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Zoned Out
Cheap Charlie · November 20, 2000

A couple of weeks ago, while flipping through the weekly supermarket newspaper insert of specials, I came across a full-page ad touting a US Airways coupon program. That got my attention! It was one of those zone promotions and this one is limited to flights departing from the Northeast portion of the country.

That being said, this coupon promotion is a fantastic deal. The savings are Real - almost equaling some of the Internet specials. This coupon deal is being promoted through Stop & Shop in the Northeast. Keep an eye out for similar coupons if you are in other parts of the country.

The most exciting part of these coupons is the timing of the promotion. The Stop & Shop portion of the program continues through Dec. 16 and airline tickets are valid for travel through May 15, 2001 but must be purchased no later than February 15, 2001. This sure beats the three-day to one-week Internet and newspaper specials we've been seeing of late.

This Stop & Shop/US Airways promotion provides customers a chance to purchase up to four coupons, for $2.50 apiece, each time they spend $100 during between now and Dec. 16. (Purchases such as cigarettes, alcohol, prescriptions and gift certificates are excluded.)

Here are the deals. You must depart from any airport on US Airways or affiliated airline from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts or New Hampshire.

It's a zone fare promotion. The USA is broken up into five zones. The Northeast is Zone 1. Zone 2 stretches from the Florida border northward to New York basically along the Atlantic coast with the inclusion of West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Zone 3 covers the Midwest from Ohio to Nebraska and down to Texas. Zone 4 is Florida. Zone 5 is made up of the Rocky Mountain states to the Pacific coast.

For these coupons flights must leave from Zone 1. Flights to Zone 2 can be purchased for $99 to $109 each way. Flights to Zone 3 will cost $109 to $119 each way. Flights to Zone 4 will cost only $89 to $114 each way. And flights to the West in Zone 5 will cost only $159 to $189 each way. The first price given is for mid-week travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The second price is for flights on Fridays through Mondays.

Note: As always, there are some blackout dates - basically Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Easter periods, end of January for Tampa, Mardi Gras for New Orleans, the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, and who knows what in Minneapolis the end of March and early April 2001.

These prices are approximately the same as the newspaper ad promotions that appear from time to time. However, these bargains are available on your timetable between now and mid-May 2001. That's a big deal.

These ticket prices include all taxes and the coupons can be used through travel agents. You get frequent flyer miles. Senior discounts don't apply. And most importantly, you are not subjected to the inconvenience of airline Internet site tyranny.

So if you live in the Northeast check to see if your Stop & Shop is participating in this promotion. If it is, buy your $100 worth of groceries and get your coupons. $2.50 is a small price to pay for such a flexible bargain.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.