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A bluesy kind of summer

By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
Published August 22, 2007

An ode to writing about this long, nasty summer of air travel with apologies to Cole Porter.

I get no kick from dee-lays. Removing my shoes merely gives me the blues. So tell me why should it be true? That I still get a kick out of news?

Maybe you missed these recent nuggets about major airline players in the Tampa Bay market. If you get a thrill over nabbing a Southwest Group A boarding pass, racking up Delta SkyMiles or scouring AirTran's Web site for bargains, read on.

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Love it or hate it, the thing that sets Southwest apart from any other carrier is how you get a seat.

For 37 years, passengers showed up - literally in the old days, now mostly online - and were placed in position to charge onto the plane and pick their seat. First come, first served. Very egalitarian.

But later this year, Southwest will change the rules. Executives are protecting details like nuclear launch codes. But an experiment going on in San Antonio, Texas, provides a clue.

Like many other carriers, Southwest lets families with small children take seats before passengers sorted in the three alphabetical boarding groups.

In flights out of the Alamo City, Southwest is boarding people with A passes first, followed by families, then B and C travelers.

The idea is to make the boarding process, lovingly dubbed "the cattle call," move more smoothly, the airline says.

Southwest observers wonder if there are other agendas at work. The airline wants to make more money selling stuff other than tickets. Surely some travelers would pay a fee for an A pass.

Maybe the coveted A could be a perk for high-paying, last-minute business travelers Southwest is targeting. Or perhaps the plan could lead to a family section on the plane.

Southwest also won't rule out assigning seats in advance. All the airline will say is any change won't slow down its quick turn-around times at airports.

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Delta Air Lines got stingier this month with frequent fliers and boosted fees for all customers.

The airline eliminated a 500 SkyMile bonus for customers who booked flights on the company Web site.

The charge for booking a SkyMiles award ticket within 20 days of traveling went from $50 to $75. Changing your award flights on the day you're flying now costs $50. The charges don't apply for top-level Platinum Medallion customers.

Fees also jumped for all customers who want to change a reservation to a different date or destination (to $75 from $50). Booking a flight by phone now costs $20 per ticket, up from $10.

All the changes bring Delta in line with other major airlines, a spokesman said.

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A quick thought on AirTran's failed bid to buy Midwest Air Group. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing for the discounter or customers in Florida.

Financial analysts told the Orlando Sentinel that the price for Midwest got too rich once a Texas buyout group, TPG Capital, got into the bidding.

AirTran wanted Midwest's Milwaukee hub as a gateway to the West. Now, the airline seems likely to continue East Coast growth, with an emphasis on its home state of Florida.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.

[Last modified August 21, 2007, 23:41:19]