Articles Tagged ‘Flights’
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
Fall is shoulder season, the period between summer and holiday season known for low cost travel and fewer crowds at many vacation hot spots. This year, the Orbitz Insider Index reviewed average hotel costs in 10 popular shoulder season destinations, identifying which give travelers the most value this fall.
Dublin and Bermuda top the list, offering the highest year-over-year percentage savings. But, thrifty travels should set their sights on a fall vacation to Las Vegas, San Juan, and once again, Dublin, all of which offer average hotel rates under $100 per night. (more…)
Tags: Add new tag, Beach Vacation, Family Travel, Flights, hotels, Las Vegas Vacation, travel
Posted in International Vacations, Las Vegas Vacation, Top 10 Lists, Travel Deals, Travel News, Travel Tips | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
The bean counters who run the airlines continue to claim that their parade of baggage fees is adding to their cash flow. The credulous general media continue to report the claim of a $2 billion influx to the carriers’ bottom line. The truth, of course, is far different: Overall revenue figures conclusively show the airlines that have been fastest to raise baggage fees are also the carriers that have been hemorrhaging revenue the fastest. Still, what do facts matter to airlines that seem content to pave a quick road to their own oblivion? So here are the new bag fees:
- Virgin America has raised its checked bag fee to $20 each for any bag you check.
- American, Continental and US Airways have matched the $50 fee for the second checked bags on European flights, a charge pioneered by Delta Air Lines and recently matched by British Airways.
- US Airways also raised its domestic bag fees. It is now $25 for the first bag and $30 for the second bag if you check them at the airport and $20/$25 if you check them online.
- Frontier Airlines raised its first checked bag fee to $20 and its second checked bag fee to $30.
Related Orbitz resources:
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.
Tags: American Airlines, Business Travel, Flights, travel, Us Airways
Posted in Business Travel, Flights, Orbitz Travel Insider, Travel News | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
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.
(more…)
Tags: Flights, hotels
Posted in Business Travel, California Vacation, Flights, Florida Vacation, Hawaii Vacation, International Vacations, Las Vegas Vacation, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
By John George
When my wife Jenny was nine, her family of seven took a road trip in a ’71 Pontiac station wagon to Mount Rushmore National Park. For a few years now she has been dreaming of taking a similar family vacation with our son, Zeke, who is eleven. While out West, we want to go hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, take in a rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days, and, as long as we’re in the neighborhood, visit Yellowstone National Park.
It’s a tall order, I know, and when we consulted an atlas the mileage was daunting. Mapquest confirmed we would log over 3,000 miles on our family sedan if we drove from Chicago. We considered driving out West in a rental car and flying home from Denver after we’d made all our stops, but it was still a lot of miles, and one-way flights plus one-way car rentals were more costly than round-trips. Fortunately, my sister-in-law, (who will be joining us along with her 11-year old son), suggested flying out to Denver and renting a car from there. This ended up being a more cost efficient and hassle-free option. We booked cheap round-trip flights to Denver, and our car rental was considerably less.
(more…)
Tags: car rental, Family vacation, Flights, Hotel
Posted in Family Travel, Orbitz Parent Panel | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
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.
(more…)
Tags: Flights, hotels
Posted in Business Travel, Flights, Hawaii Vacation, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
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.
- Delta Air Lines, which began wiring its domestic fleet
last fall, has only reached the 150-plane plateau in mid-May.
- American
Airlines, which wired its first planes early last year, has fewer than
25 aircraft equipped with W-iFi.
- It's taken almost a year for Virgin
America to have all of its 28 planes wired. But notice what you haven't heard
from any of these carriers? Whether travelers are actually using the
system on the planes and paying the $8-$13 fee charged for each flight.
As you'll recall, an attempt to wire international aircraft for
Internet failed miserably earlier in the decade because passengers
refused to pay up to $30 a flight for access to Boeing's Connexion
service.
(more…)
Tags: Flights
Posted in Beach Vacation, Business Travel, Caribbean Vacation, Flights, Gadgets & Gizmos, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
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.
- Fighting a steep decline of passengers on its Air Shuttle routes between New York/LaGuardia, Boston and Washington/National, Delta Air Lines has cut some one-way fares as low as $129.
- The Northwest Airlines name and brand has disappeared at two more airports — Albany, New York, and Knoxville, Tennessee — and Northwest flights have been moved to Delta Air Lines gates.
- Marriott has opened a 187-room Courtyard hotel in Toulouse, France. It is located about three miles from the airport and the home of Airbus.
- British Airways says it will launch flights to Las Vegas
from London/Heathrow beginning on October 25. BA will use Boeing 777s
configured with business-class, premium-economy and coach cabins.
(more…)
Tags: Flights, Hotel
Posted in Business Travel, Flights, Freebies & Discounts, International Vacations, Las Vegas Vacation, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
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.
(more…)
Tags: Flights, Hotel
Posted in Business Travel, Flights, Florida Vacation, Freebies & Discounts, On the Road, Orlando Vacation, Travel News | No Comments »
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
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.
- Hilton has opened a new 175-suite Embassy Suites in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and a 135-room Hilton Garden Inn in Suffolk, Virginia.
- Marriott has opened a 118-room Fairfield Inn in Schertz, in suburban San Antonio.
- Starwood has opened side-by-side properties in Arundel Mills, Maryland. One is a 147-room Element and the other is a 142-room Aloft hotel. It has also added a 91-room W Hotel in Doha, Qatar.
- Overseas, citizenM, a prefab, high-tech hotel concept, has opened its second property. The 215-room hotel in Amsterdam's financial district complements the original citizenM, located within walking distance of the passenger terminals at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
- Kempinski has opened a 98-room lakefront resort in the High Tatras Mountains of Slovakia.
- Marriott has opened a 118-room Renaissance hotel in Paris near the Eiffel Tower.
(more…)
Tags: Flights, Hotel
Posted in Business Travel, Caribbean Vacation, Europe Vacation, Flights, International Vacations, Mexico Vacation, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
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.
(more…)
Tags: Flights
Posted in Business Travel, Chicago Vacation, Flights, On the Road, Travel News | No Comments »
