U P F R O N T

Going, Going, Gone
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We don't do "theme issues," but this week's Crier has a theme in spite of itself: Passing, in the sense of passing away.

Item... While still very much alive and kicking, Southwest's Herb Kelleher is passing the leadership torch, signaling the end (passing) of his 30-year stint with, by some measures, the country's most successful airline.

Item... In the "Miles & Points" section, we bid farewell (forever?) to PointsUniverse, another casualty in the developing story of failed rewards programs.

Item... And in "Industry Newsbites," we report on the passing of Leisure Travel News, a longtime fixture among travel-trade publications and, these days, one of the few champions of the travel agents' cause.

Say It Ain't So, Herb
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Southwest Airlines' chain smoking, bourbon-swilling head prankster is hanging up his Elvis costume. Herb Kelleher, SWA's 70-year-old co-founder, chairman, president and CEO, will officially hand off most of his management responsibilities on June 19, the airline's 30th anniversary.

The SWA business model and corporate culture are well established, so Kelleher's departure isn't likely to materially affect the airline's signature style of delivering travel. But his vision and energy are so much a part of the industry's lifeblood that the post-Herb travel scene can't help but be a less vibrant one.

I personally nominate Kelleher for a place in the Commercial Aviation Hall of Fame, alongside other such high-flyers as Juan Tripp, Howard Hughes, Charles Lindbergh, Freddie Laker, Bob Crandall and Richard Branson.

The traveling public owes Kelleher an enormous debt of gratitude for creating, against substantial odds, a company which virtually defines value in air travel. In fact, "the Southwest effect" has become standard terminology used by business economists to describe the pricing discipline low-cost/high-quality companies force on their competitors.

Thanks for the memories, Herb. You'll be missed.

O N S I T E

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

OPHarbour started a "CBS Sportsline Conga." Ronald, ever-fruitful source of info and advice, won a trip to PHX and is looking for local travel tips. Kevin wonders why he was able to get a better price booking Orlando tickets with US Airways' res center than through the airline's website or on Travelocity. Sjkymilesrob wants to purchase miles (legitimately, we assume). C. Peer poses the perennial question: How can I combine my miles? 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

A Universe Devoid of PointsUniverse
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It's official (sort of): PointsUniverse, "the redemption portal of the AwardTrack network of affiliates," is the latest dot-bomb in the online rewards space.

We began receiving reports in early March that the PointsUniverse website was down. Calls to AwardTrack, the parent company of PointsUniverse, were not returned. And when we finally reached a spokesperson for 24/7 -- the troubled Internet marketing company which recently purchased AwardTrack -- he flatly refused to provide any background on the shutdown of PointsUniverse or to comment on whether there is a "new" version of PointsUniverse in the offing, as is suggested on the AwardTrack homepage.

Delta Doubles Miles for New Middle East Flights
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Delta will offer double SkyMiles to promote the summer launch of services between New York and Cairo, Dubai and Tel Aviv.

SkyMiles members originating economy-class travel in the U.S. will receive double miles for Tel Aviv flights between June 16 and Sep. 16, 2001, and for Cairo and Dubai flights between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2001.

To qualify for the bonus, enroll before traveling by calling 1-888-558-3358 and entering promotion code 1025. Offer excludes S, T, U class tickets. Bonus miles applicable on transatlantic portion of travel only.

Send Money, Earn ClickMiles (Get Spammed?)
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Sign up and use Citibank's PayPal-type pay-by-email service, c2it, and earn 500 ClickMiles and a $10 cash award through March 31. That's the good news.

The bad news is Citibank's indefensible opt-out policy. To use the service, you must agree to the following:

"Citibank may still send you marketing offers by telephone, mail and e-mail. If you do not want to receive such marketing offers, please write to c2it, P.O. Box 44191, Jacksonville, FL 32232 and include your name, address, social security number and tell us you don't want offers by mail and/or phone and/or e-mail."

In other words, you must send a snail-mail letter to opt out of promotional offers associated with an online service. That's a shamefully user-unfriendly policy, and I personally will not enroll in c2it until Citibank allows customers to opt out of unwanted communication with a simple check-box on the sign-up page. That's what other businesses do, and there's no excuse for Citibank's not doing the same.

On a related note, it's disappointing to find ClickRewards partnering with a program which doesn't abide by mainstream privacy policies.

Earn Miles-By-Night at Starwood
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Starwood Preferred Guest members will earn 500 airline miles per night for stays at more than 140 participating U.S. Starwood hotels through Apr. 30, 2001. For stays at Manhattan Starwoods, the earning rate rises to 1,000 miles per night.

You can choose from 5 flavors of airline miles: United Mileage Plus, American AAdvantage, Delta SkyMiles, British Air Executive Club, or Continental OnePass.

You must register for this offer.

WebMiles Expands Ralphs Relationship
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WebMiles is on the move again, extending its existing relationship with the 28 Ralphs supermarkets in San Diego to include all 300-plus Ralphs in Southern California.

Beginning immediately, store locations throughout Southern California will offer Ralphs Club Card members WebMiles rewards for grocery purchases. By enrolling in the WebMiles program before June 7, Ralphs Club Card members will earn double miles for the first 30 days when shopping at participating stores. After the introductory period, members earn 1 WebMiles reward for every dollar they spend at Ralphs stores. There's no end-date for this offer, so it's evolved from a limited-time promotion into a long-term extra.

> More

Sprint Bonus, Sweepstakes for AS Members
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Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members who sign up for Sprint Nickel Nights can earn a 5,000-mile bonus -- an initial 2,500 bonus miles after your 1st Sprint residential long-distance invoice, and an additional 2,500 miles after your 6th invoice.

Sprint is also running a sweepstakes for all sign-ups before May 31, 2001. Grand prize: 1,000,000 miles; 1st prize: 2 roundtrip Alaska Airlines tickets; 2nd prize: 100 $20 Sprint Prepaid Phonecards.

> More

Win Miles at Flyfree.org
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Flyfree.org is offering new members a chance to win up to 25,000 America West FlightFund miles. In addition to the grand prize, there's a 2nd prize of 5,000 miles and 20 runner-up prizes of 500 miles each.

To be eligible, enroll at http://www.flyfree.org/join.html before 10:00 a.m. EST, Saturday, March 24. YES, THAT'S THIS SATURDAY! Winners will be announced at 4:00 p.m. EST that same day.

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...

Spring Savings on European Travel
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Several airlines are offering savings on spring travel to Europe. American Airlines has released two European fare sales, Delta is offering 15 percent off airfares, and British Airways has round-trip fares starting at $298.

> More...

Worldwide Travel Sale With Companion Fares for Children
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Northwest has announced domestic and international travel sale, offering sale fares to Europe and Asia and child companion fares for North American travel.

> More...

I N D U S T R Y N E W S B I T E S

Leisure Travel News Bows Out
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After more than 15 years and 694 issues, Leisure Travel News is ceasing publication. The magazine's most recently reported circulation was 45,181.

According to senior editor John Stone: "Unfortunately, our employer Bill Communications also surprised us with the less happy news that this will be our last issue of LTN, and that our tenure with the company will end in one month. This is a business decision, a bow to a severely weakening economy and a recognition by our owners that they could not move forward with our publication plans under current circumstances."

Ironically, a recurring theme of recent issues has been the survival of travel agents in the current environment, with airlines cutting commissions and bypassing agents altogether. LTN was, it seems, a victim of the events it covered.

LTN's parent company, Bill Communications, also publishes ASTA Agency Management and Business Travel News, among others. The LTN website is still up at http://www.leisuretravelnews.com/.

R.I.P.

Zagat Says...
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Restaurant-review publisher Zagat has applied its "let the people speak" method to the airlines, and made the results of its 31,000-person survey available online. (Although, annoyingly, you'll have to register to gain access to the data.)

Here's the quick take--

Top "premium" domestic carriers: Hawaiian, Alaska, Continental (tied for first), American, United

Top "economy" domestic carriers: Midwest Express (highest score overall, by a significant margin), JetBlue, Alaska, Midway, National

Top international "premium" carriers: Singapore, Virgin, Cathay, Thai, Air New Zealand, Swissair

Top international "economy" carriers: Singapore, Cathay, JAL, Virgin, Swissair, Qantas

Until next week...