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Car Rental

The Avis Where2,
a GPS system with real-time traffic alerts, is now available nationwide. The roll-out includes over 130 major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Houston. The system notifies drivers of upcoming traffic snarls, construction tie-ups and automatically suggests alternative routes. When available, it also provides information on weather delays.

Avis signed a deal with Autonet Mobile,
a technology company that has developed a portable WiFi device capable of connecting
to the Internet from remote locations. Avis said it would make the Internet devices, which can be used in most major cities, available to renters at a rate of $10.95 a day later this year.

Hotels

Candlewood Suites,
part of the InterContinental Hotels Group, is beginning its international expansion with locations in Montreal and Toronto. The international properties are part of more than 100 in the Americas pipeline, 50 of which are scheduled to open during 2007.

Those properties also include the first mid price extended stay property in New York. The growth plan positions Candlewood Suites to become the largest brand with-in the mid price extended-stay segment, according to the company.

The Grand Hyatt DFW Hotel
began a pilot project with the Transportation Security Administration, under which registered hotel guests can pass through a security checkpoint to reach the retail shops in the secure concourse of Terminal D, which is normally accessible only to ticketed passengers.

The experiment is expected to yield insights for the TSA and other airport, retail and hotel interests about making airport retail areas more accessible.

Homewood Suites, a Hilton brand,
plans to launch a tool that will enable loyalty club members to select their rooms online, in much the same way that airline passengers can select seats online. Homewood Suites said its Suite Selection program would be “the hotel industry’s first interactive room-selection tool.”

The tool will enable members of the Hilton HHonors program to view a floor plan and select a suite based on their preferences - higher or lower floor, near or far from an exit or elevator, etc. Users will also get a bird’s-eye view of the hotel so they can know in advance what direction their room will face and whether the view will be a parking lot, a highway or a park.

In addition, the program will show users landmarks and points of interest, such as nearby restaurants. If a room is not available, that will be immediately apparent, although guests can check availability again upon arrival.

The service, which will be made available in late March, will offer floor plans, photos and descriptions of every room type in the nearly 200 Homewood Suites properties in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Initially, Suite Selection will be available only to those HHonors members with the highest number of points.

Later, lower-level members will be given access, and be the end of the year all members will have access to the tool. At first, bookers will only be able to select their rooms 24 hours before arrival. Starting this summer, travelers will be able to express a preference for a specific room well in advance.

Within 24 hours before arrival, they will be able to revisit the selection and guarantee it. Hilton expects to extend Suite Selection to other brands in 2008.

Emirates Air
plans to equip its entire fleet by mid-2007 to give passengers the option to use mobile phones in flight, subject to approvals.

Emirates will turn off the system at certain times, limit the number of concurrent calls to five or six and encourage passengers to use the silent or vibrate modes.

United
is considering a pricing plan called “bare fares,” in which some customers would be offered a base fare with the option to pay extra for seat assignments, checked bags, Mileage Plus credit and other extras.

The idea was revealed December 12 by Greg Taylor, United’s senior vice president
for planning, at United’s first Investor Day in six years. In his presentation, Taylor said unbundling with bare fares was one of the pricing ideas United officials were “doing some work around” and “hope to roll out in the next year or so.” He did not indicate whether value-added options would be offered at booking or at check-in.

The idea of bare fares he said is to apply the add-on options to promotional
fares or other cheap leisure fares.

He said that United officials were convinced that offering bare fares would enable the airline to offer customers a competitive fare while generating a revenue premium for United. Bare-fare add-ons that United could roll out within the year include:

• Elite status for a single trip. Buyers would get priority check-in, priority security line access and priority boarding.
• Flight flexibility or the right to make a change in their tickets between purchase time and time of departure without paying the $100 change fee. Taylor said United believed that, at the right price point, this option would result in more revenue than just the change fee alone.
• A one-day pass for Red Carpet lounges. United could use the data it has on passengers, such as a long layover between flights, to proactively offer this option when they check in at an airport kiosk or online.

All of these options, Taylor said, “could be nice revenue generators” while “providing a better experience for our customers.” Taylor said the premium customer was still United’s focus and that there were customers at the other extreme who just wanted basic transportation at a low price.

Taylor added that “there’s clearly this constituency in the middle who would be very happy to do a value exchange where they pay a little bit more for an improved travel experience. We think these types of products just perfectly target that audience.”

Delta and Montana-based Big Sky Airlines
have signed a memorandum of understanding for Big Sky to operate Delta Connection carrier service beginning in the second quarter of 2007. As part of the agreement, Big Sky initially will fly eight 19-seat Beech craft 1900D aircraft, an 18 percent increase in departures.

Specific routes and frequencies will be announced later this winter.

Continental partnered with US Helicopter
to offer shuttle service between New York’s Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Wall Street and the airline’s Newark hub at a one-way fare of $159 plus security fees.

Apple
has teamed with Air France, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, KLM and United Airlines to deliver what it calls the first seamless integration between iPods and in-flight entertainment system.

These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections that will power and charge their iPods and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on back seat displays.

In-flight connectivity will be available in mid 2007 and Apple is working to provide iPod connectivity to more airlines in the future.

Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South Americas, the Caribbean and Bermuda will be required to present a (1 from the list):

• valid passport
• Air NEXUS card
• U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document
• an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable

As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other document as determined by the Department of Homeland Security.

While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible.

Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.

The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory. U.S. citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the United States and do not need to present a passport. U.S. territories include the following:

• Guam
• Puerto Rico
• the U.S. Virgin Islands
• American Samoa
• Swains Island,
• and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The cost of a new passport for an adult is $97, and for children $82.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson

reduced flight delays when it opened its fifth runway in May 2006. That’s significant, considering it’s the world’s largest airport with more than 85 million people flying in and out every year.

The new $1.1 billion, 9,000-foot runway has increased by about 30% the number of arrivals the airport can handle at any time, reducing passenger wait time as they taxi or circle in the air.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson joins Chicago O’Hare, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth as the only airports in the U.S. where three jetliners are able to land safely at the same moment.

In all, the average per-flight delay will be nearly halved to about eight minutes, the airport says. The runway will also cut through the nation’s air traffic congestion.

The IRS

The Internal Revenue Service issued a 2007 allowable vehicle reimbursement rate of 48.5 cents per mile, despite a moderation in gas prices compared with the volatile post-Hurricane Katrina prices last autumn.

The 2007 rate is an increase from the 2006 rate of 44.5 cents per mile. It also is back on the same level as the rate enacted in September 2005, a rare midyear adjustment to accommodate for the surging fuel costs following Katrina.

The higher rate this year stems from overall higher prices for vehicles and fuel for the year ending in October, according to the IRS. Not counting the drop in 2006, following the post-Katrina adjustment, IRS mileage rates have climbed continually during the past few years. The rate was 40.5 cents per mile in 2005 and was 37.5 cents in 2004.

Although it is not mandatory for companies to follow the IRS safe-harbor rate, most use it as guidance for reimbursement of employees using personal vehicles for business travel.

More than 80 percent of 171 respondents in Business Travel News’ third annual Expense Managers Survey said they used the 2006 rate of 44.5 cents for reimbursement.

Hotels

 

Hilton Launches eTravel Directory Hilton Hotels has launched of its new eTravel Directory of hotels, allowing travelers to see the most current information about the brand’s more than 500 hotels worldwide at the click of a button.

The Hilton eTravel Directory can be downloaded to travelers’ desktops in both Windows and Mac formats and is compatible with BlackBerry and most PDAs. It can also be printed from a PDF file allowing users to add handwritten notes. The online directory is updated daily. Icons indicate amenities such as restaurants, gyms, wireless access, meeting rooms and similar items. (Source:
Hilton press release).

Car Rental

Enterprise Opens in Puerto Rico Enterprise Rent-A-Car has entered the Puerto Rico market, where it is serving customers at neighborhood locations in Isla Verde and Bayamón. One of its locations is at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa & Casino on Isla Verde.

It will open a full-service, on-site office at Luis Muñoz Marin International in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in spring 2007. Until then, airport customers are being picked up and served at the Ritz-Carlton location. It also plans to expand with as many as eight additional branch offices throughout Puerto Rico for island-wide service in 2007. (Source: Enterprise)

Luggage

According to the Department of Transportation, complaints about lost, delayed and damaged luggage are at an all time high. In fact, figures released recently by the Department indicate that 2006 is on course to be the worst year for lost and mishandled baggage since 1991.

And, these high levels of lost and mishandled luggage scenarios will likely persist in 2007 because airline restrictions regarding carry-on items, in place now and for the foreseeable future, mean travelers will continue to check their luggage.

American Express recommends that travelers tag their baggage on the inside as well as the outside and take photos of their luggage to facilitate finding it if it’s lost. Shipping luggage such as sports equipment is another option, as are carrying spare clothing and essentials such as medicine in your carryon.
Finally, remember baggage insurance. their customers.

American Express, for example, provides a fee-free baggage insurance plan on many of its charge and credit Card products. (Source: American Express press release).

Third Quarter Air Travel Index Hits 11 Year High:
The Air Travel Price Index (ATPI) for the third quarter of 2006 reached the highest third-quarter level recorded in 11 years, 7.5 percent higher than the previous third quarter high in 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The fare index rose 7.5 percent in the third quarter of 2006 from the third quarter of 2005, the biggest year-to-year rise since third quarter 2000.

While reaching a third-quarter high, the ATPI declined 2.6 percent from the record high set in the second quarter of 2006. Quarter-to-quarter changes may be affected by seasonal factors. (Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics press release).

FAA Reports Third Annual Drop in Air Traffic Control Staff:
Air traffic controller staffing levels have dropped for the third straight year, to a new low of 14,206, according to the most recent Federal Aviation Administration “Administrator’s Fact Book.”

The fact book reports that the overall total number of controllers working in its 300- plus facilities dropped from 14,227 at the end of fiscal year 2005 to 14,206 in fiscal year 2006. The figures are listed as being current as of October 31, 2006, taking into account hiring and attrition statistics a full month into the current fiscal year.

Controller staffing totals reached as high as 15,386 as recently as September 2003. But a year later, in October, 2004, the FAA reported that total had fallen to 14,736 as the long-expected controller retirement wave began to increase in size. (Source: National Air Traffic Controllers Association press release).

BA, Air France to Launch Clear at JFK:
Air France is sponsoring the Clear Registered Traveler program at John F. Kennedy International’s Terminal 1. This means all airlines from Terminal 1, and their passengers, can take advantage of the Clear program.

The program allows business traveler and other frequent fliers to pay an annual fee of $99.95 and provide background information about themselves to the Transportation Security Administration for pre-screening.

If approved, they get a biometric ID card that gives them expedited access through airport security checkpoints. Last month, British Airways opened its Clear Lane at JFKs Terminal 7. (Source: Air France press release).

Air Canada Relocates U.S. Transborder Flights to Pearson Terminal 1:
Air Canada has relocated all of its U.S. transborder Toronto flight to Terminal 1 at Pearson International Airport. This means all of Air Canada’s U.S. operations out of Toronto have been consolidated with its current domestic and international operations in the terminal.

Air Canada will no longer operate from Terminal 2. Air Canada expects this to dramatically improve the customer experience, reducing distances between gates and making connections much easier. (Source: Air Canada press release).

Virgin Atlantic Brings To Chicago an Antidote to Transatlantic Travel:
Virgin Atlantic announced their newest route from Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow, aptly named The High Riser, to honor those pioneers who envisioned a city that could touch the sky, and for today’s jetsetters who elevate business to new heights. Daily service commences April 23, 2007.

Increased Air Passenger Duty Levied By The UK Government:
From February 1, 2007, the UK Government has increased Air Passenger Duty (APD) from £20 to £40 per passenger for Economy passengers, and £40 to £80 per passenger for Premium Economy and Upper Class passengers. The tax applies to every passenger (excluding infants and some transit passengers) leaving on a flight from any UK airport. APD is a government tax which has been paid by passengers since it was introduced 13 years ago.

The government says the extra APD raised will be targeted at helping our environment and tackling climate change.