Give 'em a lift with airline gift cards: People on your shopping list may appreciate airlines' newest attempt to get passengers on planes: gift cards.

Publication: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, TX)

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COPYRIGHT 2006 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Byline: David Wethe

Nov. 29--Airlines and other travel companies are hoping to add their names to your holiday wish list this year.

And to make that happen, they're calling on an army of grocery stores and other retailers to sell their newest weapon -- gift cards.

Gift cards, whose popularity has grown over several years, are a new direction for revenue-hungry airlines, putting them in competition against retail powerhouses such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and the Gap, which also sell gift cards through various outlets. The airline gift cards come mostly in denominations of $50 and $100, don't expire and are usually activated at the cash register or by a toll-free number.

The gift cards are also a new cost for an industry that has fervently tried to find more-frugal ways to sell tickets.

Last month, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines began selling cards at Albertsons, Kroger, Tom Thumb, Sam's Club...

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