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Washington, D.C.- Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) donated 50,000 of his Northwest Airlines WorldPerk miles to the Operation Hero Miles Program. Kildee’s donation will provide soldiers with free roundtrip transportation on Northwest Airlines to anywhere inside the continental U.S. Kildee helped unveil the new program in October, which allows frequent fliers to donate their miles to help troops return home from Iraq. Last Friday, Northwest Airlines finally agreed to participate in the program after Congressman Kildee contacted the President of Northwest Airlines to encourage the airline to participate in the program.
“I am honored to be one of the first WorldPerks members to donate a significant amount of miles to the Operation Hero Miles Program,” said Kildee. “Finally, I have an opportunity to participate in this wonderful program by helping soldiers return home just in time for the holidays. I hope people will find it in their hearts this holiday season to generously donate flight miles to help reunite our troops with their families.”
Until recently, Congressman Kildee was unable to donate his miles to the program because Northwest Airlines was not one of the major airlines participating in the Operation Hero Miles Program. Northwest Airlines decided to participate in the program only after Congressman Kildee contacted the President of Northwest Airlines. Kildee was also instrumental in convincing AirTran to join the Operation Hero Miles Program in November. In addition to joining the program, AirTran also contributed 8,000 flight credits to the program, which is equivalent to 500 roundtrip tickets. Nearly all of the airline carriers that service Bishop International Airport in Flint are participating in the Operation Hero Miles Program, except for ATA Airlines.
The “Operation Hero Miles” program was specifically developed to help alleviate the costs associated with making last minute travel arrangements. This program provides people with an opportunity to help American troops travel home to be with their families. Nearly all of the major airline companies have also decided to participate in the program by donating additional miles and making it easier for their frequent fliers to transfer their miles. Frequent fliers interested in participating in this program are encouraged to visit Congressman Kildee’s website at www.house.gov/kildee. There is a direct link to the “Operation Hero Miles” Program on the bottom of Congressman Kildee’s homepage. |
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