Canada had a program like that last Fall. A fellow FTer (mtacchi) gained 1,000,000 miles during that program. A MR of the century.
Oops. Forgot about that one!

Actually, Scandinavian Airlines offers a Travel Pass. It offers unlimited business class travel between two or three Scandinavian cities for six months (which also gives you automatic EuroBonus Silver) or twelve months (which gives you automatic EuroBonus Gold). You also accrue miles for each trip you take. They also offer 10 & 20-roundtrip cards for various European cities (and North American cities, I think). All of these passes are pretty expensive.

In 84 Piedmont had a 30 day pass for $600 with no stop in the same city twice.

Dl had a 30 day pass for foreigners standby in the early 90's

Dl had a 30 day pass for foreigners standby in the early 90's

Actually DL had a 30-day and a 60-day version of this. It was not exclusively for foreigners but for anyone living outside N. America (i.e. also US citizens living abroad). Having lived in Europe for a long time, I qualified. But the corresponding NW confirmed unlimited pass from the late 80's/early 90's was the best.

Actually, Scandinavian Airlines offers a Travel Pass.
Yes, I read about that long ago and forgot all about that. Pretty interesting! So for €20000 I could fly between HEL-ARN unlimited for 12 months and get in theory 5 million Eurobonus points. That would mean having no other life than sitting in a plane and Scandinavian lounge for a full year, though...

Do you know if it is possible to accrue miles on other than SAS, or is Travel Pass flights limited to Eurobonus accrual?

It was valid for 21 days anywhere on their network. They were all over the lower 48, the Caribbean, Central America, and I think Mexico.

I took it in Sept. 1979.

The itinerary was:
SEA-xATL-oGUA-xATL-oLGA/JFK-oANU-oMIA-SEA
EA's hub was ATL, therefore the 2 connections.

$299 + $3 TAX

I've been a T.A. since 1973 and have never seen a deal to match this one. Back in those days, there was only one class of booking in economy, Y, so if there was space on the plane, you got it.

Up until about 3 or 4 years ago, Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays offered an unlimited pass on ATA between LAX, SAN or OAK and HNL, OGG, LIH or KOA. Limited availability on the seats (space available only), you couldn't reserve more than 60 days out, coach only, most holidays and school graduations were blackout dates, and I think it was a requirement of the pass that they would destroy your luggage each time you flew, without compensation.

OK, maybe it wasn't a requirement, but it happened on every flight I took using the pass.

No mileage program at the time. I gave mine up when they increased the price to $1,800 a year, when you could still get flights to Hawaii with some careful shopping for about $250, all in. I figured that there was no way I would be taking 7+ trips a year over there, so it became more cost effective to pay $250 for each round trip, while accruing miles and with the chance of upgrades. So, I dropped the pass.

Pleasant Hawaiian dropped the pass, as well, when they switched from ATA to United as their preferred carrier.

I don't know if they still have them, but a few years ago, I got an unlimited 15-day interisland pass on Aloha. I think it was under $300 and I got about 12 flights on it.

Anyone looked at MR feasibility of Jet's India pass?

There is also a Star Alliance pass for Europe, similar to the Skyteam one. I find these fairly good deals if you are hopping around the continent and going to places where low-cost carriers don't fly. But with the proliferation of low-cost carriers, they are not as good as they used to be. You pay per flight number. Only for non-residents of Europe. Two variations. The cheaper one is if you use a Star Alliance carrier to Europe. The more expensive one is if you use a non-Star Alliance carrier to Europe.

The America pass mentioned above is generally not a good deal. Other airlines offer a similar pass. You also pay per flight number so unless you are based in a hub, you need four coupons to get somewhere and back. They are convenient if you can't nail down your exact dates until the last minute but you still must fix your route in advance. Generally if you can fix your dates and buy 2-3 weeks in advance, the normal fares are better. These are available only to non-residents of the US and Canada (i.e. you live outside N. America).

There are other rules like not visiting the same city more than once or twice (depending on the pass, except for transitting which can be done more often).

Air Tahiti offers an airpass for unlimited flights among the Tahitian islands also when I checked at the beginning of 2006. It's like $600-700 per person.

Pleasant Hawaiian had an airpass program for many years. The first year I joined it was $900 or $1000... don't recall exactly.... kept going up every year and finally last year it was terminated because they ended their relationship with ATA and switched to United.

While it lasted it was great -- all you can eat -- kind of deal. Unlimited travel from LAX and SFO to Hawaii (HNL, OGG, LIH and even KOA at one point). Resv no more than 2 months out, and space available reservations but once confirmed you had a seat and would not lose it.

It was an awesome program (For the flyer) and I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did... I had it for at least 6 or 7 years. Ending price I think was around $2500 for the year... not sure.

A bunch of airpassers got together and asked ATA to continue the program http://groups.google.com/group/airpass/ and ATA did come back with a modified "voucher" program, which did have the advantage of no capacity restrictions but it wasn't unlimited like it was before.

I don't know if the program will be continued in 2007. Check out the Google Group if interested.

Aloha
Jim

SN Brussels Airlines offers several passes out of Brussels to selected destination in Europe.

[QUOTE=thefareguru]It (Eastern Airlines fare) was valid for 21 days anywhere on their network. For $300!

Yes, we did this too in 1979 with a four month old baby in tow and a medical board game (INTERN) to market, going to every major US city with one or more medical schools to visit their bookstores: Baltimore, Durham, Miami, St Louis, Chicago, Houston, SFO, LA, New York... hard to believe it was so cheap and that we survived, but we were interns ourselves and used to deprivation. We did go through ATL a number of times.

Was it really still Eastern Airlines though? Seems like it's been USAIR forever.

You're right, there may never be such a deal again. But CP's All-Asia pass is not bad at all, have done that a number of times with phenomenally inclusive itineraries. May never eat CHinese food again, though.

For international intineraries there's the Oneworld Explorer fares xONEy where x is the class and y is the number of continents. Not as good as some of the older deals I read about here but still reasonable. All continents have up to 4 segments except the US where you get 6 iup to a maximum of 20 segments in total. See The oneworld explorer tickets FAQs (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=338667)

Not exactly unlimited, but AA has a program called
AAirpass (http://www.aairpass.com)

BD has some good "fare books" available a few years back. speaking of the old DL and NW stanby passes posted above, they were the scam of the century for many a backpacking couple as in the old days ID was never necessary for anything and as stated everything was standby, basically 2-3 or more people would conspire to fly everywhere on ONE PASS. Basically on busy routes such s ATL-NYC (any airport for example) the ticketed passenger would standby on the first flight of the day, then when it cleared give the BP to his friend. After the flight left would repeat the proess for the next flight and give it to the next friend, then the next flight and then fly out himself. This scam was so common back in the days before ID checks that it was the reason that the airlines curtailed these unlimited standby passes.

We did go through ATL a number of times.

Was it really still Eastern Airlines though? Seems like it's been USAIR forever.



I am sure you are mistaken, Eastern became part of Continental.

Both my parents had this passport for several years It was wonderful as they were able to fly to visit the family with regularity ..Now I see Jet Blue is doign a $599 for a month of travel ...sounds interesting

cheers Jane

I knew a couple that bought some kind of annual pass from Continental; they purchased it in the late 90's. They were both retirees. It gave them unlimited travel in FC. To the best of my knowledge, the program no longer exists.[/QUOTE]