Flying Revenue vs. Award
 

I am assuming that this has been discussed before but I could not find anything using the "search" tool.

When we achieve these hard earned (or not so hard earned) miles and receive a award ticket (specifically in the J and F cabins), do we get treated any different to full fare J or F pax?

Who knows if you are a revenue or an award pax and how do they treat you differently (also do they treat upgrade different to paid J or award J)?

Has anyone had any good / bad / different experiences between flying paid vs award? Personally I have flown in paid F and award F and generally have not really noticed any change but once a UA agent told me after someone just checked in (an complained about having paid $10K for this "first class" ticket) that she was on an award ticket and was just being painful - so she did not give her what she wanted!

I've never flown an airline where the flight attendants have a manifest that indicates if the passenger paid for the ticket or not.

On the ground, you don't have the same protections that you might on a revenue ticket, so you might not be transferred to another airline in case of a misconnect, etc.

The air service is all that matters much to me, really.

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daniel baker -- [email protected]
Reliable, fast, and unmoderated forums at ITYT.

For United...ditto on dbaker's observations. There may be some difference on the ground (re: reaccomodation, etc.) under certain circumstances, but in the air, the flight attendants don't know "who's on first" in First.

As a Flight Attendant I can say that we get what we call a "final" prior to closing the door. On this is a list of those persons that were upgraded, generally at the last minute. Beyond that we don't know who paid $10.00 or $1000.00 for their ticket. The only reason we get a list of upgraded passengers is so that in the unlikely event we are not catered for all of those on board, we can offer a meal to those that were confirmed for this flight and did not upgrade at the gate. It rarely happens and most times those persons upgrading at the gate are aware there may not be a meal for them. Beyond that - I would never treat one First Class passenger any different than another. Their should be no way for an observer to distinguish between an airline employee or a full fare passenger. Both are equally deserving of my time and efforts in making their flight memorable.

The policy on irregular operation amenities varies by airline (and it is in the contract of carriage, for those who care to read it). Some airlines are much better than others. Delta will re-route an award ticket in paid F, even onto their competition, and do so without prompting; so will LH. United will not. Each airline varies, but some have *identical* amenities for award and paid tickets. This is fair, as the airline industry made 4% of its global revenue last year by *selling* frequent flyer miles (to credit card companies, for example), so these are *sold* tickets as well as being an "award".

What about at checkin - do they have access to the information and do they normally put you in a "worse" seat or treat you as a "second class", "first class" flyer?

They certainly know at check-in and practically everywhere on the ground. However, you should already have a seat assigned and there's not much that they can do.

I have never felt that I received improper server as a result of my fare basis or class of service.

I have never encountered any difference in treatment -- even when flying on an airline with no FF status. The seat allocation may be biased in the computer towards that airline's high-status members, and the ticket agents can easily see your fare basis so they can tell you are on an award ticket.
But if you are flying in F there aren't many favours that the agents can do for you ... it is already yours by virtue of the ticket. And for international F there are no bad seats (at least on the airlines I fly). As always a smile and a joke at the ticket counter can go a long way in making your trip better....enjoy the experience.

Actually the most demanding passengers that I have seen in F -- the ones that ask for 5 different glasses of wine, take a sip and send it back to the galley -- have been non-revenue ones. In fact I've learned about lots of services that some airlines provide by seeing all the things that they ask for (I suppose they have inside information, and want to get their money's worth when flying in unpaid-F). Don't worry about award status, it doesn't affect your trip.

The two airliens I'm most familiar with in this regard are CO and AA.

CO lists the passenger's OnePass elite status on the passenger manifest, but not the type of ticket. So, in-flight crew have no way of knowing if you're flying on an award ticket, upgrade, or paid first class (they may or may not know if you're employee non-rev - I don't know).

AA does list the type of ticket you have on the manifest, and it does sometimes affect the service you get. I have a friend who's specifically been told by an AA flight attendant that she's expecting too much because she used stickers to upgrade, and should not expect as good service as someone who paid for a FC ticket! In my opinion, providing this information on the manifest is all that is needed by a FA that's pre-disposed to give bad service to do actually so.

On some airlines that provide things such as free limousine transfers to/from the airport for paid first class tickets won't provide these amenities for reward or upgrade tickets, but by and large you get the full treatment (dedicated check-in lines, lounge access, etc.)

This is probably a very naive question, but usually I fly coach. However, I am flying 1st(domestic)/business(transatlantic) on United back and forth to Europe. It is an award ticket. When I check in, which line am I supposed to get in - the regular line or the 1st class line? I have no status. To me it's not a big deal but I have been curious about what "perks" go along with this ticket. Thanks.

I spoke to a Virgin UC steward a fortnight ago and happened to ask exactly the same question. Apparently, they are made aware of the upgrade/method of payment (i.e. award vs. cash) etc. of each passenger.

Of course, they don't then treat them any differently http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

We recently checked in at Auckland on some 1st class award tickets and were treated as though we owned the company. We were way over our baggage limit - we had bought a bunch of kitchen appliances (stove, oven and the like) - as well as a bunch of art and other stuff. We were prepared to pay excess baggage fees, but those were never even brought up. One piece was over weight though and they called cargo to stay open late to wait for us. Those were just a couple examples of them going above and beyond. I have a feeling it wouldn't have been quite the same if we'd been in coach on a paid ticket.

msrohud wrote:
Stand in the line for the class of service you will be in - either first or business.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 04-23-2002).]

Letiole-"a stove,oven and the like" how on earth did you get these to check-in in the first place. I know what I went through with CA customs on an expensive watch from Hong Kong but kitchen appliances...surely you jest?

You will be in a first class seat. You get in the first class line. If they don't offer you use of their lounge, ask.

(On AA, the PIL (Passenger Information List) posted in the galley tells the cabin crew how you got your seat, though not your exact fare. Once you're in it, though, it doesn't affect your service.)

You get the perks associated with the class of service you are actually flying, so march right up to that first class counter. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif On your return you'll probably have to use the business class counter since you'll be checking in for a biz class ticket on your return.