With each new story about financial crisis among airlines, travelers ask themselves the same nagging question: Is it time cash in all those frequent-flier miles?
You'd think that's something T. Wallace Hawkes would ponder long and hard. The URS Corp. executive, who lives in Tampa but spends most his time on the road, has racked up 11-million miles on Delta Air Lines and says he's still got 2.5-million to spend.
Hawkes says he burned most of his US Airways miles a few years ago - 400,000 just on a Caribbean cruise with his then-wife. He wasn't concerned about the airline's chronic financial problems as much as US Airways' deep schedule reductions at Tampa International Airport.
He never used to worry about holding miles because airlines typically bought out failing carriers and welcomed frequent fliers into their own programs, miles and all, Hawkes said.
With virtually the entire industry on the ropes, however, he doesn't see any buyers for the airlines in bankruptcy (US Airways, United) or others that might be headed that way (Delta, ATA, Northwest). Still, Hawkes isn't exactly sweating it yet.
"I'd first see if I could shift them into another program - with a hotel or American Express," he said. "If I really get worried about Delta, I'll just (use them to) take up a whole plane and take all my friends to Hawaii."
