Pass Travel UPDATE February 15, 2014
1) Southwest is now e-ticket, get paper tickets refunded!
As of Feb 12th eligible co-workers and retirees will purchase eTickets for themselves and/or their eligible pass riders to travel on Southwest Airlines (WN) by calling the United Pass Line (UPL). The UPL desk will list and e-ticket the pass riders on WN flights. E-tickets on WN cannot be purchased yet on the ID90T website. This is a temporary solution while we work toward a self-service online solution.
Eligible co-workers and retirees will call 866-FLY-EPAS (359-3727) when dialing within the United States, or 713-324-PASS (7277) when dialing from an international location. Select the option of "Other Airline Employee" and you will be connected to an agent. You will be advised of the $25 per person booking service fee (BSF), however for WN eTickets the BSF will be temporarily waived. Payments for WN eTickets must be pre-paid with a valid credit or debit card.
To get WN paper tickets refunded, go to the “Refunds” section on the bottom of the Other Airline page, on Flying Together>Travel. To refund WN e-tickets call the UPL.
2) Pass Travel Survey notice on employeeRES news page:
“NEW Pass Travel survey now closed"
Our 2014 pass travel survey concluded on Feb. 6 with approximately 51,000 participants. We know how important pass travel privileges are and appreciate our co-workers’ and retirees’ participation. This survey was the result of our commitment in 2011 to host a pass travel survey within a few years of the conclusion of our original pass travel harmonization. Over the next several weeks, we will be working with a third-party vendor, Hay Group, to evaluate and analyze your valuable survey opinions, including your written comments. Please send any comments or suggestions regarding the pass travel survey to PassTravelSurvey@united.com.”
3) IE11 Alert on Flying Together homepage removed
Some users of Internet Explorer 11 get weekly “auto-updates” from Microsoft. If you use IE11 and can no longer access parts of Flying Together (employeeRES, My Info), call the IT Service Desk for assistance 800-255-5801. Corporate Communications has removed the ALERT message on Flying Together that used to guide users in configuring IE to be compatible with Flying Together.
4) My info in “All About Me” = 403 Forbidden for retirees
Retirees who click on the “My Info” link in “All About Me” will be faced with a “403 Forbidden notice”. The “My Info” link is for active employees only. Don’t despair, retiree information is in the “Your Benefits Resources-YBR” link in All About Me, under Benefits. Once in YBR, go to “Your Profile” at the top of the page and click on “Personal Information” to see and edit your information. To effect a name change, however, you must call the Benefits Service Center: 800-651-1007.
5) More info on Primary Friends for co-workers
Retirees do not have Primary Friends, but you can read about employees’ PFs in the November 2013 section on FlyingTogether>Travel>EnrolledFriend>view Q&As: https://flyingtogether.ual.com/web/content.jsp?SID=Travel&path=/Integration/links/QA_enrolledFriend.jsp
.
6) Tell your survivors about pass travel!
Read the Survivor Pass Travel policy! When you die, your surviving spouse/domestic partner will get passes until re-married or re-partnered (boarding at SA1P for 30 days then SA2R). Dependent children can fly until age 26, parents fly for 3 years, and Enrolled Friends for 90 days (children, parents, EFs will board @ SA4P).
Survivors should call the Benefits Svc Center 800-651-1007 to report a retiree’s death then email etc@united.com to confirm their pass travel “privileges” and to get instructions on listing. The “Survivor Pass Travel” policy is under Travel Policies (in the left panel) of the Travel page on Flying Together.
7) Sailing thru TSA lines
Go to FlyingTogether>Travel>TravelPrograms (left panel)>TrustedTravelerProgram
The following info is from “Torgi’s Travel Tips” in the RUAEA March Newsletter. Torgi is a retired CSR, thanks for sharing!
If you have flown in the past few months, you may have seen signs in the airport security
lines labeled: TSA Pre √ -or- TSA Pre-Check.
You may have even checked in for your flight and seen these connotations printed on
your boarding pass or departure management card and wondered what does that mean?
TSA Pre-Check is a program that began at 28 US airports in 2012. It allows certain
travelers a no-hassle screening process when going through the TSA security checkpoints at
US airports. The traveler does not have to remove their jacket, shoes or belts and laptop
computers and liquids may stay in the carry-on bag. Originally, the program was limited to
high-mileage frequent fliers invited by select airlines. Then the TSA moved ahead with
randomly selecting travelers to enter through the Pre-Check line (that’s where you may have
participated). Now, the program is expanding to include travelers willing to pay $85 and
undergo a background check. If their background check is clear, they are enrolled for 5 years as a TSA Pre-Check traveler.
There are 2 other programs that have the same benefits of TSA Pre-Check but offer a bit more:
Global Entry allows air travelers expedited entry back into the USA from any foreign country. Once inside the US all the benefits of TSA Pre-Check take over. The cost for this 5-year program is $100.
Nexus, which costs $50 for a 5 year membership, is a joint US-Canadian program for expedited land and sea border crossings but also includes Global Entry for US citizens only, and TSA Pre-Check. This one gives you the best savings.
To apply for any of these programs the applications are available online and take 6 to 8 weeks for conditional approval.That is followed by a short personal interview and fingerprinting. Once final approval is granted, a “known traveler number” is assigned to you that you will use each time you check -in. You can also store that number in your security profile in Flying Together (go to employeeRES>QuickLinks>EmployeeProfile> Add/Edit secure flight info) so that every listing you make will automatically reflect your new status. See the Trusted Traveler Program link above.
Here are the web addresses for more information:
TSA Pre-Check ~ www.tsa.gov/tsa-precheck
Global Entry ~ www.globalentry.gov
Nexus ~ www.cbp.gov/nexus
Kirk Moore
Chairperson, RAFA Travel Benefits Committee 2/15/2014