Travel Update-Weekly Edition
March 13th, 2008
Airline
News
American Airlines -
Beginning June 1, American Airlines will start nonstop
service between Fort Lauderdale and Kingston, Jamaica. The carrier will fly
one daily round-trip flight on Boeing 737-800 jets with 16 seats in first class
and 132 seats in coach. The Jamaica-bound flight will leave Fort Lauderdale at 8
a.m. and arrive in Kingston at 8:40 a.m., all times local. The return flight
leaves Kingston at 10 a.m. and lands in Fort Lauderdale at 12:50 p.m., all times
local.
ATA - High
fuel prices will force ATA Airlines to leave Chicago's Midway
Airport starting next month. ATA will stop its
domestic flights out of Midway on April 14 and its international flights to
Mexico on June 7. Indianapolis-based ATA has operated a Midway hub since 1992.
Its domestic flights from there include service to Dallas/Fort Worth and
Oakland, CA. It still will run scheduled commercial
flights to Hawaii from Oakland, Los
Angeles, Phoenix and Las
Vegas.
Continental Airlines
- Self-service check-in kiosks from NCR Corporation are now
providing added convenience and flexibility to Continental Airlines customers at
13 airports throughout Latin America. Continental has installed the NCR
kiosks in Acapulco, Mexico; Bogota, Colombia, Cali, Colombia; Mexico City,
Mexico; Guadalajara, Mexico; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Monterrey, Mexico; Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic; Belize, Belize; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Aguadilla,
Puerto Rico; Panama City, Panama; and Managua, Nicaragua.
Delta Air Lines - Delta
Air Lines will launch its first flights to China with a daily route between
Shanghai and Atlanta beginning March 30. A Boeing 777 will fly between
Shanghai's Pudong International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport. The flights will begin March 30, U.S. time, but due to
the time difference flights from Shanghai begin March
31.
Delta Air Lines is ending flights to Long Island MacArthur Airport
near Islip, N.Y. The carrier will end its daily round-trip flight to Atlanta on
May 1.
Mexicana Airlines -
Starting May 1, Mexicana Airlines will begin nonstop service
between New York JFK and Monterrey, Mexico. The carrier will fly one daily
round-trip on Airbus A319 jets with 12 seats in business class and 108 in coach.
Mexico-bound flights leave JFK at 2 p.m. and land in Monterrey at 5:30 p.m., all
times local. Return flights leave Monterrey at 8 a.m. and land at JFK a 1 p.m.,
all times local.
Singapore Airlines - The
world's largest passenger jet will take off for Tokyo from Singapore on May 20,
making it the third commercial destination for the Airbus A380 plane from the
city-state. Singapore Airlines said on Wednesday that the daily scheduled flight
will depart for the Japanese capital's Narita Airport, and return to Singapore
on the same day. Singapore Air, the first airline to operate the superjumbo,
launched A380 services to Sydney on October 25, and will start flying the
aircraft to London from March 18. The airline said earlier on Wednesday that it
has taken delivery of its third A380, and has firm orders for a further 16 with
options on six more.
Southwest Airlines - As
of 8:00 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday night (March 12), 28 of Southwest's 38
aircraft reinspections have been completed. All aircraft reinspections will be
completed by the end of the night. Southwest anticipates a normal operation on
Thursday morning. Any repairs identified as a result of these reinspections will
be made before those aircraft are returned to
service.
Spirit Airlines -
Starting May 8, Spirit Airlines will add service between Fort
Lauderdale and Cartagena, Colombia. Spirit will fly one daily-round-trip flight
from Fort Lauderdale to the city.
Airport/Destination
News
Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport - Dallas/Ft.
Worth International plans to open a health clinic and pharmacy in Terminal
A and International Terminal D by spring of 2009. The planned walk-in clinic and
pharmacy will offer access to minor illness care, prescription services,
preventive screenings, vaccinations and X-rays. The airport will hold an
informational session to discuss the project on April 17 at the DFW Hyatt
Regency."
Hartford CT. - Hartford appears to be losing its
only nonstop route to Denver. Frontier will suspend its Hartford-Denver route in
September. The carrier cites rising fuel costs. Still, Frontier spokesman Joe
Hodas tells the paper the airline expects to resume the service, though the
company has not decided when. "Generally, my guess would be we would look to
restart service in December," Hodas says.
Newark Liberty International Airport - Flights at Newark
Liberty International Airport will be capped at 83 flights per hour during peak
times, the Department of Transportation has announced. The move is part of
a government initiative to help reduce chronic flight delays at the New York
City airports. Aviation officials say the New York delays have become so bad
that they often ripple out and slow down air traffic at airports across the
nation. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs all three (New
York City) airports, knew the caps at Newark were coming since (DOT Secretary
Mary) Peters announced the move late last year, but the government had not
released the specific number until this week. The Newark announcement comes
just before an 83-flights-per-peak-hour cap goes into effect at New York
JFK this Saturday. Airlines there had
been cramming as many as 100 hourly flights into the schedule there as recently
as last summer.
Hotel
News
Gaylord Hotels -
Gaylord Hotels now offers wireless Internet connectivity resort-wide at
each of its four properties as part of the daily $15 resort fee charged to
guests. Wireless access is now available in guest rooms and in all public areas,
including hotel lobbies, atriums, restaurants, lounges, bars and pool areas, but
wireless access in the convention center and meeting rooms requires additional
firewall and security levels, so the service is contracted separately. The four
properties now offering the service are: Gaylord Opryland, Nashville; Gaylord
Texan, Grapevine, Tex.; Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Fla.; and Gaylord National,
National Harbor, Md., near Washington, D.C.
The Drake Hotel,
Chicago - The Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue is getting a
makeover aimed at moving the hotel into the future without abandoning its past.
An investor group that bought the 88-year-old hotel in 2006 is sprucing up the
Drake’s 535 rooms and common areas with new paint, carpeting and window
treatments, an effort “to freshen up the look a little bit,” says Gint
Lietuvninkas, vice-president and principal at Gettys Group Inc., a Chicago-based
hotel design firm overseeing the project. The current facelift, which began late
last year, is largely cosmetic and will include new flat-panel televisions in
all the rooms. To let in more natural light, Gettys also is replacing heavy
window treatments in guest rooms with sheer
curtains.
Starwood Hotels
and Resorts - Starwood Hotels and Resorts' W brand is now
offering its VIP's "W The Card," which it says is "an all-access pass to a world
of privilege." The card's benefits include 24/7 concierge service, perks from
partners including PUMA, Jonathan Adler and Club Monaco,
exclusive invitations to events and other benefits.
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
Cameroon - On March 12 the U.S. Department of State issued the
following Travel Warning: "This Travel Warning updates American citizens on
the security situation in Cameroon. The situation has calmed considerably,
though security forces remain visible throughout the country. The U.S. Embassy
is open for full services. However, political developments or a resumption of
taxi strikes could result in more violence. The Department of State recommends
that American citizens defer non-essential travel to Cameroon. This Travel
Warning supersedes the Travel Warning for Cameroon dated February 28. "Between February 25 and 29, violent demonstrations,
roadblocks, looting, and clashes with police in Cameroon resulted in numerous
fatalities and the arrests of approximately 1600 individuals. The worst
violence was in Douala and the Littoral, South West, West, and North West
provinces, but unrest also began in the capital city of Yaounde on the morning
of February 27. Although critical
services quickly deteriorated and there were temporary shortages of food,
fuel, and water, as well as transportation disruptions, throughout the
country, those services have returned to normal. The situation has calmed
considerably, though security forces remain visible throughout the country.
"On February 28, the Department of State
authorized the departure from Cameroon of eligible family members of American
employees of the U.S. Embassy. Although the U.S. Embassy is open for full
services, the Department continues to recommend that American citizens defer
non-essential travel to Cameroon."
March 6, 2008
February 28, 2008
February 21, 2008
February 14, 2008
February 8, 2008
February 1, 2008
January 24, 2008
January 17, 2008
January 10, 2008
January 3, 2008
December 27, 2007
December 20, 2007
December 13, 2007
December 5, 2007
November 29, 2007
November 21, 2007
November 15, 2007
November 8, 2007
November 1, 2007
October 25, 2007
October 18, 2007
October 11, 2007
October 4, 2007
September 27, 2007
September 20, 2007
September 13, 2007
September 6, 2007
August 30, 2007
August 23, 2007
August 16, 2007
August 9, 2007
August 2, 2007
July 26, 2007
July 20, 2007
July 12, 2007
