Airline Avenues

America West, Northwest expand partnership

America West Airlines has announced that it is expanding its frequent flyer partnership with Northwest Airlines.

Effective immediately, America West FlightFund members will be able to earn frequent flyer miles when they fly Northwest Airlines to Asia, Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Also, Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flyer members will be able to earn miles on all America West and America West Express flights to Alaska, Canada and Mexico as well as previously established codeshare flights.

As part of the expanded partnership, FlightFund members will be able to redeem miles on Northwest flights to the expanded destinations as well as to Amsterdam, London, Paris and Frankfurt. WorldPerks members will be able to redeem their miles on flights to the newly added America West destinations as well.

"We continually strive to provide more opportunity and value for our FlightFund members," said Mike Smith, America West senior vice president, marketing and sales. "Expanding our partnership with Northwest is a great way to accomplish this goal."

"The expanded partnership builds upon our successful codeshare relationship and strengthens both airlines' frequent flyer programs," said Sue Edberg, Northwest managing director WorldPerks marketing and international advertising.

FlightFund, America West's frequent flyer program, offers travelers a unique and flexible program with awards beginning at 20,000 miles.

New members will receive 2,500 miles after their first flight. Customers who are not already FlightFund members can contact the FlightFund Service Center at 1-800-247-5691 to enroll or sign up on the Internet at http://www.americawest.com.

Biz aviation convention one of the best ever

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 52nd Annual Meeting & Convention was reported to be one of the best in the Association's history.

About 30,000 people participated in the three-day event Oct. 12-14 in Atlanta.

The number of 10-foot-by-10-foot exhibit booths sold reached historic levels at 4,209 compared to 3,927 in 1998.

In addition, approximately 125 aircraft were on display at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. More than 800,000 square feet of exhibit space was used to house the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention at the Georgia World Congress Center.

FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, Astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin and NBAA President Jack Olcott were the featured speakers at the opening session on Oct. 12.

NBAA represents the aviation interests of over 6,000 companies that own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion - a number that is about half the gross domestic product - and employ more than 19 million people worldwide.

Northwest Airlink/Express sets performance records

"On time, every time," is not simply a slogan at Express Airlines I, the Memphis-based regional airline which does business as Northwest Airlink.

The carrier released September 1999 Operational Statistics that reflect a number of all-time records for the airline and may reflect the airline industry's best performance for the month.

In September, Express I set company records in Flight Reliability, On-Time Flight Arrivals and Baggage Performance.

The carrier completed 99.5% of its scheduled flights, including weather-related cancellations. When excluding weather - a factor over which the airline has no control - flight reliability increases to 99.7%. And, at a time when reports of airline delays are commonplace, Express I reported that a remarkable 96% of its flights arrived at their destination within 15 minutes of schedule. When weather-related delays are removed, the arrival rate increases to 96.5%.

"These performance levels are not a one time deal," said Philip Trenary, president and CEO of Express Airlines I. "Our operating performance has been at industry-leading levels for several months.

"At times, our arrival performance has exceeded the reported industry average by more than 20 percentage points."

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