U P F R O N T

Airlines' Q2 Financials
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Since airline performance is the chief bellwether of the travel industry's health, we look forward to the carriers' quarterly earnings reports with considerable interest.

Most carriers' results for the 2nd quarter (Apr. - June) were released over the past week. For the quarter in question, bottom lines reflect significant subsidies paid to airlines in the form of the government's security-fee assistance program. And those subsidies distort the carriers' true performance.

(Example: Delta, Northwest and Continental together reported profits of $490 million for the period. But excluding 1-time items, principally the security give-back, the 3 carriers actually lost a total of $421 million.)

The following table depicts the quarterly earnings both with and without the security subsidy and other 1-time items.

                    (A) - Excluding gov't subsidy
                    (B) - Inclusive of the above
                    * millions

The (A) column tells the story: continuing heavy losses by the largest airlines, while Southwest continues to post impressive profits.

But as was noted of American's results last week, while the numbers are bad, they're significantly better than the year-ago figures.

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

For AAdvantage Members: Miles-for-Wine
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Through Sept. 30, AAdvantage members will earn 50 miles for purchases of specially marked bottles of wine from Australia's Rothbury Estate.

Look for promotional "neck hangers" on bottles, which must be filled out and mailed in to receive miles. There is no limit to the number of miles that can be earned during the promotion.

Earn 500 FlightFund Bonus Miles for Dining
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Members of America West's FlightFund will earn 500 bonus miles after 5 meals at participating FlightFund Dining restaurants between July 1 and Oct. 15.

The bonus is on top of the miles normally earned, typically 10 miles for every $1 spent.

> More...

ATA Sets New End Date for Program
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ATA has extended its Anniversary Travel Awards program from Sept. 30, 2003 until Jan. 31, 2005.

The program -- more accurately, a long-term promotion -- offers members a free domestic roundtrip companion ticket after 3 roundtrips or 6 1-ways; a free roundtrip domestic ticket after 6 roundtrips or 12 1-ways; a free roundtrip ticket to the Caribbean, Mexico or Puerto Rico after 9 roundtrips or 18 1-ways; or a free roundtrip ticket to Hawaii after 12 roundtrips or 24 1-ways.

Tickets must be purchased on ata.com to qualify.

For details, or to register, visit http://ata.com/.

Earn Extra OnePass Miles for Maui Vacations
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Continental Vacations is offering up to 3,500 OnePass bonus miles (depending on choice of hotel) for Maui vacation packages of 5 or more nights.

Bonus applies for packages booked through Aug. 30 for travel between Aug. 1 and Oct. 30.

To receive bonus miles, provide your OnePass account number and promotion code ONEPASSOGG.

There's 1 unusual restriction to this offer: "Only the first 727 members will receive bonus miles."

> More...

Amex Points Are Worth More Delta Miles
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Between July 15 and Aug. 15, Membership Rewards points yield a 15% bonus when converted to Delta SkyMiles.

After registering, points transfer to miles at a 1:1 ratio, plus an extra 15%. Minimum transfer: 1,000 points.

> More...

Log On with Earthlink to Earn Southwest Credits
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Through Aug. 31, Southwest Rapid Rewards members will earn 8 credits for signing up for Earthlink dial-up, DSL, cable or satellite services. Minimum term commitments required.

> More...

US Air Adds Bonus for Toronto Flights
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Dividend Miles members will earn triple miles for first-class and selected coach fares (Y or B fare classes), or double miles on other qualifying coach fares (M, H, K, Q, V or L fare classes) for nonstop flights to/from Toronto, Canada, between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31.

Registration is required.

> More...

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...

Fly to Toronto this summer from $102
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Take advantage of low fares from the U.S. to Toronto this summer from Air Canada, American, and United. All 3 airlines are offering sales if you can depart between July 23 and 29, and return between July 31 and Aug. 3. Book tickets at least one day in advance, and by Monday, July 28.

> More...

Save with sale fares to the Caribbean from $214
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Fly last-minute on Delta between the Northeast and the Bahamas or Bermuda, or to Antigua, Barbados, or Grenada with sale fares from New York on Air Jamaica.

Travel dates and booking deadlines vary by airline.

> More...

S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S

Win a Free Trip to Aruba
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Three grand-prize winners of Delta's summer sweepstakes will win trips to Aruba, including air for 2, and a 4-night stay at the new Radisson Aruba Resort.

Once registered, customers purchasing Delta tickets at delta.com between July 21 and Aug. 29 receive entries automatically with each transaction. It is also possible to enter without making a purchase.

Open to U.S. residents 18 or older. Void in P.R.

> More...

F R E Q U E N T F L I E R F U N N I E S

True (Funny) Travel Stories
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Caller to an airline reservations agent: "My last flight with you people was 20 minutes late. Please indicate on my ticket that I want an on-time flight."

[FrequentFlier Funnies are true stories told by pilots, reservations agents and other travel industry professionals, reprinted with permission from William Joric's "Air Sick Humor."]

Until next week...