I am reasonably certain this marks a first in aviation marketing history. Dow Jones Business News Continental Offers Perks To Entice Full-Fare Fliers Monday September 15, 3:37 pm ET By Elizabeth Souder, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Continental Airlines Inc. will offer passengers who pay full fares more perks, such as priority baggage handling, in an attempt to beef up the airline's share of full-fare fliers. The Houston airline unveiled on Monday a perks program for passengers who pay premium fares in both business and economy classes. Those customers will always go to the head of the line, they will be guaranteed they won't sit in a middle seat, and their luggage will get preferential treatment. The program particularly targets economy-class passengers who pay full fare, rather than a discounted fare, said Continental Chief Executive Gordon Bethune. "I think you've heard the story about the poor guy who paid the most for his ticket and sits in the middle seat in the back of the plane," he said on a conference call Monday. The new program, called EliteAccess, shows that guy "he's not just another schmuck here," Bethune said. Bethune wouldn't predict how much of a boost the airline's full fares would get. Continental is implementing the program at a time when the percentage of full-fares booked is down 20% from its high point in 2000. Back then, 45% of Continental's passengers paid full fare. Now it's 36%, Bethune said. He's optimistic that full-fare travel will improve as business travel recovers, but the industry may have lost some business-fare travel altogether. "Business people are going to come back in greater numbers as the economy improves," Bethune said. "But I don't think they'll do it without using the technology to manage the costs ... . There are a number of people who aren't there any more, and the ones who are there are buying smarter" by finding discounted rates. Bethune said Continental saw better-than-expected bookings in July and August this year, but "we're losing some of those gains in September as the traditional seasonality of our business sets in." He doubts the summer levels will hold through the fall. "I'm lighting candles at the church, hoping that happens," Bethune said. -By Elizabeth Souder, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4148; elizabeth.souder@xxxxxxxxxxxx --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software