Travel Update-Weekly Edition
February 1st, 2008
Airline
News
Air New Zealand -
Air New Zealand is suspending flights between Los Angeles and Fiji in
favor of a code-share with Air Pacific. The airline's own three times a week
service to the Pacific island nation, which connects in Los Angeles with flights
from London, will be dropped from April 26. The three flights a week on the
LA-Fiji route will be replaced by an enhanced code-share service with Air
Pacific which will see the number of flights rise from four to six a week. All
six code-share services will connect to and from Air New Zealand's London
services to ensure the flow of Northern Hemisphere tourism into Fiji, the
carrier said. The new arrangement means that Air New Zealand code-share services
between Los Angeles and Nadi in Fiji will operate every day except Fridays. Air
Pacific operates Boeing 747-400 aircraft on the route with a capacity of 28
business class and 452 economy class seats. Air New Zealand currently operates
services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, code-sharing on the other days of the
week. The airline's last Monday service will be April 21, the last Wednesday
service will be April 23 and the last Friday service will be April 25. The
expanded code-share service will begin with Air Pacific operating a Wednesday
service from April 30, and a Monday service from June 2.
AirTran
- AirTran Airways, has announced today that it will further
expand service from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee with the
addition of nonstop seasonal flights to the following destinations: Los Angeles
International Airport in Los Angeles, CA.; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
in Seattle, WA.; San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, CA.; San
Diego-Lindbergh Field Airport in San Diego, CA.; and Logan International Airport
in Boston, MA. The airline also announced additional nonstop flights from
Milwaukee to Las Vegas McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV. With the
addition of these flights AirTran Airways will provide 20 peak day departures to
thirteen nonstop destinations from Milwaukee. New nonstop seasonal flights to
Los Angeles, Seattle/Tacoma and San Francisco will begin May 6, 2008. Nonstop
seasonal flights to San Diego and Boston and a second daily flight to Las Vegas
will begin May 21. All routes will be served with the airline's popular and
fuel-efficient Boeing 737-700 and Boeing 717-200 aircraft.
American
Airlines - American Airlines said it has upgraded its mobile Web site
to let customers check in for flights and look at itineraries on their
Web-enabled cell phones. The airline said Thursday it would expand the service
this spring to let customers book flights, change reservations and request
upgrades from a Web-enabled device. American said its Web site recognizes users
of mobile devices and directs them to a mobile version of AA.com. Content is
more condensed than on the regular site for users of desktop or notebook
computers, but it's designed to be navigated from a mobile device, the airline
said.
American Eagle Airlines,
the regional affiliate of American Airlines, will add a daily nonstop flight
between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and General Francisco Javier
Mina International Airport in Tampico, Mexico, beginning April 7. American Eagle
will operate the service with 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140
jets.
Beginning April 7,
American affiliate American Eagle will add a third daily
flight between its Dallas/Fort Worth hub and Roswell,
NM. The carrier will use 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional
jets.
Continental
Airlines - Continental will add live television programming and onboard
e-mail and instant messaging capabilities on some of its aircraft beginning next
year. First-class customers will get free access to the entertainment system,
while other passengers will have to pay a $6 fee. The service will be installed
aboard Continental's new Boeing 737s and Boeing 757-300s. Continental's service
will be provided by LiveTV. LiveTV will begin installing the service on about
225 Continental jets in January 2009, a process expected to take about 18 months
to complete.
EVA Air -
EVA Air is launching a Taipei-Osaka-Los Angeles route on March 30,
giving passengers an alternative to its Taipei hub and nonstop service between
Los Angeles and Osaka, Japan. The flights will utilize new Boeing 777-300ER
aircraft, and will be operated three days a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.
Flight 167 will depart Los Angeles at 12:10 p.m. and arrive in Osaka 4:05 p.m.
the next day, and then continue on to Taipei, arriving at 7:25 p.m. Flight 168
will depart Taipei at 10:30 a.m. and arrive in Osaka at 2:00 p.m. and then
continue on to Los Angeles, arriving at 9:45 a.m.
JetBlue -
Beginning May 1, JetBlue will beef up its presence in Boston with daily
nonstop routes to Chicago O'Hare and New Orleans. The carrier will fly one daily
round-trip flight on both routes.
Northwest
Airlines - Beginning May 2, Northwest will add daily
nonstop service between Detroit and Monterrey, Mexico. Northwest Airlink
partner Compass Airlines will fly one daily round-trip flight on the flight
using two-class 76-seat Embraer 175 jets.
Southwest
Airlines - Southwest Airlines has firmed its plans to test
inflight Internet access through an agreement with satellite-based connectivity
provider Row 44, which will conduct trials on four Southwest planes this
summer.
TAM -
TAM has expanded the Easy Web Check-in service offered on the company's
domestic flights to serve passengers on flights to Caracas, Venezuela; Santiago,
Chile; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Cordoba, Argentina; and Asuncion and Ciudad del
Este, Paraguay. The service for these destinations, which went into effect on
January 25, affords greater convenience for passengers on TAM flights. The
service will be extended to other international TAM flights in coming
months.
United Airlines -
United Airlines is slashing its domestic flight schedule, with the cuts
falling heaviest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, as it fights to stay
aloft amid a deteriorating economic environment. The carrier has scheduled
5 percent fewer flights out of O'Hare during the first quarter than it did a
year ago. United plans to lop off another 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent of domestic
capacity on top of the 2007 reductions.
Airport/Destination
News
Denver International Airport -
Productivity-minded travelers at Denver International can work at
new self-service kiosks equipped with word-processing, spreadsheet and
presentation software. Marketed by Louisville, Colo.-based Zoox Stations, the
four office-service kiosks feature an Internet connection, laser printers, USB
ports, laptop-charging outlets and booths for privacy. Cost: 25 cents a minute.
Video game enthusiasts can also get their fix at the 64 game stations the
company has installed throughout the airport.
Hotel News
Hilton Hotels -
Registered Traveler provider FLO Corp. this week said Hilton HHonors
members would be able to purchase its annual fast-track security screening
membership with accrued loyalty points beginning Feb. 15. FLO said HHonors
members could redeem 35,000 points in exchange for the annual membership, and
hopes to expand the redemption offering to other travel suppliers, including
airlines. Though FLO operates its "fast lane option" at a single airport,
Reno/Tahoe International, the Registered Traveler program is designed to be
interoperable among vendors, allowing FLO members to use lanes operated by
competitor Clear at more than one dozen airports in the United States.
Hilton Hotels Corp. has
announced that, effective Friday, Feb. 1, it will eliminate blackout dates from
its HHonors guest reward program. Currently, only the upper echelon of HHonors
members—gold and diamond members—are exempt from blackout dates in redeeming
reward points for stays in Hilton properties, and blue and silver members had
blackout dates, said Adam Burke, Hilton's senior vice president of customer
loyalty. Under the new rules, all members will be exempt. Hilton's program is
unique because it will not include such other policy restrictions as capacity
controls, exclusion of certain properties or requiring more point redemption for
what would have been a blackout date. Hilton brands include Hilton, Conrad
Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton
Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by
Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria Collection.
Four Seasons
Hotels - Silverstein Properties and Four Seasons Hotels and
Resorts have joined to develop and operate a hotel and private residences in a
new development at 99 Church Street in Lower Manhattan. A 175-room Four Seasons
Hotel will occupy the first 2 floors of the eight-story tower. The remainder
will have 143 private residences managed by Four Seasons. The tower, located
between Barclay Street and Park Place, will be one block from the World Trade
Center redevelopment site. Guests of the hotel can expect a spa with health club
and pool, restaurant and lounge. Those who take up residents in the building
will have access to an indoor pool, fitness center, children's room and lounge.
Foundation work for the new tower should begin in June, with completion in early
2011.
Marriott Hotels
- Edition will be the name of the new Marriott boutique brand to be
developed in tandem with veteran hotelier and industry icon Ian Schrager. So
far, nine properties have been announced, but Marriott says there could
eventually be 100 Edition hotels worldwide. The first Edition is slated to open
in Paris in 2010 with Madrid, Costa Rica, Miami, Washington, D.C., Chicago and
Scottsdale, AZ, to follow. The choice of Edition as the name signifies that each
hotel, though similar in style, would be designed to fit the tenor of the local
area, Schrager told The Washington Post. "Each city, each location will be its
own separate edition. Bill Marriott, chairman and CEO of Marriott International,
shared Schrager's enthusisam. "It's a magical combination," Marriott said of the
unlikely pairing of the two, Schrager a T-shirt and jeans guy; Marriott prone to
red ties and dark suits. "Each hotel will be a new Edition, a modern genre of
hotel that only Ian Schrager can create." An Edition hotel will average between
150 and 200 rooms, and Schrager will lead the effort on concept, design,
marketing, branding and food and beverage.
Miscellaneous
State Dept
Travel Warnings and Public announcements - For the full announcements or
further detail on Travel Warnings and Public Announcements, please see http://travel.state.gov/travel
Egypt - On January 28 the U.S.
Embassy in Cairo issued the following Warden Message: "The situation in
Northern Sinai remains unsettled. Egyptian police are making efforts to
control the border with Gaza, but it remains unsealed. The Embassy is
currently restricting non-official travel of U.S. personnel to Rafah and Al
Areesh, and recommends private U.S. citizens avoid all travel to those
areas."
Guyana - The U.S. Embassy Georgetown issued
the following Warden Message on January 26: "Due to recent actions by armed criminal
elements, including the killing of two Guyanese Defense Force soldiers in
Buxton on January 24, the killing of 11
civilians in Lusignan and an attack on the Guyanese Police Force Headquarters
in Georgetown on January 25/26, as well
as reports of shootings in the vicinity of Buxton, and the potential for
continued violence on the East Coast and possibly in Georgetown, U.S. citizens
are encouraged to maintain a high state of vigilance, consider security issues
when planning activities within and outside of Georgetown, including to the
airport, and to minimize movement when possible. Guyanese authorities are
conducting roadblocks in response to the recent incidents and may institute
further actions or precautions."
Beginning January 31, all U.S. citizens entering the United States
by land and sea will be required to present proof of citizenship, such
as a passport, birth certificate or naturalization certificate, in addition to
government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license. Children less
than 18 years of age will only have to present a birth certificate. The new
rules will not affect permanent U.S. residents, who will be required to show the
same documents as before. Citizens of Canada and Bermuda, who were previously
exempt from document requirements, must now present proof of citizenship. There
will initially be a transition period that will last until June 2009, at which
point all U.S. citizens will be required to present passports or passport cards.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will attempt to verify the identity
and citizenship of travelers who do not have the necessary documents. Travelers
should anticipate significant delays at all U.S. border crossings in Canada and
Mexico as the new process is implemented. Beginning February 1, U.S. citizens will be able to apply for
passport cards, which will only be valid for land and sea travel between the
U.S. and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The passport cards will be issued at
some point this spring and will be less expensive than traditional
passports.
January 24, 2008
January 17, 2008
January 10, 2008
January 3, 2008
December 27, 2007
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November 29, 2007
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