Cite as: 504 U. S. 374 (1992)
Appendix to opinion of the Court
fare has ceased to have any meaning as a starting point for determining whether or not a ticket is being offered for a "sale" price as consumers have come to understand that term.
In this Guideline NAAG has attempted to prevent consumer confusion by limiting the use of such words as "sale," "discount," or "reduced," to describe only those fares that represent a true savings over regularly available air fares— those that are available only for short periods of time and are substantially below any regularly offered fare for a ticket carrying identical restrictions.
Section 3—Frequent Flyer Programs
General Comments to Section 3 Frequent flyer programs have been widely acknowledged as the most successful marketing programs in airline industry history. The bargain struck between customers and the airlines has proven to be very costly to many of the airlines. Customers who have accrued the necessary mileage are expecting to collect the awards which led them to join and fly in the programs in the first place. Some airlines are now disturbed by the cost of keeping their side of the bargain and the real possibility that they may lose revenue because passengers flying on frequent flyer awards may begin displacing paying customers. The solution contemplated by some carriers has been to raise award thresholds and implement restrictions to decrease the cost to them of the award program. The effect of these actual and/or potential changes is to significantly devalue vested members' accrued mileage or other credits in the program. Although various frequent flyer program awards materials have contained some obscure mention of the possibility of future program changes, these disclosures have been wholly inadequate to inform program members of the potentially major negative changes which are contemplated by many airlines.
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