Hi Everyone, I wanted to give you a heads up and some background behind a change we’ll be making to our upgrade policy for our flights between the U.S. and Lima, Peru (LIM). Specifically, Continental flights booked for travel on or after June 1, 2010 between the U.S. and LIM will no longer be eligible for complimentary Elite upgrades, and service fees for OnePass upgrade rewards will correspond with our current policy for upgrading to BusinessFirst.
Here are some additional details:
- Why are we doing this? With this policy change, flights between the U.S. and LIM will match the OnePass upgrade policies and service fees as our longer flights, such as those between the U.S. and Europe, since they are comparable in both flight duration and onboard product. As you may know, this is something we continually look at. For example, last year, we amended our upgrade policy to allow complimentary upgrades between California and Hawaii because the duration, aircraft and service on these flights was more in line with our domestic product. In the case of LIM, the reverse is the case. Flights between the U.S. and LIM primarily offer a product that’s closer to our BusinessFirst offering, and the length of these flights is comparable to BusinessFirst flights we operate between the U.S. and Europe. For example, New York/Newark (EWR) - LIM is actually longer than New York/Newark - Paris (CDG).
- Copa flights aren’t part of this change. Flights operated by Copa Airlines (CM) between Panama and LIM are not included in this policy change, and will continue to be eligible for complimentary Elite upgrades.
- Elite upgrades will continue to be honored through May 31. For those of you traveling between the U.S. and LIM between now and May 31, 2010, your Elite upgrades will be honored within our existing Elite upgrade policies and process.
- Traveling Jun. 1 or after, but booked before May 10? We’ve got you covered. For those of you who have travel booked on or before today (May 10, 2010) between the U.S. and LIM, we will ensure your complimentary upgrade request is honored in accordance with the upgrade policies in effect when you booked your flight. In fact, we will be confirming your upgrade in advance for you and any travel companions in your reservation, regardless of your Elite level. As long as there’s a seat in the cabin, we’ll do it. This process should be complete in the coming week.
- OnePass upgrade reward service fees will start in June. Service fees for OnePass upgrade rewards will take effect with redemptions Jun. 10, 2010 onward.
I think I’ve covered it, but if you have any questions, post them here.