This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx American Reining In Frequent-Flier Plan April 9, 2003 By EDWARD WONG American Airlines is raising the number of miles that members of its frequent-flier program need to accumulate before the miles can be redeemed for certain kinds of tickets. The required miles for those tickets will go up as much as 25 percent. The mileage increase, to take place on May 1, applies to seven kinds of free tickets that can be used for travel within the United States and Canada or between North America and Hawaii. It is sure to annoy business travelers, and it comes at a time when such travelers are already shunning many big airlines because of their complex fare structures and relatively high fares on tickets not bought in advance. American, the world's largest airline, is struggling to cut costs during the industry's worst downturn. Laura Mayo, a spokeswoman for American, said the company decided to raise the required mile total because American wanted to match the higher mileage requirements at competitors. But American's two largest rivals, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, will actually have lower mileage requirements for many comparable tickets once American raises its requirements. American, a unit of the AMR Corporation, has 45 million members in its frequent-flier program, the most of any airline. United, a unit of the UAL Corporation, is second, with 40 million members. Delta's program has 33 million members. American laid out the increased requirements in a chart included in a mailing this week to program members. Ms. Mayo said the company had been trying to inform members of the increase for several months and had printed an announcement in a newsletter sent in October. In some cases, the miles required for a free ticket will increase by as much as 25 percent. For example, the number of miles needed to obtain a relatively unrestricted ticket in coach class for travel within the United States or Canada, known as an anytime ticket, will increase to 50,000 from 40,000. United requires 40,000 miles for that type of ticket. Delta requires 50,000 miles. That kind of ticket is not restricted by the number of seats set aside on a flight for frequent-flier redemption tickets. Each plane has a reserved number of frequent-flier seats and that number changes constantly, depending on what the flight is and how the flight fills up in the weeks, days and hours leading up to departure. Frequent-flier programs generally have two types of tickets - one that requires fewer miles but is restricted to the reserved number of seats, and another that requires more miles but can be bought anytime as long as there is an open seat in that cabin. (These two types are available for both coach and business-class cabins, but will always require more miles in business class.) American will now require 45,000 miles instead of 40,000 miles for a business-class capacity-restricted ticket - known as a PlanAAhead ticket in its program - for travel within North America. United and Delta both require 40,000 miles for such tickets. United requires 60,000 miles for a first-class restricted ticket on the handful of three-class planes it uses on domestic routes. For flights from North America to Hawaii, American will now require 75,000 miles instead of 60,000 miles for capacity-restricted business-class tickets and 95,000 instead of 80,000 for what it calls premium class. United requires 60,000 and 80,000 miles for those types of tickets. Delta requires 60,000 miles for both types. None of this comes as good news for members of American's frequent-flier program. Many members were already jittery over the status of American, which has flirted with bankruptcy once and, industry analysts say, may still have to seek protection from creditors if it cannot reduce costs and if the travel slump continues. Travel experts say, though, that the miles in the program will probably be preserved even if American goes to bankruptcy court. Kevin P. Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition, an advocacy group for business travelers, said American's move was just one more blow to such travelers. "I think business travelers pretty much feel nothing surprises them anymore," he said. "They're angry, they're frustrated and they're showing it by buying tickets on low-cost airlines." Continental Airlines is also increasing mileage requirements for business-class tickets from North America to Hawaii. The change will take effect on June 4 and equals American's increases. In January, Delta changed its frequent-flier program to try to encourage travelers to buy more expensive tickets. Its members no longer earn one mile toward elite status for every mile flown. Instead, passengers buying high-price tickets earn one and a half or two times the miles flown toward elite status, while passengers buying cheaper tickets earn as little as half the miles flown. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/09/business/09AIR.html?ex=1050897060&ei=1&en=fd11e9cecaf05f69 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company