NEWS & NOTES

December 2004

security lapses
The Allied Pilots Association, representing 13,500 American Airlines pilots, issued a report card on changes in aviation security three years after the 9/11 attacks, and the results were not good. The pilots' study assigned a grade of "F" to requiring proper credentials of workers with cockpit access; to self-defense training for crew members; and to missile defense for airliners. It gave a "D" to protecting the security of airport perimeters; to the government's sharing of threat intelligence with crew; and to a program that trains flight deck officers in the use of firearms. The study gave "various marginal and failing grades" to "screening of people, bags and cargo." The highest grade in the study, a "B," was assigned to the reinforced cockpit doors in all planes.

lodging update

  • In-room voicemail is now available at 78 percent of U.S. hotels vs. just 4 percent in 1990, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. High-speed Internet access, in just seven percent of U.S. hotels in 1998, is now available in 50 percent
  • Average daily rates for U.S. hotels rose 3.7 percent in 2004, said PricewaterhouseCoopers, vs. a 2.7 percent increase in consumer prices overall. The company predicts room rates will rise 3.5 percent in 2005 and 3.4 percent in 2006
  • Best Inns and Suites changed its name to America's Best Inns and Suites and its Web address to www.americasbestinns.com
  • Members of Choice Hotels' frequency plan, Choice Privileges, can now claim award stays at properties of Preferred Hotels (www.preferredhotels.com).

    rail report

  • The new Hiawatha light-rail line in Minneapolis-St. Paul was due to open an extension to MSP Airport on December 4. The service between the airport and downtown (and beyond the airport to Mall of America) will serve both the Lindbergh and Humphrey Terminals at MSP
  • Delta Air Lines, which has had a code-share relationship with French National Railroads since 2001, will terminate it on December 1. The pact permitted Delta passengers to connect by train to 12 French cities via Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
  • Amtrak has stopped charging a service fee for persons who exchange tickets for new ones of equal or greater value.

    opening doors

  • New York City's historic Algonquin Hotel reopened after a $3 million renovation
  • The Omni Indianapolis North is now a Hilton
  • Sheraton will open a new hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico December 15
  • Overseas, Fairmont Hotels in January takes over management of The Savoy Hotel in London, the chain's first location in Europe
  • Hyatt recently cut the ribbon on a new Park Hyatt in Zurich's financial district
  • There's a new Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in Shenzen, China
  • Courtyard by Marriott's newest European property is in Brussels, halfway between the airport and city center
  • The former Regent Jakarta is now the Four Seasons Jakarta, and the former Four Seasons Berlin is now a Regent
  • Le Meridien has a new hotel in Stuttgart.

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