EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 04/04/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of April 4, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Business groups outraged over proposed passport change More airports to get explosives detection booths for screening US Airways closing some airport clubs Air fares keep going up Republic investment in US Airways gets approval New non-stop routes to Bangkok, Moscow, Beijing starting soon Qantas introduces business class Skybeds on U.S. routes AIRLINES US Airways closing some airport clubs As part of its ongoing effort to trim costs, bankrupt US Airways has shut down its US Airways Club facilities in Los Angeles, San Francisco and West Palm Beach airports, and will not reopen the club in Orlando that was supposedly closed temporarily last fall. In addition to the four clubs it shuttered last year, that brings the airline's total roster down to 16 clubs at 13 airports. Members of US Airways Club also can have access to marketing partner United Airlines' red Carpet clubs, but at an extra membership cost. Air fares keep going up The fare-watchers at Bestfares.com reported that Delta, United and US Airways all raised their domestic prices on April 1 by $10 for each roundtrip ticket. If this latest increase sticks, it would be the fourth increase in the past two months, adding as much as $60 to consumers' ticket prices. "The sad part is that we're seeing these air fare hikes stick only on non-competitive routes," said Bestfares.com's Tom Parsons. "Those fares can be double the cost of fares on similar routes served by Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue, America West and other low-cost carriers. These recent air fare hikes by the legacy carriers usually do not stick on their cheapest matched low-cost carrier air fares." Republic investment in US Airways gets approval A bankruptcy judge last week gave the green light to a plan by Republic Airways Holdings—the parent of regional carriers Chautauqua and Republic—to invest $125 million in US Airways, which is still struggling to find a way out of Chapter 11. The deal would give Republic a 19 percent stake in US Airways, and a guarantee that the latter company would use Republic's regional subsidiaries as US Airways Express partners. Earlier, US Airways arranged a similar financing deal with Air Wisconsin. The two investments leave US Airways just $100 million short of the $350 million it said it needs to exit bankruptcy—and last week's deal raised the prospect that US Airways could get another $110 million or so by selling Republic some regional jets and leasing some takeoff/landing slots at Washington Reagan National and/or LaGuardia. The bankruptcy judge gave US Airways a two-month extension, to May 31, to come up with a reorganization plan. Stay tuned. FAA/SECURITY Business groups outraged over proposed passport change Two organizations representing the business travel community issued strong objections last week to a State Department proposal that newly issued or renewed U.S. passports should contain RFID (radio frequency identification) chips that contain the holder's personal information. The State Department is currently collecting public comments on the proposal. Both the Business Travel Coalition and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives complained that the RFID technology would needlessly put U.S. business travelers at risk when they venture overseas. They cite some technology experts as saying that the RFID signals and information could easily be picked up by anyone with the right equipment even if they were several yards away. "Terrorists, criminals and kidnappers would be able to easily identify Americans from other foreign nationals," the BTC said. "Even while walking down a hotel corridor it would be simple to determine in which guestrooms Americans were staying." BTC called the concept "deeply flawed," and said it would put U.S. travelers "at risk of identity theft and personal harm." Current bar-code technology on passports is "a superior and tested alternative," BTC noted. ACTE noted that RFID technology—which airlines have been testing for use in baggage tracking—was developed for inventory control, not for security purposes. "There is no doubt that RFID technology can be shielded or coded in some way," said ACTE president Greeley Koch. "But it is once again developing a false reliance on technology. A mass-produced, cheap electronic identification system that is bound to be lost or stolen in large quantities is bound to be defeated." More airports to get explosives detection booths for screening The Transportation Security Administration is gradually rolling out new technology that will take over the task of so-called "secondary screening" at many leading airports. You know the current drill—if you're singled out for extra attention, you get wanded and maybe patted down, and your carry-on might be swabbed for explosives detection. But the TSA's new Explosives Detection Trace Portal machines are expected to replace a large portion of those activities. The machines are already in use at New York JFK, Las Vegas, Baltimore-Washington and Jacksonville, and they'll be installed by the end of May at Miami International, San Francisco International, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Boston Logan and Los Angeles International, the agency said last week. This is still considered part of the TSA's pilot program, but an agency official told USA Today last week that because initial passenger response has been so positive, TSA expects to put the devices in 150 airports over the next year. The devices consist of a glass-enclosed booth; inside, puffs of air are blown at passengers, and the air is sucked into a separate chamber where it is analyzed for traces of explosives residue. INTERNATIONAL New non-stop routes to Bangkok, Moscow, Beijing starting soon Plenty of new international non-stop routes are coming online for the peak summer travel season, but three are especially worthy of note for business travelers: *Continental Airlines has set a June 15 launch date for its recently awarded route between its Newark hub and Beijing. The 13-hour daily flight will use a two-class, 283-seat 777-200ER. *Delta on June 1 will kick off mew non-stop service between its Atlanta hub and Moscow, operating a 204-passenger 767-300ER; it will be the only Moscow non-stop operated by a U.S. carrier other than Delta's existing JFK-Moscow service. *Thai Airways International said it plans to begin non-stop service May 1 between New York JFK and Bangkok—a 17-hour trip on an 8,711-mile polar route. Thai will fly an Airbus A340-500 on the route. Qantas introduces new business class Skybed on U.S. routes Qantas Airways said last week its new Skybed business class sleeper seat is now available on select 747-400 flights from LAX and New York to Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. The Skybed seats are 6-1/2 feet long and 23-1/2 inches wide, and they recline 172 degrees. The cocoon-style seats have privacy screens, built-in back massagers, a 10.4-inch personal video screen, AC power outlet, innovative personal storage compartments, the ability to send and receive short text messages, and onboard telephone service for calling other passengers at their seats. AIR ROUTES INDIANAPOLIS (IND). April 9 is the date for AirTran's introduction of service between Indianapolis and Atlanta, with three daily roundtrips; and between Indianapolis and Tampa, with one flight a day. The airline will use two-class Boeing 717s on both routes. DETROIT (DTW). On April 4, Northwest will link three smaller cities to its Detroit hub with new Northwest Airlink regional service. Mesaba Airlines' Saab 340 turboprops will operate three daily roundtrips between Detroit and Latrobe, Pa.; and two between Detroit and Charlottesville, Va. (increasing to three on August 23). In addition, Pinnacle Airlines will use regional jets to launch three flights a day between Detroit and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa. And on April 9, Northwest will introduce seasonal weekly service between DTW and Bermuda, with an A320 making the run on Saturdays through August 20. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL (MSP). Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines will kick off new non-stop service between MSP and El Paso on April 4, with two daily regional jet roundtrips. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). American Airlines has resumed seasonal service between JFK and Rome, with daily 767 flights continuing through October. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Marriott Rewards members who are planning their summer vacations should check out the Member Specials section at www.marriottrewards.com. The program has reduced the number of points required for summer award stays by up to 33 percent at a variety of Marriott and Renaissance properties worldwide. Hotels covered in the "Marriott PointSaver" promotion range from domestic properties like the San Francisco Courtyard Downtown, the Renaissance Seattle and the Courtyard Miami Beach to overseas hotels like the Renaissance Beijing, the Renaissance Harbour View in Hong Kong and the Dalmahoy Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Scotland. American's AAdvantage program has created a new online mileage redemption site where members can claim awards other than airline flights. It's at www.redeemAAmiles.points.com. At the site, members can claim award stays at hundreds of hotels worldwide, including InterContinentals and Marriotts. They can also convert miles to points in Hilton HHonors, Priority Club or Club Rewards from Diners Club. There's a $25 fee for each transaction on the site. As of April 3, Hyatt's Gold Passport program is open to persons who stay at AmeriSuites Hotels, the chain that was recently acquired by Hyatt. Any AmeriSuites customers who enroll in the Hyatt program by July 31 will get 1,000 bonus points if they complete a stay at an AmeriSuites within three months of signing up. And existing program members can register at the site to earn 1,000 bonus points for their first stay at an AmeriSuites by July 31. 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.