EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 03/21/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of March 21, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Southwest plans more new service at Chicago Midway United completes rollout of premium transcontinental service American's MD-80 overhaul should be finished by June Northwest to ground some older DC-9s Delta's Song improves in-flight entertainment options FAA foresees strong growth in air travel over the next decade Washington Reagan National expands security checkpoint New Admirals Clubs coming at three airports AIRLINES Southwest plans more new service at Chicago Midway Southwest Airlines continues to make the most of the new terminal space and gates it acquired at Chicago Midway through its investment in ATA. The airline last week unveiled plans to launch new non-stop service to seven more cities from MDW, and to add frequencies in several existing markets. This is in addition to Southwest's new Chicago-Norfolk and Chicago-Salt Lake City routes, started last week; and the Chicago-Portland, Oregon service that it had already announced for an April 3 start. Southwest plans to augment that schedule with new non-stop routes from Midway to San Jose beginning May 4; to Austin and New Orleans as of May 31; to Buffalo effective June 17; and to Albany, N.Y., Tucson and Sacramento starting July 5. Over the same period, the airline will also add more frequencies from Midway to Tampa, Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Houston Hobby, Islip (N.Y.), and Los Angeles. United completes rollout of premium transcontinental service All of United Airlines' non-stop flights between New York and California have now been converted to the company's new "p.s." premium service, United said last week. In fact, United claimed that the reconfigured 757s in the p.s. fleet are proving so popular with customers that it had to add a seventh daily roundtrip between San Francisco and JFK (departing westbound at 7:40 a.m., eastbound at 12:20 p.m.). United also has seven daily p.s. roundtrips on the JFK-LAX route. The p.s. 757s have Economy Plus extra-legroom seating throughout coach; 12 first class seats that recline to be fully flat; 26 wide leather seats in business class; and adapter-free power ports, phones and email access at every seat. American's MD-80 overhaul should be finished by June American Airlines said last week that by the end of April, about two-thirds of its MD-80 fleet - a total of 336 planes, or 78 percent of all its aircraft - should be reconfigured, with the rest completed by June. American is re-installing one of the two rows of seats that were taken out of the MD-80 economy cabins a few years ago as part of its "More Room Throughout Coach" program, and is also increasing the number of seats in the first class cabin from 14 to 16. In addition, 77 MD-80s that came to American through its acquisition of TWA are getting larger overhead bins and power ports - one at each seat in first class, and 45 scattered through the coach cabins. When the work is finished, all of American's MD-80s should be pretty much the same. Northwest to ground some older DC-9s Northwest Airlines said last week that instead of increasing its domestic capacity in 2005, as it originally expected, it will likely stay at about the same level as 2004. The Detroit Free Press reported last week that Northwest is planning to take up to 30 of its 152 DC-9s out of service this year - mainly older planes that just don't have the fuel efficiency of more modern jets like the A319s that Northwest will increasingly rely on. As a result of the groundings, the airline is expected to reduce frequencies on some domestic routes, and also to eliminate as many as 930 mechanics' jobs. Delta's Song improves in-flight entertainment options Delta's low-cost affiliate, Song, reports that it has added new features to its high-tech in-flight entertainment system, created by Matsushita Avionics. In addition to the previous 24 channels of DISH television and an interactive at-your-seat trivia game played against other passengers, the system now offers a selection of 10 pay-per-view movies at $5 each; the ability to create individual MP3 music playlists of up to 32 songs from an inventory of 1,600, at no cost; and a new selection of 11 popular video games, with a $5 fee for unlimited play on all of them. FAA/SECURITY FAA foresees strong growth in air travel over the next decade If airports have seemed more crowded lately, it's no illusion: The Federal Aviation Administration said last week that the number of people flying in the U.S. is on a growth track, and commercial airline passenger numbers are expected to hit the one billion mark in 2015. That compares with 688.5 million in 2004, the FAA said; it is projecting an average annual passenger growth rate of 3.4 percent over the next decade. The agency noted that the number of aircraft takeoffs and landings in 2004 posted a gain of half a percent - the first annual increase since 2000. Much of the growth in air travel is coming at the regional and commuter airlines (i.e., that operate planes of 70 seats or less partner with big carriers), which posted passenger growth of 15.4 percent over the past year, FAA said. It also predicted that the regional/commuter fleet will increase from 1,630 planes in 2004 to 2,960 by 2016. Another strong growth area is international travel, FAA said, which posted a 13.4 percent growth in passenger numbers last year. AIRPORTS Washington Reagan National expands security checkpoint At Washington Reagan National, US Airways now has a priority waiting line at the security checkpoint; it will be available during peak travel hours for first class and Envoy Class passengers as well as Dividend Miles Preferred and Star Alliance Gold members. US Airways also said that the Transportation Security Administration has expanded its security checkpoint at DCA from four to six lanes, which should cut waiting time for all passengers. Finally, the airline said it has relocated the full-service US Airways Shuttle ticket counter back to the departure level at the airport's North Pier, next to the baggage claim level escalators. The counter had been moved temporarily in December. New Admirals Clubs coming at three airports American Airlines said that its Admirals Club members can look forward to four new facilities opening up by this summer at three airports. Sometime this spring or summer, American expects to cut the ribbon on a new Admirals Club in its Concourse C at New York JFK; a July debut is slated for a new club at Dallas/Ft. Worth's new Terminal D; and sometime this summer, two new clubs will open at Miami International, in Concourses A and D. Miami's Concourse D Club will be the largest at 30,000 square feet, offering a conference room; cyber café and cappuccino bar; a music room with Bose headsets; a "quiet room;" and children's room; 12 work stations; PCs with Internet access; and six private showers. The DFW club at 21,000 square feet will have many of the same facilities as well as T-Mobile WiFi service. The JFK and Miami Concourse A clubs will be smaller, at about 11,000 square feet each. AIR ROUTES CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). On March 27, Japan Airlines will boost frequencies on its Chicago-Tokyo route from seven flights a week to 10. Meanwhile, United Airlines' Chicago-Montego Bay, Jamaica service, which was slated to end this spring, will now be continued through September 3. SAN FRANCISCO (SFO). United Airlines has moved up the launching of new daily non-stops between San Francisco and the new Central Japan International Airport at Nagoya; it's now slated to begin March 26 instead of June 1. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) is having a web-only sale on intra-California air fares. The one-way fare is $49 for travel between the southern California points of Los Angeles, Burbank, Ontario or San Diego; and the northern cities of Oakland, San Jose or Sacramento. The special fare must be purchased by April 21, for travel March 29-August 3; a 14-day advance purchase is required. Through March 31, travelers can take advantage of a special introductory rate of $149 a night at the newly opened Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Hotel (800-HOTELS-1; www.renaissancehotels.com). The Renaissance, three miles from the airport, is an all-suite hotel, with suites ranging in size from 535 to 915 square feet. Suites have high-speed Internet access, and public areas offer free WiFi access. For links to other websites where you can search for bargains, click here: www.executivetravelonline.com/reference/deals.html By Jim Glab To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.