** CONTENTS **

Miles for Food ~ American and El Al Link Programs ~ Northwest Bonus Miles ~ ANA Expands Mileage Partners ~ Aer Lingus to Join Oneworld ~ Air France Summer Deals ~ American's Daliy FAAres ~ United Express Discounts ~ Flight Attendants Want Baggage Rules ~ Gourmet Poll Picks Best Hotels ~ Preview Travel Expands ~ The Trip.com ~ Site2See: Financial Times

<< M I L E S >>

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Miles for Food
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The miles-for-commodities trend continues, with an attractive mileage offer from a major food company.

According to the announcement for a new promotion from Healthy Choice: "Now consumers can collect frequent flyer miles just by eating nutritious, great-tasting food." The in-store offer runs through December, 1999, and includes all products in the Healthy Choice line.

Capitalizing on the continued growth of consumer participation in mileage award programs, Healthy Choice has contracted with six of the nation's largest airlines -- American, Delta, Northwest, United, TWA and USAir -- for the promotion. During the promotion, consumers collect frequent flyer miles with the purchase of any package in the Healthy Choice line, which includes more than 300 products across twelve food segments. Consumers will receive a 500 Free Miles certificate for every group of ten proofs-of-purchase they mail to Healthy Choice. The miles will be awarded to the consumer's airline of choice among the six participating carriers. Consumers will have one year in which to deposit the free miles into their frequent flyer account with the airline and the award miles will be valid for at least three years from the date on which they were mailed to the consumer.

The "Free Miles" promotion will be supported by a marketing program that includes in-store point-of-sale materials and merchandising tie-ins with the participating airlines. To build additional awareness, select Healthy Choice products will be flagged with information about the offer and will contain an on-pack mail-in awards certificate.

Bon apetit, and bon voyage!

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American and El Al Programs to be Linked
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American Airlines and El Al will link frequent flyer programs beginning May 17.

Under terms of the agreement, American Airlines AAdvantage members will be able to redeem miles for travel on any El Al route between Israel and North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa or Asia in any class of service. AAdvantage members will also earn miles on all El Al flights except transatlantic routes. This means that a customer can fly to London, Paris, Frankfurt, or six other gateways on American Airlines, continue on to Tel Aviv on El Al, and earn miles for the entire trip.

AAdvantage members with a mailing address in Israel may earn miles on El Al between Tel Aviv and Europe only when connecting to an American Airlines flight.

Members of El Al's frequent traveler programs, Matmid and Loyalty, which are based on a point system, will be able to earn and redeem points on all American Airlines flights.

El Al provides service to Israel from six cities in North America and from more than 40 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. American Airlines and its regional airline affiliate American Eagle serve more than 300 destinations in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

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Northwest Bonus Miles for Northwest Residents
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Northwest Airlines launched today a Bonus Miles incentive program for residents in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho who are members of its WorldPerks Frequent Flyer Program. Members will receive double WorldPerks bonus miles on all Northwest and KLM flights between now and June 30, 1999. New members, who join WorldPerks by May 31, 1999, are eligible for additional mileage incentives.

Residents of Washington, Oregon and Idaho who sign up for WorldPerks by the May deadline will receive 5,000 WorldPerks Bonus Miles for joining the program. They will earn an additional 5,000 Bonus Miles when they take their first flight on Northwest or KLM by June 30, 1999. To enroll in Northwest's WorldPerks program, call 1-800-225-2525 or visit Northwest's web site at http://www.nwa.com . To receive the special mileage bonuses, new members must register by calling 800-508-2000 ext. 8004. In addition, all new members will earn WorldPerks double Bonus Miles on any Northwest or KLM flight they take between April 27 and June 30, 1999. All qualifying flights must be on a paid ticket.

WorldPerks members in these select states are eligible for additional bonus miles if they join programs offered by Northwest's WorldPerks partners, U.S. Bank and Sprint. New frequent flyers who sign up for U.S. Bank's WorldPerks Visa card will earn 2,500 Bonus Miles at sign up, in addition to receiving miles every time they make a purchase with their WorldPerks Visa. To apply for a card or for additional information, call 800-360-2900, ext. 1209D.

Sprint is offering up to 7,500 Bonus Miles for WorldPerks members in Washington, Oregon and Idaho who sign up for Sprint Sense Day, the calling program which gives people the freedom to call state-to-state any time, any day for only 15 cents a minute. In addition to earning mileage every time they make a call, Sprint Sense members will earn 2,500 Bonus Miles at sign up and 1,000 Bonus Miles per month for the next five months. For more information or to sign up, call 877-250-4309.

>> More <<
Northwest

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ANA Expands Mileage Partnerships
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All Nippon Airways (ANA) this week announced that its frequent flyer program, ANA Mileage Club (AMC), will be linked beginning July 1 with the Air New Zealand, Ansett Australia and Varig Brazilian Airlines frequent flyer programs.

The 3.5 million ANA Mileage Club members will be able to earn miles and claim awards on any of Air New Zealand's flights to 48 cities in 15 countries, on Ansett's flights to 152 cities in six countries and on Varig's flights to 122 cities in 23 countries.

At the same time, Air New Zealand, Ansett and Varig frequent fliers will be able to "earn and burn" miles on ANA's more than 600 daily flights to 35 cities in Japan and 32 cities in 18 countries overseas.

Air New Zealand, Ansett and Varig are among the eight current members of the Star Alliance network, which serves over 720 destinations in 110 countries. ANA will become the ninth member of Star Alliance in October.

>> More <<
ANA online

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Aer Lingus May Join Oneworld Alliance
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The Aer Lingus Board of Directors today recommended to the Irish government that Aer Lingus enter an alliance with American Airlines and British Airways, with a commitment that these airlines sponsor Aer Lingus for membership in the Oneworld alliance group.

In addition to American and British Airways, Oneworld includes Canadian Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific, with Finnair and Iberia Airlines poised to join.

The Government will review the recommendation and, if accepted, will authorize Aer Lingus to proceed with the strategic alliance. The airline is owned 95 percent by the Irish government and 5 percent by Aer Lingus employees.

<< S T E A L S & D E A L S >>

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Air France's Summer Sale
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Air France is offering spring and summer sale fares to 18 selected European destinations from New York, Newark and Washington. The sale started April 27, 1999 and continues through May 7, 1999.

The spring sale fares are for travel May 1, 1999 through June 15, 1999. Summer sale fares are for travel June 16, 1999 through July 10, 1999.

Travel beyond Paris in France to Brest, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Montpellier, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Pau, Strasbourg and Toulouse are included in the spring and summer sale for $60 above the Paris rates.

All travel is valid for Monday-Thursday departures from the U.S. with all travel completed by July 6, 1999 for spring fares and July 31, 1999 for summer fares. Weekend travel on Friday-Sunday departures $30 additional each way for France fares and $25 additional each way for Spain and Italy. A Saturday night stay is required; maximum stay 21 days. Taxes and fees of approximately $57-$64 additional. Tickets must be purchased within 48 hours of reservations confirmation and are non-refundable. Stopovers or changes before departure not permitted. Travel must originate in U.S. for round-trip travel on Air France only. Combinations with Visit France and Euroflyer fares only. Other restrictions may apply. Subject to limited availability, government approval and change or withdrawal without notice.

>> More <<
Tickets can be purchased through a travel agent, Air France Reservations (800-237-2747) or online.

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American's Daily FAAres are Back
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American's web-only Daily FAAres are back, offering low-cost specials on American and American Eagle, ranging from $88 to $298 roundtrip based on the distance of the flight.

Here's how it works: Each weekday morning for eight days (April 28-May 7), American and American Eagle will post approximately 10 domestic and Canadian markets on AA.com. If customers see something they like, they must book the special online at AA.com **that same day** while the fare is still displayed. The next morning a different group of markets with discount fares will be displayed on "The Daily FAAres" section of AA.com.

Daily FAAres Rules:

    -- Three-day advance purchase -- must purchase online at AA.com
    -- Travel days are Monday through Thursday and Saturday (no Friday or Sunday travel)
    -- Current Daily FAAres travel dates -- May 1 through June 10
    -- Holiday travel blackouts are May 26-June 1
    -- Saturday night stay required
    -- Fares are non-refundable, non-changeable, and non-reusable

For those with the requisite flexibility and sense of adventure, these catch-as-catch-can deals can be winners.

>> More <<
American

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United Express Discounts Washington Flights
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Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA), the Dulles, VA-based United Express carrier, today announced it is celebrating the recent expansion of the United/United Express network at Washington Dulles International Airport by offering special fares to a total of 40 destinations. The program will be advertised as part of a campaign called, "Pick a City. Any City."

Fares are divided into peak and off-peak pricing, with the lowest prices ($39 to $69 one way) for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, and slightly higher fares ($59 to $89) for departures on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Discounted flights are from/to Washington's Dulles.

Promotion fares are available for roundtrip travel only, and must include a Saturday night stayover. Tickets are non-refundable and must be purchased at least seven days in advance, but no later than May 14, 1999. All travel must be completed by July 7, 1999. Seating is limited, and these promotional fares may not be available on all flights. Fares quoted do not include passenger facility charges of up to $12, and per-flight segment taxes of $2 per segment.

United Express/Atlantic Coast Airlines offers 545 daily departures systemwide serving Washington Dulles and Chicago O'Hare International Airport -- both of which are major hubs for United Airlines. From its operation at Washington Dulles, United Express/ACA offers 244 daily flights to 44 destinations. The carrier also offers 16 flights to six cities from Chicago O'Hare.

>> More <<
ACA's website

<< I N D U S T R Y N E W S >>

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Flight Attendants Call for Baggage Restrictions
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Members of the Association of Flight Attendants held a protest this week at the FAA to encourage the agency to pass new rules on carry-on bags "before more airline workers and passengers are hurt."

"It's time for the FAA to act to protect passengers and flight attendants," said Patricia Friend, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA). "Oversized carry-on bags are breaking our backs."

In December 1998, the AFA proposed that the FAA establish a single carry-on bag rule limiting passengers to a maximum volume of 45 linear inches or about 13 lbs. So far, the agency has refused to act on the proposal.

The flight attendants contend that a single rule that applies to every airline would reduce injuries, eliminate confusion, and cut down on delays.

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Gourmet Hotel Picks
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Halekulani in Honolulu, Hawaii has been chosen as the number one hotel in the world according to Gourmet's "Rooms at The Top," a comprehensive survey of readers. The results of this survey are published in the May 1999 issue. The Halekulani also won in the category of best guest rooms.

U.S. properties commanded five winning places in the listing of the 10 best hotels in the world. In addition to Halekulani, they were: The Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida; The Boulders in Carefree, Arizona; The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; and The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The other leading hotels are scattered across the globe. Italy, France, Hong Kong, Thailand and the West Indies each have a place on the list. More than 150 hotels, resorts and inns in 27 countries were ranked in the published report which hits newsstands on April 27th.

The survey determined preferred hotels for special-interest travel as well: Readers chose Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa as their favorite family resort, while naming The Regent Hong Kong as the best for business. For romance, The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California was tops. For the best pool in the world, the Hotel Ritz in Paris was tops. The Ashford Castle, Cong, County Mayo in Ireland ranked the highest in design/architecture, outpacing properties in the United States and Italy. And the Chateau Lake Louise was voted number one for view and grounds.

Readers chose The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, as their top choice for golf and tennis. They also named the workout center as the best in the world. The Hyatt Regency Beaver Creek in Aspen, Colorado was chosen as the top hotel for skiing and the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel in Hawaii for the best beach. The readers' favorite spa is the Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in Sonoma, California, and their choice for a hideaway is the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia.

In the area of food, readers named The Oriental, Bangkok as tops for room service and bar. The top award for restaurant dining was given to The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas.

    Following are the Top 10 in the World, in order of ranking:     1. Halekulani, Honolulu, Hawaii     2. The Oriental, Bangkok, Thailand     3. Villa D'Este, Cernobbio, Italy     4. The Regent, Hong Kong, China     5. Hotel Ritz, Paris, France     6. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Florida     7. The Boulders, Carefree, Arizona     8. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia     9. The Phoenician, Scottsdale, Arizona    10. Four Seasons Resort Nevis, Charlestown, Nevis, West Indies

<< T R A V E L O N L I N E >>

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Preview Adds Customer Service Center
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Preview Travel will be opening a second call-center facility in Sacramento, CA, to support its growing member base of more than 7 million online travelers. The new 18,000 square-foot facility can house over 200 customer service representatives. The Sacramento facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 1999 and will also include a technical support center.

Preview Travel currently has a dedicated customer service staff of over 100 people, which includes approximately 75 trained travel agents. Preview Travel's customer service representatives are available via email and through the company's toll-free number, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In recent site enhancements, Preview Travel has made its toll-free number more accessible to first-time purchasers and vacation and cruise package shoppers.

Preview Travel has more than 7 million registered members and reported gross bookings of $76.7 million in Q1 1999.

>> More <<
Preview Travel

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TRIP.com Launches Fare Search Service
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Denver-based TRIP.com has launched intelliTRIP--what it calls proprietary intelligent agent travel search technology.

IntelliTRIP enables consumers to simultaneously query multiple airline Web sites for fares. IntelliTRIP offers one-stop shopping for travelers to purchase directly from leading airlines, including initial launch partners Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, and TWA.

To date, TRIP.com has signed more than 18 major travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels and car rental agencies. Over the next several weeks, intelliTRIP will add Air Canada, Alamo, American Trans Air (ATA), Continental Airlines, Dollar Rent A Car, Hertz, LOT Polish Airlines, Reno Air, Skyjet.com, United Airlines, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airlines and WorldRes Places To Stay.

Each time a query is initiated, intelliTRIP contacts the participating travel supplier sites and polls them for the best fares available with given parameters. This results in a listing of each site's response to the query, from which the consumer may choose the fare that best meets their travel needs. Should the user decide to purchase the fare, a simple mouse click transports the user directly to the final point of transaction at the travel supplier site to complete the booking. Throughout the process, the user only has to remember one password and log-in. There's no longer a need to have multiple passwords or log-ins for each airline site.

>> Reality Check: It's a Great Idea, but...

Before they start posting pictures of the launch party, as the website breathlessly boasts, there are some technical problems to be addressed. I tried several times over a four-hour period on Wednesday to put the new service through its paces. It didn't budge. The server response was painfully slow. And when it did respond, it was with error messages advising that the server had timed out.

Another issue: intelliTRIP is essentially an information consolidator, bringing together data that consumers already have access to, albeit scattered across numerous individual sites. While there is certainly value in having the information brought together where it can be viewed and compared, there remains the underlying problem that often the "lowest fare" displayed by an airline's online quote engine isn't really the lowest available fare. Our advice (once more): whether you're pricing travel through intelliTRIP or directly with the individual airlines' online sites, follow up with a phone call to the selected airline's res center... you may well find a "lowest price" that's lower still.

>> More <<
o intelliTRIP
o TRIP.com

<< M I S C E L L A N Y >>

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Site2See: Financial Times Online
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(The following story was brought to our attention by Mr. G.L.)

Don't have enough to worry about? How about a possible connection between air travel and cancer?

Here's the set-up... Frequent flyers spend more time than non-flyers at high altitude. High altitude means you're closer to the radiation bombarding planet earth from outer space. And radiation is a known carcinogen. Ergo, frequent flyers are at higher risk of contracting cancer.

According to a recent article in the Financial Times, there may something to that argument. FT estimates that a frequent trans-Atlantic flyer could be exposed to the equivalent of 170 chest x-rays a year.

This could be yet another reason frequent flyers deserve hazard pay for their business trips.

>> More <<
Financial Times

Until May 20th...