WOW! THANK YOU!

Delta, Southwest and American airlines offering R&R discounts.

Major airlines are offering discounts to soldiers and their families taking advantage of the military’s new rest and relaxation program, which has received some criticism because the last leg of soldiers’ vacations are not paid for.

Under the first major R&R program since Vietnam, the government pays for flights from Iraq to Germany, and then the United States, at which point the troops must pick up the tab for any domestic travel.

Before Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines this weekend began offering the troops special fares requiring no advance purchase, soldiers on vacation with little notice were faced with buying extremely expensive last-minute fares...

The carriers’ discounts are good for travel between Baltimore-Washington International Airport, where troops have been arriving since last week, and anywhere else in the United States.

All three of the carriers are offering roundtrip fares in the continental United States to soldiers and their dependents that cost less than $200.

“We want our servicemen and women to get home as quickly and as hassle-free as possible because we know their time is limited,” said Joyce Rogge, Southwest’s senior vice president of marketing.