Like flying? A lot? Really, really a lot? Like Canada? Like the idea of going through American immigration in Canada? Have I got a deal for you.
Air Canada is rolling out all-you-can-fly fare passes for 3 and 6-month periods. The fares aren’t cheap, per se (fares start at ~$1700 per month), but if you commute between the US and Canada on a regular basis, this could be up your alley.
This nugget in their press release might be handy, too:
In addition, Air Canada is offering automatic top tier Elite frequent flyer status to its customers who purchase a six-month Unlimited ‘Flight Pass to Canada’ subscription at the Latitude fare level starting at $2,360 per month with additional flexibility and benefits.
All “Latitude” passes offer unlimited free upgrades (when available…). Alas, you’ll earn a fixed number of miles per month, depending on the fare level you purchase (10K/month for Tango Plus, 15K/month for Latitude), and you can’t credit the miles to another Star Alliance program.
Details on the 3-month unlimited flight passes are here. 6-month passes are here. The 6-month passes are here.
The fixed mileage earning on the pass is probably a result of Flyer Talker mtacchi, who in 2014 earned a whopping 1 million miles from a 2 month pass. The 2015 version of the passes also had fixed earning
American Airlines has toyed with various fees (like the $1 soft drink experiment) so they might try this. Southwest, JetBlue, and USAirways are all prime candidates for this sort of pricing, too. But it will be difficult to align a menu of flight options with Expedia, Orbitz, etc. And it will make apples-to-apples comparisons of fares even harder, going forward.
Any means we get more for our money is key. But upselling and this ala carte pricing for seating is, in my opinion, getting out of hand! Don’t even get us started up North about Air Canada! So many complaints - not enough time. If it weren’t for their international flights and air miles, I’d travel WestJet exclusively. Now there’s an airline for you!
United Airlines is proposing what they call “bare fare” pricing for air tickets. The a-la-carte pricing model turns Air Canada’s recent introduction of a menu of fare discounts on its head, almost to the letter.
