United targets business travelers CHICAGO (AP) =97 United Airlines is kicking off its biggest advertising=20 campaign since 2001 in a push to lure back more business travelers while it= =20 overhauls its operations in bankruptcy. The promotion =97 four trips for the= =20 price of three =97 is being backed by full-page ads in national newspapers= =20 and others in key markets throughout the summer travel season that is=20 critical to United's recovery effort. Under the initiative announced=20 Wednesday, customers enrolled in United's frequent-flier program who fly=20 three eligible paid round trips between Thursday and Sept. 30 will earn a=20 free round-trip ticket for travel in the 48 contiguous states between Sept.= =20 2 and the end of the year. A maximum of two free tickets can be earned. The= =20 ``Fly Three, Fly Free" ad campaign is the first under new marketing chief=20 John Tague, the former president and CEO of American Trans Air whom United= =20 hired last month. ``The competition for today's business traveler has never= =20 been more significant," said Tague, executive vice president for customer=20 initiatives. ``United is aggressively utilizing responsible promotional=20 activities to successfully compete in the marketplace." As part of the $5=20 million ad launch, United hired eight-piece orchestras to play its=20 ``Rhapsody in Blue" theme song in prominent downtown locations, including=20 the Sears Tower in Chicago's Loop area. Since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last December, United has scored=20 important gains in restructuring its labor contracts =97 saving $2.56= billion=20 a year through 2008 =97 and its airplane leases. It restored 162 flights to= =20 its June schedule amid what it says are encouraging signs of booking=20 improvement after months when passengers steered clear of the bankrupt=20 carrier. But the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline still faces tough=20 challenges as it tries to end three years of heavy losses and compete=20 better against discount carriers and other rivals. United, which depends=20 heavily on revenue from business travelers, said in a bankruptcy court=20 filing last week that it lost $375 million in April, when the war in Iraq=20 and fallout from SARS dealt a devastating blow to air travel. It also might= =20 be difficult for the airline to win back some of the business travelers who= =20 fled for other carriers when its operations began suffering from labor=20 turmoil in the summer of 2000, even though its on-time record recently has= =20 been one of the industry's best. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************