U P F R O N T
Aid, Yes; Bailout, Not Likely
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In the normal course of my job, I get to engage in lengthy discussions on a topic of abiding interest (the travel industry) with a host of intelligent, articulate people (travel-industry executives, government reps, fellow journalists, consultants, frequent travelers).
Those discussions have taken a somber turn in recent weeks, veering away from miles and points toward issues of travel-supplier survival.
The question du jour: will the federal government save airlines from liquidation?
One school of thought has it that the Feds would not allow a major U.S. airline to disappear from the scene because the nation's security/military infrastructure would be degraded by the loss of capacity.
A competing position casts the issue in purely commercial terms, arguing that the free market is inherently self-correcting. The economic Darwinists view the current situation as essentially an oversupply of cheap seats, which will be addressed by downsizing existing airlines or reducing the number of airlines.
A J.P. Morgan airline analyst quoted in a recent AP article put it thusly: "Any government assistance would come in the form of a Band-Aid. Most airlines require major reconstructive surgery. We would much rather see market forces prevail, and if that means one, two and even three fewer airlines, then so be it."
The Bush administration, from all indications, is more inclined to the latter position than to the former.
Significantly, Bush's $75 billion war-spending bill included no relief for the airlines. And indications are that when relief comes, it will be limited to reimbursement for direct security-related costs.
Implicit in the above is a caveat. Viz., keep in check any expectations you have that the government will step in at the 11th hour and rescue United (to use the most precarious carrier as an example) from the jaws of death. The preponderance of evidence suggests that the opposite is the more likely scenario.
O N S I T E
New Topics On the FrequentFlier Forum
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Evan reports that prices for Concorde flights have dropped significantly.
Mike is seeking advice on upgrading his flight to Hawaii.
ET has info on bonus Alaska Air miles for purchases made through the Mileage Plan Mall.
And Rfaust says: "I am quite upset by Hilton's sudden suspension of point transfers between United Airlines Mileage Plus program and Hilton Honors. In the past (such as with Delta airlines) Hilton has provided some notification to allow members the opportunity to transfer points before terminating a partner exchange."
Questions, answers, comments, complaints? Post them to the Forum!
> More...
M I L E S & P O I N T S
American Reprises Shuttle Bonus
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American AAdvantage members (U.S./Canada members only) can once again earn triple miles for nonstop travel on American Eagle's Regional Jet Service between Boston, New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan.
To qualify, purchase and fly on a published-fare ticket between now and June 30, 2003. Register prior to travel using promo code NES3X.
> More...
Sprint PCS Service Earns America West Miles
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America West FlightFund members can now earn 5,000 bonus miles for activating a new line of PCS wireless service and signing a PCS Advantage Agreement. (This is in addition to the 6,000 bonus miles customers receive for choosing Sprint residential long-distance services.)
To sign up, call 1-877-223-6100 or visit a Sprint store.
Transfer Amex Points to OnePass by Mar. 31
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Through March 31, 2003, OnePass members will receive a 25% mileage bonus when transfering a minimum of 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to their OnePass accounts.
> More...
Diners Club Does ATMs
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Diners Club U.S. cardholders can now withdraw cash at more than 800,000 Cirrus Network ATMs in more than 100 countries. According to the Diners announcement, "no other leading charge card provides greater ATM access."
> More...
Hilton Cuts United from Reward Exchange
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Posted on the Hilton HHonors website on Mar. 20:
"Effective immediately, requests to exchange United Mileage Plus miles for Hilton HHonors points and HHonors points for Mileage Plus miles through the HHonors Reward Exchange will not be accommodated. Exchange requests received by the Hilton HHonors Customer Service Center prior to 12:01 am Central Standard Time on March 21, 2003 will be processed, and no further exchanges will be accepted. We apologize for this situation."
Hilton apparently made the move to protect themselves from a run on exchanges from United miles to HHonors points by panicked Mileage Plus members. In the absence of comment from Hilton -- which did not return calls -- it can further be surmised that the hotel had lost confidence in the airline's ability to pay for the miles-to-points exchanges.
It has long been the industry's practice to give consumers significant advance notice -- 6 months is the de facto standard -- when making a program change which devalues a program or its currency. Hilton ran roughshod over that rule, setting an ominously consumer-unfriendly precedent.
Hilton stockholders are likely to applaud the decision as financially prudent. Hilton HHonors members may be less forgiving.
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...
Cross-country fares from $198
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America West, American, Southwest, United, and US Airways are offering savings for travel into the summer, ranging from $78 roundtrip for regional flights to $198 for cross-country travel. A 14-day advance purchase is required for all airlines, but travel dates and booking deadlines vary.
> More...
Fares to Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, Australia, from $884
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Fly Down Under and save with Air New Zealand, Qantas, and United's sale fares to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia. Book by Mar. 28.
> More...
R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S
This Week's E-mail Bag
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"I contacted American Airlines AAdvantage program on February 26th regarding the triple miles promotion on the DC-NY-Bos shuttle service. As a Platnium member, I wanted to know why US Air offered its customer triple miles on their shuttle service and American discontinued their promotion on 12/31/02.
"The response from American was nothing short of fantastic! I received several forms of communications and, most importantly, American reinstated the promotion effective March 4th. So for anyone who thinks that an airline is not responsive to their customers, American will prove you wrong. Just that experience alone reaffirms why I choose to fly American and be a member of the best awards travel program in the industry. Great job, and kudos to the folks at American Airlines and AAdvantage!!"
- MM, Washington DC
"I fly internationally roughly twice a month... coach. I fly all my flights with United because as a 1K we historically got 6 'confirmed systemwide upgrades' which meant that for any fare ticket, you could get an upgrade if space was available. It was fantastic.
"Now they have downgraded these upgrades to cover only full fare tickets... which sadly, I never get.
"Why in the world when they are on the brink of destruction would they take away this perk to their heavy users? Is there anything we can do?"
- Anne
"Hilton HHonors will no longer accept United miles in its Reward Exchange arrangement, effective March 21, 2003. This change in policy is so sudden that the United option is still not deleted in the HHonors' webpage, even though the termination of the program is on its front page. Delta withdrew from the program but the change was advertised on the website for many weeks. Could it be that United is not paying its creditors promptly?"
- George
"Just thought readers might want to know that US Airways has dropped their audio channels on their transcon flights (at least to/from PIT-SFO) on the Airbus 321. I happily settled into my upgraded first class seat from PIT-SFO last week for the 5+ hour flight knowing I'd have a nice assortment of music and voice channels to choose from to pass the time as I rarely want to watch the movie/ttv re-runs. But when the movie started, I tried to get the audio channels... to no avail. Asking a flight attendant what happened, she said "Oh, they discontinued the audio channels last week as a cost saving effort."
"Since I had no interest in the movie, I would have been pretty unhappy had I paid $5 for the headset in coach (they are free in first class). But those in the back didn't get any notice that they couldn't get the audio channels that I heard either coming or going... and the current edition of the US Airways magazine in the seat back pockets has the full schedule of audio channels listed.
"Come on, US Airways, be a bit creative -- someone would GIVE you music to promote their stuff or station don't you think? Just glad my laptop has a CD-ROM player as I'll use my own music in the future... which is just what I did this time."
- Steven
S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S
Win 1 Million OnePass Miles
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Enter the LendingTree Million Miles Sweepstakes between Mar. 15 and June 30 to win 1 million OnePass miles.
Sweepstakes is open to Continental OnePass members as of Feb. 1, 2003, who are U.S. residents 18 years or older at the time of entry.
> 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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The elderly woman's complaint was being handled by a reservations supervisor, who was more than a little suspicious of the "wait 'till you hear this one" tone in the voice of the agent who'd called her in to help. Nevertheless, she asked the caller to start all over with the reason for her call.
"Well," said the passenger, in a voice that suggested sweet things baking in the kitchen and a kind, uncomplaining disposition, "this was my first time to fly... I was going to Peoria to see my granddaughter and her husband, you see, and I was extremely nervous. Everyone had been so kind and patient with me, helping to explain where I was supposed to go, and everything. I was just shocked when the ladies on the plane were so nasty."
"Do you mean the flight attendants were rude to you?" asked the supervisor. "Well, not just to me," replied the caller, "but to everyone on the plane. I'm not a prude, and try to be as open minded as the next person, but really, there are limits to what a decent person should say and do in public. This, this was just obscene!"
"Ma'am," said the supervisor, "why don't you just tell me exactly what happened?" "Well, it was just awful," said the caller. "This one girl walked up and down the aisle, looking right at everyone's private parts! I can tell you, it made a lot of the other passengers look nervous too. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. And what made it worse was that the other lady not only knew what was going on, but even went so far as to announce it over the loudspeaker. She said, "Flight Attendants please prepare for departure and crotch check!!"
[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...
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