In reply to both Evan and Beau... I am only suggesting that it be ALLOWED and only if within the budget guidelines. I was specifically thinking of long haul flights. Although quite a number of airlines are now offering such service, my own experience is with British Airlines and Qantas. In both cases, there is a fair amount more leg and shoulder room, slightly more seat recline, a powerport. Service and food generally are on a par with economy, but those differences make a world of a change for a 6-14 hour flight. And if booked early, often does not cost all that much. Beau, I am not sure what you mean by "for fear that premium economy might be institutionalized". Evan, not sure what you mean by easier upgrades. Not true with any airline that I am familiar with. United's E+ is a joke, and a bad one at that. Alan At 21/07/2010 04:13 PM, Beau Brendler wrote:
evan wrote:
As for "premium economy", I'm not so sure. AFAIK the only real benefit of that fare is that it allows for no-cost or low-cost itinerary changes, lets some frequent flyers upgrade more easily and sometimes gives more mileage points. I'm not sure that such a policy would affect more than a handful of people, and even then provides them only an increased _chance_ of business class. As someone who might directly benefit from such a policy I think this one may be the hardest to defend. There are a few airlines<http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1314,00.html>that have an explicit "permium economy" area with more legroom; in those cases the fare can be justified but I'm not sure that the other features alone are worth it.
I'd be careful about mentioning this, for fear premium economy might get institutionalized. If you're talking about seat comfort, the only premium economy worth flying is Virgin, and even then only certain routes. On United premium economy means about four inches more legroom in the usual uncomfortable cattle seat. It's better to fly JetBlue economy than United premium.
-----Original Message-----
From: Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> Sent: Jul 21, 2010 3:34 PM To: Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca> Cc: ALAC Working List <alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org> Subject: Re: [ALAC] Fwd: ICANN Volunteer Air Travel proposal
On 21 July 2010 15:13, Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@mcgill.ca> wrote:
Do you mean submit claims instead of per diem, or for air travel??
I personally most like your proposal to let individuals make their own bookings if within budget. The ICANN appointed travel agents have just blown it too many times. Also, if someone knows the're eligible to go long enough in advance, they can book the flight months ahead (not weeks), saving ICANN many hundreds of dollars in costs. The formal process is so slow to get moving, many of the low fares are gone by the time they even send out the paperwork.
Another good reason for the claims approach to booking air travel is that it allows the traveller to pay for the difference if the specific itinerary they want is too far over budget. So far it's been an absolute yes/no call with the traveller not being able to "top up" the cost of a more-expensive option.
I also strongly approve of your comments dissuading against use of charter/vacation airlines. I was booked on one for part of my trip to Brussels (Thomas Cook Air) and wouldn't recommend that to an enemy.
As for "premium economy", I'm not so sure. AFAIK the only real benefit of that fare is that it allows for no-cost or low-cost itinerary changes, lets some frequent flyers upgrade more easily and sometimes gives more mileage points. I'm not sure that such a policy would affect more than a handful of people, and even then provides them only an increased _chance_ of business class. As someone who might directly benefit from such a policy I think this one may be the hardest to defend. There are a few airlines<http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1314,00.html>that have an explicit "permium economy" area with more legroom; in those cases the fare can be justified but I'm not sure that the other features alone are worth it.
- Evan _______________________________________________ ALAC mailing list ALAC@atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org
At-Large Online: http://www.atlarge.icann.org ALAC Working Wiki: http://st.icann.org/alac