Issue #49  --  July 8, 1999

<< S I T E N E W S >>

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Your Vote Counts!
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We spent part of the long weekend putting up a new poll on FrequentFlier.com designed to gauge visitors' feelings about a thorny front-burner issue: how to regulate the number and size of carry-on bags.

What do you think? Vote your preference. And while you're there, check out your fellow travelers' opinions.

[Any other questions/issues you'd like to see polled? Let us know.]

>> More <<
Vote!

<< M I L E S >>

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Win One Million AAdvantage Miles
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One Million AAdvantage miles will be a featured award in the new McDonald's in-store promotion for the new Disney movie, Inspector Gadget.

In a nationwide promotion, game pieces will be available at McDonald's restaurants. If you collect pieces with the letters F-L-Y, you win one million AAdvantage miles. The Code Name Game promotion starts Monday, July 16 and will continue through August 12.

>> More <<
Beginning Monday, look for the Inspector Gadget Promotion on the McDonald's site.

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Dollar Joins Southwest
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Effective July 1, 1999. Dollar joins the Southwest Rapid Rewards program as one of the four car partners offering Rapid Rewards members rental-car credit in the frequent flyer program.

Members who rent a car with Dollar at a participating location in the U.S. can present plastic membership cards to earn a half credit for every qualifying rental.

Dollar is also offering Rapid Rewards Members special rates when they mention the Corporate Discount Number SW2358 when making reservations through Southwest or Dollar.

>> More <<
o Dollar
o Southwest

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Double OnePass Miles for Full Fares
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From now until August 25, 1999, you can earn Double OnePass miles when you fly Continental on qualifying, full-fare tickets (unrestricted, full, published fares confirmed in booking classes J, C, A and Y).

To take advantage of the OnePass double mile Promotion, you must register your OnePass account number on CO's website before starting your travel, or by calling 1-800-230-4131, no later than July 31, 1999.

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Continental

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Marriott Offers Points for Extended-Stays
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Stays at ExecuStay by Marriott, Marriott's new corporate housing services business acquired three months ago, now earn points in the Marriott Rewards frequent traveler program.

Marriott Rewards members will earn 2 1/2 points for every dollar charged on their stays, excluding tax. Based on a national average rate of $2,400 per month, a 90-day stay with ExecuStay translates into approximately 18,000 Marriott Rewards points.

ExecuStay's participation in Marriott Rewards makes it the only corporate housing company to offer the benefits of a frequent-stay program, according to Marriott.

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Marriott

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Hertz Joins Virgin
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Effective immediately, Hertz joins Virgin Freeway, Virgin Atlantic Airways' frequent flyer program.

Members of Virgin Freeway earn 500 Freeway miles on all qualifying commercial contract and government rentals and 1,000 miles on all other qualifying rentals. To earn miles, rentals must take place at a participating location worldwide and members must provide their Freeway membership number at time of reservation, rental pick-up or return.

Hertz is offering Freeway members double miles on U.S. and European rentals of one to four days and triple miles on rentals of five days or longer, now through July 31, 1999.

To receive the bonus miles, Promotion Code (PC#) 902366 for US rentals and PC# 902355 for European rentals must be mentioned at time of reservation. Bonus miles are available on all car class rentals at participating Hertz locations in the US and Europe. Blackout dates may apply.

Virgin is also participating in the Hertz/IBM joint promotion that provides Hertz customers an opportunity to earn 5,000 bonus miles when they rent from Hertz and purchase the new IBM ThinkPad 570 ultraportable notebook. The promotion is valid through September 30, 1999.

To receive their 5,000 bonus Freeway miles, members must submit proof of purchase for the IBM ThinkPad 570 (consisting of a copy of a cash register receipt, bill of sale or invoice marked "Paid"), a copy of the Hertz Rental Agreement, both dated between May 15, 1999 and September 30, 1999, along with the Official Mail-In Certificate. Members can obtain the Official Mail-In Certificate by visiting IBM's website at www.ibm.com/pc/us/thinkpad/570 or Hertz at the "Special Offers" section of http://www.hertz.com.

>> More <<
o Hertz
o Virgin [Virgin's newly redesigned site]

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Mexicana Will Join Star Alliance
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Mexicana Airlines plans to join the Star Alliance next year.

Mexicana's decision to join the Star network was announced on Wednesday evening in Mexico City. The current member airlines of the Star Alliance network are Air Canada; Air New Zealand; Ansett Australia; Lufthansa; Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS); Thai Airways International; United Airlines, and Varig Brazilian Airlines. All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan will become a member of the airline alliance in October.

Among the key benefits to customers of Star Alliance airlines are frequent flyer program rewards and recognition. Members of any Star Alliance frequent flyer program can accumulate and redeem mileage points on all scheduled flights operated by all member airlines. In addition, frequent flyer miles collected on Star Alliance flights count toward achieving top-tier status in the frequent flyer plan of the traveler's choice. All top-tier and middle-tier customers earn the designations of Star Alliance Gold and Star Alliance Silver, respectively, which are recognized by all Star Alliance carriers and ensure that these customers receive elite-level service at airports around the world.

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Air France Introduces Small-Company Rewards Program
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Air France has rolled out Voyageur Rewards, a new reward and incentive program which allows employees of a company to collectively earn discount certificates, upgrades and free travel for their companies while at the same time continuing to earn their own miles in Frequence Plus, AF's individual program. The new program was launched with a mass mailing to more than 40,000 U.S. based companies with fewer than 500 employees.

>> How it Works

All employees share one account number and refer to the Air France Voyageur Rewards program when booking flights directly with Air France or their company's travel agent.

On the accrual side, a USA/PARIS/USA ticket earns 1,800 points if traveling in L'Espace 127 (business class). To redeem a free round-trip ticket from the U.S. to Europe is 4,000 points in Tempo (coach class), 7,000 points in L'Espace 127 (business class), 13,000 points in L'Espace 180 (first class) and 15,000 points on Concorde. Round-trip Upgrade Certificates to Europe are between 1,300 points for L'Espace 127 to 6,500 points for Concorde. Discount Certificates ranging from $50 to $500 require 600 points to 1,500 points.

Points earned will expire on December 31, 2000. Any rewards must be claimed before December 31, 2000 and are valid for one year from date of issue. Maximum earnings: 100,000 points per year per company.

There is no membership fee. Companies can complete and return the membership registration form they received in the mail or call 877-700-6100 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

>> More <<
Air France

<< S T E A L S & D E A L S >>

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Vanguard Fall Sale
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Vanguard Airlines is discounting fares for travel this fall.

Travelers may fly from $29 each way, based on roundtrip purchase. To take advantage of this offer, travelers must make their reservations by July 16, 1999 and travel between September 8 and November 17, 1999.

    $29 each way
    Atlanta to Myrtle Beach
    Cincinnati to Chicago-Midway
    Dallas/Ft. Worth to Kansas City
    Kansas City to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Chicago-Midway to Buffalo/Niagara Falls
    Chicago-Midway to Pittsburgh

    $49 each way
    Atlanta to Kansas City
    Buffalo/Niagara Falls to Cincinnati
    Buffalo/Niagara Falls to Kansas City
    Buffalo to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Buffalo to Pittsburgh
    Cincinnati to Kansas City
    Cincinnati to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Cincinnati to Pittsburgh
    Denver to Kansas City
    Dallas/Ft. Worth to Chicago-Midway
    Dallas/Ft. Worth to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Kansas City to Pittsburgh
    Chicago-Midway to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Minneapolis/St. Paul to Pittsburgh

    $69 each way
    Atlanta to Denver
    Atlanta to Dallas/Ft. Worth
    Atlanta to Chicago-Midway
    Atlanta to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Buffalo/Niagara Falls to Denver
    Buffalo/Niagara Falls to Dallas/Ft. Worth
    Cincinnati to Denver
    Cincinnati to Dallas/Ft. Worth
    Denver to Dallas/Ft. Worth
    Denver to Chicago-Midway
    Denver to Minneapolis/St. Paul
    Denver to Myrtle Beach
    Denver to Pittsburgh
    Dallas/Ft. Worth to Myrtle Beach
    Dallas/Ft. Worth to Pittsburgh
    Kansas City to Myrtle Beach
    Chicago-Midway to Myrtle Beach
    Minneapolis/St. Paul to Myrtle Beach

Seats are limited and may not be available on every flight. Sale fares require round-trip and 21-day advance purchase. Fares are combinable with other fare classes. Tickets must be purchased by July 16, 1999. Travel must be completed between September 8 and November 17, 1999. Travel valid on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday only. Blackout dates apply. Tickets are non-refundable and changes in reservations may incur a $50 service charge plus applicable difference in airfare. Prices do not include up to $2.25 per segment FET and PFC's of up to $12 round-trip. More circuitous routes may incur additional taxes.

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Vanguard Airlines

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Win a Concorde Flight
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Air France is celebrating the launch of its U.S. Internet booking engine with a Concorde Sweepstakes.

Answer three questions about Air France's Concorde and you could win a supersonic adventure for two to Paris. The winner will fly L'Espace 127 business class from the U.S. to Paris, spend three nights at a deluxe hotel and return via New York at over twice the speed of sound on board the Air France Concorde. Domestic airfare between New York and the winner's home city is included.

The Concorde questions AND the answers can all be found at Air France's web site. The winner will be chosen by a drawing from all correct entries. No purchase is necessary and you must be a U.S. resident 21 years of age to enter. The sweepstakes is in effect through August 31, 1999 and limited to one entry per household.

With AF's new online booking engine, passengers can make reservations from five days to 11 months before departure. Tickets purchased over the Internet are mailed directly to the passenger.

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Air France online

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United Discounts Northwest Cities
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United Airlines is offering a special discount of up to 10 percent on domestic travel to and from eight Northwest cities for customers who purchase their flights online with a credit card at the airline's website. For a limited time only, travelers who purchase tickets for those eight markets at www.ual.com will receive up to 10 percent off the lowest fare United currently offers to and from those cities, excluding E-Fares.

The markets are Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Billings, Mont.; Portland and Eugene, Ore.; and Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane and Pasco/Richland/Kennweick, Wash. The special applies to domestic itineraries that will be completed by December 15, 1999, marking a longer travel opportunity than United has ever offered for Internet sale fares.

In addition to the discounts, Mileage Plus members who take advantage of the sale can earn 1,000 bonus miles for each round-trip ticket purchased and flown, as they do with all travel booked online at the United website.

The sale prices are available exclusively through ual.com. Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days in advance and require a Saturday night stay. Travel can either originate or terminate in the sale city and must take place in the 48 contiguous states only. Seats are limited and available only on a round-trip basis. Tickets are nonrefundable, and payment must be made by credit card at the time reservations are made.

>> More <<
United online

<< I N D U S T R Y N E W S >>

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Bumping, Up
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According to an AP story yesterday, airlines are overbooking more. Which means that passengers increasingly find themselves bumped from flights on which they had "confirmed" bookings.

Overbooking is the airlines' way of adjusting for the fact that on average 10-15% of booked passengers no-show for their flights. So, using sophisticated forecasting software and inventory management techniques, airlines sometimes accept more bookings than there are seats, assuming that some of the bookings won't materialize. When that assumption is proved wrong, and there are more would-be passengers than available seats, someone gets bumped.

Here are some telling stats from the AP story:

For the first quarter of 1999, Delta bumped 8,144 passengers (compared with 2,736 during the same period in 1998), almost as many as the remaining U.S. majors combined. United was second, with 2,142 passengers bumped, and Southwest was third with 1,938.

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Happy Birthday, Transcon
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Trans World Airlines' predecessor company, Transcontinental Air Transport, the airline of Charles Lindbergh, made history 70 years ago today when a TAT Ford Tri-Motor made the first transcontinental U.S. flight.

Known in those days as the "Tin Goose," the aircraft carried 13 passengers at a speed of 120 miles per hour. Although the first leg of the trip began in New York, it was on a train to Columbus, Ohio, where the Tri-Motor took over and flew to 10 other stops before landing in Los Angeles, California, taking two days to make the trip.

And no frequent flyer miles...

<< R E A D E R R A N T S & R A V E S >>

[Thanks to Geoff for the following re happenings Down Under.]

Buy direct from Air New Zealand and get double points: even though they suggest this only applied to their Koru club members, everyone is eligible. As a Koru Club member, this makes me feel a bit ripped off - so much for exclusive.

Note that their web site forces users to go back and forth from one page to another trying to get a seat - they don't have an auto "find the closest date/class", but just cryptic "try again in another class/time".

Nevertheless, Air New Zealand is the best trans-pacific carrier and as far as I know is the only carrier with showers at LAX (BA/Qantas do NOT have the same facilities).

More: the Star Alliance deal with Ansett has effectively reduced the buying power of NZ frequent flyer points by about 40% by breaking intra-Australian routes into about 20 different zones, whereas before it was flat rate. Also, the NZ-Ansett booking system is very messy, in that their computers don't communicate.

Hope users find this useful.

- Geoff

<< M I S C E L L A N Y >>

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Ohio Wants YOU
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Summer's here, and the Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism wants you to spend your vacation dollars in the Buckeye state. A couple of enticements from their news release:

>> Twins Days Festival (Aug. 6-8)
    A definite eye catcher is the annual Twins Days Festival appropriately located in Twinsburg. For three days, August 6-8, nearly 3,000 pairs of twins from around the world gather to enjoy "Look Alike" contests, a double take parade, talent shows and general hospitality. The city itself is named for Aaron and Moses Wilcox, identical twins and early settlers from Connecticut.

>> Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival (Aug. 19-21)
    Summer wouldn't be the same without cooking more than 27 tons of bratwurst for a few thousand of your closest friends. That's exactly what the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival August 19-21 is all about. This three day festival in the "Bratwurst Capital of America" features rides, games, daily parades, and of course, food. More than 100 stands serve up a variety of bratwurst, each with its own special seasoning perfected by local butchers whose families immigrated here from Germany. Festival goers can sit and enjoy continuous free entertainment or walk off those calories browsing craft booths and displays.

    Consumers can get more information about these and other summer events by calling Ohio's tourism hotline, 1-800-BUCKEYE. Trained travel counselors are available for questions from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends. A calendar of events is also available 24 hours a day at www.ohiotourism.com . So get the kids out of the pool and roll down the car windows to enjoy an August full of festival fun.

>> More <<
Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism

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Off Topic but Worth Mentioning
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Sited in the clearance section of my local supermarket: Gerry Garcia ties... 2 for $9.95. Guess the 60's really are over. Sigh.

Until next week...