Sue

Hi,<BR><BR>I finallly have enough frequent flyer miles to get one free ticket to Europe and now I hear that USAir is in touble. I want to use this free ticket next June and will make my reservations this summer. Can I transfer these miles to another partner airline? If I make the reservations and USAir is bought out, will the other company honor a frequent flyer ticker? Do they know it is a frequent flyer ticket? How should I proceed?<BR><BR>Thank you, Sue

CR

Sue,<BR><BR>Last year, USAir was still partners with American Airlines. At that time, I had more than 25,000 miles on USAir, but I didn't want to go anywhere they flew. I wanted to fly on American instead. I was able to transfer my USAir miles to my American account and then get a ticket w/ those (originally USAir) miles.<BR><BR>When you make your reservations, it will be with the partner airline. The partner will know it's a frequent flyer ticket because your receipt will indicate that information. Nonetheless, the partner airline should still honor your ticket.<BR><BR>But, to make sure, you should first contact USAir directly and confirm who they're partnered with, what routes are available, and how far in advance you can make the reservation. Also, check w/ USAir to see how you should handle it. In other words, do you need to transfer the miles into a partner account or can the partner issue a ticket with USAir miles. Good luck.

GAC

Within a very short time, US Air will have no partner airlines whatsoever. Go to their web site to read the discouraging news. The partnerhship with American cited above is no more. Sabena is history. Alitalia and Swiss are dropping out.

CR

I just checked the USAir website and GAC is right. It doesn't look promising if you're planning to go to Europe next June. Check it out ASAP!

scigirl

Often when one airline takes over another the purchasing airline honors the frequent flyer miles for the airline they bought. This is what happened with TWA. When American (?) bought TWA they accepted the miles for the TWA passengers. I have no idea what would happen with reward tickets, though. <BR><BR>You might want to post your question on the USAir forum at flyertalk.com - the people there seem to be real experts on this sort of thing.

Calm

WOW US Airways is dead if you listen to everyone in here. Hold on to your points, they will be announcing 1 maybe 2 new alliances with new Global partners very shortly. <BR><BR>GAC is clueless. I fly US Airways over 100,000 miles per year and they will emerge fine. The new CEO is getting the concessions he needs to move forward. Even if they do go out of business for some odd reason, all the other airlines will be beating down the frequent fliers to get their business, which includes them transferring their miles.

Sue

Thank you for the information. I guess I have two options 1. Wait and hope USAir will find an alliance with Global partners and then get my ticket or 2. get a ticket on USAir and hope they are still in business next June. My question now is if I get a frequent flyer ticket this August for travel next June and USAir is bought by another company, will the new company honor my ticket?<BR><BR>Thanks for your help, Sue

Jim Rosenberg

It's impossible for anyone to say for sure, but as has been stated by scigirl above, past practices by other airlines in similar situations would seem to bode well for you. (Her suggestion to check out www.flyertalk.com is also right on -- it is THE site for people who are into FF miles and award seats). The timing of everything is the big unknown for you right now. Picking up summer seats to Europe at minimum mileage award levels is a rather competitive game, since they tend to be quite limited, but if you're only trying for a single seat, it won't be as tall of an order as trying to find a pair.

GAC

Am I really clueless? Even if US Air survives (which I most certainly hope will occur, as I have miles with them), the fact that this carrier will soon have no transatlantic partners necessarily means that travelers will have fewer travel options and fewer frequent flier seats to contend for. It was nice being able to use US Air miles on American, Alitalia, Sabena and Swissair. No longer. Will US Air be able to find new partners? Most European Airlines (Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Iberia, Scandinavian) are now hooked up on an exclusive basis with the four major U.S. carriers (United, American, Delta and Northwest/Continental). And what US carrier is in a position to buy US Air now or in the near future? They may well cherry pick a few routes, but will they necessarily offer to exchange the miles for their own (in the absence of a full acquisition)? I wouldn't be so sure this time around. Things have changed radically after 9/11. Take nothing for granted, and don't believe that the past is necessarily an accurate guide for the future.