U P F R O N T
"They're coming to kill us..."
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The 'they' in this dire warning is Southwest Airlines; the 'us' is US Airways.
And the speaker is US Air chief David Siegel, pitching his plan to restructure the airline to employees, many of whom reckon they've already sacrificed enough.
US Air, presumably at Siegel's behest, has taken the unusual step of making the presentation, entitled "Transformation," available on the airline's website for viewing by anyone with a compatible media player (link below).
Making the presentation public calls into question Siegel's sense of propriety if not his motives. And that can only undermine Siegel's credibility with US Air's labor force, segments of which have previously called for his resignation.
Whatever the underlying motivation, this peek into what should have been a private conversation between management and labor is a rare treat indeed for industry-watchers, giving us an unedited glimpse at what may turn out to be a make-or-break moment in US Air's history.
Make no mistake. This is momentous, probably representing US Air's last best chance at survival, regardless of who's to blame for the airline's perilous circumstances.
To the rather limited extent that Siegel communicated anything approximating a vision, he seemed to be suggesting that US Air remake itself along the lines of America West -- viz. a network airline with a low-cost workforce.
Is that the right road for US Air? Can management and labor get beyond their long-simmering animosity? Is there enough time for a turn-around?
Time will tell. In the meantime, don't miss the movie.
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<< O N S I T E >>
FrequentFlier Forum Topics
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As always, there's plenty of activity on the FrequentFlier Forum.
Adam wonders whether it's possible to earn miles in 2 programs for the same flight. (It's been known to happen.) AbbyG shares a Qantas horror story, with a happy ending. Cornroaster has a link to a sweepstakes featuring an Italy tour as the prize. And much more...
Do you have questions, answers? Post them to the Forum!
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<< M I L E S & P O I N T S >>
American Promotes New Tokyo Flights with Bonus Miles
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Between Apr. 4 and June 30, AAdvantage members will earn bonus miles for roundtrip flights on AA's new service between Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Earn 15,000 bonus miles for first or business class and 7,500 bonus miles for higher-priced economy fares, excluding fares beginning with G, O, Q, L, N, S.
Register prior to travel using promotion code LATYO.
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Continental Guarantees "No Middle Seat"
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OnePass members who buy a full-fare coach ticket on Continental or Continental Micronesia will be compensated with 2,500 bonus miles if they find themselves stuck in a middle seat.
> More...
Delta, Avianca Link Programs
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Delta and Avianca have linked mileage programs, allowing members of SkyMiles to earn and redeem miles for Avianca flights, and Avianca's Privilegios members to do the same on Delta flights.
> More...
Frontier Doubles LAX, IAD Miles
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Members of Frontier's EarlyReturns program will earn double miles from Apr. 11 through June 30 when flying to/from Los Angeles or Washington, DC.
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Hilton Partners with Asiana
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Hilton HHonors members may now earn Asiana Club Miles when staying at more than 2,500 HHonors hotels (Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations Club, Homewood Suites, Scandic).
In addition to Asiana Club miles, HHonors members may earn HHonors points for the same qualifying stays.
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Earn Southwest Bonus for Budget Rentals
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Rapid Rewards members will receive a 10% discount plus double credit (1 credit instead of the standard 0.5 credits per rental) for qualifying Budget car rentals between Mar. 25 and June 30.
Offer is valid on weekly and weekend rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S. where Southwest Airlines flies. Book online at southwest.com and enter U010762 in the Corporate ID/Rate Code field, or call Budget at 1-800-527-0700.
(At press time, this offer hadn't been posted to Southwest's website.)
Sheraton Is Giving Away Wi-Fi
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Starwood Preferred Guest members who stay 3 times at participating Four Points by Sheraton between Apr. 1 and May 28 will receive a free Linksys Wi-Fi card. (Wi-fi cards enable computers to access the Internet wirelessly.)
Registration is required.
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Wanted: Frequent Int'l Travelers
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If you travel overseas, often, there's a new online market-research site that wants your feedback, and will reward you with frequent flyer miles for filling out questionnaires.
Prospective TravellerPoll.com panel members are first asked to fill out a registration form. Thereafter, if their demographics are suitable, they will receive e-mail invitations to participate in travel surveys.
Participants will be compensated for their time with 50 - 250 frequent flyer miles per survey, depending on the length of the survey. To begin with, the choice is between American and United miles, but other airlines will probably be added in future.
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More Miles-for-Groceries from United
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Between Mar. 31 and June 9, Mileage Plus members who are enrolled in the United GroceryMiles program will earn bonus miles on every 2 deliveries over $100 from Safeway.com and Vons.com as follows:
Shop 2 times to earn 1,000 bonus miles
Shop 4 times to earn 3,000 bonus miles
Shop 6 times to earn 5,000 bonus miles
Shop 8 times to earn 7,000 bonus miles
Shop 10 times to earn 10,000 bonus miles
Bonus is over and above the normally awarded 125 miles for every $250 in purchases. Registration is required.
> More...
Cruising for Double United Miles
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Throughout the month of Apr., Mileage Plus members will earn double miles -- 2 miles for every $1 spent -- for cruises purchased at United Cruise4Miles.
Details should be posted at http://www.cruise4miles.com on Apr. 1.
<< 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...
Central America Fares on American from $248
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American is offering spring sale fares to Central America for prices starting at $248 roundtrip. Departures are valid through Apr. 27.
Book tickets at least 7 days in advance, and by Thursday, Apr. 8.
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West Coast Fares from $138, Cross-Country from $238
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With this sale, American and United are attempting to lure travelers away from low-cost carrier JetBlue, whose new San Jose service starts on June 10. The sale fares were the lowest available on every route we checked, but make sure to shop around to find the best price on your route.
Book tickets at least 14 days in advance, and by Friday, Apr. 2 on United. American has not announced a booking deadline, so these fares could disappear at any time.
> More...
<< S W E E P S & F R E E B I E S >>
Ten Sweepstakes Under 1 Tent
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The deadline to enter any of 10 different sweepstakes sponsored by Redbook is Apr. 8.
Prizes range from free travel to maid service to coffee makers.
No purchase necessary.
> More...
[Visit http://frequentflier.com/sweeps.htm for more travel sweepstakes.]
Until next week...
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