EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 10/17/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of October 17, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Southwest loses bid to relocate at Seattle Delta pins expansion hopes on international routes AirTran overhauls its web site Phoenix firm will secure prime boarding status on Southwest for $5 JetBlue unveils first plans for new 100-seat jets Delta's Comair subsidiary gets caught up in cost-cutting BA starts offering online boarding passes for JFK, Newark and Boston flights Northwest Airlink carrier files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Hotel Update: Four Seasons opens in Hong Kong Two companies plan new chains of "loft-style" hip hotels Car Rentals: Dollar debuts express plan for frequent renters AIRPORTS Southwest loses bid to relocate at Seattle A months-long effort by Southwest Airlines to move its Seattle flight operations from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to closer-in King County International Airport apparently failed last week. Ron Sims, King County Executive, turned down the proposal over a number of concerns, including the impact that major commercial flight operations at King County Airport - more commonly known as Boeing Field - would have on traffic congestion, noise, pollution and extra costs to taxpayers. He also cited a number of unresolved legal issues that could complicate the plan. Southwest had offered to spend $130 million to build a passenger terminal at Boeing Field, but country officials were concerned the plan would also require significant development or expansion of public infrastructure, like roadways in and out of the airport. Besides, Southwest would not be alone at Boeing Field if it made the move there: Alaska Airlines and partner Horizon Air said that if Southwest moved, they would have to move a substantial portion of their flights to Boeing Field as well - up to 100 flights a day. American Airlines also was said to be interested in moving some flights there from Sea-Tac. Southwest's original motive for wanting to move was the burden of increasing airport fees and costs at Sea-Tac. "We are disappointed that our proposal was not given the comprehensive examination it deserved," said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. AIRLINES Delta pins expansion hopes on international routes As bankrupt Delta Air Lines continues to trim back its domestic capacity in the face of growing low-fare competition, the carrier is doing just the opposite in international markets. Delta has set its sights on a number of new international services, since it can extract a revenue premium on routes where low-cost competitors don't fly. Much of Delta's route map growth is focused on Mexico, especially since a revised air services agreement with the U.S. is opening up markets there. Delta has applied for rights to launch service on eight new routes to Mexico in February and March 2006. Among them: Atlanta-Acapulco; Atlanta-Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa; Boston-Cancun; Cincinnati-Cancun; Washington Dulles-Cancun; and routes from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. These routes, along with other Mexico incursions already set, will give Delta an overall increase of 124 percent in service to Mexico by April 2006, compared to the same month in 2005, a spokesman said. Delta has already added or announced 21 new international routes so far this year, including New York-Paris-Chennai, India; New York-Berlin; Atlanta-Moscow; New York and Atlanta to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Atlanta-Barbados; and Salt Lake City-Puerto Vallarta. On March 27, 2006, Delta plans to begin new non-stops between its Atlanta hub and Tel Aviv; and on May 1 it will start daily Atlanta-Copenhagen non-stops. AirTran overhauls its web site AirTran Airways has added new "customer-friendly" features to its company web site at www.airtran.com. AirTran said that on the enhanced site, customers can now see all available flights and fares for any route at a glance, including web specials, advance purchase, full coach and business fares. They will also be able to check fares for different airports in the same city on one screen; change travel dates and times on the flight results page without having to backtrack; print out any information on the site in a printer-friendly format; input their A+ Rewards number during online check-in if they neglected to put it in when they booked a flight; and email sale fare information to family and friends. The company said it now gets more than 60 percent of its bookings through the web site. Phoenix firm will secure prime boarding status on Southwest for $5 BoardFirst.com, based in Phoenix, has created a new service for Southwest Airlines passengers who want to be assured of boarding first - and thus getting a crack at the prime seats and storage space. Southwest does not have assigned seats, but lets those who check in earliest become A Group boarders - the first ones allowed on the plane. Southwest now opens up online check-in exactly 24 hours before scheduled departure time, and BoardFirst.com says that only the first 45 passengers to check in will get into the A Group for boarding. If you're not the type to pay close attention to that 24-hour-advance clock, BoardFirst offers to take care of it for you - for a $5 fee, they'll check you in online at the moment your flight opens up for that purpose. The customer can then print out his boarding pass at home or at the airport. If you don't make it into the A Group, the fee is waived. For details, see www.BoardFirst.com. JetBlue unveils first plans for new 100-seat jets JetBlue Airways last week announced plans for an expansion of service out of New York JFK and Boston, using the first of some 100 smaller jets it has ordered from Brazilian plane-maker Embraer. The biggest route announcement is a plan by JetBlue to start flying up to 10 roundtrips a day between JFK and Boston Logan, beginning November 9, 2005. The company is offering introductory fares of just $25 each way, with a purchase deadline of October 20. Besides the New York-Boston flights, JetBlue will also launch new Embraer 190 flights January 19, 2006 between JFK-Austin, with three daily roundtrips; March 31, 2006 between JFK and Richmond, with four daily flights; January 19, 2006 between Boston and Austin, with one daily non-stop; April 6, 2006 between Boston and Richmond, with two daily departures; February 2, 2006 between Boston and Nassau, Bahamas, with one daily flight; and November 8, 2005 between Boston and West Palm Beach with three daily roundtrips. The 100-seat Embraer 190s will offer 100 channels of XM Satellite Radio in addition to 36 channels of free DIRECTV programming. Delta's Comair subsidiary gets caught up in cost-cutting Comair, a regional carrier wholly owned by Delta Air Lines, said it is undertaking its own cost-cutting efforts as part of Delta's long-term plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Comair said its efforts include trimming its fleet by up to 30 aircraft, and reducing its payroll by some 1,000 jobs. By December, Comair will eliminate 11 planes from its fleet, mostly 50-seat jets involved in Delta's previously-announced downsizing of its Cincinnati hub. "Long-term cost reduction initiatives are targeted for 40- and 70-seat aircraft," Comair said. Of the 1,000 jobs being cut, 350 will be part of the Cincinnati schedule reduction effective in December. BA starts offering online boarding passes for JFK, Newark and Boston flights British Airways said U.K.-bound passengers departing from New York Kennedy, Newark or Boston can now print out boarding passes and select seats for their flights online up to 23 hours before departure. The online boarding pass includes a barcode for boarding at the gate, enabling persons with only hand luggage to bypass the counters and go right through security. "Passengers taking checked baggage also print their boarding passes online and then use the British Airways Fast Bag Drop facility near the airline's check-in counters...to check their bags," a spokesman said. Northwest Airlink carrier files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy The latest company to seek protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy laws is Mesaba Aviation, which operates as a Northwest Airlink partner of bankrupt Northwest Airlines. The carrier is continuing to operate normally. Mesaba, which feeds Northwest's hubs from smaller cities in the Midwest, said it is short on cash, partly because Northwest still owes it a $30 million payment that was deferred when Northwest made its own Chapter 11 filing. In addition, Mesaba cited uncertainty about the future because of Northwest's troubles. A few weeks ago, Northwest told Mesaba it is planning to ground 35 Avro regional jets that Mesaba is operating for the larger carrier - or about one-third of its fleet - along with 10 turboprops. HOTELS Hotel Update: Four Seasons opens in Hong Kong Four Seasons Hotels has opened a 399-room property in Hong Kong. The hotel occupies one of four towers at the International Financial Center complex - which also includes Central Station, the terminus for the Airport Express train service ... Also in Asia, Shangri-La Hotels has opened a new 36-story, 375-room tower addition to the Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai ... Starwood has cut the ribbon on a new Sheraton in Salta, Argentina ... In the U.S., the Coast Anaheim Hotel next to that California city's convention center will become the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort effective next spring ... In Pittsburgh, the former Ramada Plaza Suites is now the Doubletree Hotel Pittsburgh City Center. Two companies plan new chains of "loft-style" hip hotels As cool as they claim to be, maybe Starwood's W Hotels aren't cool enough. W Hotels executives have unveiled plans for an even cooler group of properties, with the name "aloft" (No, not Aloft ... aloft, with a lower-case "a". How cool is that?) "With generous nine-foot ceilings and oversized windows, guest rooms will have a decidedly loft-like feel," a spokesman said. Besides a fancy bed and a workspace, rooms will have docking stations for MP3 players, and flat-panel TVs. Initial locations, starting in 2007, will include San Francisco and Philadelphia airports; Tucson; Denver (Cherry Creek); and Lexington, Mass. Meanwhile, at about the same time, an Atlanta-based company announced plans to develop a string of similar hotels called NYLO, with "a breakthrough urban-loft design." Rooms will be loft-style with 11-foot ceilings and oversized windows, the company said, and the centerpiece of each hotel will be The Loft, an "ultra-social common area" with a 24-hour restaurant, bar, business center, free wireless Internet access, library, store and game room. The company said it expects to see 50 NYLO hotels open by 2010. CAR RENTALS Dollar debuts express service plan for frequent renters Dollar Rent A Car is offering free membership in its new Dollar Express Service Program - an expedited processing capability for business travelers. Members benefit from rental agreements prepared in advance, including credit card authorization, vehicle assignment and a separate check-in line. Members also get 60-second rental pickup processing, quick returns, and an online rental history. To join, send an email to dollarexpress@dollar.com; or print out an enrollment form from www.dollar.com and fax it back to 877-449-1044; or call 866-776-6667 to request an enrollment form. AIR ROUTES CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). On October 23, United's low-cost affiliate Ted will launch a daily roundtrip between Chicago and San Juan. HOUSTON HOBBY (HOU). Southwest Airlines on October 17 will increase frequencies on its recently revived Houston-New Orleans route from two flights a day to four. NEWARK (EWR). JetBlue begins its second phase of expansion out of Newark Liberty International Airport this week; on October 19, JetBlue will start flying between Newark and Tampa twice a day; between Newark and West Palm Beach twice a day; and between Newark and Ft. Myers once a day. Two weeks earlier, JetBlue started Newark-Orlando and Newark-Ft. Lauderdale flights. DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Malaysia Airlines (www.malaysiaairlinesusa.com) is offering web-only roundtrip fares as low as $699 roundtrip between Los Angeles or Newark to Kuala Lumpur. The sale fares are non-refundable and non-changeable, have no minimum stay requirement but a maximum stay of 30 days, and do not include taxes and fees of up to $165 per ticket. The purchase deadline is November 15. Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) has added InterContinental Hotels Group as a new partner in its Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Any Rapid Rewards member who is also a member of the hotel company's Priority Club can select Southwest as a preferred earning alliance partner. If they do, they'll get one-half of a Rapid Rewards credit for each qualifying stay at an IHG property. IHG's brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. 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.