U.S. Airways has become the latest airline to discontinue its meetings program. The move applies to events held within the United States and Canada; the offering remains in place for meetings overseas.The program, like those of other major carriers, included discounted rates for attendees and free tickets for the group based on the number of travelers booked. The move was made in order to bring the carrier in line with America West, which pulled the plug on its meetings program earlier this year before merging with U.S. Airways. Delta Air Lines ended its program in early 2005, while Southwest Airlines kicked off the no-meetings-program trend in December 2003.With the airline industry in financial straits despite record passenger-load factors, the demise of these programs is clearly a cost-cutting measure. But meeting planners are loath to see other major carriers take the same tack. "I would have a big problem if my carriers discontinued their programs," says Eleanor DeMoors, director of meetings and exhibits at the National Telephone Cooperative Association in Washington D.C. "The tickets we earn are used for our staff to visit statewide associations and our supplier members throughout the year, which is something that benefits us as well as our members."