EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 04/17/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of April 17, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Delta pilots' strike threat recedes with new agreement United raises mileage cost of many awards up to 25 percent JetBlue plans new routes to North Carolina SkyTeam alliance adds Aeroflot More all-business-class service planned to London American, Delta boost surcharges on overseas flights Phoenix gets a green light to build new terminal St. Louis opens a new runway that it doesn't need Hyatt, Hilton adding flight check-in from hotel lobbies THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: United is raising the mileage price of some award trips by up to 25 percent this fall. Considering the rising costs and increasingly limited availability of award seats, do you think frequent flyer programs are still effective in allowing airlines to retain customer loyalty? Send your reply to skyguide@aexp.com. AIRLINES Delta pilots' strike threat recedes with new agreement Just one day before an arbitration panel was due to issue its decision in the ongoing dispute between Delta Air Lines and its pilots' union, the two sides said they had reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. The news has put off, at least for now, the threat of a strike by Delta pilots that could have started as early as this week, if the arbitrators had agreed to let Delta terminate its existing contract with the pilots. "Passengers can continue to book on Delta with confidence," a company spokesman said. "There has been no disruption to our service." The Master Executive Council of Delta's pilots union will now consider whether to put the tentative agreement to a full vote of its membership. Neither side released any details of the tentative agreement. Meanwhile, a federal bankruptcy judge in Cincinnati has delayed until April 17 or later a decision on whether or not Comair can dump its existing contract with flight attendants. Comair operates as a Delta Connection regional partner in many markets. The 1,000 Comair flight attendants, represented by the Teamsters union, have threatened to walk off the job if they lose their contract. United raises mileage cost of many awards up to 25 percent United Airlines waited until late Friday of Easter weekend to announce that it intends to bring "new benefits and changes" to its Mileage Plus frequent flyer program. A review of the announcement finds few benefits, but many changes - mostly higher mileage costs for award travel, and new fees for booking award trips less than two weeks before departure. The "benefits" include United's stated intention to reserve "a percentage of Saver Awards (the lowest-mileage-cost awards) on every flight to every international and domestic United destination through March 15, 2007." It does not say what might happen to Saver awards after that date. The company also pledged to continue offering Short Haul Saver Awards - award trips of up to 700 miles each way at a cost of 15,000 miles roundtrip - for the rest of this year. But United will also overhaul mileage prices for award trips effective October 16, 2006. The cost of a domestic Saver award will stay at 25,000 miles, but the price of a domestic business class (or first class, on two-cabin aircraft) Saver award rises from 40,000 to 45,000 miles. Among other Saver award changes, a business class seat to Hawaii goes from 60,000 to 75,000 miles, and a first-class seat will cost 110,000 miles to South America or 125,000 to Europe, up from the current levels of 100,000 miles each. For Standard awards - i.e., those that are not subject to the capacity controls of Saver awards - the cost rises from 40,000 to 50,000 miles for coach seats within North America, and from 80,000 to 90,000 for business class (or first class on two-class aircraft). To Hawaii, a Standard award trip in coach will go from the current 60,000 miles to 70,000, and the cost of business and first class awards will go up by 30,000 miles each - to 150,000 and 190,000 miles respectively. A Standard award trip to Europe will increase from the current 80,000 miles to 100,000. In addition, United said that starting October 16, it will begin to charge $75 for Standard and Saver award trips booked six days or less before departure, and $50 for trips booked seven to 13 days in advance. The fees won't apply to 1K Mileage Plus members or to Global Services members. You can check out all the changes at www.united.com/awardchanges. JetBlue plans new routes to North Carolina JetBlue Airways, which continues to take delivery of new 100-seat Embraer 190 regional jets, will use them to launch low-cost service between New York and two key business markets in North Carolina, the airline said last week. On July 12, JetBlue said, it will inaugurate service from its base at New York's Kennedy Airport to Charlotte, and on July 20 it will add service from JFK to Raleigh-Durham, with four daily roundtrips in each market. JetBlue said its introductory fares on both routes will start at $69 each way, and regular fares in both markets will be "between 40 and 70 percent lower than current market rates." ADVERTISEMENT INTERNATIONAL SkyTeam alliance adds Aeroflot Aeroflot became the first Russian carrier to belong to a global alliance when it officially joined SkyTeam last week as the group's tenth member. SkyTeam said the Russian carrier has made "significant progress" over the past five years in improving its operations and passenger services, enabling it to meet the standards that the alliance requires of all members. Aeroflot has overhauled its fleet so that it now includes 18 medium-haul Airbus planes, and it will add 12 more in 2006 and 2007, SkyTeam said. Passengers flying on Aeroflot will now be able to earn and spend miles interchangeably on any of the other nine SkyTeam members, which include Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, Continental, Czech, Delta, KLM, Korean and Northwest. More all-business-class service planned to London One of the two existing all-premium-seating airlines operating between the U.S. and London plans to expand to more cities, and a new British company plans to launch a similar service, according to press reports. Currently, MaxJet Airways and Eos Airlines offer all-premium-seating flights between New York JFK and London Stansted; MaxJet recently added service from Washington Dulles to Stansted as well. In an interview with the Washington Post, MaxJet CEO Gary Rogliano said the airline plans to add flights between Boston and London Stansted by mid-June. He said he expects the company to become profitable by early summer, and that eventually it may add service to London from Chicago, San Jose, San Francisco and Dallas. Meanwhile, press reports from London indicate that a new U.K.-based airline called Silverjet is seeking to raise $45 million in start-up capital to begin service between London's Luton Airport and Newark Liberty International, possibly by the end of this year. Headed by former executives from British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Thomas Cook, Silverjet reportedly plans to fly a 767 with 100 flat-bed seats and roundtrip fares as low as $1,800. American, Delta boost surcharges on overseas flights Both American and Delta said last week they have increased the fuel surcharges on international routes. American said that except for flights to Japan, it is tacking on an extra $10 each way on all of its transatlantic and transpacific routes. Delta boosted the fuel surcharge by $10 each way on its transatlantic routes, except for flights to France and Italy, which are unaffected; and by $15 each way to India and $19 each way to Israel. Delta said the fuel surcharge will be included in its ads and fare quotes. AIRPORTS Phoenix gets a green light to build new terminal The Arizona Republic reported last week that federal officials have approved plans for a $2 billion expansion of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, a 10-year project that should increase the airport's capacity enough to accommodate expected growth in passengers and flights over the next 20 years. The plan calls for the construction of a new 33-gate West Terminal and the demolition of the existing 18-gate Terminal 2, which opened in 1962. Target date for completing the new West Terminal is 2012. The project also calls for a realignment of Sky Harbor Boulevard and expansion of the airport's people-mover tram system to connect passengers from the terminals to light rail and the rental car center. St. Louis opens a new runway that it doesn't need It's one of the ironies of airport construction projects - a process that can take years due to all the approvals required. St. Louis' Lambert Airport last week cut the ribbon on a new $1.1 billion, 9,000-foot runway, a project that won federal approval in 1998. But according to USA Today, the original reason for building the runway - to reduce delays - no longer exists. The newspaper noted that air traffic at Lambert dropped by 36 percent since September 11, 2001 - mainly because TWA, which had a hub at St. Louis, went bankrupt and was acquired by American Airlines, which subsequently reduced flight activity there by almost half. HOTEL UPDATE Hyatt, Hilton adding flight check-in from hotel lobbies Both Hyatt Hotels and Hilton Hotels said last week that they are rolling out a new convenience for guests: the ability to check in for their flights before they leave the hotel. Hyatt said that by June 1, it expects to complete the installation of new "Fast Board" kiosks in all its domestic hotels, so that departing guests can check in and print airline boarding passes in the hotel lobby on their way to the airport. Hilton said it has added the same capability to its existing check-in/check-out kiosks in the lobbies of 37 U.S. Hiltons, through links to the web sites of 18 major airlines. Meanwhile, Hyatt said it has also enhanced its web site with the addition of Hyatt E-Concierge, a new service that lets guests book golf tee times, make spa and dinner reservations, and request special services in advance, directly with the concierge of the hotel they will be visiting. AIR ROUTES CHICAGO MIDWAY (MDW). Effective April 23, ATA will discontinue its service between Chicago Midway and Ft. Myers, Fla. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Starwood Hotels & Resorts - whose brands include Westin, Sheraton, St. Regis, W and Luxury Collection - said last week it has completed the integration of the recently acquired Le Meridien group into its sales and marketing systems. That means members of Le Meridien's guest loyalty program, Moments, are now members of the Starwood Preferred Guest plan. And Preferred Guest (www.spg.com) members can now earn and spend points at Le Meridien's 100 properties worldwide - a collection that nearly doubles Starwood's presence in Europe, Africa and the Middle East and increases is by 30 percent in the Asia/Pacific region. Marriott International said it has expanded its eFolio service to all 24 million members of Marriott Rewards. Members who sign up for eFolio by checking the appropriate box in their online profile (www.MarriottRewards.com) will have their bills from the chain's North American hotels automatically e-mailed to them after departure, eliminating the need to stop at the front desk at check-out. "By the end of the year, eFolio will be expanded even further, offered to every guest staying at the company's hotels in North America," a spokesman said. Got business in Nashville or Cincinnati? Mlllennium Hotels (www.millenniumhotels.com; 866-866-8086) has a pair of specials available all this year. The "$100 for $100" package at the Millennium Maxwell House in Nashville has a rate of $100 per room per night, and it provides a $100 credit per night at the hotel's Maxwell's Sports Bar or Praline's Restaurant. The similar "$50 for $100" plan at the Millennium Hotel in Cincinnati also has a $100 nightly rate, and provides a $50 per night credit good at the hotel's Bistro on Elm restaurant or Aqua Bar & Grill. 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 Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.