U P F R O N T
More Room on TWA; N.Y. Times & Dogs
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As a follow-on to their buyout of TWA, American has already finished converting 25% of TWA's fleet to American's "More Room Throughout Coach" configuration. TWA's entire domestic fleet will be converted to the new more-legroom configuration by Labor Day.
We have been reporting on (and applauding) American's seating initiative since its inception, and will continue to do so as long as Delta, United and the other major carriers persist in punishing their customers with "Less Room Throughout Coach." I recently flew from Los Angeles to New York, and gave my business to American almost exclusively on the strength (the comfort!) of the extra coach-class legroom on their aircraft. Size matters.
Speaking of New York, yours truly was quoted at length in Joe Sharkey's Business Travel column in the July 25 issue of the New York Times. Mainstream media recognition is always appreciated. Joe's article is also at the New York Times online.
And speaking of New York one last time, here's a local delicacy worth traveling cross country for: Papaya King. Two hot dogs with everything ("home runs") and a 16 oz. papaya juice for $3.99. Definitely worth a trip to 86th and 3rd. Alternatively: http://papayaking.com/.
Now, let's combine... a seat that respects my need for human-scale legroom, lunch catered by Papaya King, a copy of the New York Times... there's a recipe for a competition-beating Los Angeles-New York service. In the meantime, the extra space is a tie-breaker, and then some.
O N S I T E
Yikes... Cheap Awards
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Never have so many airlines been willing to give away so many award tickets for so few miles.
In previous issues, we've reported on award-ticket sales from Delta, Midwest Express, Continental, Cathay Pacific, etc. And this week (see below), there's more of the same from American and Alaska Air.
See the full-length article on site for more.
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the Forum.
Ron has questions (and concerns) about his rights as a traveler using an award ticket. Gary suggests a way of earning 500 AAdvantage miles for signing up for Quick Checkout (a nice service I wasn't aware of). Sharon is recommending a "Win a Million Miles" sweepstakes. SusanB has questions about booking flights on Orbitz. 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
AOL AAdvantage Doubles Miles
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Through Aug. 15, AOL AAdvantage members can earn double miles for purchases at the following partners:
Alamo, Cruiseawards.com, Dollar, Hertz, Hilton, National, Radisson, Thrifty, 1-800-Flowers.com., BMG Music, CarParts.com, ChefsCatalog.com, eBags.com, Eddie Bauer, Harry and David, Hickory Farms, Illuminations, Lands' End, Orvis, PetsMART, Sharper Image, Spiegel, Time.
Log onto the AOL AAdvantage site and proceed from there.
American Discounts L. America Awards
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AAdvantage members can claim awards for travel on American to elected destinations between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, 2001, for fewer miles than normally required, as follows--
Economy Class Discounted Normal
From North Mileage PlanAAhead
America to: Requirement Requirement
Central America*, 30,000 35,000
Colombia or
Venezuela**
* Excluding Guatemala and Nicaragua
** Excluding Maracaibo
Argentina, Brazil 35,000 40,000
or Chile
Business Class from North America to:
Guatemala City, Managua,
Panama City, San
Salvador, San Pedro Sula
or Tegucigalpa 50,000 60,000
Alaska Discounts Frequent Flyer Awards
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Alaska has joined other airlines in offering discounted summer awards.
For a limited time, members of Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan can get 5,000 miles off the regular 30,000-mile Coach Saver award to Mexico or the regular 20,000-mile Coach Saver award to select destinations in Canada and the U.S.
Offer is available for travel Aug. 15, 2001 through Oct. 31, 2001. Eligible award destinations: Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo/Costa Alegre or Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo in Mexico; Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Calgary or Edmonton in Canada; and Juneau, Anchorage, Las Vegas, Phoenix or Tucson in the U.S.
Travel is valid on Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air only. Book award reservations at 1-800-ALASKAAIR (1-800-252-7522).
MilePoint Adds Midwest Express
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Members of MilePoint.com can now use miles from the Midwest Express Frequent Flyer program to partially pay for goods and services at more than 200 participating MilePoint vendors.
Midwest Express joins other MilePoint partners, including Delta, Northwest, Continental, US Airways, America West, Amex Membership Rewards and Hilton HHonors.
> More...
Private Jet Charters Earn Amex Rewards Points
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Holders of the American Express Platinum or Centurion cards can now earn Membership Rewards points when booking private jets through the Private Jet Charter Program.
The Private Jet Charter Program includes a variety of aircraft types that can accommodate as few as 2 passengers or as many as 400. Bookings through the program start at $5,000.
Card members enrolled in Membership Rewards receive double bonus points -- up to 30,000 points -- for each booking.
> More...
Members Travel Offers WebMiles
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Effective immediately, Members Travel offers WebMiles rewards to customers who purchase FlexAward Vacations cruise/tour leisure packages. The number of miles awarded ranges from 1,000 to 12,000, depending on the package.
> More...
Hungry for Omaha
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ClickRewards members who order Omaha steaks by Aug. 31, 2001, will save up to 30%, earn 1 ClickMile per dollar spent, and receive 6 free Omaha burgers.
> 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...
Worldwide Fare Sales With 10% Online Booking Discount
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Most major U.S. airlines, including American, TWA, Northwest, and Continental, have released fare sales that include an additional 10% online booking discount.
> More...
Weekend Sale Fares to/from the East, Southeast, and Midwest
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US Airways has released a fare sale with savings on travel to/from cities in the East, Southeast, and Midwest. Fares are valid for weekend travel through Sept. 25.
> More...
S W E E P S T A K E S & F R E E B I E S
Ooops!
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In last week's issue, wishful thinking got the better of me. In the "Sweeps & Freebies" section, I reported that US Airways' Luxury Car Sweepstakes offered as prizes 7 Mercedes-Benzes. In fact, there is only a single Mercedes E320 up for grabs. The '7' refers to the maximum number of entries, per participant.
The juices still flow, albeit less mightily.
> More...
Fly Away with 50K
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Provide your name and e-mail address on Price.com to be entered into a prize drawing to win 50,000 air miles, redeemable for 2 domestic tickets on most U.S. airlines.
All entries must be completed before 5:00 PM, PST on June 29, 2001. U.S. residents only.
> More...
[Other sweeps & freebies]
S I T E 2 S E E
GoodwinMustGo.com
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The site's name says it all: United's CEO Jim Goodwin has gotta' go! Be fired, that is.
That's according to a frequent United flyer (over 100,000 miles per year), and he has his reasons. I happen to agree with them for the most part, and could add others as well. But even if I disagreed, I'd applaud the effort and support the complainant's right to hold corporate leaders accountable for their missteps.
The real hero here may be the Internet itself, which makes such public taking-to-task possible in a way never heretofore possible.
> More...
Until next week...
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