" On international flights, United customers can tap one of the carrier's partners in the 14-member Star Alliance that honor United's miles. (That's not the case for domestic U.S. routes, where frequent-flier points must be used on United flights.)" The above paragraph of a larger, recent article by you is not true. United Miles can be redeemed on Delta, Aloha and soon US Air for travel on domestic routes. John Conner Owns no UAL stock Full Article below: I'm glad I cashed out my Mileage Plus balance for that recent trip to PEK. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2002/12/15/BU10861.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, December 15, 2002 (SF Chronicle) What future holds for United fliers/Fewer routes, restrictions loom, but no= t this year Benny Evangelista, Chronicle Staff Writer With United Airlines in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, passengers flying next ye= ar need to take steps to protect themselves against flight cancellations and lost frequent-flier miles, travel experts say. Indeed, some consumer travel advocates go so far as to say passengers could start by avoiding United Airlines for trips next spring and summer and by using frequent-flier mileage as soon as possible. Although United Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection last week, it does not mean the world's second-largest air carrier will be grounded. United hopes to successfully emerge from bankruptcy protection like rival Continental Airlines and avoid the fate of industry icons like TWA, Eastern and Pan Am, which are gone. In the short term, passengers holding tickets on United flights through the end of the year should have few problems because the carrier is expected to maintain its current schedule through the busy holiday travel season, when flights are full and tickets are expensive. "Short term, nothing is going to change," said Paul Taylor, owner of Westmoor Travel in Sunnyvale and Northern California chapter president of the American Society of Travel Agents. Booking long term, though, could be dicey because United plans to cut its schedule and make other adjustments to meet both the normal post-holiday drop in travel and the more dire need to cut $20 million per day in losses. The airline is considering starting a low-cost carrier next year on the West Coast, but it is expected to ax unprofitable or poorly booked routes. SCHEDULE CHANGES UNKNOWN The extent of those schedule cutbacks is the unknown variable passengers must deal with. On this point, experts say United customers should pay attention to two watershed periods -- the end of the year when the post- holiday schedule is announced, and March 30 or 31, when the spring schedules are released. Flights booked today may not be there in the spring or summer, said Sasc= ha Segan, author of "Frommer's Fly Safe, Fly Smart," an airline travelers guide. "I definitely would not book on United for April right now," said Segan, who does not own any airline stock. Adds Joe Brancatelli, an air-travel consultant and owner of a business travelers Web site called JoeSentMe: "This is tough (advice), but there's no choice but to tell people to book away from United." "You just don't know what routes they're going to cut," he said. "United is going to do what's good for them, but you as the customer have to do what's good for you. You don't owe them anything." United spokesman Joe Hopkins said the airline wouldn't leave passengers stranded on the tarmac. "I take strong exception to people who say they should cash out their mileage or not book on United," Hopkins said. "If we changed schedules and you're on the flight that's being changed, we'd protect you. "We'll be operating on a full schedule tomorrow, next week, next month a= nd on into the future," he said. "It's really business as usual. We encourage people to stick with United Airlines." Taylor of Westmoor Travel said in the past he has refused to book tickets for clients on cruise lines or airlines that were showing signs of sudden failure. AMPLE WARNING EXPECTED United doesn't fall into that category yet, Taylor said, and there would be plenty of warning if the carrier were about to close. He added that his clients aren't rushing to bail out, either. "United is such a big presence in the Bay Area," Taylor said. "People are very wedded to their frequent-flier miles. Most of my clients are taking a wait-and-see attitude." Segan and ASTA, the travel agent's national trade association, last week published similar lists of tips on how how United customers might avoid losing money or being stranded if the airline cancels their flight or worse, abruptly shuts down. Those tips included: * Always use a credit card to buy airline tickets. Under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, credit card issuers can refuse payment for services not rendered. * Consider buying travel insurance. Some insurance companies have already cut back on coverage, but the policies still could provide peace of mind for travelers on longer trips such as overseas vacations. * Obtain a paper ticket instead of a paperless e-ticket. "In a doomsday scenario, when an airline completely shuts its computers down, a paper ticket offers you more security," Segan said. * Be aware of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. Under Section 145 of that federal law, which expires in May unless renewed by Congress, passengers ticketed on a flight on an airline that has suspended operations are entitled to a seat on any airline serving that same route on a space-available basis within 60 days of that service interruption. Segan cautions, however, that when Midway Airlines suspended operations earlier this year, several competing carriers charged Midway passengers higher fares, which brought slap on the wrist from the government. THE REALITY OF SPACE AVAILABLE He also said space-available "in real life means 'if the airline feels like it.' " Brancatelli said consumers who must book tickets now should look first f= or tickets on another airline offering the same route as United, especially for international travel. "Why would you fly United when you can fly Singapore or Cathay Pacific or JAL?" said Brancatelli, who doesn't own any airline stock and doesn't accept advertising for his Web site. However, Brancatelli and Segan both recommended that United's frequent- flier members use their miles as soon as possible. "If United goes into liquidation, you have no idea what will happen to your frequent-flier miles, and even if it doesn't go into liquidation, you could see United raise the number of miles it takes to get somewhere," Segan said. On international flights, United customers can tap one of the carrier's partners in the 14-member Star Alliance that honor United's miles. (That's not the case for domestic U.S. routes, where frequent-flier points must be used on United flights.) The alliance includes airlines like Lufthansa, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Thai Airways, Austrian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines System and Air New Zealand. E-mail Benny Evangelista at bevangelista@sfchronicle.com.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle