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| NEWS & NOTES |
October 2003
sticker shock
Don't be fooled by the quoted daily or weekly rate for a rental car. According to a study by Travelocity, the real cost of a rental averages 24.4 percent more than the quoted rate, thanks to add-ons of various fees and taxes. The biggest cost bumps are in Texas, Travelocity found, where renters will pay, on average, 71.7 percent more than the rental rate for a car at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport; 61.1 percent more at DFW; and 55.8 percent more at Austin Bergstrom. Add-ons also exceed 50 percent of the rental rate at Cleveland Hopkins and Houston Hobby, Travelocity said. The lowest levels of add-ons are in California.
airport update DFW flyers will see some changes in interterminal transportation starting in November. That's when the airport will phase in a fleet of 15 vans, a service called Terminal Link, as it phases out its electric shuttle train system that circumnavigates the airport. The electric train has been plagued with problems over the years; it'll be replaced by a high-tech SkyLink train at DFW in April 2005
Illinois' governor has signed legislation clearing the way for a $6.6 billion expansion of Chicago O'Hare. Still subject to federal approval, it calls for reconfiguration of existing runways, and construction of a new eighth runway and a new terminal on the western side of the airport.
rail report Eurostar riders will be glad to know that the U.K. has finally finished building a 46-mile section of dedicated track for those high-speed trains, cutting 20 minutes off London-Paris and London-Brussels travel times effective September 28. The former journey now takes two hours 35 minutes on Eurostar; the latter is down to two hours 20 minutes. A second track upgrade should slice another 20 minutes off those rides by 2007
VIA Rail Canada teamed with Intel and Bell Canada to offer a new service on the heavily-traveled Toronto-Montreal route: wireless Internet access, now being tested on select VIA 1 cars.
free access
The trend toward free Internet access at hotels continues to spread, and has picked up its largest adherent to date: Marriott said that by year's end it will be offering high-speed Internet access at no charge in guest rooms at all 1,200 of its Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites brands. Marriott's Fairfield Inns will provide the same free service by the end of 2004, the company said. Full-service Marriott and Renaissance properties will continue to charge $9.95 a day for unlimited Internet access, local and long-distance domestic phone calls.
bigger payout
The European Parliament has passed new rules increasing mandatory passenger compensation in cases of airline overbooking and cancellations. Subject to approval by member governments, the rules could take effect by next summer. The new rules would increase passenger compensation to $287 for flights less than 1,500 km.; $460 for flights of 1,500-3,500 km.; and $690 for longer flights. The current maximum compensation is $345. Carriers would also have to pay passengers' food and lodging expenses for short flights delayed more than two hours and long-hauls delayed more than four hours.
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