EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 08/15/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of August 15, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Northwest says it's ready for strike, if it comes Fares go up once again American adding lie-flat seats to 767, 777 business class BA Heathrow operations almost back to normal Southwest revamps Rapid Rewards program Delta will put larger planes on Shuttle routes Independence Air's fleet renewal gets a setback amid financial woes TSA seeks a high-tech solution to the shoe situation FAA sees a weighty problem in calculating passenger poundage AIRLINES Northwest says it's ready for strike, if it comes Executives at Northwest Airlines last week insisted to reporters that the company is fully prepared to ride out a strike by mechanics and airplane cleaners of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association follows through on its threat to walk off the job starting in the early morning hours of August 20. The executives pledged that Northwest would operate its regular schedule whatever happens. The two sides in the labor dispute were due to resume negotiations in Washington this week; a week ago, union representatives walked out of the talks. Executives said Northwest has lined up 1,500 replacement workers as well as outside firms to handle all necessary maintenance on its planes. They added that the airline has hundreds of flight attendant replacements waiting in the wings in case that labor group stages a sympathy strike with the mechanics. The company's Northwest Airlink regional carriers are not expected to be affected by any job action. Northwest had reportedly looked to a charter airline to operate some flights, but objections from Northwest pilots might skewer those plans. The company might also use buses on some short routes if necessary. Fares go up once again Most major airlines by Monday (August 15) had implemented yet another in a continuing series of fare hikes to help out with soaring fuel costs. The increases of $10 or $20 roundtrip were initiated last week by Delta, United and Continental and matched later by American, Northwest, America West and JetBlue. Analysts say that even the latest round of increases is not enough to keep pace with the rise in jet fuel costs, so additional increases might be likely. American adding lie-flat seats to 767, 777 business class cabins American Airlines said it will install new lie-flat seats and improved in-flight entertainment systems to the business class cabins of all its 767-300s and 777 aircraft. Work on the 767-300s will begin this year, and installations on 777s will start in 2007, American said. In addition, the company said that it will improve the first class cabins in its 777 fleet by extending its Flagship Suites to 20 more aircraft. BA Heathrow operations almost back to normal British Airways said Monday (August 15) that its flight operations at London Heathrow were almost back to normal following a 24-hour strike by catering workers at the airport last Thursday and Friday (August 11 and 12). The sudden walkout was joined in sympathy by BA's baggage handlers at Heathrow - a development that led to the cancellation of scores of flights and the stranding of thousands of passengers, not just at Heathrow but also at airports with flights due to depart for Heathrow. By Monday, BA said it expected to operate 100 percent of its U.K. and European flight schedule at Heathrow, as well as 95 percent of its long-haul schedule. The airline recommended that passengers check their flight status before going to the airport. BA also said that Heathrow flights will still have "very limited onboard catering provisions," and suggested passengers eat before they get on the plane. Southwest revamps Rapid Rewards program As more business travelers start using Southwest Airlines, its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program is becoming a more important marketing weapon for the carrier. As a result, Southwest has announced some changes to the program that are starting to make it look more like the award plans of its larger competitors. The good news: Rapid Rewards members now have 24 months instead of the previous 12 months to earn credits toward free trips. Members' existing flight credits already on the books will now be valid for an extra 12 months. More good news: Southwest will remove blackout dates previously in effect for award travel. But the bad news: Starting with awards issued February 26, 2006 or later, Southwest will abandon its policy of no capacity controls on award seats. Currently, any seat that's not reserved by a paying passenger is available for booking as a free award flight. But after February, only a limited number of seats on any given flight will be bookable as a Rapid Rewards award. Awards will still be valid for travel up to 12 months after they're issued, and unexpired awards issued prior to February 10, 2006, will remain unrestricted even if they're used for travel after that date, Southwest said. Given the new capacity restrictions that will be placed on award travel, Southwest said it is planning to enhance its web site by adding an award seat-finder function for Rapid Rewards members. Delta will put larger planes on Shuttle routes Delta Air Lines said last week that starting November 1, it will replace the 737-300 aircraft operating on its Delta Shuttle routes with a fleet of nine MD88s. The MD88s will be reconfigured from two-class cabins to one-class, offering 134 seats instead of the 120 seats currently available on the 737s. The Delta Shuttle service operates hourly departures between New York LaGuardia's Marine Air Terminal and Boston and Washington Reagan National. The reconfiguration will also give the MD88s a new cabin design and new leather seats, the airline said. Delta has been using the 737s on the Shuttle service for 20 years or more; the MD88s coming onto the routes are slightly younger, on average. Independence Air's fleet renewal gets a setback amid financial woes Faced with large losses and a dwindling supply of cash - to the point where bankruptcy is becoming a real possibility - Washington Dulles-based low-cost carrier Independence Air last week worked out a deal with Airbus that will slow down its acquisition of full-size jets to replace and supplement its existing regional jet fleet. The company will put off delivery of six new A319s it was due to receive this year. Of the 16 Airbus planes it has ordered, Independence Air will now take six in the second half of 2007, six in 2008 and four in 2009. That got the company a $31 million refund from Airbus as well as more savings in debt financing. The Airbus deal was renegotiated as Independence Air's parent, FLYi, Inc., reported a second-quarter net loss of $98.5 million, vs. a deficit of $27 million for the same period a year earlier. Its cash on hand dropped by 61 percent from the end of last year, to just $66 million at the end of June 2005, prompting a sell-off of its stock last week. FAA/SECURITY TSA seeks a high-tech solution to the shoe situation No one has ever much liked the Transportation Security Administration's shoe policy. Ever since British shoe-bomber Richard Reid was caught with explosives in his loafers, the TSA has been encouraging U.S. flyers to send their footwear through the x-ray machines at airport security checkpoints. Some airports made you do it; others didn't. So TSA eventually set a national policy: You are not required to have your shoes scanned, but if you don't, you might be more likely to get a secondary screening. Travelers still claim to see little consistency in the treatment of shoe-wearers vs. shoe-removers from one airport to another, and no one doubts that hundreds of passengers removing and putting their shoes back on tends to slow down the whole process. So TSA, as it so often does, now hopes that technology will provide a solution. Some sharp-eyed observers saw a recent notice issued by TSA in a government contracting publication. The security agency is looking for vendors who can provide what TSA calls a "Shoe Weapon Inspection System (SWIS) that can inspect footwear for weapons without passengers having to remove or divest them from their feet." The technology must be able to "discriminate between weapons and common shoe metal," TSA added. The whole notice sounds like it was written by a team of bureaucrats and vetted by lawyers, but even so - "divest them from their feet?" Come on! In other news, TSA is reportedly considering some significant changes in all passenger screening procedures. An internal report suggests that some of the changes might include allowing some items currently on the "banned" list to go in carry-on bags, including scissors, ice picks, bow and arrows, razor blades and small knives. FAA sees a weighty problem in calculating passenger poundage A new Federal Aviation Administration rule that took effect last week orders airlines to use new average weight estimates for passengers when calculating overall takeoff weight, a critical number for pilots. The agency's new guidelines state that the typical adult passenger should be estimated at 190 pounds in summer and 195 in winter, including all clothes, coats and carry-on bags. The previous guidelines put the average at 170 and 175 respectively. That's a pretty big jump, but perhaps not too surprising given all the media hype about how overweight Americans have become in the past couple of decades. The estimates vary by gender. FAA's new guidelines put the average male adult estimate at 200 pounds in summer, 205 in winter, up from 185/190 previously. For the typical woman and her carry-ons, the average weight estimate went from 145 in summer/150 in winter to 179/184. Why did the weight estimate for women increase by 23 percent, while those for men only went up 8 percent? The FAA didn't say, but if they're accurate, the larger numbers can only be bad news for airlines that are being hit by record-high fuel costs. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). AirTran Airways on August 16 will add a fifth daily non-stop between Atlanta and Indianapolis, using a two-class 717. LAS VEGAS (LAS). On August 20, Northwest Airlines is slated to launch new daily non-stop service between Las Vegas and Flint, Mich., with a two-class Airbus A319. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Singapore Airlines is offering free at-home or at-office baggage pickup for customers flying the airline out of Los Angeles to Singapore starting August 15. The offer is intended to promote the airline's new partnership with BaggageDirect, which also handles baggage check-in at the airport so the passenger doesn't have to. The offer will be valid for the first 1,000 passengers or the first three months after it takes effect this week, whichever comes first. After that, SIA passengers can still use the service, but it will cost $30 for two pieces weighing no more than 70 pounds each. Book the free pickups at 800-959-4424 or www.baggagedirect.com. From now through September 5, American Express cardholders can take advantage of a special "Summer in the City" rate of $199 a night at the Paramount Hotel in New York, located near Times Square on West 46th Street. From September 6-December 30, the offer changes to a "Fall into Fall" rate of $279. You have to pay with the card to get the rate. Call the hotel directly at 212-764-5500 and mention rate code AMXSUM or AMXFALL. Thrifty Car Rental will give triple frequent flyer miles with its eight airline partners for bookings made online (www.thrifty.com) from August 15 to December 15. ... Do you like Duncan Donuts coffee? If you rent a car from Budget twice between August 15-December 15, they'll send you two pounds of it while supplies last. You have to register online for the promotion at www.budget.com/freecoffee, and you have to be a participant in the company's RapidRez or Fastbreak programs. 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.