EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 07/25/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of July 25, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Northwest braces for possible August 20 mechanics' strike American expands on-line check-in options Spirit Airlines speeds up fleet renewal plan Southwest pursues new airport options in Dallas, Seattle DFW opens new International Terminal More Acela trains go back into service AIRLINES Northwest braces for possible August 20 mechanics' strike Relations between Northwest Airlines management and its mechanics' union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), continued to spiral downward last week, setting the stage for a possible walkout by the labor group on August 20. Northwest executives pledged that the airline would continue to operate if a strike happens, stating in an employee newsletter last week that it could maintain operations by using replacement workers who are currently being trained, and by outsourcing other maintenance activities. Northwest last week rejected the possibility of binding arbitration from the National Mediation Board, starting the clock ticking on a 30-day cooling off period, after which the union could walk out - or the airline could lock it out. AMFA conducted a strike poll of its members last week, and more than 92 percent voted to authorize a strike. A representative of AMFA disputed Northwest management's claim that it could continue to keep things running efficiently if the union walks out. "Northwest executives sound like Eastern Airlines execs of old did when they tell the public maintenance will continue to go smoothly during a strike," he said. "But as the fate of Eastern illustrates, this is another reckless gamble. It's about as likely as winning the trifecta, considering all the things that would have to go right." Eastern managed to hang on for many months after its mechanics struck in 1989; some pilots joined in the walkout, and eventually Eastern stopped flying and everyone lost their jobs. Northwest is also facing trouble from its flight attendants, who sued the company last week to stop its training of replacement workers for their jobs. There is no clear indication yet as to how the airline's other unions will react if the mechanics walk off the job. American expands on-line check-in options American Airlines said that domestic passengers holding e-tickets can now check in online and print boarding passes up to 24 hours before departure for flights that involve interline connections. As long as the passenger's originating flight is on American, American Eagle or AmericanConnection, they can now check in online at www.aa.com for interline travel with flights that connect to Alaska Airlines, Continental, Delta, Hawaiian, Midwest Airlines, Northwest and US Airways. Spirit Airlines speeds up fleet renewal plan Low-fare Spirit Airlines plans to accelerate its transition to an all-Airbus fleet, thanks to a $100 million infusion of new financing. Some $70 million is being provided by Spirit management and by Oaktree Capital Management, a previous backer of the airline; and $30 million comes from Goldman Sachs. Spirit had placed a $2 billion order in 2004 for 35 new Airbus planes, with options on 50 more, planning to replace its MD-80 fleet with new A319s and A321s. The company said the new money will allow it to speed up the delivery schedule, so that it should now complete the transition by early 2007. ADVERTISEMENT Save 10% now at Choice Hotels® With more than 3,500 locations across America, Choice hotels are virtually everywhere you travel. Save 10% now at Comfort Inn®, Comfort Suites®, Quality®, Sleep Inn®, Clarion®, MainStay Suites®, Econo Lodge® or Rodeway Inn® by calling 800.4CHOICE or visiting choicehotels.com and using discount number 00062611. Advance reservations required. Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions. AIRPORTS Southwest pursues new airport options in Dallas, Seattle Southwest Airlines last week moved to secure expanded schedule options out of Dallas Love Field, and to switch its Seattle-area operations from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to Boeing Field. In Washington State, Southwest has long been unhappy with what it considers excessive landing fees and other costs at Sea-Tac, and last week it unveiled a proposal to the Metropolitan King County Council that would move all Southwest's flight operations to King County International Airport, also known as Boeing Field. That facility, which is much closer to downtown Seattle than Sea-Tac, is currently used only by cargo carriers, private jets and general aviation, so Southwest said it would spend $130 million to build an eight-gate commercial terminal with a parking garage, passenger concessions, rental car operations and such. The airline proposed starting to fly out of the airport in 2009 with 60 flights a day, growing to 85 a day over time. As for Sea-Tac, Southwest would pull out entirely. The airline said it "cannot afford to operate its successful business model and preserve low fares for consumers at high-cost airports" like Sea-Tac. Southwest's proposal drew an immediate response from Alaska Airlines and its regional partner Horizon Air, which together control about half the traffic at Sea-Tac with 281 daily flights. The airlines said if Southwest's plan is approved, they want to operate up to 100 flights a day out of Boeing Field in order to remain competitive. "If a direct competitor moves their operations to Boeing Field, we're left with no choice but to request equal access," a spokesman said. A Horizon official said that if his carrier has to split its operations between the two airports, "a regrettable potential outcome...might be a decline in service frequency to some of the Pacific Northwest communities that depend on our Sea-Tac flights for connections." Meanwhile, Southwest's long-simmering battle to open up Dallas Love Field for more long distance flights moved to the U.S. Senate last week. Last fall, Southwest started a push to get rid of the 26-year-old Wright Amendment, which says airlines at Love Field can only fly to states surrounding Texas. Southwest's lobbying effort is strongly opposed by DFW Airport and by American Airlines, and the battle is starting to look like a contest to see who has the better Washington lobbyists. Two bills were introduced in the Senate last week on the issue. A bill from Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) would lift the restrictions on Love Field flights and allow Southwest to expand there. Another bill from Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tom Harkin (D-Ia.) would close Love Field to commercial operations and force Southwest to move its Dallas business to DFW - something Southwest has repeatedly said it does not want to do in view of American's overwhelming dominance at that airport. DFW opens new International Terminal After weeks of previews and gala festivities, Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport on July 23 finally opened its sparkling new Terminal D to regular passengers. The $1.2 billion International Terminal now serves as the new home for Aeromexico, Air Canada, Jazz, British Airways, Grupo Taca, Korean Air, Lufthansa and Mexicana. American's international flights and American Eagle operations will move there as well, but for now American continues to use Terminal A for overseas operations. American and Eagle will occupy 19 of the new terminal's 28 gates, with 75 flights a day to 30 international destinations. "Because of the complexity of moving its large segment of international flights, American will require a few more weeks to phase in service to International Terminal D," an airport official said. The new facility consolidates federal inspection services that were formerly spread out among Terminals A, B and E. The new Terminal D has a passport control hall with 60 inspection stations, as well as an 8,100-space parking garage; 67 restaurants, shops and other retail concessions; state of the art security systems; T-Mobile Wi-Fi service throughout; and an impressive $6 million collection of public art. The terminal's design highlights spaciousness, high ceilings and big windows; the facility has a new Grand Hyatt hotel right new door, and is linked to the rest of the airport by DFW's new overhead people-mover system, Skylink. RAIL More Acela trains go back into service Amtrak is continuing to put its high-speed Acela trains back into service after the necessary repairs to their disc brakes. The whole Acela fleet of 20 trains was taken off the rails several weeks ago after cracks were discovered in some of those discs. This week, Amtrak put one daily Acela train back onto the Boston-New York-Washington route. The number of Acelas operating between New York and Washington is due to increase to six a day this week. AIR ROUTES NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). Delta's low-cost affiliate, Song, has introduced weekly service between JFK and Aruba, operating on Saturdays. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Looking for a short-notice weekend getaway? American Airlines has added a new section to its web site where you can find special deals on those kinds of trips. The deals include air/car rental, air/hotel, air/hotel/car or hotel/car packages, and they're available for purchase from 14 days before departure to hours before flight time. Packages can run from Thursday to Tuesday or for shorter periods, and require a Saturday night stay. Check out the options at www.aa.com/lastminutepackages. JetBlue Airways and American Express have teamed up to introduce the JetBlue Card from American Express for persons who belong to the low-cost airline's TrueBlue frequent flyer program. Card holders can earn award dollars that can be transferred to their TrueBlue account and redeemed for free flights. There is no cap on the amount of award dollars members can earn with the card, and they'll get 25,000 award dollars (equal to 25 TrueBlue points) with their first purchase. For details, go to www.jetbluecard.com or call 877-253-8258. For links to other websites where you can search for bargains, click here: www.executivetravelonline.com/reference/deals.html For in-depth analysis, news, features and opinions about the current business travel scene, check out Joe Sent Me (www.joesentme.com), produced by veteran traveler advocate/journalist Joe Brancatelli and a team of contributors. By Jim Glab To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.