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CNNMoney reports that after a sharp drop last year, more Americans are expected to travel for the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, although travel by air will decline 6.7%, according to a forecast from motorist group AAA issued Wednesday. AAA said that 38.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for the Thanksgiving weekend, an increase of 1.4% from last year, when 37.8 million traveled. Driving will account for most of the travel increase, with 33.2 million Americans expected to travel by car, up 2.1% from the 2008 season, according to AAA. Glen MacDonell, director of travel services for AAA, said in a press release that the projected increase is "another hopeful sign that economic conditions are stabilizing and improving in some areas."
SeatGuru®, on online resource for airline information, has released its pick of the top five domestic airports to be stuck at, should travelers experience flight delays in their upcoming holiday travel season. The top five airports are San Francisco, Salt Lake City International, Portland (Oregon) International, McCarran International in Las Vegas, and Miami. Portland (PDX) was named Nation's Best Airport by Conde Nast Traveler three years in a row. PDX is eco-friendly (new solar panels produce electricity and the Best of Nike store is powered by 75% solar energy), has free Wi-Fi, no sales tax and local restaurants have a strong presence with eateries such as Pizza Schmizza, Rose City Cafe and Laurelwood Brewing Company calling it home. SeatGuru founder Matt Daimler says, "We've picked these airports because of their amenities and attractions designed to help travelers relax and be entertained and pampered during any unfortunate, extended layovers."
The $10 and $20 surcharges that air travelers are paying this Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's are generating so much extra money that three airlines are extending them – and increasing them up to $50 – all the way to Memorial Day, according to USA TODAY. A fourth airline, US Airways, is imposing a different new surcharge equal to 5% of the fare price on all domestic flights starting May 8. United began the new round of surcharges, and so far only Delta and its subsidiary, Northwest, have matched them, leaving open the possibility for consumers that the surcharges could be rescinded if other airlines don't rush in, too.
Airline passengers are already accustomed to paying for a variety of onboard offerings, including food, drinks, headsets and pillows. Now, American Airlines is taking the retail concept one step further by selling Heathrow Express train tickets on flights to London, according to The New York Times. The carrier is also offering inflight Wi-Fi access, where passengers can shop the SkyMall site. "We wouldn't invest if we didn't feel comfortable it would provide a fair rate of return," said John Tiliacos, American Airlines' managing director of onboard products. "Given where we find ourselves as an industry, financially it behooves us to identify every source of revenue we can identify." Other airlines declined to talk on the record about their plans, but nearly all the major carriers acknowledged that they were working on expanding retail offerings, however, whether air travelers open up their wallets once the aircraft pushes back from the gate remains to be seen.
The U.S. hotel industry has been thoroughly battered in 2009, and is expected to end the year with a 16.4 percent annual decline in revenue per available room. Average daily rates fell by 8.8 percent this year, and are expected to drop another 1.8 percent in 2010, according to the latest lodging industry forecast from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Still, “Barring any unforeseen circumstances from an operating perspective, the worst appears to be over” for the hotel industry, says Scott Berman, a hospitality and leisure industry specialist at the firm. “To what degree the industry experiences recovery is predicated on an improving economy, which facilitates demand growth, and operators’ ability to achieve higher pricing.” Even though room rates plunged in 2009, it wasn’t enough to stimulate business: Demand for accommodations dropped by an estimated 5.5 percent year-over-year in 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers said; hence the large drop in revenue per available room. “Signs of recovery in hotel pricing are not yet evident,” the company said. The company said it expects the U.S. hotel industry to finish 2009 with an average occupancy level of 55.2 percent, a decline of 8.4 percent from 2008. For 2010, the firm is predicting that occupancy will increase fractionally, to 55.8 percent.
Marriott International next year will introduce U.S. Green Building Council-certified prototypes for its midprice, select-service and extended stay brands, according to Business Travel News. In April, Marriott plans to make available a prototype for its midprice Courtyard brand that is certified under the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. The prototype cuts energy and water consumption by 25 percent and saves owners about $100,000 in design planning, according to Marriott. The first based on the prototype will be the Courtyard Settler's Ridge in "The green hotel prototype gives Marriott a competitive edge with guests who prefer a green hotel experience, and with the growing number of owners and franchisees who want to provide it," according to Marriott president and COO Arne Sorenson.
The Institute of Travel & Meetings (ITM) and the Business Travel Coalition (BTC) are launching an international Industry Solutions Group (ISG) to develop and build consensus around standards and policies for airline product unbundling, according to Travel Agent Central. Fees generate over $4 billion in airline revenues, the groups estimate. “Never has there been an opportunity for such serious bedlam in managed travel. Corporate managed travel is on a certain path toward mass confusion and disruption as momentum builds behind this new industry trend,” the groups said.
In a press release earlier this week, Google Inc. announced that it is working with airports across the country as well as Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income and others to provide free Wi-Fi as a holiday gift now through January 15, 2010. The gift currently includes 47 airports, including Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis and Charlotte. Additionally, as a result of this project, Burbank and Seattle airports will begin offering airport-wide free Wi-Fi indefinitely. Once travelers log on to networks in any of the participating airports, they will have the option make a donation to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Google will match the donations made across all the networks up to $250,000, and the airport network that generates the highest amount per passenger by January 1, 2010 will receive $15,000 to donate to the local nonprofit of their choice.
Delta Air Lines is switching to “plastic only” to expedite its onboard payment process. Beginning December 1, 2009, Delta will only accept credit cards – no cash – on Delta and Northwest flights in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Customers may swipe their cards to purchase selections from Delta's EATS menu, a refreshing signature cocktail, premium Delta on Demand entertainment and other in-flight amenities. Delta will continue to accept cash and credit on all trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific and South American flights as well as for all duty-free items.
Major U.S. carriers in September posted their best-on time performance in six years, with more than 86% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, USA TODAY reports. September's numbers marked an improvement over both the previous month and the previous year, according to the Department of Transportation. Among major carriers, Alaska Airlines posted the highest on-time arrival rate of 90%, followed by Southwest Airlines’ 89.1%. September's on-time rate was the industry's best showing since October 2003. Meanwhile, extended tarmac delays plunged by 90% in September compared with August. The longest delay was a flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta on Sept. 21 that sat on the tarmac for 4 hours 35 minutes. A close second was an American Airlines flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Tulsa, also on Sept. 21, that was delayed 4 hours 27 minutes.
There’s been a lot of commotion over the past year or so about the growing problem of overstuffed overhead bins, as more and more airline passengers try to avoid new checked baggage fees by cramming everything into their carry-ons, resulting in even more competition for limited storage space in the cabin. And now a new survey of 1,300 persons by TripAdvisor finds that the crunch could be especially bad over the coming holiday season. Of the 40 percent who said they will travel over the December holidays, 57 percent of those said they intend to fly - compared with 52 percent a year ago. And among those holiday air travelers, 33 percent said they will only take carry-on bags and not check any luggage, compared with just 12 percent who did so last year. In TripAdvisor’s 2008 survey, 61 percent of respondents said they checked one bag for their holiday travel, while 26 percent checked two pieces; this year, only 55 percent say they will check one bag and just 12 percent plan to check two.
National Cargo Screeners Inc. of Orlando, Fla., is one of the companies certified by the TSA to screen the tons of freight loaded onto passenger flights every day, according to WOFL-TV in Orlando. The company says its powerful X-ray machine "looks for any device that looks like an explosive. Really any device that could be construed as a threat to an aircraft." Ten years ago none of the cargo flown on passenger jets was inspected. Currently, the government says 50 percent of it has to be inspected and by August 2010, 100 percent must go through TSA certified inspection. But, there are not enough screening companies right now to avoid major back logs of freight. That could mean rapid expansion for NCSI as the August deadline draws closer.
If you’re flying with JetBlue or Southwest, you have only four hours from when you step off the plane at your destination to make a claim for lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered luggage, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Airlines want you to file a claim quickly. It's always easier to track down what happened before too much time passes. But most people don't open bags before returning home. Unless the crook left the contents a mess, it could take a while to figure out something's missing.
Long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic has launched a new Flying Without Fear application, or app. The airline said in a statement that this app was designed to help people overcome fear, be it of the unfamiliar aircraft, the strange noises a plane makes, or of losing control. "Our first iPhone app will bring the benefits of our successful Flying Without Fear course to millions of people around the world who are now using mobile technology to make their lives better," Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement. The application, available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, includes relaxation and fear therapy exercises, frequently asked questions and a video that explains a flight from start to finish. It even features a "fear attack button" for emergenices, with breathing exercises and quick tips. The Flying Without Fear app is available for $4.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.mentalworkout.com/flying-without-fear/iphone/buy
As technological advances allow aircraft to fly themselves for long periods of time, airlines and regulators are looking for ways to ensure that bored pilots don't doze off or lose their focus, according to The New York Times. Chesley Sullenberger, the captain of the US Airways flight that landed in the Hudson River last January, told accident investigators in June that complacency can be a problem. “I think one of the many challenges of our profession is that it’s become so ultrasafe, where it’s possible to go several calendar years without a single fatality, as we’ve just done recently, that it’s sometimes easy to forget what’s really at stake,” he said. “One of the challenges, I think, is to remain alert and vigilant and prepared. Some carriers have protocols that require pilots to perform certain inputs every 15 minutes; failure to do so sets off an alarm in the cockpit. Meanwhile, regulators are discussing a federal ban on personal electronic devices for pilots, along with cockpit cameras to detect violations of the policy. But Bill Voss, CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, says such steps could be more symbolic than substantive. |
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