The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel captures the heart of Hawaii: water views, blue skies and fab florals.
By Vince Font
Some people don’t like all-inclusive vacations. Others swear by them. But on this we can all agree: We all enjoy a getaway to Hawaii. Here’s an escape to satisfy both sets of travelers: Honolulu hotels that ooze boutique appeal. Check out these three chic stays, each one a prime destination for summer vacations. (more…)
By Valerie Moloney
After years of shelling out thousands on diapers and formula, my husband and I thought we would get a little break in the expense department when our girls transitioned out of them. Needless to say we were wrong. A friend’s recent Facebook note titled “11 -step program for those thinking of having kids” now sums up our situation:
Kids under 15 stay and eat for free at Comfort Suites Paradise Island, where guests have access to next-door neighbor Atlantis.
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
Between juice bags, fresh fruit by the bushel, bread, milk, cereal and more, our monthly grocery bill covers mostly the basics but can easily creep to the mid $400s. At least when we’re cooking at home, though, these are costs that we can control. Come summer vacation, when most of the meals are enjoyed out, it’s anyone’s guess what the final bill will be. For my next getaway and yours, finding a hotel where kids eat free could be the way to go. Because one fewer meal to purchase equals a few more dollars for incidentals — like that “I Burnt My Buns in the Bahamas” Frisbee that my 6-year-old just can’t live without. (more…)
Hula dancers, fire breathers, tropical drinks and authentic fare: the perfect luau at Hilton Hawaiian Village.
By Susan Johnston
Like shaved ice and the gentle strumming of a ukulele, luaus are quintessential Hawaii. And many of the larger Honolulu hotels host their own luaus or other shows to get help guests get in the mood without the long drive. Looking for Hawaii travel deals? Here are a few options for your next vacation. (more…)
Stay at London hotels near Buckingham Palace this Spring for the best glimpse at the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Credit Rene Ehrhardt.
By Jeanenne Tornatore
What’s new on the travel scene? From the royal wedding to Disney’s newest resort, travelers won’t lack inspiration and ideas to plan a great vacation this year. Here are five destinations to keep on your travel radar in 2011:
By Joe Brancatelli
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Lufthansa Buys Austrian Airlines, Too: Lufthansa’s board of directors has approved the purchase of Austrian Airlines. Separately, Lufthansa officially launched its new Italian subsidiary, Lufthansa Italia, which will be based at Milan’s Malpensa Airport, a facility that Alitalia has all but abandoned in its rush to "save" itself. Speaking of the eternally hobbled Italian flag carrier, plans to sell the profitable parts of Alitalia to a private enterprise continue to be delayed. The deal, which will merge Air One and Alitalia into a "new" Alitalia, was supposed to be completed by December 1. The date was then pushed back until mid-December. Now the Italian government, which owns about half of the current Alitalia, has pushed the plan back to mid-January. Meanwhile, it’s worth watching Lufthansa’s emerging development (some might say dominance) as a pan-European carrier. Besides the Austrian buy and the new subsidiary in northern Italy, Lufthansa also owns Swiss International and is planning to buy Brussels Airlines, the Belgian carrier, and Bmi, the British airline.
HAWAII HIJINKS
What’s in An Name? Plenty If It’s ‘Aloha Airlines’: See if you can keep up with this series of dizzying developments in the inter-island Hawaii market. Arizona-based Mesa Air, the regional carrier, launched go! on Hawaii routes in 2006. It was promptly sued by the incumbent inter-island carriers, Hawaiian and Aloha. They claimed that Mesa misused proprietary information obtained when Mesa considered buying either or both of the Honolulu-based airlines. Mesa paid Hawaiian $52.5 million to settle that suit. Aloha Airlines folded earlier this year, but Aloha’s largest shareholder, a California investment firm named Yucaipa, bought Aloha’s lawsuit against Mesa from the bankruptcy court. Mesa last month settled that suit by agreeing to pay Yucaipa $2 million in cash and give it 10 percent of Mesa’s shares. But there is another fillip: Mesa agreed to license the Aloha name from Yucaipa. And Mesa will pay big for the name: as much as 1 percent of ticket revenues and 30 percent of Mesa’s profits on the inter-island routes. However, the re-branding rests on Yucaipa buying the Aloha name from the airline’s estate. But Aloha’s bankruptcy judge has delayed a decision on the sale of the Aloha name to Yucaipa until February. "It takes the term Aloha and stands it on its head," grumbled Judge Lloyd King. "How about the people whose lives were devastated [by Aloha's bankruptcy]? Don’t they count? Is it just money?"
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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.
Big cities and sunny destinations top the list of popular travel destinations for Christmas 2008.
Orbitz travelers booked more rooms in Las Vegas hotels this Christmas season than in any other city, making Sin City the top spot for holiday travel. And while New York hotels and Chicago hotels also are popular this season, our list shows that many travelers prefer warm-weather destinations in California, Florida and Hawaii.
This year’s list of most popular travel destinations is based on hotel reservations and vacation packages booked on Orbitz for stays from December 20-29.
Top 10 destinations for Christmas travel
1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Orlando, FL
3. New York, NY
4. Honolulu, HI
5. Chicago, IL
6. San Francisco, CA
7. San Diego, CA
8. Anaheim, CA
9. Lahaina, HI
10. Miami, FL
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