Delta

Airline Updates for August 2008

Air Mexico

After Month-Long Hiatus, Airlines Try Another Fare Hike
The airfare monitoring website FareCompare.com reported that Northwest Airlines upped its domestic fares by nearly $80 roundtrip in over 4,000 city pairs for both business and leisure travelers.

The increase came after nearly a month of no airfare hikes. Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare, said that fares may be topping out, due to a sluggish economy and the fact that oil is down, relatively speaking, to the mid $120s per barrel.

He said revenue from added fees is also kicking in. (Source: FareCompare.com).

Delta Doubles Fee for Second Bag, Northwest Charges for First Bag FF Ticket Delta Air Lines upped its charge for a second bag to $50 from $25. It also said it would increase fees for specialty items that require special handling such as surfboards or ski equipment on domestic and international flights.

The new fees apply to tickets bought after July 31 for travel on or after Aug. 5. First Class, BusinessElite and Medallion customers will continue to be able to check up to three bags at no charge.

Customers checking bags on international flights may continue checking a first and second bag at no charge.

Northwest Airlines instituted a $15 charge for the first checked bagged, following American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways’ lead; this applied to tickets sold after July 10 for travel starting Aug. 28.

Frequent flier elites are exempt from the policy, along with full-fare coach passengers. As of Sept. 15, it will also begin charging service fees for frequent flyer tickets: $25 for domestic, $50 for transatlantic and $100 for transpacific travel. (Source: Delta, Northwest press releases).

Hawaiian Charges for First Bag, Phone Bookings
Hawaiian Airlines began charging $15 for the first piece of checked luggage on flights between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii; the first bag remains free on interisland flights.

Hawaiian will also begin charging a $10 ticketing fee for telephone bookings for interisland flights, $20 for all other routes and $25 for ticketing at the airport. (Source: Hawaiian Airlines press release).

Flight Attendants Decry Turning Planes into Flying Vending Machines
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), lamented the fact that US Airways is now charging for soft drinks in flight, saying it was turning aircraft into “flying vending machines.”

The group said the airline is nickel and diming passengers and turning flight attendants, who are safety pros, into cashiers. (Source: AFA-CWA press release).

Delta Restructures Loyalty Program, Upping Some Mileage Requirements

Delta Air Lines said it was restructuring its SkyMiles frequent flyer program, saying it wanted to give its members greater flexibility and more options when redeeming miles, including the ability to again book the last seat on a flight using miles and three redemption tiers for Award Travel within the continental United States, Alaska and Canada..

Tiers will start at 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 miles round-trip rather than the two current Award levels starting at 25,000 and 50,000 miles for travel within the continental United States, Alaska and Canada. (Source: Delta press release).

Northwest Ads Nonstop Milwaukee-Los Angeles Service
Northwest Airlines is beginning daily nonstop service between Milwaukee and Los Angeles beginning Sept. 6, using the 148-seat Airbus 320. (Source: Northwest press release).

Filed Under: Airline News Tagged With: bags, cwa, Delta, frequent flier, hawaiian, medallion, northwest

Airlines News and Updates

Global Air Travel Keeps Falling
IATA (the International Air Travel Association) said that global air travel dropped for the second month in a row, with international passenger traffic down 1.3 percent compared to October 2007. That was a smaller decline than September’s 2.9 percent drop.
Airlines

North American traffic declined 0.8 percent; Asia Pacific traffic was down 6.1 percent, European traffic was up 1.8 percent. IATA’s head, Giovanni Bisagnani, said that recession is now the biggest threat to airline profitability. (Source: IATA press release).

Fewer Planes in the Air Boost Performance
The airline industry’s capacity cuts, resulting in fewer flights operating daily, have contributed to the improvements in on-time performance shown above.

Notably, in September, when the share of flights arriving on time rose to 84.9%, carriers implemented the bulk of the large capacity cuts announced at the height of the summer’s oil-price surge. (Source: Wall Street Journal)

Trend: Premium Economy Offers More Comfort but Still Coach
As tightening travel budgets restrict first and business class bookings, interest in the premium economy class is resurfacing. A dozen international airlines flying to the U.S. now offer extra legroom, wider seats and seats that recline lower in premium economy cabins at a cost that’s slightly more than coach but notably less than business class. Some carriers even include better meals, early boarding, access to faster airport security lines, and other amenities. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

United Makes It A Little Easier to Pay Baggage Fees and Buy Extra Leg Room
More airlines are making it a little easier for consumers to pay baggage and other fees.

United Airlines canceled its previously announced plans to increase the domestic second bag fee from $25 to $50 one way, and now lets you pay your baggage fee in advance on its website instead of at check-in. You can now upgrade online instead of at check-in to Economy Plus, which starts at an additional $14 one way for up to five additional inches of legroom. Next spring, your travel agent will be able to book your baggage and upgrade you to Economy Plus.

Northwest Airlines is another carrier that now lets you pay your baggage fee in advance when you check in online; Spirit Airlines discounts your baggage fees when you pay online. Look for more airlines to make it easier to pay a variety of fees in advance, either through your travel agent or on their website. (Source: United, Northwest and Spirit press releases).

Lufthansa Italia
Lufthansa has launched its new Lufthansa Italia, which it is billing as a blend of Lufthansa’s reliability and quality with Italian flair.

It will begin flying a fleet of six aircraft in February between northern Italy and major European destinations.

It ultimately plans to operate its own Italian airline. It will first operate to Paris and Barcelona, and then will add Brussels, Budapest, Bucharest, Madrid, London and Lisbon. (Source: Lufthansa press release).

Delta Realigns Fees
Delta Air Lines, which recently acquired Northwest Airlines, is aligning the fee structures of the two carriers. It has dropped award ticket fuel charges instituted to cope with soaring fuel costs and reduced the cost of telephone reservations from $25 to $20.

It has eliminated curbside check in administrative fees and aligned the two carriers’ baggage fees. In addition, Delta now offers passengers Coach Choice seats for an additional fee when they check in online 24 hours before departure. These are certain aisle, window or exit row seats. (Source: Delta press release).

Filed Under: Airline News Tagged With: Delta, iata, Lufthansa, news, northwest, United

Airlines Travel Update American and Delta

Alaska Airlines

American AAdvantage Reduces Mileage Accrual, But Drops FF Booking Fee
American Airlines’ AAdvantage no longer offers minimum mileage guarantee for its non-elite status members for shorter flights on American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, oneworld member airlines, AAdvantage participating airlines as well as rail service and codeshare service booked under an AA flight number.

Customers now will earn AAdvantage miles only for the actual miles flown or, in some cases, for the applicable percentage of miles flown. But, in a give-back for travelers, American has eliminated the $5 fee to book frequent flyer miles. (Source: American Airlines press release).

New Delta Three-Tiered Award Structure Gives More Flexibility for Redeeming Miles
Delta Air Lines new three-tiered Award structure allows customers to combine dates, as well as Economy, First and BusinessElite cabin seating at various mileage levels to create their itineraries.

SkyMiles members also are able, once again, to use miles to book the last seat on a flight. For booking a round-trip flight, tiers now start at 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 miles rather than 25,000 and 50,000 miles. Customers may search for and book Award Travel using the new structure online. Members cam earn miles with Delta, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers, Delta AirElite and other SkyTeam airlines as well as with more than 100 partners, including the Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. (Source: Delta press release)

American Offers Priority Check
in and Boarding to Eite and Premium Travelers at JFK American Airlines is now offering PriorityAAccess privileges at John F. Kennedy International Airport to AAdvantage elite status members, First and Business Class travelers, AAirpass customers, and full-fare Economy Class customers.

They get a dedicated check-in area at the ticket counter, go through exclusive security screening lanes and have a separate boarding lane at JFK departure gates.

Signs clearly mark special check-in areas and security lanes. Priority AAcess security lanes are also available at Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Miami, Los Angeles, New York La Guardia, St. Louis, San Francisco, Boston and San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Source: AA press release).

Global Entry Program Speeds Frequent Travelers Through Passport Control
at Chicago
US. Customs has opened Global Entry centers at Chicago O’Hare International to expedite international arrival processing for returning U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

Global Entry travelers go to a special kiosk and insert their U.S. passports or lawful permanent resident cards into a document reader. The kiosk will direct travelers to provide digital fingerprints and will compare that biometric data with the fingerprints on file.

Global Entry is in place at JFK, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Washington Dulles airports. (Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection press release).

TSA, Continental Test Paperless Boarding in Cleveland
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Continental Airlines are testing Paperless Boarding Passes at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The boarding passes are passengers’ cell phones or PDAs. The passes have bar codes and passenger and flight information; security officers check them with handheld scanners. (Source: Continental press release).

TSA Expands Self Select Lanes to Newark
The Transportation Security Administration has expanded its Self-Select Lanes to Newark International Airport; 44 airports now have these lanes, which direct travelers based on their travel needs and knowledge.

Casual are for less frequent travelers, Family/Special Assistance for those traveling with small children or strollers or with elderly people or those who need special assistance. (Source: TSA press release).

Filed Under: Airline News Tagged With: AAdvantage, airport, American, Delta, flyer miles, Frequent Flyer, skymiles, tsa

Airline laptop & wifi updates Sept 2008

American, BA, Iberia Form Transatlantic Alliance

Airlines continue to seek scale by working ever more closely together. The latest example of this is the business agreement between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. The airlines say the deal will give their customers more destinations to choose from while helping the airlines to save money and attract new customers, which in turn would ease the upward pressure on airfares due to rising fuel costs.

Fuel prices are dropping but continue to take their toll, as evidenced by the shutdown of the discount transatlantic carrier Zoom Airlines (Source: American, BA, Iberia press releases and Zoom website).

American, Delta Offer WiFi
In-flight Delta Air Lines made its´ announcement first but American Airlines was first out of the gate with in-flight WiFi. American now has inflight WiFi on its Boeing 767-200s flying between New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The service costs $12.95 on flights of more than three hours; travelers simply turn on their WiFi enabled devices, including laptops, smart phones and PDAs, once they hit 10,00 feet and are connected to Aircell’s Gogo portal, the WiFi provider, where they sign up for the service. Delta, meanwhile, will offer WiFi on its domestic fleet of 330 mainline aircraft, also with Gogo, introducing it on its MD 88/99 aircraft this fall and rolling it out fleet wide in the first half of 2009. The service will cost $9.95 on flights or three hours or less and $12.95 on flights of three hours or more. (Source: American, Delta press releases).

TSA Lets You Leave Your Laptop in Some Bags
The Transportation Security Administration will now let you leave your laptop in its bag when you go through security as long as it meets new checkpoint friendly standards.

These bags should have a designated laptop-only section; they must completely unfold to lie flat on the X-ray belt; no metal snaps, zippers or buckles inside, underneath or on top of the laptop-only section; no pockets on the inside or outside of the laptop-only section and packed in the laptop-only section other than the computer itself.

The TSA worked with laptop bag manufacturers to come up with the new standards. (Source: TSA press release).

Airline Eliminates Life Jackets
Air Canada Jazz is eliminating life-jackets, calling them redundant since seats act as flotation devices. Transport Canada permits flotation devices, like the seats, instead of life jackets if the planes fly within 90 kilometers of shore.

The seat cushions lift off and have restraints on the bottom through which passengers can slip their arms through. There will be life jackets available for infants. The idea is to save on weight
and fuel. (Source: Travel Pulse Daily).

United Furloughs Flight Attendants, Tests Charging for Meals Over Atlantic
United Airlines is furloughing 1,500 flight attendants as a result of flight reductions it announced this summer. That is about 10 percent of its cabin workers and part of its efforts to cut 7,000 jobs by the end of 2009. It also began testing charging for in-flight meals over the Atlantic.

On transatlantic flights out of Dulles, it is testing selling Buy on Board options, including sandwiches, salads and snack boxes. It will evaluate results at year’s end. (Source: press reports, United press release).

Americans Divided on Inflight Cell Phone Use
In-flight wireless services could presage in-flight cell phone use. Americans are divided on whether or not passengers should be able to use their cell phones in-flight, according to a study by the Department of Transportation.

The younger you are, the more likely you are to favor it-almost half (47.7 percent) of 18- to 34-year-olds approved of the idea. Only a quarter of those over 65 favored the move; those between 35 and 64 almost evenly divided-40 percent say they should allowed, 46 percent said they should not and the rest aren’t sure. Source: DOT press release).

Filed Under: Airline News Tagged With: Air Canada, American, Delta, Jazz, tsa, United, wifi

June Footnotes for Hotels & Car Rentals

Hotels

Italy view

Loews Hotels Introduces Baggage Buy Back Program

In the wake of American Airlines’ new $15 fee for checking bags, , Loews Hotels has introduced a new “Baggage Buy Back” incentive that will reimburse guests for their $15 checked baggage fee.

Arriving guests simply present any airline bag fee receipt at the front desk to receive the rebate, which will be issued in the form of a credit to their bill at checkout. The Baggage Buy Back rebate is available at Loews’ 18 properties in the U.S. and Canada, from June 15 through Labor Day, Sept. 1.

Loews Hotels will offer credit for up to two bags for a maximum of $30 per occupied room per stay. (Source: Loews press release).

Cars

Airline Loyalty Programs Offering Savings, Bonus Miles to Car Renters Airlines are giving their frequent flyer members a chance to earn more miles or get discounts when they rent cars.

Delta Air Lines and Advantage Rent A Car are partnering to allow SkyMiles members
to earn 200 miles per day on any class of vehicle rental through Advantage. with a maximum of 2,000 miles per rental. Additionally, SkyMiles members may earn up to 6,000 miles for rentals completed through July 13.

Northwest Airlines is partnering with Hertz to allow WorldPerks members to save 50 percent and earning double miles on weekend rentals in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico through June 30. WorldPerks members can earn 50 WorldPerks miles per day for Hertz rentals of one to four days, and 500 WorldPerks miles for Hertz rentals of five days or more.(Source: Advantage, Northwest press releases).

Spotlight On…..What You Really Dislike About Flying

It’s not the individual airlines that so frustrate air travelers, according to a new Travel Industry Association survey of air travelers. What irritates you most is the air travel process.

The TIA survey of more than 1,000 air travelers found that the more you fly, the more frustrated you get.

Seventy-eight percent of air travelers believe the air travel system is either broken or in need of moderate correction
Sixty-two percent believe the air travel system is deteriorating
Thirty-three percent of air travelers are dissatisfied with the air travel system and 48 percent of frequent air travelers (those who do five trips or more per year) are dissatisfied
Thirty-nine percent feel their time is not respected in the air travel process and that increases to 51 percent among frequent travelers.

The TIA is blaming flight delays caused by an outdated air traffic control system as a fundamental cause of the aviation industry’s problems and is holding a summit later this money to push Congress to address the problem.

Filed Under: Hotel & Car Tagged With: American, American Express, bags, Delta, hotel, loews, loyalty programs, northwest, skymiles

Airlines Information, May 2008

Airlines Up Change Fees, Institute Minimum Stay Requirement

In airlines ongoing quest for additional revenues in the face of $120-a-barrel oil, several network carriers have upped their change fees and re-instituted Saturday night stay and/or minimum stay requirements.

Airlines

United Airlines increased its change fees by 50 percent to $150 and added a Saturday night stay requirement on routes in about 65 percent of its markets.

Continental upped its change fee to $150 for domestic and $250 for international flights. US Airways upped the cost of its change fees by $50, to $150 for domestic and $250 for international flights.In some instances, top customers, such as elite members of airline loyalty programs, are exempt from these fees.

In addition, United, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Continental have instituted minimum stay requirements on all or many of their routes.

Meanwhile, most network carriers and some low cost carriers, including JetBlue and AirTran have added fees for checking a second bag; fees range from$10 to $25. (Source: airline press releases).

Compensation Doubles for Involuntary Bumping
If you’re involuntarily bumped from your flight, you’ll get twice as much as you used to get. Effective this month, if you’re bumped you can receive up to $400 if you’re rescheduled to arrive within two hours of your original arrival time on domestic flights, four hours on international flights, and up to $800 if you’re not rerouted within that time frame.

The rule now covers aircraft seating 30 people or more; it previously covered flights with 60 seats and up. Reimbursement is determined by the price of the ticket, its refundability and the length of the delay. (Source: DOT press release).

DOT, FAA Announce Plans Designed to Ease Congestion
Even though airlines are reducing their domestic capacity, many by as much as five percent, aviation congestion remains a problem.

The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have announced a new routing alternative that will provide an “escape route” into Canadian airspace so that aircraft can fly around summer thunderstorms and high winds. And, the FAA is opening a second westbound route for aircraft, which will provide a parallel route along a heavily traveled corridor, which should cut westbound delays out of New York.

The DOT has also proposed auctioning off a limited amount of slots-the number of flights airlines can operate in a single day-at LaGuardia. The Air Transport Association, an airline trade group, is opposing such market-based solutions, saying that the DOT doesn’t have the authority to institute auctions and congestion pricing and that they are inconsistent with international practices. (Source: DOT, ATA press releases.)

Fare Expert Finds Majority of Airline Attempts to Hike Fares Are ticking
When Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines announced their proposed merger, they said that stratospheric oil prices have fundamentally changed the economics of aviation.

Oil prices are fueling mergers and other alliance, bankruptcies (more than a half dozen this spring, with the latest being the premium transatlantic carrier Eos), capacity reductions and ongoing fare hikes.

Rick Seaney, CEO of the airfare monitoring site FareCompare.com, has been tracking airline fare increases and reports that the airlines have attempted 14 price hikes so far this year; nine have been successful.

Summer demand and soaring fuel prices are making airlines comfortable with these increases, meaning travelers need to lock in summer travel now. (Source: FareCompare.com)

Virgin Atlantic Adds Second Dulles-London Flight for Summer
Virgin Atlantic has begun a second daily flight between Washington Dulles International and London Heathrow. The flight will operate until October 26. (Source: Virgin Atlantic press release).