Frontier opens store for frequent fliers

Frontier Airlines plans a new Internet site with a store and online auction with a virtual currency: frequent flier miles.

Travelers will be able to buy restaurant gift certificates or use miles to bid on other merchandise, including a Mercedes-Benz luxury M-Class sport utility vehicle.

The program, launched Tuesday, will be available to members of the airlines’ Ascent and Summit frequent flier programs – passengers who log 15,000 miles to 25,000 miles a year. The programs combined have about 40,000 members.

The goal is to lure more people to travel on Frontier more frequently and to offer rewards that go beyond free tickets, said Frontier President and CEO Jeff Potter, above.

Restaurants

Applebee’s faces suit in fingertip case

A Louisiana woman is suing the Applebee’s restaurant chain a year after she allegedly found a human fingertip in her salad, echoing a similar but now-discredited claim against fast-food chain Wendy’s.

May Deal Chambers Johnson, of Jefferson Parish, La., filed suit late last week in Jefferson Parish District Court asking for unspecified damages. Johnson said she found the fingertip in a take-out salad she bought on June 25, 2004, at a Jefferson Applebee’s and became violently ill.

A spokeswoman for Overland Park-based Applebee’s International said the company’s policy was to not comment on pending litigation.

In March, Anna Ayala, of Las Vegas, told police she found a fingertip in a bowl of chili at a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, Calif. Her story began to fall apart when investigators discovered Ayala had a history of filing suits against corporations and after a co-worker of Ayala’s husband said he severed the tip of one of his fingers in an industrial accident and sold it to the husband.

Economy

Consumer confidence picks up in June

Consumers’ confidence in the economy gained momentum in June, rising to a higher-than-expected level for the second month in a row. The advance reported by The Conference Board put consumer confidence at a three-year high.

The business research group said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 105.8 this month from a revised 103.1 in May, better than the 104.0 analysts expected. In May, the index shot up more than five points after dropping in April.

June’s reading was the highest since June 2002, when the index stood at 106.3.

“The improvement in consumer’s mood suggests that business activity and labor market activity will continue to pick up over the next several months,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.