Pass Travel UPDATE September 4, 2019
* Message from Kirk *
1) Traveling to New Zealand? Must get NZeTA!
2) Prague & Dresden travel tips from RUAEA
3) Mexico travel tips from RUPA
4) Discover Pass Travel adventures by others
5) Buying standby tickets on Other Airlines
6) IMPORTANT! REAL-ID & Do NOT sell passes
7) 737 MAX out of schedule until December 19th
8) News from United Daily
9) RAFA’s website
** Message from Kirk **
It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as RAFA’s Travel Benefits Chairperson for the last 8 years. Keeping myself and fellow retirees informed about Pass Travel, collaborating with the kind & patient employees at the ETC, working with all RAFA council Presidents to get information to you, presenting travel seminars in SFO, LAX, SEA and representing retiree organizations in Chicago have all been very fulfilling, but now it’s time for me to move on. This will be my LAST Pass Travel UPDATE. I am also stepping back from keeping this website current and updated.
Although many RAFA councils are closing, it’s heartening to hear SFO members recently voted to continue; elections of new officers will take place in October. RAFA members from other councils can keep in touch by transferring their membership to SFO. That’s one way to stay up with Pass Travel news.
I often forward valuable travel tips from other retirees, specifically Pat Palazzolo at RUPA and Kathie Torgison at RUAEA. So I’ve gotta say THANK YOU, Pat and Kathie!
Retiring now doesn’t make me feel too guilty since the latest Pass Travel information is available 24/7 on Flying Together/Travel. The Employee Travel Center has done a great job with the Flying Together Travel website and both the new employeeRES and the United app are terrific for listing/booking. I highly recommend retirees get comfortable with using Flying Together for Pass Travel; if you need help, ask a question at https://helphub.ual.com or take a look at the Links page on our website: https://rafa-cwa.org/page-1831807. You may want to download some of the RAFA Travel Benefits webpages in case it goes offline.
Happy trails!
1) Traveling to New Zealand? Must get NZeTA!
For arrivals on or after October 1, 2019, all travelers from visa-waiver countries (including the USA) must have a New Zealand electronic Travel Authorization (NZeTA). If you do not have one you will not be boarded on flights to or through New Zealand.
Obtain your NZeTA before your trip via the New Zealand Immigration Website (NZ$12) or by using the NZeTA app (NZ$9) from the app store or Google Play. You must also pay a tourism tax (which doesn’t apply if you’re just transiting the country) of NZ$35. The NZeTA is valid for multiple visits up to 2 years and is non-refundable.
https://ft.ual.com/news/2019/08/19/new-zealand
2) Prague & Dresden travel tips from RUAEA
Many thanks to Torgy’s Travel Tips and RUAEA for these recommendations on visiting Prague and Dresden:
Click to open/download Torgy’s July and September Travel pdfs:
https://rafa-cwa.org/resources/Documents/Pass%20Travel/zRUAEA%20201908TorgyTipsPrague.pdf
https://rafa-cwa.org/resources/Documents/Pass%20Travel/zRUAEA%20201909TorgyTipsDresden.pdf
3) Mexico travel tips from RUPA
Many thanks to Pat Palazzolo and RUPA for these recommendations on visiting San Miguel de Allende and Mexico City. Click to open/download the September RUPA Pass Travel Report pdf:
https://rafa-cwa.org/resources/Documents/Pass%20Travel/2019_0901_RUPA_Pass_Travel.pdf
4) Discover Pass Travel adventures by others
United Airlines employees use Pass Travel all over the planet and then share their stories on Flying Together often with engaging photos.
Scroll through all their adventures here: https://ft.ual.com/travel/your-travel-stories
5) Buying standby tickets on Other Airlines
Here is a DIRECT LINK to buy ZED (Zonal Employee Discount) standby tickets on most Other Airlines: myIDTravel.ual.com. Simply log-in with your UAL password and you will be taken directly to myIDTravelPurchase.
Hot tip: When searching for flights on myIDTravelPurchase the system will only show red faces for passenger loads when “All Airlines (from your GDS)” is selected in the drop-down box. To see a better estimate of your boarding chances, input the individual airline (i.e. Lufthansa) in the box. After filling in flight origin/destination & departure date, the search results will show green, yellow or red faces depending on pax loads.
Note: ZED tickets on some Other Airlines are purchased on the ID90Travel website. Access those via FlyingTogether > Travel > TopHits > “Other airline interline travel”, then select “How do I book with ID90Travel?”
RAFA has a step-by-step guide to Other Airline Travel here:
https://rafa-cwa.org/page-1836104
6) Important! REAL-ID & Do NOT sell passes
From the ETC (Employee Travel Center):
REAL-ID. Save the date. Check for the star.
Beginning October 1, 2020, every air traveler 18 years of age and older will need a REAL-ID compliant driver’s license or another acceptable form of ID to fly within the United States.
REAL ID-compliant cards are generally marked with a star located in the upper portion of the driver’s license. If you’re not sure, contact your state driver’s license agency on how to obtain a REAL ID compliant card.
Just remember, when it's time to renew your driver’s license, make sure it's REAL-ID complaint. That goes for your pass riders 18 years of age and older too. The TSA has additional information and FAQs at https://www.tsa.gov/real-id.
Selling pass travel privileges: not OK
We all know travel privileges are fun and exciting, and they’re an important part of the rewards offered to us from United Airlines. As a gentle reminder, your pass travel privileges are intended for use only by you and your own close friends and family members. Sure, you can be reimbursed by your pass riders for any taxes, fees and imputed income for their travel, but charging above that amount is not allowed – and selling pass travel or trading for goods or services isn’t either.
To help make sure that we can continue to enjoy pass travel, we need everyone to know and stick to the Pass Travel Guidelines:
https://ft.ual.com/-/media/ual_intranet/documents/travel/pass_travel_guidelines.pdf?la=en
So, read and understand these guidelines, explain them to your pass riders and always keep them in mind when using your travel privileges.
Also, it’s very important to be careful and not to share your United ID and Flying Together password with anyone, as they could be used to add pass travelers to your profile and book travel without your knowledge.
If you have any questions about the policies, you can contact an Employee Travel team member through Help Hub (https://helphub.ual.com).
7) 737 MAX out of schedule until December 19th
United expects to cancel 70 flights per day in September and over 90 per day in October, November & December, affecting ~2,500 flights per month. This will impact domestic travel so make sure you have back-up Pass Travel plans in place.
https://ft.ual.com/news/2019/08/30/max-schedule-update
Meanwhile, United’s fourteen 737 Max aircraft are being moved to Phoenix for storage.
https://ft.ual.com/news/2019/08/27/united-to-move-max-aircraft-to-gyr
8) NEWS from the United Daily (and others)
07/26: Tracy Reese & Brooks Bros uniforms for F/As & pilots
08/16: New flights to Haneda, Japan in March 2020
08/22: New routes announced to Europe & more in 2020
08/23: Intl Schedule changes; no more ORD-HKG, GUM-HKG, EWR-EZE
08/29: Retirees/employees are welcome at SFO Family Day October 13th
08/30: New F/A satellite bases cut commutes in SAN, PHX & MCO
09/03: SFO runway closing for 20 days Expect delays/cancellations
9) Have you seen our RAFA website?
Check out the Travel Benefits tab here: www.rafa-cwa.org/page-1830854
Read the Pass Travel Program Summary, helpful links, phone numbers & more.
For other Pass Travel Topics: Previous Travel UPDATES
Kirk Moore, RAFA Travel Benefits Committee September 4, 2019