NEWS & NOTES

July 2004

airplane manners
According to a Travelocity survey of air travelers, 33 percent said they do not consider it rude to recline their seat when the one behind them is occupied, and 46 percent said they would consider it rude only if they recline their seat as far as it will go. Some 32 percent said they personally push their seat all the way back "frequently" or "all the time." (Unfortunately, Travelocity didn't ask these same people if they consider it rude when the person ahead of them reclines his seat all the way.) In other results, 10 percent said they saw no need to keep their voices low or to reduce their cell phone calling activity on board, at times when regulations permit them to use the phone.

fare tests

  • A study by Topaz International, a Portland-based air fare auditing firm, concluded that business travelers who booked flights through a corporate travel agency in 2003 paid an average of $69 less per itinerary than if they had booked the same trip through a "public Internet site" like Orbitz, Expedia or Travelocity. "For the past three years, the results have been very similar," Topaz said
  • Another study, this one commissioned by American Express Corporate Travel, found that AmEx's own online booking tool returned air fares that were 9-11 percent lower, on average, than Expedia's, 11 percent lower than Orbitz' and 11-12 percent lower than Travelocity's.

    super poll
    What's the world's best airline? Skytrax (www.airlinequality.com), in its annual poll, pulled in an amazing 10.8 million responses, thanks to its use of a special Web site to take in passenger opinions over several months. Respondents voted Singapore Airlines to the top spot, followed by Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Thai. In regional polling, Continental ranked as the best in North America, followed by JetBlue and American. Skytrax' poll respondents gave the nod to Hong Kong International as the world's best airport, with Singapore Changi in second place, Amsterdam Schiphol third, Seoul Incheon fourth and Kuala Lumpur fifth.

    web addicts
    At companies where employees have Internet access in the office, 51 percent of workers said they spend between one and five hours a week surfing the Web for personal reasons—or an overall average of two hours a week, according to a survey by Websense, Inc. And yet when IT managers were asked how much time they believe the average employee spends on personal Internet browsing, the average response was six hours a week. Employees were evenly split when asked which they would give up if they had to lose one: 49 percent said their morning coffee, and 46 percent said Internet access at work.

    rental report
    Avis and Budget, both owned now by travel giant Cendant Corp., will continue to retain separate brands, but the company is moving Budget onto Avis' Wizard reservations system and consolidating the fleet of Avis' mostly-G.M. and Budget's mainly-Ford cars, giving customers "the largest choice of models I've ever seen in the car rental business," said CEO Bob Salerno. He added that the company's biggest growth in the months ahead will be in the opening of new suburban off-airport locations for both brands. Another big area of growth for the company, Salerno said, is its mini-lease program for car leases of less than one year.

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