Business Travel News Updates for July

July 14, 2010 By

Helpful Information & Tips for our Business Travelers.

Airlines

Delta Air Lines has dropped its fees, which went as high as $150, for frequent flyer tickets redeemed 20 days and less before departure... More News
  • Low-Cost Carriers Show Profit, Legacy Carriers Lose Money
  • Baggage and Other Fees Adding Up For Carriers
  • American Pioneers Another New Fee
  • Delta Drops Fee for Last-Minute Frequent Flyer Tickets
  • Air Traffic Inches Passed Pre-Recession Levels

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Hotels & Amtrak

Demand for business travel is on the upswing, according to data from American Express Business Travel, which tracks corporate travel spending... Also:
  • Hoteliers Keep Adding Rooms
  • Hotel Industry Leading Indicator Is Up for Fourth Month in a Row
  • Amtrak to Expand Free wifi
  • Rebounding Business Travel

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Filed Under: Airline News

July Travel News for Hotels and Amtrak

July 9, 2010 By

Hotels

Marriott Hotel Bed

Hoteliers Keep Adding Rooms
Despite an uncertain economic recovery, hoteliers are building new hotels, with roughly 432,000 new rooms coming online globally, according to a report from the MKG Group.

Breaking it down regionally, that's adds up to170, 000 new rooms in North America and 138,000 in Europe, an increase of 3.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Asia-Pacific is adding 98,000 rooms, a growth of only 1.9 percent. Other regions also show development resilience during the global economic challenge, with Latin America registering 63,600 new rooms (+4.8%), Middle East and Africa 52,700 (+4.2%). (Source: MKG press release).

Hotel Industry Leading Indicator Is Up for Fourth Month in a Row
The U.S. Hotel Industry Leading indicator, or HIL, went up 1.5 percent during May for the fourth consecutive month. The HIL usually leads the industry's business activity four to five months in advance. The latest increase brought the index to a reading of 113.5.

The index was set to equal 100 in 2000. Eight major indicators were up, including weekly hours in hotels, hotel profitability, future demand for international visitors, housing activity and the National Vacation Barometer. Only one major component was down-tightness in the labor market. (Source: HIL press release).

Rail and Car Rental

Amtrak Dining Car

Amtrak to Expand Free wifi
Amtrak's three-month trial of free wifi was so successful that Amtrak is making it standard on all Acela trains running between Washington, D.C., and Boston.

It's planning to offer Wi Fi on its fleet nationwide, once it gets funding. This will begin this fall on Amtrak Routes in California, with Northeast regional service. (Source: Amtrak press release).

Rebounding Business Travel

Demand for business travel is on the upswing, according to data from American Express Business Travel, which tracks corporate travel spending.

  • Business travelers are beginning to return to the front of the plane
  • The percentage of business class tickets booked in business rose from 36 percent to 41 percent in Q1
  • International airfares increased 3 percent year over year
  • Domestic fares increased 6 percent
  • Hotel recovery is still lagging, with international rates down .5 percent and domestic hotel rates down 5 percent

Source: American Express press release.

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Filed Under: Hotel & Car

Airlines News Release for July

July 9, 2010 By
Delta Business Elite Flatbed

Low-Cost Carriers Show Profit, Legacy Carriers Lose Money
Low-cost regional carriers reported a profit in the first quarter while network carriers posted a second consecutive loss, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The six network carriers posted a loss of 0.7% in the first quarter with a combined operating loss of $163 million. That was better than the previous quarter, when they reported a loss margin of 4.0 percent with a loss of $867 million.

The seven low-cost carriers reported a 2.4% profits of $115 mil. (Source: DOT press release).

Baggage and Other Fees Adding Up For Carriers
From January to March, the airlines collected $769 mil in baggage fees and $554 mil from reservation fees, according to the Department of Transportation.

The numbers do not include fees from seating assignments and on-board sales of food, drink, blankets pillows, and entertainment, which are reported in a another category.

First quarter of 2010 airline revenue from all ancillary sources was $1.9 bil, with Delta reported the most at $592 mil.

Passenger fees and ancillary from other sources constituted 6.2% of the total revenue of the 28 carriers reporting ancillary revenue. Spirit Airlines' reported the largest of any carrier, 21.7%. (Source: DOT press release).

American Pioneers Another New Fee
American Airlines is introducing Your Choice services, which includes Boarding and Flexibility Packages, that will start at $9 one way. This places travelers in Group 1 of General Boarding, so they can board right after PriorityAAccess customers.

It provides a $75 Flight Change Discount, which means that if travelers need to change their itinerary, they'll save $75 off the regular service charge when applicable. It allows you to go standby for an earlier flight on your day of departure at no charge.

Prices vary based by market and routing. (Source: American press release).

Delta Drops Fee for Last-Minute Frequent Flyer Tickets
Delta Air Lines has dropped its fees, which went as high as $150, for frequent flyer tickets redeemed 20 days and less before departure. Until the change, it cost $150 to book a frequent flyer ticket within three days of departure, $100 for between four and seven days and $75 to book within eight to 20 days.

Tickets booked 21 days out or more had no redemption fee. Delta also instituted a first checked bag free benefit for customers with a Consumer or Business Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles CreditCard from American Express. (Source: Delta press release).

Air Traffic Inches Passed Pre-Recession Levels
Air travel inched passed pre-recessions levels, according to the International Air Transport Association.

International scheduled traffic statistics for May showed an 11.7 percent increase in passenger traffic over May 2009. South America saw the biggest growth, 23.6%; Asia-Pacific saw a 13.2% growth. Europe saw 8.3% growth.

The U.S. saw a 10.9% increase; the region's careful matching of capacity to demand has driven load factors to 82.4%, the highest of all regions. (Source: IATA press release).

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Filed Under: Frequent Flyer