EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 05/02/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of May 2, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Airbus super-jumbo on track for 2006 deliveries Boeing ends 757 production Business group blasts Northwest's change in rebooking policy New code-share will give United access to India Government agrees to alter plan for radio chips in U.S. passports Illinois draws up plans for new Chicago-area airport AIRLINES Airbus super-jumbo on track for 2006 deliveries Airbus last week finally celebrated the maiden flight of its new super-jumbo airliner, the double-deck A380. The test flight essentially means that the A380 development program is still on schedule, and Airbus should be able to complete a full range of test flights and win certification for the new plane in time to make its deliveries as planned to airline customers. Airbus says it has orders for 154 of the big planes, which can fly five percent farther than a long-range 747 and will cost less per passenger to operate. So far, the biggest order for A380s is from Emirates, at 41, followed by Lufthansa with 15. Singapore Airlines, which has ordered 10 of the planes, expects to be the first to fly one commercially, sometime in mid-2006. The first to fly an A380 to the U.S. is expected to be Qantas, which is due for its first delivery in October 2006. Qantas will use the planes on routes from Melbourne and Sydney to Los Angeles. Boeing ends 757 production While the A380 era is just beginning, another era came to an end last week at the Boeing plant in Washington State, where the last 757 was sent off to its buyer, Shanghai Airlines. That marked the end of production for the popular Boeing plane. Boeing sold 1,050 units of the 757 model over its 23-year production; more than 1,000 are still in service today. Business group blasts Northwest's change in rebooking policy The Business Travel Coalition, representing a number of major corporations, last week attacked a policy change at Northwest Airlines that restricts a traveler's ability to rebook a non-refundable ticket. The policy reduces the time window for rebooking from 365 days to just 90 days - although the rebooked ticket could be used for travel up to 365 days after the original trip date. The change applies to both domestic and international tickets. BTC's public blast at Northwest may be intended to dissuade other major airlines from matching the policy change. BTC called Northwest's new policy an "ill-conceived initiative, like the abandoned 'use it or lose it' policy, which will drive business travelers...into the open arms of the low-cost airlines." BTC rejected Northwest's rationale that the change was aimed at "better inventory control;" rather, BTC charged, the policy's true purpose is to "push business travelers into higher-priced, fully refundable tickets." New code-share will give United access to India United Airlines announced it will form a new code-sharing and frequent flyer pact with India's Jet Airways, giving United customers access to the Indian subcontinent. Later this month, Jet Airways is expected to launch a new route between Mumbai and London; after the new inter-carrier pact takes effect in October, United passengers would be able to connect at London to Jet Airways, operating as a United code-share, and continue on beyond Mumbai on other Jet flights within India. Jet would likewise put its code on select United flights from London to and within the U.S. India is seen as a growth market for U.S. airlines given the burgeoning technology and outsourcing business there. Continental recently announced plans to begin non-stop service to India from Newark later this year. FAA/SECURITY Government agrees to alter plan for radio chips in U.S. passports Bowing to pressure from the travel industry and from privacy advocates, the U.S. State Department said it is rethinking its original plan to issue new passports with RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology built into them. Critics had charged that while the passports would indeed be harder to counterfeit, they could also present new security problems for the passport holders. That's because the personal information stored in the passports' RFID chips could conceivably be picked up by someone several feet away as long as they had the proper equipment. Thus unsavory types or terrorists might be able to single out U.S. citizens overseas - even through a hotel room door. Now the State Department is looking at building new security features into the design, requiring special reader devices that would use information printed on the passport as the key to unlocking encrypted data on the RFID chip. AIRPORTS Illinois draws up plans for new Chicago-area airport The State of Illinois has submitted to the FAA a design for a new Chicago-area commercial airport at Peotone, Ill., about 35 miles south of the city. The airport plan is backed by U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. as well as Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Plans call for the facility to be privately financed, initially opening with a five-gate terminal and one 10,000-foot runway. The airport would seek to attract low-fare carriers. The new plans for Peotone are a far cry from what they were several years ago; in the early 1990s, there was a push from some Illinois politicians for a major jetport at Peotone that would rival O'Hare in its size and capacity. However, that was before a major redevelopment and expansion program at Chicago Midway, which has become the primary venue for low-cost carriers serving Chicago in recent years. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). AirTran Airways on May 4 launches new non-stop service between Atlanta and Indianapolis, with three daily 717 roundtrips. On the same date, AirTran starts four daily Atlanta-Charlotte 717 flights. BOSTON (BOS). May 3 is the launch date for JetBlue's new non-stop service between Boston-San Jose, Calif. and Boston-Las Vegas. The low-cost airline will offer one daily roundtrip in each market. Meanwhile, American Airlines has resumed daily seasonal non-stops between Boston-Paris, with a 767-300; and between Boston-Manchester, England, using an all-coach 757. And American Eagle kicked off new regional jet service between Boston and Montreal, with four daily roundtrips. CHARLOTTE (CLT). AirTran Airways breaks into the Charlotte market May 4, when it will begin two-class 717 service between Charlotte-Atlanta four times a day, and between Charlotte-Baltimore/Washington twice daily. CHICAGO MIDWAY (MDW). Southwest Airlines' next expansion at Chicago Midway comes on May 4, when it will launch one new daily non-stop between Midway and San Jose, and four between Midway-Pittsburgh; and will add a seventh daily roundtrip between Midway and Tampa. DENVER (DEN). Effective May 4, United Express/SkyWest Airlines will operate twice-daily regional jet service between Denver and Great Falls, Mont. DETROIT (DTW). Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines on May 2 launches twice-daily regional jet roundtrips between Detroit and Rockford, Ill. On the same date, Northwest Airlink/Mesaba Airlines begins two daily turboprop flights between Detroit and Ithaca, N.Y. HOUSTON BUSH INTERCONTINENTAL (IAH). Continental Airlines will begin new service May 2 between Houston and Montgomery, Ala., operating two daily roundtrips. MILWAUKEE (MKE). Effective May 2, Northwest Airlines adds a third daily frequency from Milwaukee to New York LaGuardia, with a midday eastbound departure. On the same day, the airline will boost service between Milwaukee and Kansas City from one daily roundtrip to three. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). The only non-stop service between the U.S. and the German capital of Berlin will begin May 2, when Delta starts daily flights with a two-class 767-300ER. On May 3, JetBlue adds a third daily roundtrip to its JFK-San Diego schedule. OKLAHOMA CITY (OKC). On May 6, America West Express/Mesa Airlines will begin two daily regional jet roundtrips between OKC and Phoenix, and one between OKC and Las Vegas. PITTSBURGH (PIT). May 4 marks the entry of Southwest Airlines into Pittsburgh. The low-cost carrier will begin with 10 flights a day out of Pittsburgh, including four to Chicago Midway, four to Philadelphia, one to Orlando and one to Las Vegas. SAN FRANCISCO (SFO). United Express/SkyWest Airlines plans a May 4 start for new twice-daily regional jet roundtrips between San Francisco and Albuquerque. WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD). Lufthansa on May 2 will kick off a new daily non-stop between Dulles and Munich, using an A340 equipped with its new business class cabin. On May 3, JetBlue begins new daily non-stops between Dulles and San Diego. On the same date, JetBlue will add a fourth daily flight between IAD-Long Beach, Calif., and a third daily IAD-Oakland roundtrip. WASHINGTON REAGAN NATIONAL (DCA). May 2 is the launch date for new service between Washington and Grand Rapids, Mich. - one daily roundtrip operated by Northwest Airlink/Mesaba Airlines with a 69-seat regional jet. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Business travelers to the Middle East might want to know that Four Seasons (800-819-5053; www.fourseasons.com) has opened a new hotel a few minutes from the city center of Doha, Qatar. Located along the Arabian Gulf, it has seven restaurants and lounges as well as a spa. The Four Seasons Hotel Doha has introductory rates starting at about $247 a night through August 31. The Priority Club Rewards program of InterContinental Hotels Group will now allow members to redeem points at more than 500,000 hotels worldwide, with no blackout dates or capacity controls. Actually, the points will be redeemed for an American Express-branded prepaid lodging card in denominations from $100 to $250; the card will be accepted at any hotel where the American Express Card is accepted. The new redemption possibility will begin in July. For details, see www.priorityclub.com/anyhotel. 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.