I am here
By John Banta
I’m off to visit my wife and in-laws in Wilmington, NC for the July 4th weekend and decided to try something new.
I’m writing this post from 30,000 feet aboard Delta Air Lines flight 1935 en route to Atlanta and must say, I am pretty impressed with the in-flight Internet access I am just now checking out for the first time.
After a quick registration process on a sign-up page and charging $9.95 to my credit card, I am now online for the duration of the flight. (more…)
By Joe Brancatelli
ANNALS OF RECESSION I
More Charges for Comfy Coach Across the Pacific: Trans-Pacific premium-class traffic is plummeting, falling even faster than trans-Atlantic travel up front.
According to IATA, the airline trade group, premium-class travel fell by almost 30 percent in March compared to March, 2008. Qantas, the Australian carrier, has been among the hardest hit.
Besides the 30 percent traffic decline, Qantas says that those fliers still buying premium-class flights are paying just half of last year’s going rates. As a result, Qantas has simply stopped selling first-class tickets on at least three routes, including its San Francisco-Sydney service.
That means some lucky fliers will get business-class service, but be upgraded to the seats in the larger, plusher first-class seats. However, coach passengers who want to score a roomier exit-row seat will have to pay for the privilege. Qantas now charges a premium of $60 to $100 for an exit-row seat assignment. That essentially matches the exit-row premium imposed last fall by Singapore Airlines on many of its trans-Pacific flights.
By Joe Brancatelli
NET NEWS
The Cost of Internet on the Road Is Coming Down: Without much fanfare, Boingo, the global network of 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, has slashed its monthly price by more than 50 percent. The basic domestic plan has been cut to $9.95 a month, down from $21.95. The domestic Boingo service covers hotspots operated by AT&T, T-Mobile and others inside thousands of hotels, Starbucks, McDonalds and bookstores nationwide. Boingo's move comes as residential-oriented broadband firms have begun bundling remote Wi-Fi access with their own monthly fees. Cablevision, for example, offers its users in the New York metropolitan area some Wi-Fi access on the road. Verizon, which sells DSL and fiber-optic Internet to residential customers, is readying an announcement that would give them some free Wi-Fi hotspot access, too. And T-Mobile has joined other big cellphone companies in selling 3G modem sticks that allow laptops to surf the Internet using mobile-phone networks.
By Joe Brancatelli
CONNECTIONS
AirTran Airways Logs on to In-flight Wireless: AirTran
Airways is equipping all of its aircraft for in-flight Wi-Fi. It claimed
the entire fleet of 136 Boeing 737s and 717s will be wired with
Aircell's Gogo Inflight service by the end of July, a record for speedy
installation.
By Joe Brancatelli
AIRPORT REPORT
Fliers Can Eat for a Fin in Two Big Airports: Philadelphia and New York/LaGuardia now have $5 menu-item programs
at some of their food-service outlets. About 50 restaurants are
offering specials under the banner of Wow! $5 Chow! The grub ranges
from a chicken sandwich and a large beverage at Chick-Fil-A in
Philadelphia to dessert and coffee at Todd English's Figs in LaGuardia.
By Joe Brancatelli
ROUTE MAP
AirTran Is Building in Orlando and Taking on Allegiant: AirTran Airways is launching a slew of new routes into Orlando and many of the new flights target Allegiant Airlines, the specialty carrier that has made its reputation serving tertiary nonstop markets. The new Orlando offerings from AirTran are three weekly flights from Charleston, West Virginia (beginning June 25); four weekly flights from Allentown/Lehigh Valley (June 25); three weekly flights from Asheville, North Carolina (June 11); four weekly flights from Knoxville (June 12); and three weekly flights from Atlantic City (June 12). AirTran is also adding daily flights from its Atlanta hub to Portland, Maine, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Both routes are seasonal and will operate between June 11 and September 8.
By Joe Brancatelli
HOTEL HOT SHEET
Recession Be Damned. The New Properties Keep Opening: The number of new hotels opening would be overwhelming even if the economy were still roaring along. Now it just seems, well, chaotic. But here we go.
By Joe Brancatelli
NEED TO KNOW
On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter: Northwest Airlines has shifted to Delta Air Lines gates and facilities at Fort Lauderdale Airport and Tampa. … The SuperShuttle shared-van service now operates to and from Pittsburgh,
its 33rd airport. … A federal district judged has tossed the
false-imprisonment lawsuit filed by one of the travelers held for more
than nine hours on an American Airlines plane diverted to Austin in
December, 2006. … The Diners Club card, owned by Discover but licensed
to former owner Citigroup, has added some airport lounges to its
network. The card will now get you access to the 11 Salon Premier clubs
operated by AeroMexico and two Premium Plaza lounges in Singapore's
Changi Airport. A Diners Club card now gives you access to about 130
airport lounges worldwide.
By Joe Brancatelli
BIG-CITY BEAT
Southwest Airlines Decides It Can Make It in New York: It's the reverse of that song New York, New York: Having already made it anywhere, Southwest Airlines is hoping to make it "there," meaning New York. The 800-pound gorilla of discounters and the nation's only consistently profitable airline, Southwest adds New York's LaGuardia Airport to its route map on June 28. The initial schedule includes five nonstops a day to Chicago's Midway Airport and three nonstops to Baltimore/Washington. Although Southwest is trimming its total capacity this year, the LaGuardia launch is part of the carrier's push into big cities that it once shunned. In March, Southwest began flying from Minneapolis-St. Paul; it began with flights to Midway and adds three MSP-Denver flights on May 26. The carrier also launches flights at Boston's Logan Airport in the fall. About the only major metropolitan area still off the Southwest route map now is Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport.
By Joe Brancatelli
LOVE FEST
American Airlines Drops Dallas/Love Service–Again: Business travelers have lost count of the number of times the bosses at Dallas/Fort Worth-based American Airlines have launched flights at Dallas/Love Field. Whenever a competitive threat appears at Love Field, American begins flying inexpensive, competitive service. And as soon as the threat disappears, so does American. But this time American ran into Love-based Southwest Airlines, a competitor it couldn't push around. After a change in the Wright Amendment permitted Southwest to fly to new cities from Love in 2006, American piled in, too, launching flights to Chicago/O'Hare, Kansas City and St. Louis. The St. Louis and Kansas City flights disappeared almost immediately. American has now announced that it'll drop the O'Hare service on June 11. But don't worry, American says it'll be back at Love in 2013, when a new terminal is due for completion.
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