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| NEWS & NOTES |
May 2003
sfo shuttle
San Francisco International Airport has cut the ribbon on its AirTrain project, a new internal transportation system that links the airport's four terminals with its three parking garages, consolidated Rental Car Center, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit District's new SFO Station. The automated shuttle trains run up to 30 mph and the system can carry 3,400 passengers an hour on its two lines, which serve nine stations along an elevated six-mile track. Average waiting time should be 2-1/2 minutes. Airport officials said the new rail link will eliminate 200,000 trips annually by rental car shuttles.
new planes
Boeing may have given up on its Sonic Cruiser, but it keeps enhancing its 777 line. The company recently started test flights of the 777-300ER, one of two new longer-range models of the popular twin-aisle jet. The 300ER is designed to carry 365 passengers up to 13,742 km. (8,520 miles). Boeing said it expects certification of the new plane by early 2004; the first one is due for delivery to Air France in April 2004. Boeing is also developing the 777-200LR, which is intended to carry fewer passengers—301—but to take them farther. It has a range of 16,983 km. (10,5219 miles).
fast exits
New York-area drivers who use E-Z Pass accounts for automated payment of bridge and tunnel tolls are getting an added benefit: The system is being expanded to the three metro area airports, so that customers can pay for parking in an instant by flashing their pass. It's already at JFK Airport, and coming to LaGuardia and Newark this year. Customers with less than $20 in parking fees will have the amount deducted from their E-Z Pass accounts; charges greater than $20 will be billed to the credit card that was used to establish the account.
hotel news
In domestic lodging news, San Francisco-based boutique specialist Kimpton Hotels keeps moving east, recently opening the 236-room Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Mass.
Nearby, there's a new Embassy Suites at Boston Logan Airport
In downtown Phoenix, the former Crowne Plaza is now a Wyndham Phoenix
In Latin America, the Sheraton Central Historico & Convention Center opened in the heart of Mexico City, and Sonesta by now should have cut the ribbon on a 310-room hotel in Sao Paulo's upscale Moema district
In Europe, there's a new Westin Hotel in Leipzig, near the central railroad station; and Hyatt plans an August debut for the Park Hyatt Milan.
cost cutting
How bad is the drop in spending by U.S. business travelers? According to a survey of company travel managers conducted by Runzheimer International, a consulting firm in Rochester, Wis., the typical business traveler turned in total trip expenses last year of $6,667, compared with an average of $10,000 in the year 2000. The previous low was $8,000 in 1995. More than four out of five managers said their companies have reduced the number of domestic business trips, while 54 percent said the same about international trips. And more than half said they were sending fewer domestic travelers on the road than they used to.
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