Avid frequent flyers will resort to what are termed mileage runs to maintain their elite status in a loyalty program. These mileage runs entail booking and actually sitting on the flight for the sole purpose of accruing miles to be credited. These maneuvers are usually executed in the last quarter of the year when a member will likely fall shy of a given tier. Since the benefits increase at the elite levels, an individual will sometimes be willing to pay rates higher than the redemption value for the required miles. Airlines sell miles in the neighborhood of 3.5 cents per mile, but 1) this is a poor value and 2) the miles do not count toward elite status qualification.
On mileage run forums, potential flights of varying distances and prices are posted. These flights usually cost from 3 to 5 cents per mile (cpm). A great long-haul circuitous itinerary may cover a quarter of the world and cost only 3.2 cpm.
Two weeks ago, I completed a one-way commercial flight in economy class that had as poor a cpm value as one could find. On TACA International Airlines (El Salvador), I flew from Belize City (BZE) to San Salvador (SAL) to Guatemala City (GUA). For this 110-minute, 417-mile (671km) itinerary, I paid $403.25! This works out to $3.67 per minute flown or 97 cents per mile traveled! Who can beat this?
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