• Recently Written

  • Delta’s New In-flight Safety Video
  • Passport Information
  • Hotel Information March 2008
  • Airlines Information March 2008
  • Did You know that …
  • Frequent Flyer information March 2008
  • Hotel & Car Rental Updates; March
  • Free Day with Avis
  • Avis Rent a Car Coupon
  • Airlines News March 2008

• Categories

  • Airlines
  • American Express
  • Car Rentals
  • Frequent Flyer
  • Hotels
  • Other
  • Presidents Corner

• Archives

  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006

• Blogroll

  • Business Solutions
  • Business travel Evaluation
  • Cruise & Vacations
  • Offices

• News Readers

  • 
  • 
  • 
  •  Subscribe in your reader
  • Receive Email Updates

• Search

Border Crossings Get Tougher for U.S. Citizens

Americans who cross into Mexico and Canada by land on a regular basis are
encountering new rules requiring them to prove citizenship upon return or risk being denied entry into their homeland.

The change, effective January 31, requires production of a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, at the border—a departure from past practice in which an oral declaration would suffice, and a precursor to more stringent rules requiring a passport for transnational travel.

“For the safety of the American people, the United States cannot have an honor system at the border,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. “Requiring secure and reliable documentation at our borders will drastically reduce security vulnerabilities posed by permitting entry based on oral declarations alone.”

The rules, which apply to U.S. and Canadian citizens older than 18, are a departure from long-held practice, but the government said the security implications are huge. Between October and December 2007, it said, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers reported 1,517 cases of fraudulent claims of U.S. citizenship. Travelers who cannot produce a valid document may face delays, the border agency said.

A list of qualifying documents can be found at CBP’s Web site. U.S. travelers became eligible to begin applying for a new trusted traveler passport card on February 1 in anticipation of the narrower border-crossing document.

Homeland Security originally was scheduled to implement passport requirements this summer, but Congress postponed the rules by a year. The State Department said it would begin taking “pre-orders” February 1 for the new wallet-sized passport card, designed as a cheaper passport alternative for border-state residents and others making frequent land border crossings.

The fees will be $45 for adults and $35 for children. Passport fees were slated
to rise on February 1. Passport Details

Although airfare analysts said the first half of 2007 brought little action in terms of fare increases, the latter half saw several widely adopted fare hikes in the domestic market—largely due to the surging cost of fuel to airlines.

By some estimates, airfares are expected to grow by up to 5 percent this year from 2007 levels, as legacy carriers continue to scale back domestic capacity and keep their airplanes exceedingly full.

However, anticipation of a potential economic slowdown has sparked demand concerns among domestic carriers.

Average Domestic One-Way Airfare, Mid-market

• 2006 - $452
• 2005 - $398
• 2004 - $296
• 2003 - $322

---

American Express
will receive $2.25 billion from Visa to settle a conspiracy lawsuit this month, and the card vendor said it intends to use the first $1.13 billion payment of that settlement this quarter to invest in business-building initiatives, including its rewards program.

Specifically, American Express is considering enhancements to methods of estimating its liability for Membership Rewards including a new statistical approach to estimating redemption rates.

Other investments will include marketing, promotion and cardmember services, and American express will decide on whether to invest future settlement payments on a quarter-to-quarter basis, according to the company.

The lawsuit, pending since 2004, stems from American Express’ claims that Visa, Master Card and their member banks blocked American Express from having bank-issued cards in the United States.

All banks in the lawsuit also have been dropped as defendants as a result of the settlement, leaving MasterCard as the sole remaining defendant.

American Express, Partners in Preservation

In June 2006, American Express announced the launch of American Express Partners in Preservation, a $10 million, five-year commitment to historic preservation that renews the company´s focus on securing the use of cultural assets for the future.

The American Express Partners in Preservation program builds upon the company´s decade-long relationship with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and establishes a partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The new program is dedicated to preserving sites both in the U.S. and around the world.

American Express partnership with the National Trust seeks to increase public awareness of the importance of historic and environmental conservation in the United States, preserve American historic and cultural landmarks and strengthen local communities through preservation efforts.

The National Trust is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America’s historic landmarks and communities. In the past American Express has supported National Trust for Historic Preservation initiatives, including its Save America´s Treasures and Heritage Tourism programs.

American Express Partners in Preservation extends the company’s decade-long relationship with WMF through a renewed commitment to preservation.

Based in New York, WMF is the foremost private non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the world’s cultural and architectural heritage.

American Express is the founding sponsor of WMF´s World Monuments Watch program,
established in 1995 to call international attention to and ensure the preservation of cultural heritage sites around the world threatened by neglect, vandalism, armed conflict, or natural disaster.

The company has contributed more than $10 million over the past ten years to help preserve 119 historic sites in 59 countries from the World Monuments Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Going forward, sites chosen for grants will be chosen both from the Watch List and from among other projects identified by WMF as particularly in need of funding.

Through the American Express Partners in Preservation program, American Express will provide $5 million for each partner to advance their work in saving and restoring sites.

Following on the heels of the inaugural San Francisco Bay Area program, the Chicago metro area will be the second region to receive $1 million in funding from American Express under the initiative.

The Chicago community will be invited to participate in the program by voting for their favorite landmark to ultimately choose the winning historic site from a list of contenders.

The Chicagoland program will be similar to the San Francisco Bay Area effort. American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will identify historic sites throughout the metro area that reflect the region´s rich and diverse cultural heritage to be candidates for preservation grants.

In September the Partners in Preservation team will reveal the site candidates and the public will be invited to vote online for the landmarks they would like to see win and receive funding for preservation. American Express will also announce the members of a special Advisory Committee comprised of Chicago area dignitaries to help guide American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in selecting the winning sites.

Further details around the Chicago program, timing, dates, sites and online voting will be announced in September.

(American Express and National Trust for Historic Preservation)

Washington “For U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. ”

Officials said the “record-breaking demand” at passport offices had led to excessive delays of up to three months.
The revised procedures will remain in place until 30 September.

The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

Between March and May this year, the State Department issued more than 4.5 million passports.

Washington says extra staff had been recruited to deal with the surge in demand, toll-free phone lines have reportedly been overloaded and passport offices swamped by desperate applicants who have been waiting for months.

Avis Rent A Car System, LLC today announced a new premium service called Avis Chauffeur Drive through which Avis customers can rent a car and hire a professional driver at the same time.

Avis Chauffeur Drive is the product of a new alliance between Avis and WeDriveU, Inc. WeDriveU provides fully insured and certified chauffeurs who provide professional driving services to customers using the customer’s vehicle.

Customers enrolled in Avis Preferred or other Avis loyalty programs will be able to rent a WeDriveU chauffeur to operate the Avis vehicle of the customer’s choice, adding a new level of convenience and productivity to both business and leisure travel.

“Avis Preferred members can now let a locally-based professional driver worry about traffic, directions, parking and the bags, and the customer can sit back and relax if they’re on vacation, or make the most of their business travel time to get their work done,” said Michael Caron, vice president of product and program development for Avis Budget Group, parent of Avis. “And using Avis Chauffeur Drive can also cost less than hiring a sedan from a limousine service, so it saves the customer money, too.”

Avis Chauffeur Drive costs $30 per hour with a three-hour minimum, plus standard rental car charges. Customers can rent the vehicle and use a WeDriveU chauffeur during the entire rental period or as needed.

If a driver is used intermittently during a rental period, the three-hour minimum applies each time.

The chauffeur can pick up the Avis rental car for the customer and meet the customer wherever desired, including airline baggage claim or curbside loading zones for airport arrivals, or at a hotel or business meeting location. The driver can also handle the return of the vehicle.

Avis Preferred members can reserve their chauffeur by calling 800-272-5839 at least 24 hours prior to rental pickup time. Customers using Avis Chauffeur Drive will be billed separately for the driver charges by WeDriveU.

Avis Chauffeur Drive service is available in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. for Avis customers enrolled in Avis Preferred, as well as members of the Avis Chairman’s Club, Avis First and Avis President’s Club programs.
The service is available at major airports and within a 60-mile radius of these city centers.

WeDriveU is popular with busy executives and individuals who place a premium on productivity, convenience and value, and we’re delighted to now extend our services to Avis Preferred customers, said Dennis Carlson, president and CEO of WeDriveU.

Whether they’re juggling back-to-back business meetings or a non-stop leisure itinerary, customers now have the best of both worlds: the convenience and value of renting from Avis, plus the professionalism and outstanding service from our chauffeurs to make travel more effortless and enjoyable.

For more information or to enroll in Avis Preferred, visit www.avis.com/driver.

About WeDriveU, Inc.

WeDriveU provides fully insured and certified chauffeurs who drive for you in YOUR car. Since 1988, WeDriveU chauffeurs have set the industry benchmark for quality and professionalism throughout the United States by passing a rigorous certification process.

WeDriveU has served a range of corporate and individual clients and events, including:

• General Motors R*Works
• Fairmont Hotel
• U.S. Conference of Mayors
• American Hospital Association
• Mercedes-Benz of North America
• British Consulate
• Charles Schwab & Co.
• Democratic National Convention
• PGA Tour Championship
• Argonaut Securities
• Princess Cruises
• NAACP Image Awards
• Republican National Convention
• Women´s World Cup among others

WeDriveU, “Your Source for Professional Chauffeurs,” is headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices throughout the U.S. Visit www.wedriveu.com or call 800-77DRIVE (800-773-7483).

About Avis

Avis Rent A Car System, LLC and its subsidiaries operate one of the world´s leading car rental brands, providing business and leisure customers with a wide range of services at more than 2,100 locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Latin American / Caribbean region.

Avis is one of the world´s top brands for customer loyalty, ranking as the number one car rental company in the 2007 Brand Keys(R) Customer Loyalty Index. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, Inc.

For more information, visit www.avis.com.

Dear Valued Clients,

I hope that you will join us in wishing Delta Air Lines congratulations on successfully emerging from Chapter 11 re-organization and for being victorious in the hostile takeover bid from U. S. Airways. I have already seen signs that the new Delta will be much more like the Delta of old with a true focus on customer service and southern hospitality.

We are pleased to offer a new service, on-line meeting and event registration. In the past, tracking RSVP´s, break out sessions, special events within a conference, and flight arrivals and departures was all ways a paper and labor intensive process.

Our newest technology allows clients and guests to register on-line while customizing their requests and preferences. All of the data is on-line up to the minute to help manage events, conferences, and incentive trips.

I recently had the pleasure of attending an American Express Awards Banquet in Cairo, Egypt, which was preceded by a 4 night cruise on the Nile and extensive visits to the ancient treasures. We utilized the services of one of our favorite tour operators, Intrav. Their Egypt program is titled “Wings over the Nile”, and features exclusive charter aircraft to see the vast array of sights in minimal time.

If you have the desire to see the Pyramids, Temples and Mosques, this is truly an experience of a lifetime. Just beware of the one-way camel rides.

We greatly appreciate your business and if any of us can ever be of special assistance, please do not hesitate to call,

Sincerely,

Terry W. Brennan
President

With the new travel requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative; routine service for passports (usually received within six weeks) is now taking up to 10 weeks.

The government´s expediting service, which costs $60 extra and usually takes up to two weeks is now taking three to four weeks and possibly longer if the traveler renews by mail. For updates on passport delays, visit www.travel.state.gov/passport.

If you are even considering any travel by plane outside of the United States, it´s imperative to apply for a passport or renewal immediately!

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.

U.S. Customs Expands Trusted Traveler Program
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expanding NEXUS trusted traveler-crossing privileges to all land, marine and air points of entry where NEXUS locations are currently in place.

In addition, NEXUS will provide processing locations at additional airports in Canada throughout 2007.

NEXUS is a joint program with the Canada Border Services Agency that allows pre-screened and approved travelers faster processing at designated highway lanes in high-volume border crossing locations, at a NEXUS kiosk at Vancouver International Airport, and at certain marine reporting locations in the Great Lakes and Seattle regions.

NEXUS membership also fulfills the travel document requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which will require a passport or other secure travel document by all U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry or re- entry into the U.S. by air beginning January 23, 2007.

It is anticipated that NEXUS membership also will be acceptable when the requirement is extended to land and sea travel.

(Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection).

 

Travelers entering the U.S. by land from Mexico and Canada won’t need to show a passport (or “PASS” card) until June 2009.

House and Senate lawmakers agreed to push back the program by 17 months to allow time to design the PASS card and develop the technology and security standards associated with it. The PASS card will be a less expensive alternative to a passport.

Those crossing the borders into the U.S. now only need a photo ID, such as a driver’s license, and a birth certificate. This delay only applies to travelers entering the U.S. via land borders; people coming into the country by airplane or cruise ship will still have to show their passports to customs officials as of January 8, 2007.

Cruise passengers who are departing from and returning to the U.S. from a domestic port (MIA, LAX, NYC, etc) do not need a passport by January 2007.

Next Page →