EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 11/14/05 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of November 14, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Cash infusion could help ATA exit Chapter 11 US Airways phases out some America West mileage partnerships Delta adds business center benefit for Crown Room members U.S., Canada reach open skies agreement American takes on a partner in India Delta sets sights on China Boeing 777 achieves new non-stop distance record American cuts the ribbon on new airport clubs at JFK, MIA New gates open in Detroit Metro's McNamara Terminal Hertz expands navigation system to European outlets AIRLINES Cash infusion could help ATA exit Chapter 11 A private equity firm last week agreed to provide up to $100 million in new financing to struggling ATA Airlines, a deal that could help the carrier emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to press reports from Indianapolis. Court papers identified the ATA angel as MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners II, part of MatlinPatterson Asset Management. The company reportedly agreed to give ATA $30 million in debtor-in-possession financing and to invest another $70 million once the company exits Chapter 11, which could happen early in 2006. ATA has been cutting routes recently in an effort to slash its operating costs. It has also been helped by a code-sharing deal with Southwest Airlines that lets the two companies exchange passengers at Chicago Midway. US Airways phases out some America West mileage partnerships As US Airways' Dividend Miles frequent flyer program becomes the surviving entity in the merged US Airways/America West, the company said on its web site it will be phasing out some partner benefits for members of the America West FlightFund program. December 31 will be the last day FlightFund members can earn miles on British Airways flights; award travel on BA must be requested by December 15, ticketed by March 1, 2006, and flown by January 2007. Members must request award travel on partner Northwest Airlines by March 26, 2006, with the ticket issued by March 31, 2006 and travel completed by March 30, 2007; March 31, 2006 is the last day to earn miles on Northwest. For transpacific travel on Hawaiian Airlines, the last mileage-earning day is June 14, 2006; award trips must be requested and ticketed by December 15, 2005, and flown by December 14, 2006. Also, members will no longer have reciprocal airport club access with Northwest as of March 31, 2006. Delta adds business center benefit for Crown Room members Delta said it has teamed up with Regus Group to offer its Crown Room Club members free enrollment in the latter's Network Access program worldwide. That will give them access to Regus' business centers, located in downtown and suburban commercial centers in 350 cities around the globe. At the business centers, users can book private offices, meeting rooms and various business services including administrative support. "Now when business travelers arrive at their destinations, they can take advantage of the various amenities offered in our Crown Room Clubs, or at a Regus location in the city center or a suburban office park," a Crown Room spokesperson said. Members can find out more about Regus and its facilities at www.regus.com. INTERNATIONAL U.S., Canada reach open skies agreement Government officials from the United States and Canada last week signed off on a new "open skies" pact that will remove all remaining restrictions on air travel between the countries when it takes effect in September 2006. Most restrictions were removed by a 1995 U.S.-Canada agreement, but that pact did not give airlines of one country the right to fly beyond the other country. That limit will be removed by the new agreement. United Airlines and Air Canada, both members of the Star Alliance, were quick to praise the pact. American takes on a partner in India Coinciding with American Airlines' launch of its own service to India from Chicago O'Hare on November 15 (see Air Routes, below), the carrier will initiate a new reciprocal frequent flyer pact with Air Sahara, a fast-growing Indian carrier. Subject to government approvals, American said it will put its AA code on Air Sahara flights to 26 cities. Members of either carrier's frequent flyer program will be able to earn and spend miles on the other. American said it will give AAdvantage members a bonus of 7,500 miles in economy or 15,000 in first class for each roundtrip from November 15-February 15 on its new Chicago-Delhi service, provided they pre-register at www.aa.com/offers (800-882-8880; promotion code DEL15). Delta sets sights on China Although it missed out on the first new route awards to China when they were doled out last year - one went to Continental, another to American - Delta Air Lines is "very optimistic" that it will win rights to fly there, a company official said last week. He said Delta wants to offer flights between China and Atlanta "in 2008 or earlier, if possible, when the next designation is given." Delta is so confident in its chances for a China route that last week it opened a sales office in Beijing. The company noted that after its current plans for substantial overseas expansion are implemented next year, Atlanta will be the second-largest U.S. international gateway after New York. Delta has announced its intention to add a number of foreign routes, mostly to Europe and Latin America. Boeing 777 achieves new non-stop distance record Could you stand being on a plane for almost 23 hours without getting out to stretch your legs? Longer non-stops are getting to be commonplace on international routes these days, but none are as long as the demonstration flight last week by a Boeing 777-200LR (Longer Range). The aircraft took off from Hong Kong and went to London - but it went across the Pacific and North America instead of the shorter trans-Asian route. Total flying time was 22 hours and 42 minutes to cover the distance of 21,601 kilometers. AIRPORTS American cuts the ribbon on new airport clubs at JFK, MIA American Airlines last week officially opened tow new Admirals Club facilities - one in New York Kennedy's Terminal 9 (it already had one on terminal 8), and one in Miami International's Concourse D (a second MIA facility will debut early next year). Both clubs offer reservations and upgrade assistance; free snacks and beverages; a business center with personal computers, Internet access, fax and phones; a shower facility; TV lounges with DIRECTV service; a children's room with PCs and appropriate TV programming. The Miami club also has a music room with Bose headsets. The new Miami Admirals Club is one of the largest, American said; with more than 30,000 square feet, it can seat up to 320 members. The JFK facility, part of American's $1.1 billion terminal upgrade project there, can seat 183 in its 11,300 square feet. New gates open in Detroit Metro's McNamara Terminal Northwest Airlines has opened 19 new gates in the C Concourse of Detroit Metro's McNamara Terminal. These are only part of a major reconstruction project for Concourse C; Northwest reportedly plans to cut the ribbon on six more gates later this year, another four next spring and the final nine in the project by midyear 2006. Ironically, the expanded space at Concourse C comes at a time when bankrupt Northwest and its regional partners at Detroit are shrinking. Northwest slashed its Detroit operations by five percent last week, eliminating 27 daily departures from its schedule. The Concourse C project also includes four new restaurants and two new stores. CAR RENTALS Hertz expands navigation system to European outlets Hertz said its NeverLost in-car navigation system will be available at European rental locations starting this week. Initial availability will be in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K., a spokesperson said. By early 2006, NeverLost-equipped cars will be available in Spain, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. The company said it expects to have the service in a total of 26 European countries by the end of next year. It will provide turn-by-turn directions for travel in 27 European countries, including "a seamless cross-border capacity," the company said. The system will also pinpoint Hertz locations and offer a spelling tool to help renters with unfamiliar place names. It will cost $12 a day, $60 a week or $240 for one month's use. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). From November 17 through April 23, Delta will operate one daily non-stop between Atlanta and Palm Springs, Calif. On November 19, Delta will increase frequencies on its Atlanta-St. Maarten route from three a week to daily. AirTran on November 16 adds a fifth daily Atlanta-Richmond flight. CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). November 15 is the launch date for American Airlines' new ultra-long-range non-stop service from Chicago to Delhi, India. The daily flight will use a three-class 777-200, departing O'Hare at 7:40 p.m. and arriving in India at 9:35 p.m. the next day. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). Brazil's TAM Airlines has started service to New York, operating four times a week on a JFK-Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo routing. TAM also has a code-share deal with American to operate JFK-Sao Paulo non-stops three times a week. NEW YORK LAGUARDIA (LGA). On November 17, JetBlue will add new daily non-stop service between LaGuardia and West Palm Beach. NEWARK (EWR). JetBlue continues its expansion at Newark on November 17, when it begins daily non-stops to San Juan, Puerto Rico. On the same date, Continental - which already has its own daily San Juan service - will begin new daily non-stops between Newark and Ponce, Puerto Rico's third-largest city. PHILADELPHIA (PHL). AirTran will terminate its two daily Philadelphia-Richmond flights on November 16. DEALS AND SPECIALS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) last week unveiled a holiday fare sale, good for travel from December 2 through March 2006, with a purchase deadline of November 21. The fares carry a 21-day advance purchase requirement and do not include taxes and fees. Sample one-way fares are as low as $39 between San Diego-Tucson; Baltimore/Washington-Islip, N.Y.; Albuquerque-Phoenix; or $79 between New Orleans-Orlando, Columbus-Norfolk and Ft. Lauderdale-Manchester, N.H. Budget Rent A Car (www.budget.com) has come out with a new long-term rental option called Budget By The Month, offering reduced rates to persons who take a vehicle for 30 days or more. To promote the program, the company is offering a $30 voucher good for a future rental each time someone rents a car for 30 days, up to a maximum of three vouchers. To register, go to www.budget.com/budgetbythemonth/promo. 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.