November 2009
In this issue...

• Airlines See Recovery Signs in Business Travel as Travel Buyers Expect to Spend More
• MacNair Travel Expands With Travel Veteran Victoria Olson
• Airlines Offer New Service Out of Dulles
• MacNair Travel Will Be Closed on Thanksgiving Day
• Secure Flight Runs Into a Little Turbulence
• MacNair Travel Featured on ABC World News Tonight
• More Business Travelers Take One-Day Trips to Save Money
• New Air Traffic Control Systems Offer Improved Communications
• High-Speed Rail Could Ease Air Gridlock
• Hotel Rates in Major U.S. Markets Continue to Drop
• Google Offers Free Wi-Fi for Holiday Travelers
• Meals on Waves- Relief Effort!
• Vacation Hotspots by Kim Peele, Personal Travel Division Manager
  

AIRLINES SEE RECOVERY SIGNS IN BUSINESS TRAVEL AS TRAVEL BUYERS EXPECT TO SPEND MORE

The five largest domestic airlines in the U.S. all reported losses in the third quarter, but executives and analysts were cautiously optimistic that a rebound in business travel may be getting under way. "A lot of our corporate accounts are starting to hit the road again, " said Delta Air Lines President Ed Bastian, adding that corporate fliers are "starting to move up the price point." Analysts noted a similar theme throughout the industry's earnings calls. "There is evidence of improving travel demand, including from corporations," said Kevin Crissey of UBS. "All of the companies that have reported have cited this to one extent or another." A National Business Travel Association member survey also found that more than half of travel buyers said they will likely increase their travel spending next year, while 31% said they are not expecting their budget to change. Almost three-quarters of respondents said their spending for 2009 decreased, although travel management companies and the 2010 U.S. Business Travel Buyers' Cost Forecast from NBTA are predicting overall price reductions in business travel. Nearly half of respondents cited an increase in trips as the reason for their expected budget increases next year. (Source: BTNOnline.com)

MACNAIR TRAVEL MANAGEMENT EXPANDS WITH TRAVEL VETERAN VICTORIA OLSON

MacNair Travel Management/ American Express has strengthened its Sales and Business Development team with the appointment of Victoria Olson to the position of Corporate Sales Manager. Victoria Olson joins the MacNair team from Association Travel Concepts (ATC), where she was most recently National Sales Manager, exclusively servicing the Association market. Prior to joining ATC, Victoria worked with Northwest Airlines as both a flight attendant and a reservation agent. With over 10 years of experience in the travel industry, Victoria brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new role with MacNair Travel. Commenting on her new role Victoria said, "I'm delighted to be joining the MacNair management team. MacNair has a growing reputation for its travel management systems leadership, savings results, leading-edge tools and technology, and quality service. My focus will be to help organizations better manage this significant line item while leveraging these strengths to build on the rapid growth the company has enjoyed in recent years."

AIRLINES OFFER NEW SERVICE OUT OF DULLES

Air India begins service on December 1st with one-stop service to/from Washington-Dulles. The flight stops at New York's John F. Kennedy airport and will not carry "local" passengers between Washington-Dulles and John F. Kennedy airports. United will start nonstop service to Accra, Ghana, and continuing on to Lagos, Nigeria on May 2nd. United's nonstop service to Kuwait will continue to Bahrain as of April 18th and return via Kuwait. United is adding twice daily service to Pensacola, Florida as of February 11th (operated by United Express/Mesa). American is restarting daily nonstop service to San Juan on November 19th. Mexicana is adding daily nonstop service to Cancun, with same plane service to Mexico City on December 15th.

MACNAIR TRAVEL WILL BE CLOSED ON THANKSGIVING DAY

MacNair Travel will be closed on Thursday, November 26th in observance of Thanksgiving. We will also be closing early at 5:00pm on Wednesday, November 25th and Friday, November 27th. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, November 30th.

SECURE FLIGHT RUNS INTO A LITTLE TURBULENCE

Columnist Joe Sharkey says that although there are plenty of people trying to ensure the Secure Flight program is successful, travelers are still running into some obstacles. The Transportation Security Administration program requires that all airline passengers' names on their ID and boarding passes match exactly. In the first phase of the program, which we're currently in, some leeway will be given. However, some travelers say they have already run into issues with the program because their names include characters, such as hyphens or apostrophes, that don't make it onto the boarding pass.

MacNair Travel made sure that our travelers avoided Secure Flight problems from day one through multiple notifications to clients and an easy-to-use system so that travelers could update their profiles and make sure they matched government-issued IDs. This is yet another way that we provide well-managed travel made easy. If you haven't updated your profile yet, please do so now by clicking here. (Source: The New York Times)

MACNAIR TRAVEL FEATURED ON ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT

ABC World News Tonight interviewed Michael MacNair on Friday, October 16th. MacNair discussed holiday travel and urged viewers to book now for the best rates. He discussed trends in the travel industry and how fares around Thanksgiving and the holidays could be expected to go up dramatically. Click here to view the interview.
(Source: ABC World News Tonight)

MORE BUSINESS TRAVELERS TAKE ONE-DAY TRIPS TO SAVE MONEY

Business travelers are increasingly turning overnight work trips into one long day of travel to save money as well as time. Some travelers are even taking the one-day jaunts on Trans-Atlantic trips. Richard Job of Flight Centre, said he's spoken with executives who fly from Vancouver, B.C., to London and back in the same day. "That's something new to them in the last six to twelve months," Job said. (Source: The Globe and Mail (Toronto))

NEW AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS OFFER IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS

Air traffic controllers in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand now have modern satellite-based systems that operate over oceans. With frequent automatic position reporting from airplanes and email-like communications between pilots and controllers, these new systems are designed to fill the kind of communication void that occurred after Air-France Flight 447 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean last June. The new systems offer many other benefits as well. The FAA's "NextGen" program is aiming at extending these satellite benefits over land as well as over oceans, replacing the current ground-based communication system.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

HIGH-SPEED RAIL COULD EASE AIR GRIDLOCK

A Brookings Institution study found that air corridors of 500 miles or less between metropolitan hubs -distances at which trains can compete with planes - are the source of an increasing number of air delays. One reason for the congestion - no alternative transportation. The delays can be so onerous that they discourage some would be travelers, who opt to stay home. The government is investing billions to improve rail options in some of these markets, but it will be years before they're ready for consumers to ride.
(Source: Brookings Institution press release).

HOTEL RATES IN MAJOR U.S. MARKETS CONTINUE TO DROP

Average daily rates for hotels in the nation's top 25 markets continue to decline, with the exception of Norfolk/Virginia Beach. The Twin Cities reported the largest ADR drop, 23 percent, to $92.15 in September, the latest month for which data is available. New York followed with a 23 percent decline to $249. Some markets did see occupancy increases in September: Anaheim-Santa Ana, 3.4 percent to 61 percent occupancy, New York, one percent to 85 percent occupancy, and Tampa-St. Petersburg, one percent to 43.9 percent.
(Source: Smith Travel Research).

GOOGLE OFFERS FREE WI-FI FOR HOLIDAY TRAVELERS

Google is offering free wireless Internet access in many airports now and it will remain free through January 15, 2010. The free service will be offered in many of the largest airports in the country, including Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis, and Charlotte. The airports at Burbank and Seattle will continue to offer free wireless to all travelers indefinitely.The full list of airports offering free Wi-Fi can be found here. Users of the free Wi-Fi will be asked to donate money to charities including Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation, or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, but donations are not required. (Source: Daily Tech)

MEALS ON WAVES - RELIEF EFFORT!

MacNair Travel, DC Central Kitchen, Holland America, Marriott Frenchman's Reef and the St. Thomas Salvation Army are joining forces to make history. You can be a part of it! Cruise aboard Holland America's Eurodam March 6-13, 2010 and participate with like-minded passengers on this CRUISE WITH A CAUSE! Passengers and staff will spend a day of service in St. Thomas bringing in food to feed the community. Be a part of this important project, enjoy this wonderful vessel and visit the ports of Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Thomas and Half Moon Cay. For more information email mealsonwaves@macnairtravel.com or click here.

VACATION HOTSPOTS BY KIM PEELE, PERSONAL TRAVEL DIVISION MANAGER

Give the gift of travel this holiday season! Travel is good for the soul. So why not treat that special person to the travel experience of their choice? When you purchase a gift certificate from MacNair Travel, whether it's a simple airline ticket or a trip around the world, the recipient can use the certificate towards his or her dream trip. Contact us to arrange for your travel gift certificate at dreamtrips@macnairtravel.com.

Just a few of the many travel values available this month:

• Shimmering Caribbean Waters of Barbados - Beautiful beaches stretch endlessly and you will enjoy fine dining, great shopping and exciting nightlife! $75 resort credit at select properties. Five nights from $935 for round-trip hotel transfers, accommodations, tax, service charges, and breakfast daily. Book by 11/30/09 for travel by 1/31/10.
• Beautiful Beaches of Hawaii. Visit the Royal Hawaiian now! Emerging from a multi-million dollar renovation, The Pink Palace of the Pacific in Honolulu has a radiant new face and an entirely new attitude! From beachfront and poolside cabanas to adult-only and family pools, customized services and exclusive settings and amenities are available. Fourth night free, starting at $872, including a $75 dining credit, kids 12 and younger stay and eat free.
• Culture and Heritage of Spain and Portugal. Prepare yourself to be enchanted by the magical cities of the Iberian Peninsula. Ten days of touring Madrid, Granada, Seville, Lisbon and Salamanca. Receive a $75 American Express gift card when booking and paying in full. Land-only package from $1,335 per person. Book by 12/1/09 for travel by 3/26/10.
• Cashless Vacation - Don't forget, when you book with MacNair Travel and use your American Express card you can Pay with Points, earn double Membership Rewards points, earn $100 Annual Travel benefit and even a full year of Travel & Leisure magazine!
  

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Please feel free to send comments or suggestions to our editor, Tony Torres, at ttorres@macnairtravel.com.