Airline Mles

  I have been doing so much travel this summer that I wondered about air miles and the various plans.  The airline I use as much as possible guarantees a minimum number of miles for any trip, adds bonus miles, gives miles when you use their credit card and the miles never expire.

I know not every airline is like that.  So I was thinking that having students compare various plans from an assortment of airlines both American and International would make a wonderful project.

I know that some airlines have an expiration on mileage while others charge more miles to travel.  I've used some of my miles in an emergency when my sister died, so I could see her before she passed and I needed to get family members to the funeral.  Other times, I've used miles to get someone to a city where the connecting flight began because it was cheaper.

But what restrictions exist with other airlines in regard to using miles?  How many points do you get when you travel?  Do you get more if you pay for a first class ticket rather than being upgraded?  Do you get more points based on the class of the ticket?  I discovered when I traveled on a partner airlines, the class determined how many miles I got.  I ended up with 75% going over but 50% coming back because of the different class. 

When I traveled another partner airline, I got all the miles both ways.  Something to check up on. See how many partner airlines you have access to and what their rules are on miles.  Sometimes, you are not sure until you have traveled.

So this leads to a wonderful project where students investigate the mileage plans of various airlines, check out their partners, find out how many miles are needed to travel to certain places both coach and first class. 

The information can be prepared as a written report as if they were reporting back to their employers on the topic.  The report can include things like graphs comparing the minimum amount of miles needed to travel certain places, miles earned, etc.

Many people are not aware of how their mileage plans work.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.