wingnutC-17

I was wondering what the typical airline offered in terms of travel perks other than the jump seat. For example, girlfriends/spouse/parents/friends etc. Do the perks extend to code sharing partners and other airlines?

Thanks,
WingnutC-17

Ottopilot

At CAL, your immediate family, spouse/parents/kids, get flying benefits. You can also pick a "travel partner" instead of a spouse. Your kids lose benefits at a certain age (18 or 21?), unless they are in college. After they graduate, they lose flying. No inlaws or extended family flys on your benefits. You get 20 vacation passes per year, which gives you a higher priority and free travel (including first class). Otherwise a coach seat costs $27 each way per person (fees/taxes). That domestic, international is always more. After 10 years service you get free coach flying. First class costs more (double) and still costs after 10 years. You also get 10 "buddy passes" to give to ANYONE you want. They are $50+taxes and the boarding priority is LOW, so they never get on. A transcon round trip costs $200+. Better off buying a seat on an airline. I don't bother giving them out anymore. You have to plan on empty flights to get them on and there are none.

Ottopilot

I forgot about code share partners. Yes, you get some benefits on codeshare partners, but the costs vary (a little higher, but not bad). You also get ID-90's. You can buy 90% off fares on any airline! SWA only charges you $25 per flight. Of course, there has to be an empty seat and you travel after all the employees of that airline get on. I did Honolulu to Maui on Aloha and got bumped four flights in a row! I had a buddy travel out of Orlando and she got stuck there three days! I told her to take the flight with seats, but she didn't listen. The flights are so full to popular destinations, I've had many vacations that I drive now. I also plan my vacations for off-season, so I can fly.

FlyerJosh

It depends on the company you work for. Generally you will be allowed free travel (space available) on your own company for youself, your spouse, your dependent children, and your parents. In some cases, depending on the company, an unmarried significant other (or other travel designee if you're not married), can replace a spouse.

Generally you will also receive either free or extremely reduced travel on any partner companies (IE if you work for Comair/Delta Connection, you get benefits on other Delta operators such as mainline, ASA, Skywest).

For non-affiliated airlines (such as NWA if you work for United), most airlines have non-rev agreements that allow for either fixed rate fares (such as $30 per segment) or sliding scale fares (zonal or ID90/ID85).

When I worked for Atlantic Coast Airlines, we had travel benefits on UAL and Delta, plus agreements for reduced travel on about 50 other carriers, including foreign operators.

SKYHUNGRY

As mentioned before, travel benefits depends on who your employer is.
In a nutshell: employee and immediate family (wife, siblings, mom, and pop) travel free (depending on length of employment) or at a reduced fee with no limit on amount of travel. Siblings continue to travel free or at a reduced fee until not considered a dependent. The company might also have a “registered companion” type of pass for those who are not married or legally cannot be married. In addition some companies have “buddy” passes which have higher fees and are limited to a certain amount per employee. Each company also decides the rules deciding the priority each traveler will be placed in on the passenger list (dependent on pass type). As far as code share partners it depends on the agreements between the partners. Most code share partners place restrictions on certain family members (mom and pop), “registered companions” and they usually do not extend privileges to “buddy” passes. I hope this helps.


Skyhungry