U P F R O N T

An Unsettling Week
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This week in travel has been an unsettling one, in at least 3 respects...

First, the fate of TWA (and of Aviators miles) is even less clear now than it was a week ago. Continental has proposed to the bankruptcy court that it be allowed to acquire up to $400 million in TWA assets as part of a restructuring plan that includes TWA's continued survival as an independent company. The plan also, interestingly, includes a reciprocal Continental-TWA frequent flyer program partnership. Northwest also filed a brief with the court, expressing interest in purchasing TWA's 26% stake in the Worldspan computer reservations system. And Carl Icahn remains in the picture as well. There will be a court hearing on Saturday, so we should know more next week...

Second, respected online travel agency Biztravel.com squandered some of its hard-earned goodwill equity by obfuscating its new, substantially less generous refund policy (see Industry News Bites section, below).

And third, this was the week during which the industry-standard $75 reservations change fee was (permanently?) upped, to $100 by CO and to $90 by AA. There's more in Industry News Bites.

O N S I T E

FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum...

Barbara is searching for a way to track miles in multiple programs, for multiple family members. In response to which, Jean provides a particularly good summary of available options. David (author of a recommended book on frequent flyer programs) has an update on AT&T's current customer acquisition tactics. And there are lots of good tips and advice from the Forum regulars.

Do you have questions? Do you have answers? Post them to the Forum!

>> More - The FrequentFlier Forum

Reports of TWA's Demise...
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In what may turn out to be laughably premature, we've posted a combination TWA obit and "Whither Aviators Miles" story on the site.

>> More - TWA: On Final Approach

M I L E S

Frontier Launches EarlyReturns Program
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Denver-based Frontier Airlines this week announced details of its new EarlyReturns frequent flyer program, set to launch February 1. Here's the executive summary--

> Partners
Continental, Midwest Express, Virgin, Alamo, Hertz, National, Payless Car Rental, Kimpton Hotels and Citicorp Diners Club.

> Awards
EarlyReturns awards begin with a free roundtrip flight anywhere on Frontier's route system at 15,000 miles.

> Elite Levels
There are 2 elite levels, Ascent for those earning between 15,000 and 24,999 miles on Frontier per year, and Summit for those earning 25,000 or more Frontier miles.

Ascent members receive a 10% bonus on Frontier flights, priority check-in and boarding and a dedicated customer-service number. Summit members get the same, plus a 25% Frontier mileage bonus, free drinks inflight, extra baggage allowance, and guaranteed reservations when flying full-Y and booking at least 72 hours in advance.

> Account Statements
Snail-mailed every 3 months, but also available online.

For a carrier of Frontier's size, this looks to be a reasonably robust program. While lacking in hotel partnerships, the airline and rental car lineup gives members solid earning and redemption opportunities. Except for the low entry threshold, the Ascent elite level isn't very compelling, but the Summit benefits are both attractive and relevant.

>> More - Frontier

New on the WorldPerks Mall: Ashford
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Online luxury-goods merchant Ashford.com is the latest addition to the WorldPerks Mall.

Through February 28, 2001, WorldPerks members earn 10 WorldPerks bonus miles for every dollar spent at the Ashford boutique found at the WorldPerks Mall or http://northwest.ashford.com.

Northwest Discounts Hawaii Awards
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WorldPerks members can redeem award travel between North America and Honolulu for roundtrip coach class travel between January 30 and April 23, 2001 for 30,000 WorldPerks Miles versus the normal 35,0000 WorldPerks Miles.

During the same period, U.S. WorldPerks members can combine cash and WorldPerks miles for roundtrip travel to Honolulu, as follows--

*Zone A North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama

**Zone B Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island

Bonus SkyMiles for L. America/Caribbean Flights
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Delta is offering SkyMiles members double or triple miles for flights to Latin America or the Caribbean before the end of February.

SkyMiles members who fly Delta between Atlanta and Bogota or San Jose before February 28, 2001, earn double miles in economy class or triple miles in business class. Delta flights between New York/JFK or Cincinnati and Grand Cayman, Aruba or San Juan earn double miles. And Delta flights between Atlanta and Turks or Caicos earn double miles.

Earn Double Miles for Chicago-East Coast Flights
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Mileage Plus members earn double miles for United roundtrips between Chicago and the following cities: Allentown, Norfolk, Portland (ME), Providence, Raleigh-Durham or White Plains.

Offer is valid for travel in United first (F class) and with selected United economy fares (Y, B, M, H and Q class). Travel must be completed between January 1 and February 28, 2001. Bonus may be earned up to three times during the offer period. Valid only for residents of the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and with tickets purchased in the these countries. Register online, or call 1-800-447-6772 and enter offer code 554.

Inter-Con Offers Bonus for Latin America Stays
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Priority Club members can earn 2001 miles per stay, quadruple the normal earnings, at selected Inter-Continental Hotels in Latin America.

Stays between January 15 and June 30, 2001 qualify for the bonus. For a list of participating hotels, as well as terms and conditions, visit the Priority Club website at http://www.priorityclub.com.

S T E A L S & D E A L S

Deal Alert from SmarterLiving.com
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This week's hot deals from SmarterLiving.com...

Sales on Travel to/from Hawaii
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Several U.S. airlines, including United, Continental, Northwest, and Hawaiian Airlines, are offering sales on winter and spring travel between the continental U.S. and Hawaii.

For more details, go here.

Fare War on Winter Travel to Europe
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Most major U.S. airlines and several international airlines are offering sale fares on travel to Europe this winter. Round-trip fares start at $219 from the East Coast and $269 from the Midwest.

For more details, go here.

I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S

Biztravel Cuts Refunds on the Q.T.
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Biztravel.com made a name for itself in May of last year by offering guarantees on the services of selected airlines. Purchase your American Air ticket from Biztravel, for example, and Biztravel would reimburse you, up to the full price of the ticket, if your American flight was delayed or cancelled.

At the time, it was perceived as a bold move. Perhaps, the naysayers (myself included) said, it's too bold. Could any company, we wondered, afford to back up such service guarantees in an industry plagued by service shortfalls?

Apparently the naysayers had it right. This week, Biztravel announced that it was cutting refunds by 75% and more. According to the Wall Street Journal, Biztravel has so far paid $1.6 million to inconvenienced passengers, far more than anticipated. So, in the interest of getting their financial house in order, they had to cut back on the over-generous refunds. No problem.

But there is a problem, and it's the way Biztravel communicated the cuts. The changes were all but hidden in what looked suspiciously like an attempt to bury the bad news. Here's what was disclosed in the 4th paragraph of their January 23 mass e-mail:

"You still can't beat our airline service guarantee even though the refund levels have changed. You will receive a refund of up to $100 for flight delays and cancellations; and refunds for qualifying flights that arrive more than 30 minutes late. These changes were made so that we could extend the guarantee coverage to include inconveniences experienced while renting a car or staying in a hotel."

That hardly amounts to honest, forthcoming disclosure of a significant change for the worse. Here are the changes, as they should have been communicated upfront and in no uncertain terms--

A related concern: The announcement was dated January 23. The changes took effect January 23. Hello!?! Advance notice, anyone?

CO Raises Change Fee
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Continental has increased the fee charged for changing reservations to $100 from $75, the standard among larger U.S. airlines. Change fees apply when passengers make a voluntary schedule change when traveling on restricted coach fares. Such restricted fares--advance purchase, typically non-refundable--constitute the bulk of all tickets purchased, so the new policy potentially affects many travelers. American raised their fee to $90, and other carriers can be expected to follow suit.

Until next week...