New AA.com (Old Alaska and Air Canada)

AA.com looks like they re-designed their website with some nifty new features – including a "Price and Schedule Search" functionality shown here. The new display is solid and a distinct improvement.

FMV also thinks it adds flavors from two other airlines.

The first one is the Alaska Airlines search results layout – where you can see different fare levels side by side. Not that big of a deal since it’s a fairly intuitive layout, but nice none-the less. We guess Alaska shouldn't be that upset – "Sincerest form of flattery" and all that….

But the most interesting thing about this system in FMV’s eyes is that American appears to be taking a page out of Air Canada’s playbook of offering different amenities for different classes.

For instance, the example shown, the difference between the “Economy Saver” and the “Economy Flexible” is that you can use 500-mile upgrades with the Flexible fares. In addition, they have introduced a “Instant Upgrade” fare that is supposed to be "a business- or first-class seat sold at the same price as a coach fare. Sometimes those tickets are cheaper than the most expensive coach seat." However, buyers of this fare will also get Priority Boarding, Priority Check-In, Lounge Access for International Flights, and even bonus miles.

In many of the conferences FMV have attended, several airlines have been saying they wanted to mirror Air Canada's ability to tie more benefits to higher fare classes. True, AA's fare names are much more uptight than Air Canada's “Tango” and “Latitude” fares - but it's clear they are making progress along these lines.