EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 05/15/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of May 15, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Virgin America stalled by regulatory inquiry Northwest Airlink unions face May 18 deadline Delta expanding domestic feeder flights to its JFK hub United will add seats to Hawaii next month Newspaper says American, United are studying new air pass options Star Alliance adding a Chinese carrier TSA clears three more airports for small-plane service to DCA Boston, Pittsburgh, BWI add new stores, restaurants San Francisco gets a Meridien, Chicago a Crowne Plaza, Dallas a W THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: Do you belong to any of the major carriers' airport clubs? If so, what's your opinion of them: Are they an essential adjunct to business travel, or are they overcrowded and not worth the money? Send your replies to skyguide@aexp.com. Last week, we asked if flights are becoming so full that readers have had to book farther in advance to get seats. Apparently even rank hath no privileges in the face of rising airline load factors. Republican Congressman Vernon Ehlers of Michigan wrote in to say he is booking earlier these days. "I am booking flights one to two weeks in advance to get a seat, or at least a decent seat," Ehlers said. Reader Moira Wilson replied in terms of award travel; she said the only award seat she could get from DFW to San Jose on American was with a 5:30 a.m. departure and a stop in Austin. "Award miles are a joke," she said. "I've cancelled my award miles credit card." AIRLINES Virgin America stalled by regulatory inquiry Virgin America, the San Francisco-based low-cost airline that is an affiliate of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire, is having trouble getting off the ground due to an ongoing inquiry by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Last week, Virgin America charged Continental Airlines with leading a cabal of U.S. airlines opposed to its start-up, and even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger entered the fray. Originally, Virgin America had hoped to start operating low-cost flights between San Francisco and other cities last year; then it pushed back its target date to mid-2006, but now it can't say for sure when it might get a green light to begin flying. Continental, American and Delta have reportedly filed motions with the Transportation Department questioning whether Virgin America is really under the control of its U.S. investors - who Virgin says own 75 percent of the company, a level of equity required by U.S. law - or possibly under the thumb of the U.K.'s Branson. DOT subsequently told Virgin America it wanted more data and documentation from the carrier before it would act on its application. Virgin America hired former Delta and Lufthansa executive Fred Reid as its CEO. Last week, Virgin America filed a motion that it said was intended "to stop yet another attempt by Continental Airlines to delay the DOT from processing its application...Since Virgin America filed its application five months ago this week, Continental has deliberately attempted to manipulate the regulatory process in the hope of stopping Virgin America from flying," the company said. CEO Reid said Continental and other opposition parties should let DOT move ahead with the process instead of "wasting taxpayer money simply to avoid the competition they fear in the marketplace." The company said it still hopes to begin flying sometime in 2006. A San Francisco business periodical reported last week that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has sent a letter to DOT urging the agency to "expeditiously review and approve Virgin's application." Northwest Airlink unions face May 18 deadline A bankruptcy court judge has extended until May 18 the deadline for Mesaba Airlines and unions representing its pilots, flight attendants and mechanics to come up with a new contract. If they don't, the court is expected to rule on whether Mesaba can void the existing contracts and impose new wages and work rules on its own. If that happens, the unions have threatened to strike. Mesaba operates as a Northwest Airlink carrier in the upper Midwest. Meanwhile, Northwest Airlines is involved in new contract talks with its baggage handlers; the airline and representatives of the baggage handlers are due to appear before Northwest's bankruptcy court this week, where the judge could rule on a motion by the airline to impose new labor terms unilaterally on the baggage handlers. Delta expanding domestic feeder flights to its JFK hub Delta Air Lines, which is adding more international routes from its overseas hubs at New York JFK and Atlanta, said it will continue to beef up domestic Delta Connection service into JFK to feed those global routes. Delta said it will begin another 25 Delta Connection fights a day at JFK between July and October, giving it a total of 140 daily domestic flights there -- continuing a JFK domestic build-up that started in May, when the airline offered only 70 such flights. On September 15, Delta said, it will begin four daily Delta Connection roundtrips between JFK and Portland, Maine; and four between JFK and Manchester, N.H. The carrier will also increase frequencies on 12 other domestic routes from JFK, including Baltimore, Boston, Burlington (Vt.), Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Nashville, Norfolk, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond and Washington Dulles. United will add seats to Hawaii next month Do you need award tickets to Hawaii? On June 8, United Airlines plans to increase its schedule to the islands in response to "strong customer demand." The company said it will begin weekend-only service between San Diego-Honolulu and Seattle-Honolulu. It will also add three daily flights from Los Angeles to Kona and Maui, supplementing its existing five flights a day from LAX and San Francisco to Honolulu and its four daily flights from LAX and SFO to Maui. United also flies to Honolulu from Denver and Chicago. Newspaper says American, United are studying new air pass options The Wall Street Journal reported last week that American Airlines and United Airlines are looking into the possibility of creating a new kind of air pass for the general consumer market - selling prepaid travel at a rate less expensive than the products they currently offer to high-end business travelers, which cost $10,000-$12,000 a year for 25,000 miles of air travel. Noting that reasonably priced multi-trip passes are catching on in Canada, where both Air Canada and WestJet sell them, the newspaper quoted a top American Airlines marketing executive as saying that the company is trying to design a product that is "affordable to more people than just Goldman Sachs investment bankers." Exactly how much such passes would cost, and what kind of restrictions they would include, is still unclear, however. Star Alliance adding a Chinese carrier Press reports from Shanghai last week indicated that the Star Alliance has asked Shanghai Airlines to become its newest member - a process that can take up to a year to complete. The Star Alliance might also ask Beijing-based Air China to join, the reports said. Star Alliance, led by Lufthansa and United, is said to be anxious to gain a foothold in the burgeoning Chinese air travel market, which is growing at 14 percent annually. SkyTeam, the Delta-Air France/KLM alliance, is expected to add China Southern as a member. China Southern is the biggest airline in China. FAA/SECURITY TSA clears three more airports for small-plane service to DCA The Transportation Security Administration has added three more locations - Dallas/Love Field, Memphis International and Milwaukee's General Mitchell International - to the list of airports from which general aviation aircraft, including corporate jets and charters, can fly to Washington Reagan National (DCA). Access to close-in DCA for flights other than commercial airlines has been severely restricted since 9/11/2001 due to security concerns. Corporate and charter aircraft that fly into DCA from approved airports must meet stringent security requirements, like ID checks of passengers and flight crew, submission of passenger and crew manifests 24 hours in advance, and the presence of an armed guard on the flight. Such flights are also permitted from Seattle-Tacoma, Boston, Houston Hobby, White Plains, LaGuardia, Chicago Midway, Minneapolis/St. Paul, West Palm Beach, San Francisco, Teterboro (N.J.), Philadelphia and Lexington (Ky.). AIRPORTS Boston, Pittsburgh, BWI add new stores, restaurants Three major airports have recently enhanced their roster of dining and retail outlets, including: • Boston Logan, which has added a Wolfgang Puck Gourmet Express outlet, a Starbucks and a Johnny Rockets in JetBlue's Terminal C, Pier C concourse. • Pittsburgh International, where the Airmall's Center Core has a new Brighton Collectibles shop, which sells gifts and accessories; in addition, Concourse A has added a sit-down Mexican restaurant called Zona Mexicana; the baggage claim area has a new Three Rivers TravelMart, selling snacks and reading materials; and the Airmall added two new kiosks - an All-Star Baseball kiosk, offering souvenirs for fans; and a Crocs kiosk, selling the Crocs brand of lightweight leisure shoes. • Baltimore/Washington International's Airmall has added a Johnston & Murphy shop in Concourse D, selling shoes, clothing and luggage; an Airport Wireless/palm store in Concourse D (with another coming soon to Concourse A/B), offering handhelds, smart phones and other traveler electronics; and a Java City coffee outlet in Terminal A/B. HOTEL UPDATE San Francisco gets a Meridien, Chicago a Crowne Plaza, Dallas a W Starwood Hotels has converted the Park Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco into a member of Le Meridien Hotels, a brand that Starwood took over earlier this year ... There's a new Crowne Plaza in Chicago -- the 398-room Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Hotel, located at West Madison and Halsted ... June 15 is the scheduled opening date for the first W Hotel in Dallas; it's called the W Dallas-Victory, located at Victory Park in the heart of the city ... Need affordable lodging in lower Manhattan? Try the newly opened Hampton Inn Manhattan/Seaport-Financial District, at South Street Seaport ... Washington D.C.'s M Street Hotel, currently operated by Marriott, will become the Renaissance M Street in August, after completion of renovations ... The Wyndham Harbour Island in Tampa has been rebranded as the Westin Harbour Island ... In Seattle, June 26 is the opening date for Hotel 1000, a luxury hotel/condo complex in the city's downtown ... In central Florida, an "early summer" opening is promised for The Lexington at Orlando CityPlace, a hotel with all studio and suite accommodations, located close to the TD Waterhouse Centre in downtown Orlando ... Overseas, there's a new Hyatt Regency in Kyoto, Japan; a June 28 opening is slated for the new Park Hyatt Buenos Aires; and a July debut is slated for the Renaissance Barcelona Airport Hotel. AIR ROUTES LOS ANGELES (LAX). China Airlines will increase its LAX-Taipei schedule on May 17 from 14 flights a week to 16, with the addition of new 1 p.m. westbound departures on Mondays and Thursdays. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). May 15 is the launch date for Delta's two newest transatlantic routes - daily non-stops from JFK to Shannon/Dublin, and from JFK to Manchester, England. NEWARK (EWR). Continental Airlines on May 17 will begin daily service between Newark and Barcelona, using a two-class 757-200. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Air France (800-237-2747; www.airfrance.com/us), marking its 60th anniversary in the U.S., is offering sale fares to Paris and beyond for travel next fall and winter (from October 15, 2006 to March 31, 2007), with a purchase deadline of May 22. Fares from the U.S. to Paris start at $438 roundtrip, and for an additional $60, purchasers can buy a connection to any of 60 other cities beyond Paris including Rome, Prague, Geneva, Marrakech, Berlin and Barcelona, for example. Those fares include the fuel surcharge, but airport, government and security fees and taxes are extra. JetBlue Airways (www.jetblue.com) has revamped its TrueBlue Flight Gratitude program so that members can now book award flights online. They can see how many award seats are available on a given flight, and can book one any time prior to the flight's scheduled departure without charge. Awards are now issued as two TruePasses, each good for a one-way flight within one year of the day they are issued. They are fully transferable. American Airlines' latest promotion in connection with the 25th anniversary of its AAdvantage program is an offer of up to 1,250 bonus miles to members who book a National car rental through the program's special web site at www.AAdvantage25.com. On that site, members will also find details of other special offers and promotions connected to the 25th anniversary celebration. Members of Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club loyalty program can now purchase miles online (www.virginatlantic.com/flyingclub) to top off their accounts, or to give to friends or clients who also belong to the program. Members can buy them in 1,000-mile increments, up to a maximum of 25,000 a year, at $52 for 1,000 miles or $160 for 5,000. 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. Got business in Denver? The Mile-High City is booming these days, with an expanded convention center, a big new hotel, and more on the way. For an update, watch for the June issue of Executive Travel magazine. By Jim Glab Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.