|
II. Important
Travel News
Northwest Hikes Domestic Routes
The airline monitoring Web site FareCompare has recently reported
that, after almost a month of no airfare hikes, Northwest Airlines is increasing
domestic airfares by $80 roundtrip on over 4,000 city pairs for both
leisure and business travel. The hike is the first of its kind and
applies to just under two-thirds of its route system. Rick Seaney, CEO of
FareCompare, says that he believes fares are topping out now that oil
prices are down (relatively speaking) to the mid $120s per barrel. Other
factors include revenue from new fees and a sluggish economy. (Source:
FareCompare.com)
Airline Fees Continue to Soar
Even as the price of oil declines, airlines continue adding on
fees to everything from the first bag checked to frequent flyer tickets.
Delta Air Lines raised the rate for checking a second bag to $50 from
$25. It also said it would increase fees for specialty items that require
special handling such as surfboards or ski equipment on domestic and
international flights. The new fees apply to tickets bought after July
31st. First Class, BusinessElite, and Medallion customers will still be
able to check up to three bags at no charge. Customers checking bags on
international flights may continue checking a first and second bag at no
charge.
Northwest Airlines has also instituted a $15 charge for the first
checked bag. This applies to tickets sold after July 10 for travel
staring August 28. Frequent flier elites are exempt from the policy,
along with full-fare coach passengers. As of September 15, it will also
begin charging service fees for frequent flyer tickets: $25 for domestic,
$50 for transatlantic, and $100 for transpacific travel.
Hawaiian Airlines began charging $15 for the first piece of
checked luggage on flights between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii; the first bag remains free on
interisland flights. Hawaiian will also begin charging a $10 ticketing
fee for telephone bookings for interisland flights, $20 for all other
routes and $25 for ticketing at the airport. Meanwhile, the Association
of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) lamented the fact that US Airways is
now charging for soft drinks in flight, saying it was turning the aircraft
into "flying vending machines." (Source: Delta, Hawaiian,
Northwest and AFA-CWA press releases)
New Perks for Delta SkyMiles Members
Delta Air Lines said it was restructuring its SkyMiles frequent
flyer program, saying it wanted to give its members greater flexibility
and more options when redeeming miles, including the ability to book the
last seat on a flight using miles and the ability to use three redemption
tiers for Award Travel within the continental United States, Alaska, and
Canada. Tiers will start at 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 miles round-trip
rather than the two current Award levels starting at 25,000 and 50,000
miles for travel within continental United
States, Alaska and
Canada.
(Source: Delta press release).
JetBlue Flies South
This summer, JetBlue Airways is adding sunny destinations to its
service out of Washington
Dulles International
Airport. On
December 18, JetBlue will begin seasonal service from Dulles to Fort Myers and West
Palm Beach, Fla.
-- the only non-stop service offered on both routes. On December 20,
JetBlue will add Saturday-only non-stop service to San
Juan, Puerto Rico. Fares
from Dulles to Fort Myers and Palm Beach start at just $114 each way
while non-stop flights to San Juan are as little as $139 each way.
(Source: Jet Blue press release).
Southwest Gets Thrify
Thrifty Car Rental is now a preferred partner in Southwest
Airlines’ Rapid Rewards Loyalty program. Through October 31,
members can receive triple credit on a weekly rental of five or more
days. That's 1.5 credits per transaction versus the standard 0.5 credit
per transaction. (Source: Thrifty press release).
Amtrak Gets Northeast Makeover
Amtrak is revamping its Northeast Corridor Regional service,
renaming it Northeast Regional. Last fiscal year, Amtrak tansported more
than 6.8 million passengers. Amtrak's Northeast service has trains
traveling between Boston, New York, Washington,
Richmond and Newport News, Va.
Improvements to service include 36 refurbished, all-table Café cars,
refurbished business-class seats and interiors, as well as increased
en-route cleaning to help keep the trains clean and fresh.
As always, thank you for your
business,
Michael MacNair
|
