United Tries To Make Up With Flyers

Troubled United Airlines is issuing extra frequent flier miles to its top customers, and its parent company is telling investors that its earnings will be lower than expected.

UAL Corp. announced Thursday it expects third-quarter earnings per share to be lower than the $2.60 to $3.20 range it announced last month.

Investors responded by sending shares down 87.5 cents to $48.625 on the New York Stock Exchange, just off the company's 52-week low of $45.

The airline also said it would waive fees and offer free miles to passengers inconvenienced by the numerous delays and cancellations that have dogged the airline, the world's largest.

The airline, a unit of UAL Corp. , said it will waive the $75 service fee for customers traveling prior to Sept. 30 who were affected by a delay or cancellation and choose to extend their stay or change travel dates. The new return flight must be made within seven days of the original flight.

Customers traveling prior to Sept. 30 can also postpone their trip without paying the $75 service charge, the company said. The trip must be taken from the same origin to the same destination and must be completed by March 31, 2001.

United, which has been in a long-running dispute with its pilots' union, said Mileage Plus Premier members will receive an additional Premier bonus for United flights between May 1 and December 31. Premier members will receive an extra 25 percent bonus for flights, while Premier Executive and 1K members will receive a 100 percent bonus.

The extra bonus will be credited to accounts in January 2001, and members who qualify for Premier status in 2000 will also be eligible.

"This summer has been an extremely difficult one for United's customers and employees," Graham Atkinson, United senior vice president of marketing, said in a news release. "United plans additional initiatives to restore our customers' confidence, but our overwhelming priority at this point is restoring the airline's reliability to acceptable levels."