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US Airways Says Last-Minute Online Deals to Return: Consolidation With America West Web Site Stopped E-Mail Alerts

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Sarah Rabil, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jun. 14--E-mails with US Airways' last-minute deals on weekend flights have been absent from subscribers' inboxes for nearly a month, but airline officials say the discount alerts will return within the next two weeks.

Vann Dozier, 55, of Columbia said she's been on the lookout for an e-saver discount for her and her husband to fly to San Francisco.

"If you're not really thinking about traveling that weekend it gives you the opportunity to do so," she said.

E-savers have not been sent to the 3.7 million subscribers since the airline began merging its Web site with that of America West in May. The airlines merged last year.

"Essentially we have just put them on a brief hiatus while we fine-tuned the Web site," said Phil Gee, US Airways spokesman. "We wanted to put all our effort into making sure the Web site worked properly."

Subscribers were alerted to the temporary disappearance of e-savers in the e-mail alerts on May 10 and 17, he said.

It was part of the airline's plan for a quiet launch of the new Web site, which went up May 21 but experienced glitches with booking flights and loading customers' Dividend Miles accounts the first few days.

"We don't want to send an e-mail out to folks telling them to go to the Web site if the Web site isn't glitch-free," Gee said.

The email discounts alert subscribers to last-minute travel opportunities, but in the summer, fewer empty seats are available at the last minute as leisure travelers fill flights. Some customers have speculated the airline will eventually ax the program. Gee said there is "no imminent date or timeline as far as them going away."

But he said the airline is always looking for new and innovative ways to sell tickets.

Staff writer Megan Ward contributed

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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