"Up Front" Blog Entries

Following are some of Tim's recent blog posts:

• Southwest uses jets to guarantee $600 million loan
  This loan is a sign of strength, really!
• In airline mergers, pilots are in the driver's seat
  Support from pilots is crucial for mergers' success.
• Southwest, the Love airline, goes for the throat
  The discounter's killer instinct is apparent in Denver expansion.

FrequentFlier Forum Topics

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

In the "Airline Programs" Forum, dilly has a heads up for Crown Club members: "Delta is closing VIP lounges in 9 cities. The only one I know for sure about is Cincinnati. Just came across our local news station."

And in the "Credit Card Programs" Forum, dweil is a journalist seeking feedback from consumers who have complaints about their rewards cards: "I am writing a story for Creditcards.com about problems w/reward cards. I'm looking for anecdotes from people who have had difficulties w/a frequent flyer or other reward card." Your chance to weigh in!

Questions, answers, opinions? Post them to the Forum!

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Earn AAdvantage Miles for Carbon Offsets

AAdvantage members can now earn five miles for every $1 spent on carbon offset products and "green" gifts from BeGreen's online store.

Being less than sure what exactly they receive from BeGreen, we asked the company to explain what consumers receive for their $14 when purchasing a One Tripper.

The response: "They are purchasing carbon emissions offsets that are equal to one metric ton of carbon that is emitted when you travel. One ton is equal to a round-trip flight from Boston to Denver (or about 3,500 miles), so if you are traveling within that distance, the One Tripper would cover the emissions released during your round-trip. If you have a longer flight, say from Kansas City to Hong Kong, you would have to buy additional offsets to offset your emissions.

"The $14 goes towards projects that support clean energy, such as building solar or wind power facilities that put clean energy on the electricity grid or a reforestation project, in which the trees will pull carbon from the air. Essentially the $14 goes towards reducing emissions elsewhere to offset the emissions created during your round-trip flight."

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Pay with Diners Club to Earn Bonus at Best Western

Between May 1 and August 31, Gold Crown Club International members will earn 1,000 bonus points for each of up to three Best Western stays charged to a Diners Club card.

Registration is required.

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Delta Waives Mile Transfer Fee

Through the end of May, SkyMiles members can transfer up to 30,000 miles to another member's account without paying the normal $30 transaction fee. They will still pay 1 cent per mile transferred, plus taxes, however.

From the fine print: "Transfer Miles may only be donated and received by SkyMiles accounts that have been established for at least 60 days and have a Total Lifetime Balance greater than zero."

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Earn Double Airline Miles at Asia-Pacific Hiltons

Through July 31, Hilton HHonors members can earn double airline miles for stays at 28 participating hotels in Asia, Australasia and Guam. Double miles are offered in the programs of the following airlines: Air China, All Nippon, American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern, Continental, Delta, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, Lufthansa, Malaysia, Northwest, Singapore, Thai, and United.

To receive the bonus, book the "Double Miles" plan online or cite Plan Code PR40RW when booking with Hilton reservations.

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Deal Alert from SmarterTravel.com

1) Latin America Fares on Spirit from $58

Spirit's new Latin America sale features the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Colombia. Fares start at $58 round-trip for travel from mid-May to mid-June.

Travel is valid on select dates from May 16 through June 13. Book by May 14, 11:59 PM ET.

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2) US Airways Hawaii Fares from $436

US Airways is offering sale fares to several Hawaiian islands, with prices starting at $436 round-trip. Destinations include Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.

Travel is valid from May 12 through June 5. Travel on most routes is valid Mondays through Thursdays.

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Win a Trip to London

Enter VisitLondon's "Do London Like a Local" sweepstakes by June 30 for a chance to win $2,500, $1,500, or $1,000 that can be used to purchase London travel packages available for sale on the VisitLondon website.

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[Visit FrequentFlier.com for more travel sweepstakes.]

Feedback from the Frontlines of Travel

"Two years ago my wife and I had very good luck using Continental miles to get 2 free coach tickets on their Australia partner, Qantas. We even made stopovers, went from NY to Sidney to Carnes to Perth and back to Sidney-NY using Continental miles. No problem getting the flights we wanted. Just could not get business class." [Gary E.]

"Tried to get 20k award on Shanghai Airlines. Had 3 day flexibility. US Airways had no tickets on any of the dates. United had tickets on all the dates.

"Something does not seem right if they are all Star Alliance carriers." [David D.]

"Please God NO, NO, NO! CO has it right by flying smaller jets direct to cities rather than hubs. For instance - if flying to the UK would you prefer circling for an hour (my record is nearly two) and then fighting your way through Heathrow - or coming in direct to Birmingham, walking across to the train station and travelling in comfort to London in about 1.5 hrs - or many other UK destinations with equal speed.

"Sympathy with Jeff F. But how about getting back to People's whose hot French bread rolls and fruit did it for me. Who really wants to eat airline food unless its business class and even then a small snack is better than a meal." [Roger]

"I am an American living in Okinawa, Japan for the last 11 years supporting the US Marines there. Most of my flights are on China Airlines. I sent my daughter and son back to the US on China Airlines so that was 9,000 miles each. I tried to have them move the miles to my account but they won't change unless there are 15,000 miles. Since all my trips are short (less than 2,000) miles it takes a long time to build up enough miles to get a free ticket (to the US it is 100,000). Any ideas?" [James N.]

"SUBJECT: PROMOTIONS NOT FOR NON-U.S. RESIDENTS

"This unfair discrimination of just about all special rewards for participating in a query or sweepstakes has no justification.

"I am a citizen and resident of Venezuela. When I fly with U.S. airlines, my money is good but not if I want to use take advantage of special offer valid only for 'U.S. legal residents.'" [Pedro S. - Caracas, Venezuela]

Until next week...