(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Dow Jones Newswires | The parent of United Airlines said Friday that the recovery in the revenue environment was stronger than previously reported, as an accounting change boosted its estimate of a key sales metric for the first quarter.
UAL Corp. said it will recognize an extra $64 million in revenue for the quarter after fresh data revealed that more frequent-flyer miles were set to expire, reducing the negative sales impact of the incentive.
In recent months, United has led the U.S. industry in terms of gains in passenger revenue per available seat mile, or Prasm. The frequent-flyer change will increase Prasm for March by another two percentage points, United said in a regulatory filing. It estimated earlier this month that Prasm in March rose 21.5% to 23.5%.
The change will also lift Prasm for January and February by two points and 1.5 points, respectively. UAL reports first-quarter earnings Tuesday.
FF miles are a total scam and completely worthless. United took my 45,000 miles from me without me even knowing.
So much for customer loyalty.
United’s service has gotten so bad people do not want to fly with them even if it’s FREE!!!
UNITED IS A PIECE OF CRAP AIRLINE
You have to be a real rube to have your miles expire without you knowing it (more like, without you remembering it). With United, you have 18 months to have some sort of activity in your Mileage Plus account. If you forget to do something with your account, then you lose the miles. But why is United responsible for reminding you about YOUR asset? Tough luck.
I rarely fly anymore; I recently cashed in my 48,000 miles and got a couple of ipod nanos.
Frequent Flier Miles are an addiction. I have found numerous ways to collect enough miles for a free ticket on multiple airlines. This saves me and my family a lot of money on travel. We only fly for holidays, but we use Mileage credit cards, eat at the restaurants that give miles and shop online through the airline portal. You can earn free travel very quickly. Just make certain that your airline doesn’t go out of business.
If you do any of this you would have a lot of trouble losing your miles due to inactivity.
The key words here are: “an accounting change boosted its estimate of a key sales metric.” Translation: “We scammed ‘em on the expiration date, canceled their saved miles, and banked the cost savings as additional revenue.”
You see, the more we try to level the playing field, the slimier and sleazier these con men get with the scams they run. I don’t think it will ever change, because at this point it’s already gone so far that it’s the new business model. Well the flight to LA I have booked for late May and June will be the last time I do business with United. Remember that old “Fly United” cartoon with the two ducks? Right about now I’ll bet all those frequent flier miles holders are feeling a lot like the duck on the bottom.
As usual, insane gripers and those who can find something wrong with EVERYTHING rule the board.
To wit: I know how many FF miles I have, I know when they expire (it’s easy to keep track!) and I use them for my pleasure. And my flights on United are always pleasant and trouble-free. Sheeeesh! People — get a life!
As usual, insane gripers and those who can find something wrong with EVERYTHING rule the board.
To wit: I know how many FF miles I have, I know when they expire (it’s easy to keep track!) and I use them for my pleasure. And my flights on United are always pleasant and trouble-free. Sheeeesh! People — get a life!
Griff,
It was an accounting change. This did not change the program for the consumer. The rules have always stated that miles expire after 18 months of inactivity, they just found a way to turn that into revenue.
Thank goodness you are leaving United because I hate sitting next to uninformed whiners such as yourself.
Miles used to expire from the time you accrue them, but the airline changed it so that it would not expire as long as you keep your account active. Each of this mile has a value, and accounted as a liability, and that is what has changed – the accounting so the carrier was able to relieve their liability with more miles as expected. It was noted by some analyst that UA has a more conservative accounting practice when it comes to this compared to other US carriers.