First week of the year, I’m ready to start racking up the points, and I’m home. Talk about anticlimactic. But I’m loving every minute of it. (Next week I’m back on the road, of course.) We had brunch at our dog park with friends, went grocery shopping, and I made dinner at home with my wife. French-pressed coffee each morning, lunch with my Golden Retriever, and a home-cooked meal each night: the good life.Two years ago my down time was between Thanksgiving and New Years. That’s often why we’ll see specials on business class travel. The business travelers aren’t traveling then. This past year was an exception and I have a feeling I wasn’t the only one with a bit of travel at the end. Enough about last year. What about this year?Rick’s New Year’s post talks about predictions for 2012, and I’m feeling pretty good about my prediction on Alaska + Delta. The deal may not get done in 2012, but I think we’ll see movement. And here’s why (in no particular order):
- Reciprocal elite upgrades in place already (loving it).
- Amazing route network integration and expansion (look at all that green!).
- Great new revenue source for Delta (Alaska’s Cargo network in Alaska).
- Fleet integration (737s are no stranger to Delta; all but nine 737s have Wi-Fi already). Check out Delta’s fleet and orders. Having a stronger presence in Seattle (Boeing’s home) doesn’t hurt.
- I received a 10-minute survey about a month ago about the Alaska / Delta integration (asking everything from program integration, to check-in, seating, and call centers).
- Some little birdies hinted that it is being discussed (nothing concrete, but it just adds to my suspicion).
A definite challenge will be the flight attendant union that represents Alaska flight attendants (much like the challenge with Northwest as Delta flight attendants are not a part of a union). But all pilots are represented by ALPA.
What do y’all think? Am I way off base? Is American a more likely purchaser? (I could see some nice expansion in their network, too.)
Starbucks Card Winner:
Our randomly selected winner is Matt, who said: “My resolution is to use some of these miles that are burning a hole in my pocket. Haven’t used any since April of this year and I’m ready!” Matt, please shoot me an email at howie@frugaltravelguy.com with your mailing address so I can get the card to you!
