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Articles Tagged ‘airfare’

Airlines raise checked baggage fees

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

checked baggage feesBy Joe Brancatelli

After the first full year of charging checked baggage fees on flights, the five remaining legacy carriers are racking up huge annual losses. American Airlines, for example, reported a full-year 2009 loss of $1.5 billion, and Continental reported a 2009 loss of $282 million. On the other hand, Southwest Airlines, the lone carrier that still permits all travelers to check two bags on flights free of charge, reported a $99 million profit in 2009.

So how have the legacy carriers reacted to their losses and Southwest’s profit? They’ve all raised their checked baggage fees again. It started with Delta Air Lines, which now charges $23 for the first bag and $32 for the second if you pay online or $25 and $35 at the airport. Within a dollar or two, all of the other legacy carriers matched. Southwest has been thrilled with this decision and has been advertising heavily to promote its bags-fly-free policy.

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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2009 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.

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Family vacations: Top 10 budget travel tips

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Family vacation If you’ve resolved to save money this year but still long for a fun family vacation, don’t despair. This list of budget-friendly travel tips will have you packing your bags in no time.

1. Take a road trip. Skip the airfare and explore a city in your own backyard. Or, try a long weekend at an indoor water park resort as a splashy substitute a beach vacation.

2. Vacation rentals are a great cost-saving alternative if you need multiple rooms and want all the comforts of home. You could get a 4-bedroom, 3-bath townhome in Kissimmee, Florida, starting at $61/night in February.

3. Disney vacations: Theme parks in Orlando and Anaheim are offering free admission on your birthday in 2009. Disney cruises also is running a "kids sail free" promotion applicable to the spring break season.

4. Book your flight + hotel together to get access to discounted rates you wouldn’t find booking separately. Plus, many hotels have special offers, like free breakfast, "kids stay free" programs, and discounts.

5. Family cruises. The per-night cost, which includes meals and on-board activities, is often cheaper than traditional resorts. Plus the variety of age-appropriate activities means you’ll never hear "I’m bored."

6. Explore all-inclusive resorts: One payment covers lodging, meals, activities, taxes, tips, entertainment & more.

7. GoCards/CityPasses: Purchase a pass to multiple attractions in one city. Not only is it a bargain and guaranteed admission, but you usually get to skip the line too. (You can find GoCards and CityPasses under the Activities tab on Orbitz.)

8. If you have a membership to a children’s museum or art museum near home, see if there are exchange privileges at a museum in your destination.

9. Try an off-season destination, where there are fewer crowds and lower travel costs. Try a spring ski vacation, for example, to enjoy the peaks without peak prices.

10. Choose a destination where the dollar dominates — or at least stretches a bit further.

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Save money on your next ski vacation

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Ski vacations By Jeanenne Diefendorf

Yes, it’s true — you can have the ultimate ski vacation without emptying your wallet. The key is a simple combination of looking for travel deals, figuring out how to best maximize your dollar, and staying as flexible as possible about when you travel and where you stay and play.

  1. Borrow your ski equipment. One of the big expenses of a ski vacation — especially for new skiers — can be gearing up. Tap friends and family to borrow ski gear for your trip — from coats and ski pants to ski boots & snowboards, this can be a big saver.
  2. Travel’s new rule: Pack Light! Most airlines let you travel with a ski bag as one of your checked bags. Just be conscious of the weight allowance and take as much as you can in a carry-on bag to avoid extra fees.
  3. Choose an easily reachable resort. Flying into to smaller airports can mean heftier prices and inconvenient connections. Look for ski resorts than are within close proximity of major airports where there is more airline competition. Ski destinations like Keystone and Breckenridge are both family-friendly and an easy drive or shuttle ride from Denver International Airport.
  4. Stay in a vacation rental. Large ski areas have plenty of lodging options aside from hotels. From condos, cabins, and private homes, vacation rentals are a great alternative, especially for large groups and families. Vacation rentals typically go for a flat daily or weekly fee, so the more people you people you invite, the less it will cost per person.
  5. Location, location, location. While slopeside hotels let you walk out your door and hop on the lift, opting for lodging a little farther from the mountain can save you cash. And most ski resorts offer free shuttle services with stops throughout town, so getting to the lifts is not a hassle.
  6. Discount lift tickets. If you’re a student or a senior, be sure to bring identification to take advantage of any discounts available. And for those who enjoy sleeping in, you can opt for half-day or evening lift tickets that are discounted compared to a full-day passes.
  7. Timing is everything. Many travelers end up paying too much for a ski vacation simply because they choose to vacation when everyone else does. In general, lift tickets and lodging will be most expensive over Christmas and New Year’s, MLK weekend, the President’s Day holiday and spring break during the month of March. Prices are relatively low in the early season, which occurs in November and through mid-December. They will often drop again in April, after spring break. The month of January is perhaps one of the best-kept secrets to skiing on a budget. After the December holidays, you’ll find plenty of snow without the crowds, typically resulting in lower lodging rates.

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Insider travel tips for a Disney celebration

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Disney World vacations
Whether you’re taking the extended for the holidays or celebrating as a couple for an anniversary, there’s a world of insider knowledge that can help make for an extra-special Disneyland or Disney World vacation.

Here are a few insider tips:

• For birthday boys and girls, don’t forget to pick up a birthday button at Guest Services, which gets you special recognition from cast members and characters.

• In-room baby-sitting services or resort-based child-care programs, such as Mouseketeer Clubhouse or The Neverland Club, are a great option for parents looking for a night out without the little ones.

• A theme-park "rider switch" policy gives both mom and dad a chance to enjoy the latest attractions without the double wait. A parent who waits with a young child while the other parent rides the attraction can get on the ride with minimal wait time once the first parent comes off.

• Young guests can don a chef’s jacket and toque for a quick culinary lesson in the free Junior Chef Program at Epcot and many of the Walt Disney World restaurants. Chefs assist kids in tossing a salad for their family, for instance, or decorating their own desserts. To participate, just ask a server.

Visit www.orbitz.com/Disney for more advice and tips from the Disney Insiders.

Celebrate Disney at a discount: Orbitz has launched a sale offering $150 off qualifying Disney Resort flight + hotel packages. Trips must be booked between October 20 and November 23, 2008, for five or more nights for travel between October 20, 2008 and January 31, 2009. Travelers should use promotion code ORBDISNEY150 to take advantage of this offer. For full terms and conditions, visit www.orbitz.com/Disney.

Orbitz Instant-Win Disney Giveaway: Orbitz is giving away five customized 5-day/4-night vacations to Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort at www.orbitz.com/Disney. Entrants also will be eligible for one of 55 secondary prizes, including 15 Disney vacations and 40 round-trip airfare vouchers.

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JetBlue’s new JFK terminal opens October 22

Monday, October 20th, 2008

business travel
By Joe Brancatelli

Just days before it was due to open on October 1, JetBlue Airways pushed back the opening of its new terminal at New York’s Kennedy Airport. The three-week delay was apparently due to issues with the terminal’s 55,000-square-foot retail plaza. It will encompass 22 dining locations and 25 retail shops. A much-anticipated feature is the ability to order meals from special computer terminals at the departure gates and have food delivered to you. A new parking facility and JFK’s AirTrain service is accessible from covered walkways. However, a connection to JFK’s iconic Terminal 5, which once housed TWA, won’t be ready until the airport authorities renovate Eero Saarinen’s masterpiece. … United Airlines is pulling out of Palmdale, a Los Angeles-area airport that has been trying to build passenger service. United launched service from Palmdale in June 2007, and received financial considerations for using the airport for 18 months. It will depart on December 6, as soon as the financial support ends. No other airline currently operates from Palmdale. … A shop dedicated to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver has opened at Vancouver Airport in British Columbia, Canada.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Big Six dribble out new overseas service: As they continue to cut flights domestically, the Big Six airlines are pinning their fading hopes for profit on new international service. Continental Airlines, for example, says it will launch seasonal flights between its Houston hub and Rio de Janeiro on December 17. It has also scheduled a March 26 launch for its Newark-Shanghai nonstops. The daily service will operate with Boeing 777-300s. Meanwhile, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines are targeting Brazil and the Caribbean. Over at American, there’ll be five weekly flights between Chicago and Montego Bay, Jamaica, beginning January 31. And effective November 2, it will add flights from its Miami hub to three Brazilian cities: Belo Horizonte; Salvador de Bahia and Recife. Delta adds weekly flights from New York/Kennedy to Bonaire on December 20. A day earlier, it launches flights from its Atlanta hub and Manaus and Recife. The Recife flight will then continue on to Fortaleza. … Watch for American Airlines to use two-class Boeing 757s on some trans-Atlantic routes. The airline is currently reconfiguring 18 of them with the carrier’s newish business-class chairs. There’ll be 16 seats in business class and 166 seats in coach. … Turkish Airlines is resuming its Istanbul-Baghdad route after an 18-year hiatus. The flights, which ended during the 1991 Gulf War, will operate three times a week. Service restarts on October 26.

SECURITY WATCH

Southwest adds priority security lanes at seven airports: The lanes, available to the airline’s Business Select and A-List customers, are opening in Baltimore-Washington, Dallas/Love, Phoenix Sky Harbor, John Wayne/Orange County, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The so-called FlyBy lanes are due to expand to several more airports next month. … Clear, the security line-cut program, has opened at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. That is the 20th airport in the country with a line-cut program operated by Clear or one of its competitors. Clear, which once promised substantial security-screening bypass as part of its benefits, is also raising its price to $199 a year on October 15. It currently charges $128.

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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers.

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New checked baggage fee guide on Orbitz

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Just about every other day it seems another airline is unveiling a new fee for checked bags (not to mention drinks, snacks, etc.), and it’s getting a little hard to keep them all straight.

Well, the fine folks at Orbitz have put together a simple, easy-to-read chart to help make it easier to figure out which airlines charge what, and when.

The chart in our FAQ section will be updated regularly. But given how quickly these policies are changing, it’s a good idea to double-check at the airline’s Web site. And remember, these fees are not included in airfares.

Airlines Applies to… Airline policy 1st bag 2nd bag Special notes
Air Canada Domestic Within Canada, Canada and United States including Hawaii View Policy No Fee $25  
AirTran Domestic View policy No Fee $10 The charge for a 2nd checked bag will be $10 when paid using Online Check-In or $20 when paid at the airport kiosks and ticket counter.
Alaska Airlines Domestic View policy No Fee $25 Effective 7/01/2008
American Airlines Domestic, Canada,

U.S Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico		 View policy $15 $25  
Continental Domestic,

Latin America		 View policy No Fee $25  
Delta Domestic View policy No Fee $25  
Frontier Airlines Domestic View Policy No Fee $25  
Hawaiian Airlines Domestic View policy No Fee $25  
JetBlue Airways Domestic View policy No Fee $20  
Mexicana International including to/from the United States View policy No Fee $15  
Midwest Airlines Domestic View policy No Fee $20  
Northwest Domestic View policy No Fee $25  
Spirit Airlines Domestic View policy $15 $25 1st Bag $15 when paid using On-line Check-In or $25 at the airport
Sun Country Airlines Domestic,

International		 View policy No Fee $25  
United Airlines Domestic, Canada, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas View policy $15 $25 1st Bag for travel on or after 8/18/2008
US Airways Domestic, Canada, Latin America, Caribbean View policy $15 $25 1st bag effective 7/09/2008
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Brancatelli: Air Midwest closure affects small airports

Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Ontheroad
Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a
non-commercial Web site for business travelers.

AIRPORT REPORT

Small-town airports take a hit as Air Midwest folds: Air Midwest, one of the commuter carriers controlled by Mesa Air, is throwing in the towel. That means 16 small airports will be losing flights and service operated by three Big Six airlines — US Airways, Delta and  United — will be disrupted. On May 23, Air Midwest ended its flights to Lewisburg, West Virginia; DuBois and Franklin, Pennsylvania; and Athens, Georgia. On June 1, it will end flights to Ely, Nevada; Merced and Visalia, California; Prescott and Kingman, Arizona; and Farmington, New Mexico. A month later, Air Midwest gives up the ghost completely and abandons six Midwest airports: Columbia, Kirkland and Joplin, Missouri; Grand Island and McCook, Nebraska; and Little Rock, Arkansas. Check your scheduled carrier carefully if you use any of these airports. … British Airways’ Terminal Five at London’s Heathrow Airport has settled down. So the airline has now decided to move another tranche of flights into T5 beginning on June 5. Included are the airline’s flights to and from New York and Phoenix. Flights to and from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Vancouver are already using Terminal 5. The timeline for the switch of other U.S. and Canadian flights as well as the rest of BA service into T5 will stretch into next year.

SECURITY MATTERS

Easier entry? Maybe: The Department of Homeland Security has finally begun testing Global Entry, a program designed to offer returning U.S. citizens speedy, automated clearance through Customs and Immigration Enforcement formalities. Now up and running at New York/Kennedy, Washington Dulles, and Houston Bush, Global Entry is meant for what DHS calls "pre-approved, low-risk travelers." They will be permitted to use special automated kiosks to bypass ICE inspection. Travelers must pay a $100 fee and submit to a background check and pre-interview before acceptance. And in typical governmental fashion, even pre-screened and accepted Global Entry members may nevertheless be subject to secondary checks after using the bypass kiosks. For more information, consult the Global Entry Web pages. … Atlanta has chosen Clear to test a registered traveler program at Hartsfield Airport. But when or if there will ever be a test remains to be seen. Atlanta is building four new general-use security checkpoints this summer and there is no timeline for starting the Clear program. … The Transportation Security Administration’s self-select lanes have opened in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Travelers can choose from black "expert" lanes, as well as lines for casual fliers and families. … A new terminal has opened at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. The facility, designated Terminal 5, is for supposedly high-risk flights that require extra security. That means flights operated by U.S. airlines — American, Continental, Delta, United and US Airways — and El Al of Israel. Flights arriving from the U.S. and Israel use Rome’s existing international terminal, but the departures are now from T5.

(more…)

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United Airlines cuts fares — by accident

Friday, May 16th, 2008

Travelers booking United Airlines flights caught a break Thursday after the airline inadvertently cut airfares on its domestic routes.

According to the Wall Street Journal, prices on airline tickets dropped as much as $130 because United didn’t add fuel surcharges. A United spokeswoman attributed the temporary price drop to "human error."

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On the Road with Joe Brancatelli

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

Rw_image
Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a
non-commercial Web site for business travelers.

IN-FLIGHT INDICATORS

JetBlue adds more room to its coach seats: JetBlue Airways has reconfigured its fleet of Airbus A320s for the third time in its eight years of operation. In the summer of 2003, the airline removed a row of seats, reducing capacity to 156 seats and increasing the legroom at some chairs to 34 inches. Late in 2006, JetBlue removed another row. That left 150 seats and pitch of 34 to 36 inches at every chair. Now JetBlue has created a virtual premium-class section. Beginning April 1, six rows (2-5 up front and 10-11, the emergency rows) will offer 38 inches of seat pitch. All of the other rows will offer 34 inches. How do you snare a seat in those 38-inch rows? Pay a $10-to-$20 airfare premium each way, depending on the length of the flight. As your knees most surely know, the industry standard pitch in coach is 31 or 32 inches.

HOTEL HOT SHEET

This hotel invented ’smoke-filled’ room: The Blackstone Hotel on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago has reopened after a $128 million renovation and restoration. The 98-year-old building has been closed since 1999, but the property is now up and running again as a 332-room Renaissance Hotel. And in case you’ve forgotten, the term "smoke-filled room" originated at the Blackstone when Republican leaders met there and picked Warren G. Harding as the 1920 nominee while the party regulars were convening at the Chicago Coliseum. … Ritz-Carlton has opened its fourth hotel in China. The 351-room property in Guangzhou has six dining rooms, a fitness center and a spa. … The old Hilton Suites hotel in North Dallas is receiving a $10 million update and will be reflagged as a Le Meridien hotel. The 258-room property has most recently been called the Prava Suites. … Attention travelers to Vendorville: Doubletree has opened a new property in Bentonville, Arkansas. The 140-suite operation also has a 24-hour business center, a restaurant and a bar.

INTERNATIONAL AGENDA

Going extra-long on the Arab carriers: The well-financed, fast-growing Arab carriers continue to blaze new routes between the United States and Arabian Gulf destinations. On September 1, Emirates will add its longest nonstop haul yet, linking Los Angeles and Dubai. The 8,339-mile route will run about 16.5 hours to LAX and 16 hours to Dubai and will be flown with Boeing 777-200LRs. The daily flights will be configured with eight private suites in first class, 42 lie-flat seat-beds in business class and 216 seats in coach. And Qatar Airways will launch three daily flights between Houston/Intercontinental and Doha on November 10. The service will go daily in December. Qatar will also use Boeing 777-200LRs, but will outfit the aircraft with 42 business class seat-beds and 217 coach seats. … Delta Air Lines  launches its first flights to China on March 30 with daily service between Atlanta and Shanghai. … Hawaiian Airlines will begin four weekly flights between Honolulu and Manila on April 14. … Alitalia has been shedding service to its shrinking Milan hub and redirecting flights to Rome. Beginning June 1, the carrier resumes its nonstop flights to Los Angeles. …

(more…)

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Delta safety video attracts YouTube crowd

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

People actually seem to be paying attention to this airline
safety video.

Delta Air
Lines‘ new in-flight video — already viewed nearly 350,000 times on
YouTube — is earning favorable reviews for its engaging, edgy style.

Also turning heads is finger-wagging flight attendant
Katherine Lee, who some have nicknamed "Deltalina"
thanks to her slight resemblance to Angelina Jolie, the
Associated Press reports.

The 4 1/2-minute video is expected to debut on Delta flights in April.


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