SVPII: "Recently, I had to get to SMF last minute, and the US rate was unbelievable - actually they all were - apparently the clt-smf combination means the consumer loses big time..."

As a Sacramento resident - I know what you mean. And that experience with TWA is not an exception. I fly UA for most of my flights, however from time to time I have to jump onto another airline for rate purposes. You should send a copy of your US Chairman's Card to CO so that they give you a status match. They'll connect you through IAH or MSP on NW, but you'll get FC fir your flight and the service is pretty good.

Also for last minute flights into SMF, HP is ususally the least expensive. Now, they're fleet isn't the best, but with a full fare Y they upgrade to FC at time of booking with your CO status.

Also from CLT I've found the best routing is US CLT-SFO & UA Express SFO-SMF.



------------------
Ken in Sacramento