EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 06/06/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of June 6, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. United dodges strike threats, drops Argentina route Delta's Song will add more transcon routes later this year America West-US Airways deal could get more complicated Government study recommends fixes for airport security Star Alliance adds Swiss International Airbus super-jumbo deliveries will be delayed AIRLINES United dodges strike threats, drops Argentina route At the eleventh hour last week, United Airlines came to terms with the International Association of Machinists -- representing thousands of the airline's ground workers - on terms of a new contract. The agreement was reached on the same day that United's bankruptcy court was prepared to rule on a request to void the existing IAM contract - something that could have sparked a walkout by the union's members in the absence of a new deal. Meanwhile, members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, representing United's mechanics, last week ratified a new contract that their leaders had negotiated earlier. If the AMFA members had voted down that agreement, they might have walked out as well. After the IAM agreement and the AMFA ratification, United quickly sent e-mails to its regular customers assuring them that there was no reason to avoid booking future flights. "Together these actions set the stage for the completion of our restructuring," United said. In another part of its restructuring effort, United reportedly failed to come to new terms on a leasing deal for four of its 767s, so it will eliminate its Chicago-Buenos Aires route effective June 6, according to the Chicago Tribune. The carrier continues to serve B.A. from its Washington Dulles hub. Delta's Song will add more transcon routes later this year Delta's low-cost affiliate, Song, will expand its network later this year by adding new transcontinental routes from the northeast to California, the company said last week. On September 6, Song will start flying its one-class 757s twice a day between Boston Logan and Los Angeles International; twice a day between Boston and San Francisco International; and once a day between Hartford's Bradley International Airport and LAX. The latter will be the only non-stop service between Connecticut and Los Angeles. Song recently started new service out of New York's JFK Airport to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. America West-US Airways deal could get more complicated The merger plan recently announced between America West Airlines and bankrupt US Airways could get more complicated. Last week, the judge overseeing US Airways' bankruptcy ruled that the company could consider alternative bids for its assets other than that of America West. So far, there have been no specific indications of other bidders coming forward, although Southwest Airlines did jump into the ATA Airlines bankruptcy proceeding last year, acquiring assets at Chicago Midway and blocking America West's efforts to take over the airline. Meanwhile, published reports last week hinted that a new player might come onto the scene: Alaska Air Holdings, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, is said to be considering a bid to buy America West, after it completes its merger with US Airways - and thus combining all three carriers into a single network. FAA/SECURITY Government study recommends fixes for airport security A year-long study of airport security commissioned by Congress found that some simple fixes could improve the inspection process and speed up passenger processing, according to a copy of the document obtained by the New York Times. Some of the report's recommendations seem fairly obvious - e.g., that screening could be more effective and efficient if more security lanes were added to checkpoints at the busiest airports; or that the Transportation Security Administration should provide longer tables at the beginning of the checkpoints, so passengers had more space to put their belongings onto conveyor belts and into plastic bins. The report suggested that TSA should continue to deploy new explosives-detection devices that blow puffs of air on each passenger and analyze it for trace material; but in the meantime, it said each passenger could be screened with existing explosives detection equipment if a single TSA employee was added to each screening line. The report indicated one of the biggest weaknesses in security is at foreign airports; it studied 16 overseas airports and found security deficiencies much greater than at U.S. facilities. INTERNATIONAL Star Alliance adds Swiss International Airlines of the Star Alliance, meeting in Japan last week, agreed to accept a membership request from Swiss International Air Lines. It's a logical development, since Swiss is being acquired by Lufthansa, one of the global alliance's founding members. Swiss has been in the market for an alliance membership since last year, when its tentative plans to join the Oneworld group fell through. South African Airways is also in the pipeline toward Star Alliance membership, and the addition of the two carriers will give Star a total of 18 airlines. Airbus super-jumbo deliveries will be delayed If you were hoping to be the first traveler at your company to fly on Airbus's revolutionary double-decker, super-jumbo aircraft, the A380, don't book your flights just yet. Word emerged from some of Airbus' customers last week that deliveries of the first new A380s will be up to six months later than originally scheduled. Airbus recently started test-flights of the big plane, but offered no specific explanation for the postponement in deliveries. Singapore Airlines was due to be the launch customer for the plane, with the first one coming into the fleet in mid-2006; now Singapore is looking at a fourth quarter 2006 debut for the aircraft. Qantas, which is likely to be the first to fly the A380 to the U.S., was expecting to start receiving them in the fall of 2006. Now it's looking at April 2007. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). American Airlines will jump into the Atlanta-New York LaGuardia market June 9, when it starts five daily flights operating out of ATL's close-in T Concourse in the North Terminal. Three of the five flights will be with MD80s and two with 37-seat American Eagle regional jets. CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). June 7 is the launch date for new United Airlines non-stop service between O'Hare and Munich, Germany, operating one daily roundtrip with a three-class 767. The flight complements the existing ORD-Munich service operated by Star Alliance partner Lufthansa and code-shared with United. On the same date, United increases frequencies on its Chicago-Hong Kong non-stop route from seven a week to 10, adding new westbound departures on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Meanwhile, American Eagle will kick off new 70-seat regional jet service between O'Hare and Colorado Springs June 9, with two daily roundtrips; and between O'Hare and Nassau, Bahamas with one flight a day. DALLAS/FT. WORTH (DFW). American Eagle plans a June 9 start for new non-stop service between DFW and Mobile, Ala., with two daily regional jet flights. On the same date, American Airlines will supplement its daily DFW-Sao Paulo non-stop with another flight, operating five days a week through September 7, then three times a week through November 22. DENVER (DEN). United Express/SkyWest plans a June 7 start for one daily regional jet roundtrip between Denver and Monterey, Calif. LOS ANGELES (LAX). Effective June 7, United Airlines adds a second daily LAX-Tokyo Narita flight. On June 9, Continental Express plans to start new regional jet service between LAX and Mexico, with four flights a week to Durango through the summer, and daily service to Queretaro. MILWAUKEE (MKE). Northwest continues its buildup at Milwaukee June 9, when Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines will launch twice-daily regional jet non-stops between Milwaukee and Denver, and will add a third daily roundtrip between Milwaukee and Boston with a midday departure. MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (MSP). On June 9, Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines will launch new non-stop service between MSP and Lexington, Ky.; and between MSP and Idaho Falls, Idaho, with one daily regional jet roundtrip in each market. Northwest Airlink/Mesaba Airlines on June 9 begins one daily Saab 340 turboprop flight between MSP and Marquette, Mich. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). American Eagle on June 9 will begin one daily regional jet roundtrip between Cleveland and JFK, timed to permit connections with several American Airlines overseas flights. NEWARK (EWR). Continental Airlines on June 9 kicks off new daily non-stop 757 service between Newark and Hamburg, Germany; and new summer service from EWR, including two daily 737 non-stops to Albuquerque and two to Calgary, Alberta. On the same date, Continental Express starts new twice-daily regional jet flights between Newark and Bangor, Me.; and Continental's existing Newark-Panama City-Quito flight will begin to operate non-stop between Newark and Quito. ORLANDO (MCO). AirTran Airways will bypass its Atlanta hub with new non-stop service between Orlando and Indianapolis. It starts June 7, with one daily roundtrip. PHOENIX (PHX). ATA Airlines boosts its Hawaii schedule June 7, offering daily non-stop service between Phoenix-Honolulu and Phoenix-Maui. ST. LOUIS (STL). AmericanConnection on June 9 will add a third daily frequency to its St. Louis-Baltimore/Washington schedule. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS InterContinental Hotels Group is celebrating its 10th anniversary of online bookings with a sale across all its brands (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Indigo, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites), offering savings of 20-40 percent at some 1,300 properties worldwide. But it's short-term: Customers must book between June 6 and the end of the day June 10, at www.ichotels.com/10years or by calling 877-4-10YEARS; bookings must be prepaid in full and are non-refundable. It's good for stays from July 1 to September 1. Sample nightly rates start as low as $60 in Paris, $89 in London, $69 in Chicago, $88 in Sydney and $79 in Boston. United Airlines and Chase have introduced a new Mileage Plus Platinum Class Signature Visa Card. It's the first to eliminate the mileage-earning cap for purchases, and it provides faster eligibility toward elite status. Users get double miles on United, Star Alliance and many other kinds of purchases, and a free companion ticket every year. For details, visit www.united.com/platinumvisa. Nordic Saga Tours (800-848-6449; email nstours@nordicsaga.com), a leading travel wholesaler to Europe, has a summer sale on transatlantic business class fares, in partnership with SAS. The booking deadline is June 19, for travel through August. Sample roundtrip fares start at $2,553 between Boston-Zurich; $3,059 from Chicago to Copenhagen; $2,906 from Los Angeles to Amsterdam; $2,435 between Newark-Paris. 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.