U P F R O N T

Industry Newsbites

That would make ATA the first among current U.S. low-cost airlines to serve Europe, and would put further pressure on Europe ticket prices -- a boon for consumers, but a nightmare for full-service airlines.

And speaking of full service (and nightmares for the legacy airlines), ATA also announced that it will install business-class cabins across its fleet by the send of 2004.

Business Week reports that the load factor (percentage of seats occupied) for newly launched United subsidiary Ted was 81% for the first 4 days of operation. That bespeaks good pre-launch marketing, if nothing else.

The bad news: a federal bankruptcy judge has granted United a 1-month extension on the due date for its reorganization plan, not the 4 month deferral United had requested. United reiterated plans to emerge from Chapter 11 in the first half of 2004.

US Airways' pilots union has backed away from its "no more concessions" position, agreeing to meet with management to discuss further wage and benefits give-backs.

With Southwest and Frontier poised to invade US Air's principal hub, Philadelphia, and flood the market with ultra-cheap tickets, the union presumably recognized the do-or-die seriousness of US Air's situation.

Lastly, from the "Trends Best Left for Dead" file, Ryanair, Europe's version of Southwest, is taking cost-cutting to its logical extreme.

The Irish discounter has directed Boeing to deliver its future B737-800s with no window shades and seats which don't recline and lack seat pockets. If that weren't sufficient punishment, passengers will also be subjected to ads affixed to seat headrests.

<< O N S I T E >>

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

Becky shows how to redeem 20,000 Starpoints for a whopping 50,000 BA Executive Club miles (see "Miles & Points" below). Jim is looking for a quick 600 US Air miles to reach an award level. Michelle wonders: Is frequentflyerdepot.com a scam? And much more...

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

> More...

<< M I L E S & P O I N T S >>

American Awards More Upgrades to Top-Tier Elites
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Beginning Mar. 18, members of American's highest elite tier, AAdvantage Executive Platinum, may request unlimited complimentary upgrades on ALL purchased published fares for travel within and between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Central America.

Upgrades may be requested at time of reservation and will be confirmed 100 hours prior to departure, if upgrade seats are available.

The new policy replaces the 4 500-mile upgrades per 10,000 base miles currently awarded to Platinum Exec elites.

Also effective Mar. 18, American will lower the price of 500-mile electronic upgrades. Upgrades purchased through AA.com or AAdvantage Dial-In will cost $25 per upgrade while upgrades purchased at the airport or via reservations will cost $30 per upgrade. (Current prices are $40/$50 respectively.) Note: for non-elites, these segment upgrades may only be used in conjunction with unrestricted Y/B fares.

See http://www.aa.com/upgrade2004 for more.

From American: Fly Three, Fly Free
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Following similar moves by Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways, American has launched its own buy-3/get-1-free promotion.

AAdvantage members who fly 3 qualifying roundtrips on American, American Eagle or AmericanConnection between Feb. 20 and June 15 will earn 1 free roundtrip award ticket for economy-class travel within the continental U.S. The award may be earned a maximum of 2 times per member.

As with the other airlines' offers, qualifying flights must be on full-fare tickets. E, O, T, U, Z and transatlantic fares booked in Q are excluded. In addition, coach travel may not include a Saturday night stay.

Pre-registration is required, either online at http://aa.com/offers, or by calling 1-800-882-8880, Promotion Code AA123.

> More...

Amtrak Joins the Freebie Parade
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Apparently under pressure from airline free-ticket promotions, Amtrak has rolled out its own free-travel offer.

Members of Amtrak's Guest Rewards program will earn 1 free Acela Express roundtrip for every 2 qualifying roundtrips on Acela Express or Metroliner service between Feb. 15 and Apr. 15. Qualifying routes include Washington-New York, Boston-New York, Philadelphia-Boston and Washington-Boston. Free trip may be taken between June 15 and Aug. 31.

Registration is required.

> More...

Delta Launches "Great Choices" Promo
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Delta SkyMiles members who fly a minimum of 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) on qualifying Delta or Song flights between Feb. 19 and May 31 will earn a 1-time mileage bonus plus a choice of 3 additional awards.

At the low end, those earning between 5,000 and 7,499 MQMs will receive 2,500 bonus miles plus their choice of 1) a 100% bonus for mileage credit earned on tickets purchased and flown on all "bonus flights" between June 1 and Aug. 31 ("the bonus period"); or 2) a 3-month trial Crown Room Club membership (valid July 1 through Sept. 30); or 3) a $10 American Express gift card for every 1,000 MQMs earned on tickets purchased and flown on bonus flights during the bonus period.

At the high end, those earning 25,000 or more MQMs will receive 10,000 bonus miles plus their choice of 1) a 200% bonus for mileage credit earned on tickets purchased and flown on all "bonus flights" between June 1 and Aug. 31 ("the bonus period"); or 2) a 12-month trial Crown Room Club membership (valid July 1 through June 30); or 3) a $10 American Express gift card for every 1,000 MQMs earned on tickets purchased and flown on bonus flights during the bonus period.

Between the 2 above-mentioned qualifying tiers, there are 2 intermediate levels, with mid-range bonuses.

Registration is required.

> More...

Delta Sells Mileage Cards
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Delta has begun selling gift cards in various denominations of SkyMiles at all 8 Atlanta-area city ticket offices. The cards will be sold in additional retail outlets later this year.

The gift cards are available in increments of 250 miles for $14 (including sales tax) or 1,000 miles for $54.56 (including sales tax). That amounts to buying miles at 5.6 cents and 5.5 cents respectively. At that rate, 25,000 miles would cost $1,364. That's a very high price to pay for the novelty, which will likely be short-lived.

Customers may purchase an unlimited number of SkyMiles Program gift cards, and there is no expiration date for the card. Gift card recipients may redeem their miles at http://skymilesgiftcard.com.

Redeem Starpoints for Extra BA Miles
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Between Feb. 1 and Mar. 31, Starwood Preferred Guest members may redeem Starpoints for double British Airways Executive Club miles.

By combining the BA bonus with Starwood's ongoing 5,000-mile bonus for every 20,000 points redeemed, 20,000 Starpoints are worth a cool 50,000 Executive Club miles.

You will have to log in as an Executive Club member at the below link to view promo details.

> More...

Earn Double Starpoints for Tax Payments
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Between Mar. 15 and Apr. 15, Starwood Preferred Guest members who charge federal income tax payments to their Starwood credit card at Official Payments (http://officialpayments.com) or PAY1040.com (http://pay1040.com/amexstarwood) will earn double Starpoints, up to a maximum of 5,000 bonus points.

Call 1-800-AXP-1000 for details.

[In last week's Crier, we reported on similar offers from Delta and United.]

Bundle Up with Sprint for US Air Bonus
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Dividend Miles members will earn 10,000 miles for combining residential local and long-distance phone services with Sprint.

With Sprint's Complete Sense Unlimited plan, prices for unlimited local and domestic long distance are between $49.99 - $55.99 per month, depending on the state.

The 10,000 bonus miles are awarded in 2 installments: 5,000 miles each after the 1st and 6th monthly invoices.

In addition, earn 5 miles for every $1 spent on Sprint Complete Sense Unlimited service each month.

> More - http://www.sprint.com/usairwaysemail or call 1-800-578-8222, offer code E1

<< 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...

Sale Fares to Tokyo and Other Asia Destinations from $330
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Save on a trip to Asia with sale fares from 2 airlines. Korean Air's price of $330 roundtrip between Los Angeles and Tokyo is the lowest we've seen, and Northwest's sale offers low prices for flights to destinations including Hong Kong, Seoul, and Bangkok.

Travel dates and booking deadlines vary by airline.

> More...

Transcon on JetBlue, America West, or American for Under $200
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JetBlue is known as a low-fare trendsetter, and the airline is upholding its reputation with its latest fare sale. Prices start at $78 roundtrip for short flights, and you can fly cross-country from New York and other East Coast cities for under $200.

Two other airlines have announced similar sales for cross-country travel; America West is offering nonstop flights between Boston or New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco, while American has announced sale fares from New York to Tampa and 3 cities in California.

Travel dates and booking deadlines vary depending on the route.

> More...

<< R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S >>

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel
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"Time to let everybody know that while Leo Mullin might be gone from Delta, his anti-business-traveler frequent flyer spirit appears to live on. And it's time for your readers to be wary of Delta.

"As a Platinum, the 'new' program says you can upgrade 100 hours out unless you're on an L,U or T fare. So I booked JAX to IAD tonight (Saturday) for a Tuesday flight. H fare. Not an L,U or T. I checked before and there were plenty of seats available in first. And as mandated by the company, we must book a non-refundable fare - hence the 'H' fare. Your readers understand even though Delta pretends not to.

"Once booked, the message from Delta was 'on request' -- no upgrade even though I'm Platinum, the segments were within the 100 hours and seats were available. What's going on? For specifics, in case Delta cares, booked on 2/21 at 7:30-pm, #1466 at 7:10am 2/24 to #2239 to IAD. Return on 2/26 on #1027 IAD to ATL and #761 ATL to JAX.

"As of 7:30PM on 2/21/2004;

#1466 had 10 first class seats available. -- no upgrade. On Request.
#2239 had 5 first class seats available -- no upgrade. On Request.
#1027 had 17 seats available (yep, 17 seats!) -- no upgrade. On Request.
#761 had 7 seats available -- no upgrade. On Request.

"Maybe Delta's 'new upgrade' policy was designed to not allow us to upgrade until we get to the Gate and they see if they might have sold that one last first class seat to Michael Jackson or some other wealthy entity. If that's the truth, tell us and we'll fly other airlines.

"Meanwhile us poor old 20 year loyal Delta frequent flyers don't understand what part of 'frequent flyer' Delta doesn't understand. As an alternative out of Jacksonville, US Air is looking better and better. All your readers might want to start considering alternatives to Delta because without the business 'frequent' flyer dollars, they will be the next bankrupt airline.

"While I promise I will use every single frequent flyer mile I've earned, as a reward for Delta's lack of frequent flyer loyalty, they have lost my future paid business. Ya'll keep flying them. I'm going elsewhere. And the truth is, Delta does not care."

- John

"I just received this message from Continental and thought you guys might be interested.

"They just happened to exclude from the Elite Member's Guide mailing this week, the fact that they are screwing elite flyers by not giving elite credit for the lower fare categories. Half the elite members probably don't even subscribe to the e-mail updates, and half of them probably just delete them. So how many people actually know that there was a misprint in the hard-copy guide? It sounds kind of shady to me about the printing error, and it is also bad just the fact that they are doing it."

- Brian

Until next week...