ON BOARD WITH RANDY PETERSEN

Randy Petersen AVOIDING KIDS AND BLACKOUT DATES
July 2004
by Randy Petersen

Question:
How can I avoid being seated on flights to Orlando from Bradley (Hartford) near kids? I've had water poured on my feet by the child in front of me and been bumped for two hours by wrestlers in the seat behind me. Parents appear to not notice what the darlings are doing.

Answer:
A good question, especially with the summer travel season upon us.

There are three things you can do:

1. Many airlines hold seating in the front of the coach cabin for elite members of their frequent flyer programs. There are no guarantees you still won't be seated next to a terrible infant, but the chances are at least minimized. If you are an existing elite member, do not—I repeat, do not—rely on the system to put you up front. Actually contact a service agent to ensure proper seating.

2. Reserve or request an exit row seating assignment. The FAA does not allow children to sit in these rows. Now, that doesn't mean you won't be stared at from the seat in front of you, but the extra legroom will put your young neighbors at arm's reach.

3. Request a middle seat. Parents tend to book seats for their children right next to their own, so by sitting in a middle row you effectively block them to begin with.

Oh, and here's one more strategy—only book late-night flights. Usually kids are zonked out by then.

Question:
With which airlines can I use my American miles? Also, are there any "blackout" periods for using the miles?

Answer:
You can redeem your American AAdvantage miles on the following airlines: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile, Qantas and, of course, all American flights.

Others airlines on which you can redeem awards include Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, El Al, Grupo Taca, Hawaiian Airlines, JAL, Mexicana, SN Brussels, TAM, Southern Winds and Turkish Airlines.

As for "blackout" dates: Members often confuse them with capacity controls. Most of the larger frequent flyer programs got rid of "blackout" dates a few years back. If they still have them, they are truly limited to only about five to nine days of the year, usually around the major holidays.

American, like other major programs, actually has no blackout or capacity controls for their regular awards. If you want to fly for free, have the correct number of miles required and there is still a seat available on the flight, you can have it. Now the tricky part: The programs do set aside a number of seats on most flights for a fewer number of miles­usually starting at 25,000. These indeed do have restrictions on the number of seats available (i.e., capacity controls), since they are "on sale." Usually about 8 to 10 percent of the seats on a given flight are available at reduced mileage costs, though this can and does vary. Flexibility, proper planning and some good old-fashioned luck come into play here.

You can contact Randy Petersen at randy@insideflyer.com.

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