Dear Valued Clients,

On behalf of all of us at Williamsburg Travel Management – American Express, we wish you a Very Happy New Year and a very successful 2011. It will be a very exciting year for the travel industry with many opportunities to travel to new and exotic destinations by air and by sea.

The Allure of the Seas has joined her sister ship, the Oasis of the Seas as the 2 largest cruise ships in the world. Both sail alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean Itineraries from Port Everglades and feature an amazing array of dining and entertainment venues. Azamara Club Cruises is Royal Caribbean’s boutique brand and has just added numerous service enhancements such as complimentary wine with lunch and dinner, a gratuities inclusive pricing structure, and new port intensive itineraries. They feature smaller ships with a more upscale, intimate and relaxed feel. Both ships have a capacity of approximately 700 guests and will sail longer, more exotic journeys to the Mediterranean and to South America.

This year there will be more cruise capacity in the Mediterranean than ever before. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara will have 12 ships sailing in the Mediterranean and in European waters this year. Cruising is a great way to see Europe since you may pay for the cruise and shore excursions in U. S. Dollars.

Delta Air Lines has continued a major expansion of International routes to new destinations in Africa and across the Pacific. We look forward to their new terminal facilities at New York’s JFK International Airport and the completing of major construction projects at CDG International Airport in Paris.

We greatly appreciate your business and if any of us can ever be of special assistance, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,

Terry W. Brennan
President

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).

Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines during fourth-quarter 2007 earnings calls said they have reinstated the Saturday-night stay requirements in select markets.

In fare analysis conducted for Business Travel News, Harrell Associates found the six legacy carriers placed Saturday-night stay restrictions on 4 percent of the 2,813 one way or roundtrip fares evaluated in late January in each carrier’s top 40 routes.

That is slightly up from the 3 percent of restrictions found for the same carriers in the same markets last September. However, the most recent data from Harrell shows that of 763 roundtrip fares evaluated, 13 percent carried Saturday-night stay restrictions.

Robert Mann, President of airline consulting firm R.W. Mann & Co., said the restrictions are “the sort of thing that will, without changing prices, fence business travelers into the higher fare categories—it will also tick them off, but that’s a separate issue.” Not all legacy carriers have joined the Saturday-night stay reintroduction. “We have not done that anywhere yet and frankly don’t see that happening across the industry,” US Airways CEO Doug Parker said in the carrier’s earnings call last month.

AMR said the move would enable American to focus on its mainline business while allowing American Eagle to pursue growth opportunities.

• American 2009 China-Beijing*
• Continental 2009 Newark-Shanghai*
• Delta 2008 Atlanta-Shanghai
• Northwest 2009 Detroit-Shanghai*
• United 2008 San Francisco-Guangzhou
• US Airways 2009 Philadelphia-Beijing*
• Air China 2009 Beijing-Washington & Shanghai-San Francisco
• China Eastern 2008 Shanghai-Los Angeles1
• China Southern 2008 Beijing-Newark, 2009 Beijing-Detroit
• Hainan Airlines 2008 Beijing-Seattle, 2009 Beijing-Chicago & Beijing-Newark
• Shanghai Airlines 2009 Shanghai-Seattle & Shanghai-Los Angeles