Oct. 30, 2008 — Along with the other amenities rapidly disappearing from air travel in cost-cutting measures, say goodbye Jan. 1 to those 500 American Airlines frequent-flier miles on hops between the Virgin Islands and San Juan.
"It's in response to the market and the economy," said American spokesman Cristina Sotolongo from the company's Dallas office.
Elite passengers who fly a minimum of 25,000 miles a year will still get the 500 frequent-flier miles.
For years fliers got 500 miles for all short trips instead of the actual mileage. Now flying between St. Thomas and San Juan will get you 68 frequent-flier miles each way. From St. Croix to San Juan it's 94 miles. This applies regardless of when the flight was booked.
And in case you missed it, on Oct. 1 American upped the number of miles you need to travel economy class on frequent-flier miles from the Caribbean to the mainland from 30,000 miles to 35,000.
"It's also in response to market conditions," Sotolongo said.
You can still get by with 25,000 frequent-flier miles if you want to travel between Sept. 7 and Nov. 14, which covers the peak of hurricane season. If you wanted to use those miles for an upgrade on trips between the Caribbean and the mainland, effective Oct. 1 you must pay $50. Previously there was no fee.
For full details of American's frequent-flier program, AAdvantage, visit aa.com.
In other airline news, on Wednesday Delta Airlines announced that it merged with Northwest Airlines. Only the Delta name will remain.
Since the merger will take a year or two to complete, what it means for travelers to and from the territory remains unknown. Passengers should continue to check in and do business directly with the airline operating their flight just as they did before the merger, according to a Delta news release. Delta will continue operation of the airlines' separate web sites, delta.comand nwa.com, as well as the two airlines' reservation systems and loyalty programs.
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