U P F R O N T
Newsweek: Seven Ways to Fix Air Travel
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Tip o' the hat to Newsweek which in its April 23 issue (partially reprinted online, link below) offers a specific, no-apologies gameplan for cleaning up the air travel mess.
Rather than just another self-indulgent exercise in crabbiness and finger-pointing, Newsweek highlights the core problems, identifies responsible parties, and suggests viable solutions.
None of the warring factions is spared the verbal rod. The airlines have treated customers like cattle and are never more than a hair's breadth from running afoul of antitrust rules. The regulators have acted like the bumbling, self-serving bureaucrats we always suspected them of being. And consumers (yup, us) have failed to act as economically rationally beings, allowing, e.g., American's "More legroom in coach" initiative to go unmatched by the rest of the industry. (And no, United's Economy Plus doesn't count.)
Here are Newsweek's 7 suggestions:
- Build more runways
- Manage the airways
- Stop treating customers like cargo
- Allow "as the crow flies" flight routing
- Replace the FAA
- Stop the mergers
- Reward best practices
Read the article. It's that rarest of cliches: Journalism in the public interest.
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O N S I T E
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
Duane booked United, flew Delta, and now asks: "Whose miles?" PS is interested in redeeming his BA miles for a round-the-world ticket. Mike is wondering whether CapitalOne is the best frequent-buyer card. Brenda is looking for travel tips for her upcoming Puerto Vallarta vacation. Christine has this to say about Cheaptickets.com: "yeeee haaaaw!" And much more...
Do you have questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!
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M I L E S & P O I N T S
AAdvantage Turns 20; Miles Fly
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American is marking the 20th anniversary of AAdvantage with "The Big AAdvantage Mileage Giveaway," which is actually several different not-so-big giveaways and 1 pretty-darn-big giveaway. Offers are valid between May 1 and Sep. 30, 2001.
- American will give 20,000 AAdvantage miles to each of the top 20,000 American/American Eagle customers. The "top" determination will be made on the basis of miles earned on American/American Eagle flights during the 5-month promotion period.
- 20,000 miles will also be awarded to all AAdvantage members who use 20 different AAdvantage partners during the promotion period.
- Earn 1,000 bonus miles by switching to eSummary online AAdvantage account statements. Switchers will be automatically entered in monthly drawings to win an additional 20,000 miles. 20 winners of 20,000 each will be selected from all eligible entries in each of 5 drawings in June, July, Aug., Sep. and Oct.
- Earn 5,000 bonus miles when using AAdvantage miles to purchase or renew an Admirals Club membership.
- American will match, mile for mile, mileage donations to Miles for Kids in Need.
- Get a 20% mileage bonus (U.S. only) on base miles flown on American or American Eagle when donating $200 or more to American's Proud Partner campaign in support of America's National Parks. That's in addition to the standard bonus of 10 AAdvantage miles for every $1 donated.
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Best Western is New Dividend Miles Partner
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Best Western joins US Airways' Dividend Miles program on June 1.
To promote the tie-up, Dividend Miles members will earn double miles -- 500 instead of the normal 250 -- for qualifying Best Western stays between June 1 and July 31, 2001.
AAdvantage Adds Canada 3000 to Partner Roster
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Starting May 1, AAdvantage members can earn miles when flying on eligible fares on Canada 3000's scheduled flights worldwide. AAdvantage members will be able to redeem miles for award travel on Canada 3000 flights later in the year.
The addition of Canada 3000 helps plug the hole in Canada coverage resulting from Air Canada's acquisition of Canadian International last year. Air Canada was, and is, a member of the United-led Star Alliance, while Canadian International was allied with American and the Oneworld group.
nwa.com Club Reopens for Business
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Northwest's nwa.com Club is once again open for new member enrollment through May 31, 2001.
Membership in the online club costs $35 per year, and entitles enrollees to special prices and WorldPerks offers, including discounts on NW and KLM flights, complimentary Gold Preferred Guest Membership in the Starwood Preferred Guest Program, 6 months of half-priced Internet access from Earthlink, car rental discount from Hertz, etc.
Membership is open to U.S. residents with a valid credit card and a current WorldPerks account.
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London Flights Earn OnePass Bonus
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OnePass members who fly Continental between New York/Newark and London/Stansted between May 1 and July 1, 2001, will earn 2,000 bonus miles each way. Register for the bonus using promo code 50059.
Save Animals, Earn ClickMiles
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Earn triple ClickMiles when donating to the World Wildlife Fund to protect endangered species and spaces.
For each dollar donated between now and Apr. 30, 2001, you'll earn triple ClickMiles plus the following bonuses: Donate $25-$249 and earn 250 bonus ClickMiles, $250-$499 to earn 500, $500-$999 to earn 1,000, and $1,000 or more to earn 1,500 bonus ClickMiles.
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ANA Doubles Miles for NYC-Tokyo Flights
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Through May 31, 2001, members of ANA Mileage Club (AMC) earn double miles for ANA flights between New York and Tokyo. To be eligible for the offer, you must be a U.S. resident and register at least 3 days prior to travel.
Separately, through Sep. 30, 2001, AMC members traveling in full-fare economy class can upgrade to business class for 15,000 miles each way, instead of the normal 25,000 miles.
Fly Dubai-Dusseldorf for Double Skywards Miles
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Members of Skywards, the frequent flyer program of Emirates and SriLankan, will earn double miles for flights between Dubai and Dussedorf through June 30, 2001. And through June 15, Skywards members earn double miles when travelling on German domestic flights with Deutsche BA, through an agreement with Deutsche BA's parent company, British Airways.
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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...
International Savings and Discount Kids' Fares
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Northwest has announced a domestic and international travel sale, offering sale fares to Europe and Asia and child companion fares for North American travel.
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Systemwide Savings on Summer Travel to/from the West
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America West is offering sale fares to/from cities in the Western U.S. for travel between May 1 and Sep. 30.
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I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S
DOT OK's Orbitz Launch
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In spite of concerns expressed by consumer groups, state attorneys general, and on- and offline travel agencies, the DOT has given Orbitz its blessing for a planned June launch. DOT added, however, that it would remain on the lookout for any sign of anti-competitive behavior on Orbitz' part.
A First for Big Online Agencies: Profitability
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The just-ended quarter was a history-maker for the 2 largest online travel agencies: both Travelocity and Expedia reported their first-ever profitable 3-month periods.
Well, sort of... Travelocity's profit was "before special items," and Expedia's profit was operating, not net.
Still, against the backdrop of dot-bombs and big first-quarter airline losses, Travelocity and Expedia's financials look stellar.
I'll Take a "She" Seat, Onegaishimasu
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Beginning in May, women flying Japan's Skymark Airlines between Tokyo and Fukuoka will be able to book a seat in the airline's female-only section.
Ten seats on each flight will be reserved for women who find mixed-gender seating too stressful. Skymark likely got the idea from a Japanese rail company which is planning women-only train service, apparently in response to complaints that female customers were being accosted by males returning home inebriated after a long evening of drinking.
Until next week...
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