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
THE CONNECTED FLYER
Delta (Slowly) Launches In-Flight Internet: When Delta Air Lines and Aircell announced in the summer that Delta would wire its entire domestic fleet for Wi-Fi services, there were grandiose promises: as many as 70 planes in service by the end of 2008 and the entire domestic Delta network wired by next summer. But as travelers have learned whenever in-flight Internet is involved, the hype always exceeds the reality. Delta has finally launched Wi-Fi — but it was only scheduled to have ten wired by the end of the year. Full domestic coverage is now promised for "late 2009" rather than the summer. At the moment, you can find Delta and Aircell’s in-flight wireless on five MD-88s on the New York/LaGuardia-Boston/Logan Shuttle and on a Boeing 757 that roams the domestic network. Prices range from $9.95 for three hours of access and $12.95 for longer flights. As you may know, American Airlines has been testing the Aircell system on about a dozen planes and Virgin America has the service on a single aircraft.
NEED TO KNOW
On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter: The Department of Transportation (DOT) has raised the minimum domestic lost-baggage reimbursement rate to $3,300, up $300 from the old limit. Of course, most airlines adopt the DOT minimum as their maximum reimbursement rate, so it’s a matter of semantics — unless you sue the airline when it loses your bags. … Thai Airways has reduced the free baggage allowance for coach passengers to 50 pounds a bag from the previous 70 pounds. … The Italian railways have a fast new link on the Rome-Milan run. The new Frecciarossa (Red Arrow) trains connect Italy’s political and financial capitals in three hours and 30 minutes, which shaves an hour off the previous travel time. … Air France has made a free stopover in Paris a part of connecting itineraries over its Paris/CDG hub.
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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.
By Joe Brancatelli
MILEAGE METER
Delta Lining Up SkyMiles and WorldPerks Before the Mileage Merger: Delta Air Lines, which gobbled up Northwest Airlines this year, is moving to absorb Northwest’s WorldPerks program into Delta’s SkyMiles plan, too. The official mileage merger won’t hit until late next year, but a few changes become effective immediately. Most notably, SkyMiles will allow members to qualify for elite status with segments as well as miles. Silver Medallion will require 25,000 miles or 30 segments; the Gold level will require 50,000 miles or 60 segments; and Platinum will need 75,000 miles or 100 segments. Meanwhile, WorldPerks will adopt a three-tier award structure that mimics the SkyMiles award chart. And both SkyMiles and WorldPerks will offer a minimum of 500 miles for each segment flown. … Holders of American Express cards tied to the Hilton HHonors and Delta SkyMiles programs take note: Amex has changed how it awards points and miles for many purchases. The result? Lower earnings for most non-travel categories.
AIRPORT REPORT
More Perks, More Amenities, More Greenies: A pay-per-visit lounge called reLAX has opened in the Bradley International terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The entry fee ($10-$35, depending on length of stay) covers club access; snacks and beverages; and free Internet. … Heineken has opened its first bar in the United States at Newark Airport. The so-called Heineken Lounge is located in Terminal C. … Starwood Preferred Guest and Clear, the sputtering airport-security "line cut" program, have struck a deal. Platinum level members will receive a free year of membership and other members will receive three free months if they enroll in the $199-a-year Clear plan. … A 169-room Hilton Garden Inn has opened at the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica. Liberia is the closest airport to the increasingly popular Guanacaste Peninsula.
CAR TALK
Car Sharing is the New Car Rental: Everyone’s heard of Zipcar, the urban car-sharing service — and so has Hertz, the world’s leading car-rental company. Hertz is beginning its own car-sharing club in New York, London and Paris. The program, Connect By Hertz, has an annual membership fee and hourly rental rates start at about $8.50. … Speaking of Hertz, the car-rental giant has changed its refueling policy. Instead of the old plan — the market rate for the gasoline plus a flat $6.99 service fee — Hertz has reverted to a much-disliked policy: charging as much as $7.50 for each gallon it pumps into the vehicle you’ve just returned. The best way to avoid the high price? Fill up at a nearby station outside the airport before you return your car. … Advantage Rent-A-Car has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed almost half of its locations. … The mixed-blessing of "consolidated rental facilities" — one big building that houses all car rental firms at an airport — has been gaining ground in recent years. But the trend has run smack into the financial realities of the credit crunch. The first casualty? Seattle/Tacoma has suspended work on its $400 million consolidated rental center. … The Internal Revenue Service has set the 2009 per-mile driving rate at 55 cents. That means you can deduct 55 cents for each mile of business-travel driving you do.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.
By Joe Brancatelli
ROUTE MAP
Another Huge International Expansion by Delta: You have to wonder what Delta Air Lines sees that no one else does in these depressing economic times. Even granting that Delta is now mixing and matching Delta and Northwest aircraft and hubs, the airline’s announcement it would add more than a dozen new international routes next year seems extremely aggressive. It’ll be intriguing to watch to see if this tranche of the expansion is an air bridge too far. Across the Pacific, Delta will link its Salt Lake City hub to Northwest’s Tokyo hub for the first time. Delta will also launch a New York /Kennedy-Tokyo route, which essentially reinstates the JFK-Tokyo run that Northwest dropped several years ago. Across the Atlantic, Delta will add flights from its Kennedy hub to Valencia, Spain; Gothenburg, Sweden and Prague. Also new: a seasonal Kennedy-Zurich flight. But the big boost comes in Africa, where Delta will add new flights from its Atlanta hub to Nairobi, Kenya; Cape Town, South Africa; Monrovia, Liberia; Abuja, Nigeria; Luanda, Angola; and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The airline is also adding a Kennedy-Lagos nonstop and an Atlanta-Johannesburg nonstop. This is all atop the previously announced new flights to Paris from Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham. But some routes are being cut, however. Northwest’s Seattle-London/Heathrow flights are gone effective January 9, just six months after the launch. Also going next year: Northwest’s Detroit-Paris and Detroit-Osaka nonstops.
HOTEL HOT SHEET
Guess What? More Hotels Are Opening: The sharp fall in business travel is driving down occupancy rates and nightly rates at hotels around the world. But the hotel industry, which has a huge number of new properties in the pipeline, has no choice but to keep pumping out new locations. This week’s notables include an 1,190-room Hilton on the San Diego waterfront and the 92-room Four Points across the street from the Philadelphia Convention Center. Meanwhile, Hampton Inn has opened a 108-room branch in Mexico City, located in a 19th-century landmark overlooking the Centro Historico. And Shangri-La has opened a 316-room hotel in Tainan, Taiwan. … On the reflagging front, the 222-room Beachside Resort in Key West is adding the Marriott brand beginning on December 15. It was once known as the Holiday Inn, but do not confuse it with the current Holiday Inn in Key West, which is located across North Roosevelt Boulevard from the Beachside.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.
By Joe Brancatelli
MILEAGE METER
Delta and US Airways Bow to Their Most Frequent Fliers: Faced with an unprecedented blowback from its elite SkyMiles customers, Delta Air Lines has changed the rules on its new Coach Choice program, which charges $5-25 for a seat assignment in supposedly preferred coach seats. Elite SkyMiles members will once again be able to select any coach seat at the time of booking without charge. Delta will continue to charge travelers without status, however. Meanwhile, US Airways has restored bonus miles for its elite fliers after months of criticism from its best customers. Effective immediately, silver members will receive a 25 percent bonus per flight; gold members receive a 50 percent bonus; platinum fliers receive a 75 percent bonus; and Chairman’s Preferred members receive 100 percent bonuses. Elites will also receive the bonuses retroactively for any flight taken after August 6, when US Airways first eliminated them. At the same time, US Airways announced that it is restoring the 500-mile minimum per flight for all Dividend Miles customers. … United Airlines has a new partner for Mileage Plus: Jet Airways of India. Effective December 15, Mileage Plus members can earn and burn on the respected private Indian airline, except for its soon-to-be-discontinued flight from San Francisco to Shanghai.
INTERNATIONAL ITINERARY
Suddenly, Everyone Wants to Fly to Geneva: The French-speaking crowd that dominates Geneva has always resented that Switzerland’s main hub is in German-speaking Zurich. They hated it when now-defunct Swissair ended most of its international service at Geneva in the mid-1990s. And they even supported a Geneva-based carrier called Swiss World Airways, which lasted less than 90 days in 1998. So it’s notable that both Air Canada and United Airlines this week said they would launch new service into Geneva. United said it would launch flights from its Washington/Dulles hub on April 19 with a Boeing 767 configured with first class, United’s new business class and coach. And Air Canada says it will launch a Toronto-Montreal-Geneva route on June 2 using a Boeing 767. United has also announced that it will revive its Denver-London/Heathrow route on a seasonal basis between March and October. The airline launched Denver-London service earlier this year and killed it six months later. Travelers to India take note: Jet Airways is dropping its Brussels-Bangalore nonstop on January 12.
COCONUT WIRELESS
Oh, Those Wacky Hawaiian Skies: It’s never boring on the Hawaii inter-island routes. After Aloha Airlines folded earlier this year before the courts could consider its lawsuit against mainland interloper go! and Hawaiian Airlines won a big settlement from go!, things settled down a bit. Fares jumped up and it looked as if Hawaiian and go! would dominate the primary routes. But Mokulele Airlines launched 70-seat regional jet flights on a major inter-island route late last month and has announced its intention to go head-to-head with Hawaiian and go!. The flights will be operated for Mokulele by Republic Airlines, a well-known mainland commuter carrier. What’s odd there? Mokulele has been operating as the commuter partner of go!, which is owned by Mesa, itself a large mainland commuter carrier. Naturally, Mokulele and Mesa are now suing each other, alleging everything from non-payment of bills to anti-competitive activity.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.
By Joe Brancatelli
Delta Keeps Expanding Its Overseas Presence: Since its 2005 bankruptcy, Delta Air Lines has slashed its domestic network and remade itself as an international carrier. And the new routes keep coming. Next June, it plans to launch nonstop flights to Paris from two new cities: Raleigh and Pittsburgh. The five weekly Raleigh flights start on June 2; the five weekly Pittsburgh flights begin the next day. Also next June, Delta will launch a new route to Africa: Atlanta-Cape Verde Islands-Monrovia, Liberia. Flights will operate weekly. … US Airways will bulk up its international network in May. From its hub in Philadelphia, it will add seasonal flights to Oslo and Birmingham, England. … Thai Airways has changed its mind again and will keep operating its Los Angeles-Bangkok nonstop flights. The service was due to end on October 31, but now will survive at least through January 31. … JetBlue Airways is branching out in the Caribbean. On December 18, it launches daily flights between Fort Lauderdale and San Juan. On February 1, it will add two daily flights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas, and a daily flight from Orlando to Nassau. And beginning February 14, it will begin Saturday-only service between Boston and St. Maarten.
AIRPORT REPORT
Little Changes Mean a Lot: Continental Airlines and US Airways are trimming the size of allowable carry-on bags to 45 linear inches. Most U.S. carriers are already at 45 inches for carry-ons. … Global Entry, the Customs and Immigration Service’s trusted-travel program, had expanded to four more airports: Atlanta, Chicago/O’Hare, Los Angeles and Miami. The program launched earlier this year at New York/Kennedy, Washington/Dulles and Houston/Intercontinental. It permits returning U.S. travelers to skip passport-control lines. … Travelers who carry a Chase credit or debit card tied to the Continental OnePass program are now permitted to check one bag for free and are not charged the airline’s $15 first-bag fee. … Delta Air Lines, which merged with Northwest Airlines last month, has lined up the two carriers’ checked-luggage fees: $15 for the first bag, $25 for the second.
HOTEL HOT SHEET
Economy Be Damned: Another Burst of New Hotels Opens: If you thought the rocky economy would slow down the pace of new hotel openings, forget it. There are so many new properties in the pipeline that they just keep gushing forth. So get out your scorecard for these new outposts of your favorite brands. … In Boston, there’s a new 72-room Holiday Inn Express on Friend Street, across from the TD Banknorth Garden where the Celtics and Bruins play. … Sheraton has opened a 161-room property in the posh Chicago suburb of Northbrook, just 14 miles from O’Hare Airport. … Marriott has opened a 106-room TownePlace property in downtown Albany, the capital of New York State. … A former newspaper building has been converted to an 81-suite Candlewood Suites hotel in Terre Haute, Indiana. … W Hotels has opened its first hotel in Hong Kong. The 393-room property in Kowloon has a spa, fitness center, swimming pool and two restaurants. … Two new limited-service hotels opened in the Soho District of New York this week: The 150-room Four Points on Charlton Street and the 160-room Hampton Inn on Watts Street. … The former Radisson in Hampton, Virginia, has become a Crowne Plaza after a $4 million renovation. … Shangri-La has opened a 548-room hotel in Futian, in the Shenzhen province of China. … And there has been plenty of new action in the luxury sector, too. In the last few days, Four Seasons opened a 147-room property in Seattle; the Philippe Starck-designed SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills opened as part of the Starwood Luxury Collection; St. Regis opened a 120-room resort in Punta Mita, Mexico; and Inter-Continental turned the key on the 257-room Montelucia Resort, a swanky 34-acre spread in the Paradise Valley area of Scottsdale, Arizona.
ROUTE MAP
Southwest Introduces Something New in Minneapolis: Southwest Airlines, which already said that it would enter the Minneapolis market, has now launched something new to Northwest’s fortress hub: low fares. Southwest said this week that it would begin eight daily roundtrips between Minneapolis and Chicago/Midway on March 8 and the one-way fare is $69. That’s the 21-day advance-purchase price, of course, but consider that Northwest’s (and American’s and United’s) lowest one-way fare on the Minneapolis-Chicago/O’Hare route had been $426. The carriers’ cheapest fare before Southwest arrived was $376 roundtrip. Northwest isn’t sitting idly by, however. It is adding a few flights to its MSP-Chicago/O’Hare route. Northwest will operate about 20 flights a day in the market by February.
MILES & POINTS
More Cuts (and Upgrades) in the Major Frequent Travel Plans: Marriott Rewards couldn’t wait to tell folks that it was eliminating blackout dates on its hotel awards beginning on January 15. And Marriott was excited as all get out to say that the bonuses for Platinum Elite members would rise to 50 percent from the current 30 percent. But what it didn’t announce, much to the annoyance of sharp-eyed members, was that capacity controls on awards will remain, essentially negating the benefit of having no blackout dates. Also, the program added an eighth, and much more expensive, tier of hotels. The eighth tier includes more than a dozen of the most desired properties in major cities around the world. And the price of a popular choice of very frequent Marriott Rewards members, the 7-night-stay award, was raised. … And some good news: American has quietly dropped the $5 fee for claiming an AAdvantage frequent flier award. And Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have eliminated fuel surcharge on award tickets. … On the other hand, United Airlines has increased the cost of some of its awards by as much as 40 percent. It has also switched its policy on upgrade awards: International tickets purchased at any fare can are now eligible for mileage upgrades. But the upgrades come with stiff cash co-pays of as much as $500.
NEED TO KNOW
On-the-Road Intelligence to Help You Travel Smarter: Remember all that crowing US Airways did earlier this year after it padded its schedule and shot to top of the on-time ratings? You are now cordially invited to forget it. The airline slipped to tenth among the 19 carriers in the Transportation Department’s on-time ratings for September. Also tumbling down the chart after a few months of improved operations: United Airlines, which finished 17th. Overall, the government says 84.88 percent of all flights arrived on-time (which is defined as within 15 minute of schedule). … United Airlines now wants to sell you luggage-shipping service. The airline’s new Door to Door service promises overnight delivery of luggage for prices that start at $149 a bag. But United isn’t stupid: The luggage will be shipped by FedEx, not United. … Detroit’s Book Cadillac, the hotel that once feted the kings of the car industry, has finally reopened. After a two-year, $200 million restoration, the hotel is now known as the Westin Book Cadillac. It originally opened in 1924, was one of Motown’s most notable hotels through the 1960s, fell into disrepair as Detroit cratered in the 1970s and tumbled into bankruptcy and closed in 1984. It stood empty, a blight in the heart of downtown Detroit, until reopening with a gala bash for charity last week.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use.
By Joe Brancatelli
Delta Air Lines insists that no hubs will be closed if it gets approval to merge with Northwest Airlines. But anyone who looks at a route map and sees the Delta hubs in Cincinnati and Atlanta and the Northwest hubs in Detroit and Memphis knows better. Of course, the way Delta is cutting at Cincinnati, it might all be moot. Besides a nearly 27 percent cut in flight schedules this month, Delta is abandoning Cincinnati’s Concourse C. All flights will now operate from Concourse A and B. Delta will be on the hook for the lease on all 48 gates at Concourse C until 2025. … The Transportation Security Administration has opened its Self-Select lane program at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. It’s the 36th airport to add the black expert, casual and family lanes this year. … Frontier Airlines has switched to Terminal 6 at Los Angeles. … There are now 520 USB ports and power outlets under terminal seats and tables scattered throughout Boston Logan Airport. … Atlanta fliers take note: The airport is now selling another type of personal parking license. Members who pay $405 for the Silver Reserve program get the right to park in a new members-only lot; a transponder; and 12 days worth of free parking. .. Effective November 1, United is trimming more flights in Los Angeles. Most notable cuts: The end of nonstop flights to Newark and Philadelphia.
MILEAGE METER
Starwood starts a frequent-flier program — sort of: Starwood Preferred Guest, the frequent-guest program that includes Westin, Sheraton, Four Points and W hotels, is rolling out a new program called SPG Flights. In plain English, it allows you to trade Starwood Preferred frequent stay program points for airline seats. Since Starwood will buy the seats from the airlines, there are no capacity controls or restrictions and you can use your points to pay for everything, including taxes and fees. Everything is based on the price of the ticket. The cost chart starts at 10,000 points for airline tickets worth up to $150 in value. A $500 ticket will cost 40,000 points. A ticket worth up to $999 will cost 75,000 points and a $10,000 ticket will cost 775,000 points. The program is clever because travelers hate all the new fees, rules and restrictions slapped on frequent-flier programs. But it’s not necessarily an effective use of your SPG points. Consider: 48,000 points will get you four nights at the Sheraton Waikiki and a fifth night free. Buying that room would cost $199 a night and taxes of about 12 percent. That makes the 48,000 points worth about $1,100 of accommodations. But it would only buy you about $600 worth of airline travel via SPG Flights.
NEED TO KNOW
On-the-road intelligence to help you travel smarter: Continental Airlines has joined the crowd of airlines charging you to check a bag. Effective immediately for travel beginning on October 7, most Continental flyers will pay $15 for a checked bag. (The second bag checked already costs $25 on most carriers.) Only full-fare coach, premium-class flyers and elite One Pass program members are exempt from the charge. … Sun Country Airlines has added a $12 first-bag fee, too. … United Airlines has climbed down from its plan to eliminate meals in coach on trans-Atlantic flights from its Washington/Dulles hub. … GrandLuxe, the rail line that was formerly known as American Orient Express, has folded. … Zoom Airlines, a discount Canadian carrier that specialized in trans-Atlantic service, has folded. … Southwest Airlines has gone to a cashless cabin. Only credit cards will be accepted on board. … United Airlines is now selling double and triple Mileage Plus miles for each flight. The program is called Award Accelerator is the cost is about 3 cents a mile, which is very expensive when you consider frequent-flier awards rarely yield as much as 3 cents a mile of free travel.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers.
By Joe Brancatelli
Contrary to what you may have heard, there are going to be lots of fast, frequent fare sales this fall. Despite capacity cuts of 10 to 15 percent, airlines have far too many seats now that leisure travel has tailed off and Business travel has slumped along with the economy. The result: quick-hit sales that last only a few days, but can yield big bargains. Some examples from just the last week: Delta Air Lines cut fares to Hawaii to as low as $560 from the West Coast and about $690 from the East Coast. And Eurofly, an Italian carrier, offered a three-day fare sale to Rome and other cities for as little as $400 for travel through October. The best way to keep on top of rapid price changes this fall? Sign up for the Orbitz’ Deal Detector fare alerts and book at Orbitz, which offers the Price Assurance program.
INTERNATIONAL AGENDA
The global route map continues to change: A lot of transoceanic flights are disappearing, but some other interesting routes popping up on the global route map. Lufthansa, for example, adds a seasonal route between Miami and Dusseldorf beginning October 26. … LAN has launched five weekly flights between Santiago and Toronto. … Qatar Airways is dumping its Newark-Geneva-Doha route and replacing it with a nonstop between New York/Kennedy and Doha. The switch takes effect on October 26. … Speaking of route swaps, Delta Air Lines is fiddling, too. The airline will dump its Kennedy-Mumbai route on November 1 and move flights to Atlanta. The nonstop Atlanta-Mumbai route will use Boeing 777-200LRs; the westbound flight is nearly 18 hours long. And Delta will split its Atlanta-Quito-Guayaquil run. There are now five weekly Atlanta-Quito nonstops. Three weekly Atlanta-Guayaquil flights begin in the fall. … On the down side, however, Thai Airways ends its Los Angeles-Bangkok nonstops on October 26. It dropped its New York route earlier this year. In place of the LAX route, which uses the inefficient, ultra-long-haul Airbus A345, Thai is adding a Los Angeles-Osaka route using a Boeing 777-200ER. … Delta Air Lines has quietly dropped its New York/Kennedy-San Jose, Costa Rica, route and Hawaiian Airlines has dumped its Maui-San Diego route. … Air India is dropping its Hollywood-to-Bollywood connection by ending Los Angeles-Frankfurt flights, which continue on to Mumbai (Bombay). … Austrian Airlines is eliminating its Chicago/O’Hare-Vienna flights.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers.
Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use
By Joe Brancatelli
Hilton Hotels is making some changes to its HHonors frequent guest plan. For starters, beginning January 1, elite status will now have to be earned in a calendar year rather than on a rolling, 12-month basis. It is also standardizing elite-status benefits at its Hilton, Conrad and Doubletree hotels worldwide. HHonors Gold and Diamond members can choose one of three options: an upgrade to the executive floor, free Internet access or 1,000 bonus points. The latter change takes effect immediately. … Frontier Airlines has joined the Big Six in trying to beat revenue from its most loyal fliers. Effective September 15, claiming an EarlyReturns award will cost $25. Awards claimed within 14 days of departure will also require a $75 "expedite" fee. And there’s more: domestic round-trip awards will cost 5,000 miles more and all other rewards will cost an additional 5,000-10,000 miles. … Also worth nothing: Effective October 1, American Airlines is raising the cost for upgrade awards in the AAdvantage program. A domestic upgrade will cost 15,000 miles and a $50 fee. Most international upgrades will now cost 25,000 miles and $350. And upgrades to India will cost 40,000 miles and $350.
HOTEL HOT SHEET
Another burst of new hotels and flag switches: If you’re wondering who’s going to be staying at all of the new hotels that are opening, you’re not alone. So are the hotel companies, who’ve admitted that occupancy rates and room rates are softening along with the economy. So maybe some bargains are in the wind. … Meanwhile, here’s what’s new from Starwood: a 117-room Four Points in Victoria, British Columbia, and a new aloft property in the Mill District of Minneapolis. … Over at Hyatt, the first purpose-built Hyatt Place has opened in Malta, New York, near Saratoga Springs. All of the other Hyatt Place properties are conversions from Amerisuites. … At InterContinental, there are two new Hotel Indigo properties in New Jersey: one in Rahway and one in Basking Ridge. And a 102-room Candlewood Suites has opened in Houston. … Hilton has opened a 757-room property in Baltimore, just a block from Camden Yards. It’s also connected by pedestrian walkway to Baltimore’s convention center. … There are notable conversions, too. The old Fresno Hilton in California has become a Holiday Inn while the former Hilton in Lake Placid, New York, has undergone a renovation and emerged as the High Peaks Resort. The iconic Equinox resort in Manchester, Vermont, has become part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection. After a $12 million renovation, Hilton picks up the Key Largo Grande Hotel in the Florida Keys. The 200-room beachfront resort was most recently an independent property and is probably best known as the former Sheraton Key Largo. … Finally Dorchester, the luxury group built around the eponymous hotel on Park Lane in London, will now manage two more hotels in the United States. It has taken over at the New York Palace and the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
NEED TO KNOW
On-the-road intelligence to help you travel smarter: Effective September 2, United will eliminate free snacks for coach passengers on more of its domestic flights. Effective October 1, it will stop serving meals in coach on flights from its Washington/Dulles hub to Europe. Instead, United will sell snacks, salads and sandwiches. And the prices will increase. Shelf-stable items will rise to $6 from $5; fresh buy-on-board (BOB) choices will increase to $9 from $7. If you’re sitting in business class on a domestic flight, you’ll still get a free meal, but you’ll have to choose from among the BOB options United is peddling to coach passengers. … Virgin America will charge up to $100 for the privilege of choosing a seat in a bulkhead or exit row. The seats have extra legroom (38 inches) and the new charge, dubbed "Main Cabin Select," includes complimentary food and beverages as well as free pay-per-view entertainment on the seatback audio-video system. … Remember Maxjet, one of the all-business-class trans-Atlantic carriers that tanked just before last Christmas? Several months ago, a sports-charter company had struck a deal to buy the carrier. Now the deal has tanked, too.
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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers.
Copyright 2008 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensed by contract for Orbitz use
Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a
non-commercial Web site for business travelers.
IN-FLIGHT INDICATORS
Continental and United will join forces — eventually: United and Continental airlines couldn’t agree to merge, but they now plan to forge a wide-ranging alliance. Also included in the deal: Continental will leave the SkyTeam Alliance fronted by Delta, Northwest and Air France, and switch to the Star Alliance, which is fronted by Lufthansa, United and Air Canada. The Continental-United deal will include code-sharing, frequent-flier programs and airport-club reciprocity and recognition of each carrier’s elite frequent fliers.
But what it all means is unclear: The new alliance could take at least a year to consummate because Continental is tied to SkyTeam until nine months after the potential Delta-Northwest merger is consummated. Besides, the Transportation Department also must sign off on the Continental-United-Star Alliance tie-up. Also, two immediate questions of interest: What happens to US Airways ‘ participation in the Star Alliance? And will Continental, which currently requires 75,000 miles of flying for the Platinum level of its OnePass program, eventually boost the threshold to 100,000 to match the requirement of 1K status, the top level of United Mileage Plus?
SECURITY WATCH
No ID, no flying, says the TSA: The Transportation Security Administration says a "secret" law allows it to require you to show government-issued identification before boarding a flight, and the courts have agreed. Now the TSA says anyone who "willfully refuse(s)" to show ID will be denied boarding. In recent years, the TSA allowed travelers who refused to identify themselves to board flights after secondary, invasive and extra screening procedures. The agency says the no-ID, no-flight rule does not apply to travelers who have misplaced or lost their identification.
No, you’re not seeing things and airport, and city police departments have not beefed up their presence at the airport. All those new people with royal-blue shirts and metal badges? They’re just TSA screeners in their new uniforms, which were clearly designed to make you think they are law-enforcement personnel. The old TSA uniforms were white shirts with fabric shields. The TSA says the look is meant to command more respect from travelers. Needless to say, real police officers are not pleased with the TSA’s look-alike attire.
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