bmi Premium Sale

IN BRIEF The airline is offering transatlantic flights from Washington Dulles to Manchester, England or London Heathrow (via Manchester) for $449 in Premium Economy and $2,099 in Business Class. Tickets must be purchased by Apr. 23 for travel through Apr. 30, 2005. For an additional $166 per fare class, travelers can fly to the Scottish cities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Glasgow (via Manchester). A seven-day advance purchase and Saturday-night stay is required. More: (800) 788-0555.

Extended: Special Tokyo Business Class Fares

Book from 3 to 21 days in advance to take advantage of new, low Business Class fares to Tokyo. All Nippon and Japan Airlines only require a 3-day advance purchase, whereas American, Continental, Northwest, and United require a 21-day advance purchase. There is no minimum stay; maximum stay is 30 days. Sample fares: $2,380 from Honolulu (reg. $4,400+); $3,960 from Los Angeles (reg. $6,000+); $4,970 from New York (reg. $7,800+); and $3,960 from San Francisco (reg. $6,000).

Upper Class Suite Rollout

Virgin Atlantic has completed fitting the suite on its Gatwick B-747-400 fleet which flies to Orlando, Las Vegas, and the Caribbean. The suite has a 22+- inch-wide leather seat that flips forward to become one of the longest lie-flat bed in Business Class (78 inches long). Upper Class passengers also get limousine airport transfers (12-hour advance reservation required).

JAL’s Windy City Offer

Through Oct. 29, Japan Airlines is promoting its new Chicago-Tokyo (Narita) service (JL003/JL004) by cutting the mileage upgrade requirement in Business Class (regularly 25,000 miles) by 10,000 miles. Mileage requirements have also been cut by 10,000 miles for onward flights from Narita.

American Airlines First Class Seat Additions

American will increase the number of First Class seats on its MD80 fleet from 14 to 16 by the end of April, with the rest of the fleet upgraded by early June. Other modifications include larger overhead bins and power ports on 77 MD80s (formerly TWA aircraft).

New AA Admirals Clubs

In a world of premium-service cutbacks, it’s encouraging to see an airline actually investing in service. That’s our reaction to American’s opening four new Admirals Clubs: New York JFK (in spring/summer); Dallas/Fort Worth (in July) and two in Miami (concourses A and D; this summer/fall). All will have cyber cafes with high-speed Internet PCs, a children's room, TV lounges, and private showers. Details: www.aa.com/admiralsclub.

Delta Expands SkyMiles Mileage Transfers

Delta Air Lines has expanded its SkyMiles mileage transfer feature so that program members may transfer more miles per transaction and more miles per year with a smaller minimum transfer requirement (reduced from 5,000 to 1,000 miles). The maximum number of miles that can be transferred in one transaction has been raised from 10,000 to 30,000, and the maximum number of miles that a member can receive in one calendar year has been raised from 50,000 to 150,000. Transferred miles may be used toward award tickets, upgrades, and Crown Room Club membership, but do not count toward Elite status. Transfer fee is $.01 per mile, plus $25 for processing. An additional seven percent GST applies for Canadian members.

OnePass One Shot

Through May 31, you can transfer miles to any other OnePass account for $7.50 per 500 OnePass miles. Transfers must be made in blocks of 500; the minimum transfer is 2,500 OnePass miles, with no set maximum limit. Miles can be transferred to only one account, but they can be received from up to five accounts. Members, however, cannot do both. Transferred miles do not count toward Elite status. Call (800) 554-5522 or (713) 952-1630.

Costa Rica

Current fares to Costa Rica include $459 round-trip in First Class on TACA from Miami to San Jose; Miami-Managua is $599; and New York-San Jose is $599. American is matching. Travel deadline is May 31; a seven-day advance purchase is required. More information is at Taca.com.