EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 05/09/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of May 9, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Two of United's unions threaten strikes over pension loss Northwest enhances flight change options American expands in-flight food sales program Independence Air adds baggage guarantee, rents media players Government reportedly will seek more information on passengers BWI adds new food outlets and a Borders AIRLINES Two of United's unions threaten strikes over pension loss Will unions at United Airlines take that bankrupt carrier down the same path as Eastern Airlines? You may recall that machinists and many pilots chose to walk off the job at Eastern in 1989, forcing it into Chapter 11 and eventually into liquidation, rather than agree to wage concessions sought by the airline's then-owner Frank Lorenzo. And now two unions at bankrupt United Airlines are threatening to strike if United's effort to abandon employee pension plans is approved by the bankruptcy court. A hearing is scheduled for this week. The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation recently came to terms with United over the termination of its pension plans, subject to court approval. The PBGC would become trustee of the United plans, its claims against United for under-funding the plans would be settled, and United could thus terminate future employee pension contributions. United's four plans are under-funded by nearly $10 billion. United said it had hoped to agree with unions on a way to resolve the pension issue, but "no viable solutions were offered or found over the past many months." United insists that it cannot continue its pension programs and successfully emerge from Chapter 11. Members of both the flight attendants' and mechanics' unions at United had already voted to approve a strike if their pensions were lost, and now they say that court approval of the plan might force them to act. Flight attendants had always been talking about intermittent job actions aimed at selected flights, designed to "Create Havoc Around Our System." The mechanics seem to have a more concerted effort in mind. Media reports last week quoted one leader of the mechanics' union as saying "this isn't going to be a strike to change (management's) behavior; it's going to be a strike to liquidate." Northwest enhances flight change options Passengers on Northwest Airlines who want to change flights but don't like the uncertainty of standing by can now book a confirmed same-day change for a $25 fee. The new "FlyNow" option will let passengers be confirmed on an alternate flight scheduled within three hours of the time the customer checks in for their original departure. The new option is aimed mainly at discount fare travelers; some full fares can be switched for a lower fee, or no fee. Persons using the FlyNow option can also confirm a flight on a different routing than the one they are booked on - e.g., via a Detroit connection instead of a Minneapolis connection if it will get them there faster. Or, passengers can still use the free standby option for an earlier or later domestic flight on the same day. Northwest noted that standby passengers will now be put on the standby list for both their initial segment and a connecting segment at the initial point of check-in. Previously, they had to stand by on a segment-by-segment basis. American expands in-flight food sales program Citing favorable passenger reactions and higher-than-expected demand, American Airlines said it is expanding its onboard food sales program. American's $3 snack boxes, which include a selection of munchies and crunchies, have been expanded to another 150 domestic flights of more than three hours' length, and to American Eagle flights. And American is broadening the variety of its $5 sandwich meals, available on 120 transcontinental and 40 Hawaii flights each day. It is adding six new varieties to the sandwich menu, including an egg salad wrap; ham and cream cheese on raisin bread; a turkey club on a croissant; ham and cheddar twister club sandwich; a turkey-cranberry-and-brie wrap; and a turkey pesto wrap. American said passenger surveys indicate that four out of five flyers consider the food a "good value." Independence Air adds baggage guarantee, rents media players Independence Air last week unveiled a new service guarantee for passengers with checked luggage: If your bag doesn't arrive at your destination airport when you do, you'll get a credit for future travel in the same amount as the one-way fare for the flight you were just on. Meanwhile, to keep passengers from getting bored on its new transcontinental flights from Washington Dulles, Independence Air has started to rent personal media players. For $10, passengers can rent a digEplayer and a set of headphones. The device has a seven-inch screen and includes a selection of 10 or more feature films, a roster of television comedies and other network programs, comedy shorts, and 100 song titles from all genres. The players are available on Independence Air's routes between IAD and San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. FAA/SECURITY Government reportedly will seek more information on passengers USA Today reported last week that the Transportation Security Administration will soon tell airlines, travel agencies and online ticket sellers that they have to ask air travelers for their full names and their birth dates when they book a flight. Currently, only a last name and initial are required. Passengers reportedly will not be legally mandated to provide the full name and birth date, but if they don't, it will "dramatically increase" their odds of being singled out at the airport for extra questioning or more intensive scrutiny, the newspaper said, citing a TSA official. The idea behind the plan is that fuller information on each individual makes it less likely they will be mistaken for someone whose name is on the government's terror watch list, officials explained. The change is all part of the run-up to implementation of the new "Secure Flight" program, in which the federal government will replace the airlines as the party responsible for evaluating the security risks of individual passengers. AIRPORTS BWI adds new food outlets and a Border's Some new restaurants are coming to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, and so is a Borders bookstore. Restaurants slated to open this month at BWI include Phillips Famous Seafood, an Ocean City, Md.-based eatery specializing in crab dishes; Church's Chicken, known for fried chicken and Southern cuisine; and McDonald's; all will be in Terminal A/B. Another May opening in A/B is Godiva Chocolatier, with a variety of chocolate goodies; in Terminal A, the Au Bon Pain chain will debut this month as well. In mid-May, Borders will open a 900-square-foot store in the new Southwest Airlines terminal, with a selection of 6,000 titles as well as newspapers and magazines. A summer opening in the Main Terminal is slated for Maryland-based Bill Bateman's Bistro, a barbecue specialist; Annapolis-based Rams Head Tavern will come to Terminal C later this year, as will the Euro-styled Caffe Ritazza caffeine parlor. In 2006, watch for a new Manchu WOK in Terminal D and a Starbucks in the Main Terminal. AIR ROUTES CHARLOTTE (CLT). US Airways has added a fourth daily Charlotte-Denver roundtrip and a second daily Charlotte-Seattle non-stop, using A319s. CINCINNATI (CVG). Air France on May 9 starts flying its own daily roundtrip between Cincinnati and Paris CDG for the summer season; the A340-300 flight complements the existing Delta-operated Air France code-share on the route. DENVER (DEN). Frontier Airlines has kicked off new service between Denver and Detroit, offering two daily roundtrips. LAS VEGAS (LAS). America West has added new service to Alaska, operating one daily A319 roundtrip from Las Vegas to Anchorage. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). May 9 is the launch date for new Delta flights from JFK to Chennai (Madras), India, using a 767-300ER and operating via a stop at Paris Charles de Gaulle. Meanwhile, Delta has started phasing in new JFK-Los Angeles operations by its low-cost Song affiliate, with all-coach 757s; the initial three daily Song flights on the JFK-LAX route will increase to seven by June 18. PHILADELPHIA (PHL). US Airways on May 9 debuts a new Europe route with the inauguration of daily Philadelphia-Venice flights; on May 16, the airline will begin daily PHL-Barcelona service. Both routes will use 767s and will continue to October 29. Last week, US Airways resumed seasonal daily service between PHL-Dublin and PHL-Shannon, Ireland, and it will kickoff seasonal PHL-Glasgow flights May 14. SALT LAKE CITY (SLC). From May 13 through September 11, Delta Air Lines will operate daily seasonal service between Salt Lake City and Fairbanks, Alaska. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Members of Omni Hotels' Select Guest program will earn double miles (i.e., 1,000 instead of 500) per qualifying stay from now through June 30. They'll also get a certificate for one free night when they book a two-night weekend getaway, and they'll be entered automatically in a drawing for 10 free trips to the chain's newest golf resort, the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate. For details, go to www.omnigiveaway.com. The "Deal of the Month" for May from Singapore Airlines is a roundtrip economy class fare of $538 between New York JFK and Frankfurt. It must be purchased online at www.singaporeair.com/usa no later than May 31, and it's good for travel through June 15. China Southern Airlines (www.cs-air.com/en; 888-338-8988) has a special offer available now through October 9: Travel from Los Angeles to Guangzhou on the airline in Premium Economy or Premium Business class, and get a free roundtrip coach ticket from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh or Bangkok. If you're originating in San Francisco, China Southern will throw in roundtrip coach travel to LAX so you can try its transpacific service. 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.