World Travel
Industry Update
July 16,
2008
Featured
Articles This Issue
|
1. |
Northwest News |
|
2. |
New
Ticketing Policy for United |
|
3. |
Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson to Run Merged
Airline |
|
4. |
Latest
Airline Money-Maker: Boarding Passes |
|
5. |
Department
of Transportation Tracking Airlines’ Fuel Cost and Consumption |
|
6. |
Staying at a Luxury Hotel? Don’t Expect Free
Wi-Fi |
1. Northwest News
Last week Northwest Airlines announced effective
immediately for all domestic tickets booked on or
after July 10 for travel on or after August 28,
Northwest will charge $15 each way ($30 roundtrip)
for the first checked bag. The second bag fee is
$25 each way. The fee for the third or more bags is
$100 per bag each way. Northwest’s new fee applies
to customers traveling within the United States and
to/from Canada. Full-fare coach passengers and
frequent flier elites are exempt from the policy.
Other changes going into effect include the
following: Effective July 9, the fee for domestic
non-refundable ticket changes will increase from
$100 to $150. International ticket change fees will
increase by an additional $50 to $150 per ticket,
depending on class of service and other
restrictions. Effective for tickets issued on or
after September 15, 2008, Northwest will charge $25
for domestic, $50 for Trans-Atlantic and $100 for
Trans-Pacific WorldPerks Award tickets issued in
North America.
2. New Ticketing Policy for United
As part of United’s cost control efforts that are
necessary to successfully compete in an industry
challenged by record high fuel prices and a
softening economy, United is applying advance
ticketing requirements on most refundable fares with
North America (U.S. and Canada) point-of-sale
bookings. For bookings made at least 3 days before
departure, tickets must be issued 3 days prior to
departure for First and Business and Normal Economy
(Y,B) Classes. For bookings made less than 3 days
before departure, tickets must be issued within 24
hours of booking for First and Business and Normal
Economy (Y,B) Classes. For all other economy class
fares tickets must be issued 24 hours after
booking..
3. Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson to Run Merged
Airline
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson will run the
merged DL/Northwest Airlines out of Atlanta, the
carriers announced yesterday as they unveiled the
senior management team for what would be the world’s
larges airline, saying the team will “ensure the
seamless transition of Northwest’s operations into
Delta over the next 12-24 months.” Upon closing of
the merger, Northwest will be an operating
subsidiary of Delta run by current Delta President
and CEO Ed Bastian, who will assume the titles of
CEO and President of Northwest. Current President
and CEO Doug Steenland will vacate the post and sit
on the Delta board.
4. Latest Airline Money-Maker: Boarding Passes
Five major US airlines have plans to start
publishing ads on boarding passes that passengers
print at home. The airlines are Delta, Northwest,
US, United and Continental. The ads will have
coupons, restaurant and shopping recommendations and
lists of events. Information will be based on
destinations and duration of stay. Passengers that
want to save printer ink can still choose to print
only the boarding pass. Airports are also hoisting
ads on electrical outlet stations and baggage
carousel conveyor belts. The Transportation
Security Administration has also approved selling
ads on the bins used at security checkpoints.
5. Department of Transportation Tracking Airlines’
Fuel Cost and Consumption
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of
Transportation Statistics has unveiled an Airline
Fuel Cost and Consumption web page. It holds
preliminary summary data on the industry’s monthly
fuel costs and consumption. In May, airlines spent
$3.5 billion on nearly 1.6 billion gallons of fuel,
paying $3.05 per gallon for domestic flights. It
spent $1.8 billion on 540 million gallons of fuel
that cost $3.33 per gallon on international
flights. To review airline fuel cost and
consumption visit
www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp
6. Staying at a Luxury Hotel? Don’t Expect Free
Wi-Fi
The more you pay for your room, the less likely you
are to get free Wi-Fi. That was the surprising
finding from a recent survey of 10,000 hotels
conducted by Smith Travel Research for the American
Hotel & Lodging Association. At the same time,
wireless Internet access is becoming common. It is
offered by 91% of hotels, up 35% from four years
ago, according to the survey. The survey also found
that charges for Internet access were most common at
more expensive properties. Other findings: fewer
hotels are offering free breakfast; more hotels are
charging for late cancellations; more hotels are
offering allergy-free rooms.
Getting away used to be a luxury, however, in
today’s world it has become a
necessity.