EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 09/06/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of September 6, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Storm's aftermath could threaten Delta Airlines, FAA see no imminent risk of jet fuel shortages Northwest, United battle for frequent flyers American delays move into DFW's new Terminal D KLM to debut all-business-class service from Houston Air Canada introduces trans-border online check-in International news briefs Hurricane Katrina Donation Information BUSINESS TRAVEL ALERT: It should go without saying that if you have plans to travel to New Orleans on business, cancel them. Airlines are waiving ticket penalties for flights to the stricken city; the New Orleans airport is closed to regular commercial traffic for an indefinite period; and hotels are only accommodating media, flood victims, aid workers and their own employees, if they are open at all. Conventions scheduled for the city during September and October - its busiest convention months - are being canceled or relocated. United and American Airlines are each offering 500 bonus miles in their frequent flyer programs to members who make donations of $50 or more to hurricane relief organizations; see www.united.com and www.aa.com for details. AIRLINES Storm's aftermath could threaten Delta Just when major airlines didn't need any additional pressures on their costs, the spike in fuel prices caused by Hurricane Katrina and its impact on refineries and distribution systems in the Gulf States has created new peril for the solvency of some carriers. A report by Standard & Poor's last week said that Delta, already on the verge of Chapter 11, could be pushed over the edge by even higher fuel costs as well as the loss of revenues from routes in the area affected by the hurricane and resultant flooding. "Delta is already bleeding cash and at near-term risk of insolvency," S&P said. "The added financial pressure may hasten an already likely bankruptcy filing, which will probably occur within weeks." S&P said AirTran isn't as directly affected, with fewer flights in the damaged areas; and it has "a more comfortable cash cushion and much better operating results than Delta." The higher jet fuel prices could also spell trouble for FLYi, parent of Independence Air, which is also "at near-term risk of bankruptcy," S&P said. Airlines, FAA see no imminent risk of jet fuel shortages The Air Transport Assn., an organization of domestic airlines, said that in the aftermath of the storm and its damage to refineries in the southeast, daily production of jet fuel was reduced by 13 percent, forcing prices upward. Current jet fuel prices "are crushing, and could prove to be a knock-out blow for some," ATA admitted. But it denied press reports last week indicating that some airports could be facing imminent shortages of jet fuel, which could lead to flight cancellations. "There is not an imminent threat of significant flight cancellations or airports being shut down despite reports to that effect," ATA said, although it added that "over the next several weeks, fuel supply problems could become more critical if the supply line is not restored." The Federal Aviation Administration also challenged what it called "inaccurate speculation by some individuals" about inadequate jet fuel supplies. "Current information received by FAA indicates airports and airlines have enough jet fuel to support continued full commercial operations," the agency said. "Given that a number of major pipeline operators have now resumed operations, we believe the aviation industry will not face any immediate disruptions relating to the supply of jet fuel." Northwest, United battle for frequent flyers Northwest Airlines last week extended an offer of double frequent flyer miles, including double elite-qualifying miles, to its WorldPerks members through October 9. The offer apparently came in response to an unpublicized double-miles offer made by United Airlines to Mileage Plus members in the upper Midwest, the home of Northwest's core markets. Unlike the United offer, however, Northwest's double miles promotion applies to all WorldPerks members in the U.S. and Canada. United apparently saw an opening to attract new business from normally loyal Northwest flyers who might have qualms about schedule reliability during the ongoing mechanics' strike at Northwest. "While our customers continue to book Northwest with confidence, it is critical that we fully compete for every customer on price, product, schedule and frequent flyer program offers," a Northwest executive said. Register and see details of Northwest's offer at www.nwa.com/offers/dbleqm05/. AIRPORTS American delays move into DFW's new Terminal D Problems with the baggage system at Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport's new Terminal D, the International Terminal, have caused American Airlines to postpone the move of some of its flight operations into the facility, which opened in late July. According to the Dallas Morning News, tests of the new baggage system are taking about twice as long as originally anticipated. American will be the largest tenant in Terminal D, using two-thirds of its space; it had hoped to begin operating there by mid to late August, but now it probably won't even know for a couple of weeks exactly when it can make the move, the newspaper said. American's international flights and American Eagle operations will move to Terminal D, 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. INTERNATIONAL KLM to debut all-business-class service from Houston KLM will follow the lead of Lufthansa in introducing a new all-business-class transatlantic service, also using a Boeing Business Jet (a specially-configured 737-700) operated by Swiss-based PrivatAir. The new service, a code-share with Northwest, will operate six days a week between Houston Bush Intercontinental and Amsterdam Schiphol starting October 30. The aircraft will have just 44 seats, all of them fully reclining, in a 2 by 2 configuration. KLM will continue to offer 747-400 daily service in the Houston market as well, but will drop its three weekly 767 flights. Lufthansa operates similar PrivatAir all-business-class flights to Dusseldorf from Chicago and Newark, and to Munich from Newark. Air Canada introduces trans-border online check-in Passengers traveling from the U.S. to Canada on Air Canada can now check in online and print boarding passes for their flights at www.aircanada.com. The Canadian carrier said its trans-border web check-in applies for flights departing from Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York LaGuardia, Newark, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington Reagan National. The service will soon be expanded to Dallas/Ft. Worth and White Plains, N.Y. Air Canada has also started selling a new product, "Flight Pass to Canada," for U.S. residents, available online through the U.S. version of www.aircanada.com and through travel agents. The Flight Pass is a prepaid booklet of 10 one-way flight coupons good for travel between the U.S. and Canada at a 30 percent savings off the airline's one-way Latitude fares, with full booking and changing flexibility and no minimum stay or advance purchase rules. Purchasers must be members of Aeroplan, Air Canada's frequent flyer program. Prices for 10 one-way coupons are $2,290 from the western U.S., $3,890 from the central or southern U.S. and $2,890 from the northeast; passes are valid for 353 days. International news briefs • United and TAP Portugal, a Star Alliance member, will start code-sharing for travel effective September 12, giving United flyers access to the Portuguese cities of Lisbon, Faro, Porto and Madeira; and in Africa to Sal, Cape Verde; Dakar, Senegal; and Maputo, Mozambique. • Following Lufthansa's acquisition of Swiss International Air Lines, the two carriers plan to begin code-sharing October 30 on all their flights between Switzerland and Germany, a total of 563 a week, and will coordinate departures at Zurich, Frankfurt and Munich to avoid duplication. • At London Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic Airways has opened the first phase of its new Upper Class Lounge, called the Clubhouse. It will be completed in December. The new Clubhouse, twice the size of its predecessor, will offer a spa pool, steam room and sauna; a variety of special cocktails; acrylic bubble chairs; a water wall; a hair salon; a tanning booth; as well as the usual dining and business facilities. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). Delta's seasonal service between Atlanta and Boise, Idaho, will become year-round effective September 11. Delta operates one daily 737 roundtrip in the market. SAN JOSE (SJC). Mexicana Airlines has started new non-stop service between San Jose and Mexico City on Thursdays and Fridays, and has increased San Jose-Guadalajara service to daily frequency with the addition of flights on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD). Independence Air on September 6 will transition its five daily Washington-Boston flights to all-Airbus A319 service, replacing regional jets. On the same date, Independence Air will introduce A319s on Washington-Jacksonville, Fla., service, with two daily A319 flights and one regional jet flight. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Continental Airlines (www.continental.com) is offering a special introductory fare of $998 roundtrip to India, with a ticket purchase deadline of September 12. The fare, to promote the airline's new non-stop, daily 777 service from Newark to Delhi, is valid for eastbound travel from the launch date of November 1 through December 13, with return travel to be completed by December 25. The $998 roundtrip applies from Newark, or for connections from Washington D.C., Cleveland and Boston, among other cities. Malaysia Airlines has sale fares starting at $499 roundtrip from Los Angeles to Taipei, for travel through November 30 and again January 16-March 31, 2006, but with a purchase deadline of September 15, 2005; call 800-552-9264. Malaysia also has a special on coach seats between Newark and Stockholm starting as low as $269 roundtrip for travel through March 27, with a ticketing deadline of September 30. Tickets must be bought online at www.malaysiaairlines.com. Through December 31, American Express Membership Rewards participants can redeem 195,000 points for a $5,000 credit toward the purchase of a private jet flight - half the number usually required. The 50 percent point savings applies for private jet credit of up to $20,000 (780,000 points). The private jet travel is provided by Bombardier Skyjet and Flexjet. For details, call 800-297-3276 and select the Land and Sea Vacations Desk option. 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.