Airline partners with schools for philanthropic program

Monday, May 23, 2005 | 10:42 a.m.

America West Airlines has launched a philanthropic program that will benefit Clark County School District classrooms.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline, the second-busiest commercial passenger carrier at McCarran International Airport, is operating its AWArds for Schools program in a partnership with the Clark County Public Education Foundation.

Under the program, customers who purchase America West tickets through the airline's Internet Web site can designate a school to receive 1 percent of the purchase price of the ticket as a donation from the airline.

Travis Christ, vice president of marketing for America West, said it's hard to determine how much money will be raised for local schools, since this is the first time such a program has been tried anywhere in the country.

"We do dozens of things in Phoenix and Las Vegas as part of our community relations outreach," Christ said.

Christ said the airline, which sponsors several arts-oriented activities in Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Art Museum, the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Las Vegas Music Festival, chose the Clark County Public School District for its pilot program because it was a far less daunting undertaking in Las Vegas than its home base in the Phoenix area.

"There are lots of school districts in the Phoenix area and only one in the Las Vegas area, so logistically, it was a lot easier to start here," Christ said.

He said if the program is a success, America West would roll it out for other school districts.

Christ said schools would be paid on a semiannual basis and school officials would have discretion as to how the money is spent. He said the airline is counting on the schools spreading the word about the program, since no funds have been allocated to market it.

The company will be relying on word of mouth and hope the schools and the foundation will remind people to designate the donation when they buy their tickets, Christ said.

"We are proud to get on board with America West and pleased to have rebates benefit our schools and children," said Judi Steele, president of the foundation.

To make a donation through the AWArds for Schools program, customers must visit www.americawest.com/AWArdsforSchools to book travel. Instructions on the Web page explain how to get an eCertificate code number to designate the school to which the donation goes.

Flights don't have to originate or end in Las Vegas to take advantage of the program and customers don't have to have children in schools to assign a donation.

The Internet page also has a downloadable flier that can be posted at schools to draw attention to the program.

America West and its America West Express partner, Mesa Airlines, have about 150 flights a day between Las Vegas to 58 nonstop destinations. The company recently added flights to Oklahoma City and Anchorage, Alaska, to its Las Vegas itinerary. Next month, the airline wil add nonstop service to Monterey, Calif.

Systemwide, the airline has more than 900 flights a day to 95 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. Of the airline's 13,500 employees, about 1,245 are based in Las Vegas.