Time running out on mileage runs for fliers

New York

IT'S the end of the year, and some posts on air-travel forums sound desperate. "Need 1,500 miles this weekend," says one notice on FlyerTalk.com. "I need 1,820 miles to make Platinum next year," proclaims another on Milepoint.com.

Implicit in such pleas, for suggestions for so-called mileage runs, is that the required miles must come cheaply - no easy feat when airfares have been rising and most flights are full, meaning choices are slim.