SEATTLE, Dec. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines is upping its game by making its award-winning
Mileage Plan more generous with the announcement of four
flier-friendly enhancements. Mileage Plan members now can book
award travel on Alaska Airlines flights using fewer miles, earn
more miles when they fly on select Alaska Global Partners and elite
members now are eligible for complimentary upgrades on award travel
when they book main cabin tickets. Finally, with the recent
combination with Virgin America, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
members now can earn miles on Virgin America flights.
"At Alaska Airlines, we remain committed to our miles-based
program. While many other airlines are heading in a different
direction and simply looking at how much people spend, we're
focused on rewarding people across the board for how much they
fly," said Andrew Harrison, Alaska
Airlines' executive vice president and chief commercial
officer. "Our combination with Virgin America, our portfolio
of global partners and these enhancements to our award-winning
Mileage Plan demonstrate our commitment to creating the most
generous loyalty program for our customers."
Mileage Plan enhancements include:
- More value. Mileage Plan members can book award travel
within the continental United
States and Canada starting
at 5,000 miles each way plus taxes and fees* for trips less than
700 miles. This is 30 percent fewer miles than what Mileage Plan
members used to spend on the same award. For example, this includes
trips between Seattle and
San Francisco, San Francisco and Palm Springs, San
Jose and Orange County and
Seattle to Portland. Starting award prices for longer
trips also have been reduced.
- More miles. Earning miles on Alaska Global Partners is
now easier. Mileage Plan members can earn up to 80 percent more
miles when flying Business or First Class with select global
partners including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji
Airways, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Korean
Airlines, LATAM Airlines and Qantas. Members also can now earn on
more global partner Economy Fare classes than ever before with
Icelandair, Fiji Airways, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines and LATAM
Airlines. These improvements are effective immediately.
Additionally, Mileage Plan members now can earn miles when flying
on Virgin America.
- More upgrades. Mileage Plan elite members now are
eligible for complimentary upgrades on award travel on Alaska-operated flights. This includes
immediate, at-booking upgrades when available for refundable main
cabin awards. All other award fares are eligible for upgrade within
the normal upgrade window for the member's status level.
The enhancements come after Alaska Airlines celebrated the
completion of its combination with Virgin America, making the
combined airline the fifth largest in the
United States. Together with regional partners, Alaska
Airlines serves 118 cities across North
America and Central America
and soon Cuba. Alaska Airlines is
now the largest airline on the West Coast and offers more daily
flights (1,200) to and from the West Coast than any other
airline.
To learn more about these Mileage Plan enhancements, visit
www.alaskaair.com/gamechanger.
The new Mileage Plan enhancements and network expansion come as
Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines announce the end of their
partnership effective April 30,
2017.
What this means for Mileage Plan members is that if they've
already booked a flight on Delta Air Lines, these members still
will be able to earn Alaska miles.
For members who are about to book travel, they would need to book
that travel and use it prior to April 30,
2017, to earn Alaska
miles.
Mileage Plan members can continue to redeem miles for award
travel on Delta Air Lines as long as the bookings occur before
April 30, 2017. However, it is
important to note that for travel after April 30, 2017, travelers will need to work
directly with the operating carrier to address and accommodate any
customer-initiated changes.
Effective April 30, 2017, the
companies also will no longer offer bookings for travel on each
other's flights, through the practice known as code sharing. Both
airlines will retain interline agreements so that they can assist
passengers traveling on itineraries requiring multiple airlines. To
learn more about the change with Delta Air Lines, visit
www.alaskaair.com/Delta.
On the blog: What you need to know about the Alaska
Airlines Mileage Plan enhancements and changes to the Delta Air
Lines relationship.
* Taxes and fees starting from $5.60. Award availability and pricing may vary.
The purchaser of an award ticket is responsible for all applicable
taxes, fees, and checked baggage charges imposed by the
transporting carrier(s) or U.S. or international authorities.
Alaska Airlines, together with its partners, flies 32 million
customers a year to more than 118 cities with an average of 1,200
daily flights throughout the United
States, Canada,
Costa Rica, Mexico and soon Cuba. With Alaska's global airline partners, customers
can earn and redeem miles to more than 900 destinations worldwide.
Onboard, customers are invited to make the most of their flight
with amenities like power outlets at every seat, streaming
entertainment direct to their device, Wi-Fi and an inspired food
and beverage selection featured on most flights. Alaska Airlines
ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers
in North America" in the J.D.
Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine
consecutive years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
also ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty
Rewards Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program
Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years. Alaska
Airlines is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Learn
more on the airline's newsroom, blog, alaskaair.com, @AlaskaAir,
facebook.com/alaskaairlines and
linkedin.com/company/alaska-airlines.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alaska-airlines-announces-new-enhancements-to-mileage-plan-300380821.html
SOURCE Alaska Airlines