Dear FTers,

Hey! I just started a new job in Boston where I'll be flying about 25 RTs per year, all domestic. Presently, I have about 75k NW miles (mostly from when I lived in central IL), but NW isn't big at Logan. I have 5k miles on AA and 12k on United. I know I can fly DL and take advantage of the codeshare, but in doing so, I lose most opportunities to take advantage of promotions (e.g. double miles, on-line booking bonuses, etc.) So I was wondering...what do people think is the best program from Boston? Or should I not worry about losing the promotion miles and stick with NW? Thanks for any thoughts!

--Brian B. :-)

Brian, Firstoff I too, fly out of Logan and you have my sympathies. It is one of the worst airports in the Country. Depending on where you live, North, West or South of the city you may well choose to fly out of Manchester, NH which is brand spanking new and a delight to use. Not a bad commute if you are North or NWest of Boston.

I fly to other US hubs to connect with international flights - I work in Asia and do RTW a couple of times a year so I am pretty committed to UA. I NEVER fly NW unless there is no other alternative. SouthWest, Delta, USAir are potential choices depending on your RT destinations. Push comes to shove, I suppose I would choose between Delta and UA with UA getting a couple of extra points just because of MileagePlus. They have fairly small presence at Logan and FT'ers get recognized and acknowledged. They always greet me by name and a smile, but I am a 1K MM, GS passenger. I have paid a lot for their smiles. Feel free to contact me back channel by email and we can talk about it if you like. I happen to be in the US now for 2 weeks - until the 2nd of Oct when I start my next RTW. Good Luck and enjoy Boston - it's a great place to live. (if you can afford it- HA) Bob

From BOS, it is quite difficult to stick to one airline. However, it is quite possible to stick to an alliance.
From example, UA and US would be a good combination. UA will take you to midwest and west. US would take you up and down on the east coast and south.

The nice thing about Boston is that there isn't really a dominant carrier - so let it be driven by your destinations and alliances. *A has good service out of BOS, particularly when the US/HP merger is done. DL if you're travelling to the southeast, or CO for the southcentral states. AA and NW are the weakest.

I live in BOS and have been able to stay loyal to NWA w/relative ease. Then again, 99% of my travel is leisure, so I can be picky about my schedule/times/routes/etc.

Once you're at Logan (traffic getting to Logan can be an issue, as was mentioned earlier), terminal E, where NWA flies from, is easy to navigate through. It's small, lines aren't too long (usually), and there's even a 'secret' security checkpoint (near gates 1A-E, I believe) that is mostly deserted (i.e, no waiting). I'm not sure about MSP, but I know there are regular flight to DTW every 2 hours or so, so connecting isn't too bad.

Also, I found cheaper fares on NWA flying from PVD or MHT, both of which are within an hour's drive from BOS. The DL terminal (A), which is brand new, is also a pleasure to use.
All in all, I've been pretty happy w/NWA out of BOS!

I think alot depends on your destination. I fly all over the country for business. I put alll my mile on 1 of 2 cards. NW or United. That covers almost all the airlines with the exception of AA.

You will often find cheaper fares on many airlines from either or both of these, not just NW, in what's sometimes called the "Southwest effect." If you live north or south of Boston itself, it may even be easier to get to one or the other than to Logan. However, while that's the general rule, it has exceptions, so check each time.

The big downside is that, if your travel plans change while you're away, you have fewer options for getting back. (If you don't drive to the airport, that's less of a concern.)

As a side note, welcome to Boston! And I highly recommend taking the T into the airport. Least that way you don't have to worry as much about traffic.

Personally I find that since no one is really all that strong at BOS, I can fly whomever makes the most sense. I tend to stick to UA though since mostly I fly to the west coast and can do so non-stop with UA. NW has decent flight times out of BOS, but not so great into. (Last flight out is at 6pm, last flight in is at 10pm).

I stick with AA, mainly because of the convenient flights to MIA,CHI,SFO, DFW...They also have a decent structure on flights to the Carribbean (PLS, SJU, BDA etc) and up and down the east coast (RIC, ORF, DCA, etc) and now even Canada (YYZ, YUL, and even YHZ in summer) They're a big carrier in Boston! (Just don't mind flying on RJ's )