EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 06/26/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of June 26, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Northwest tries random boarding Southwest to test seat assignments Delta/Northwest merger rumors are revived Varig suspends service on several international routes Major airlines on U.S.-London routes face price-fixing probe MAXjet claims success with all-business-class service LAN will install new business class cabins Chicago passengers to get free public "re-charging" stations Reader Question of the Week: Northwest is using a new system of random boarding - i.e. in no special order - for economy passengers, but still with assigned seats (see below). What do you think of this idea: Is it an efficient innovation or will it lead to pushing and shoving at the gate? Send your reply to skyguide@aexp.com. AIRLINES Northwest tries random boarding Northwest Airlines has shifted to a new boarding process in which coach passengers simply line up at random and go on the plane in no particular order, according to press reports. Previously, the airline used the standard industry procedure of boarding from the rear of the cabin to the front. But Northwest, which tested the new procedure earlier this year, claims that boarding passengers randomly shaves five to 10 minutes off the boarding time for a typical 200-passenger flight. The carrier still allows priority boarding for families with kids, disabled passengers, first class and Worldperks elite members. But after that, it's first-come, first-seated; passengers board in the order in which they line up at the gate, proceeding to their assigned seats. USA Today noted that Alaska Airlines tried a similar procedure but abandoned it because it was too disorderly. Northwest flights operating westbound to the U.S. from Europe will continue to board back to front. Southwest to test seat assignments Southwest Airlines, long known for its refusal to assign seats to passengers, said last week it will begin testing assigned seating next month in San Diego. Southwest's current policy of open seating allows passengers to board roughly in the order in which they checked in, and to take any open seat when they get on the aircraft. The company said it wants to see how assigned seating will work in its system, and to determine whether it will have any effect, positive or negative, on Southwest's ability to get its planes loaded quickly so it can maintain or improve on its fast turnaround times. "This is only a test," said CEO Gary Kelly. "We want to make sure that we have studied all the possibilities and aspects of assigned seating before we make any change to what has been a successful formula for the past 35 years." Seat assignments will not be available online, but will be made manually during the San Diego tests, which will begin July 10 and continue for several weeks, Southwest said. Even if the tests are successful, Southwest said it could not switch to assigned seating system-wide until 2008 at the earliest. Delta/Northwest merger rumors are revived Back when Delta and Northwest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy within a few hours of each other, there was a lot of speculation that the two might secretly be planning a merger as their best strategy for recovery. Both airlines brushed off such claims, but Delta-Northwest merger rumors are emerging once more. Last week, a Reuters story, citing the Dutch news agency, quoted KLM chief executive Leo van Wijk as saying that a Delta-Northwest combination is "a real possibility." KLM, which merged with Air France, is a partner in the SkyTeam global alliance, which also includes both Northwest and Delta. Van Wijk said he wouldn't mind seeing such a merger, because a combined Delta/Northwest "would be easier to deal with" in the alliance than two separate companies. INTERNATIONAL Varig suspends service on several international routes The status of Varig as an ongoing operation was increasingly questionable last week, as the Brazilian carrier suspended service to a number of cities worldwide. But on Friday, a Brazilian court accepted a bid for the company's cargo unit, lending some hope that the same buyer might be allowed to purchase the passenger operations as well. While the courts mull that possibility, thousands of passengers were stranded after Varig cut off flights to major destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Montivideo, Asuncion, Milan, Bogota, Paris, Madrid and Munich. Miami was the only U.S. gateway still being served. It was uncertain how long the suspensions would remain in effect. On Friday, the court rejected a bid of $449 million for Varig from an employees' group because they failed to come up with a $75 million down payment. But then an investor group called Volo de Brasil won approval to buy the cargo unit. It had also bid $500 million for the whole airline, but questions were raised about whether it was controlled by foreign investors. The court's favorable ruling on the cargo unit purchase means the sale of the larger company might be approved as well. Major airlines on U.S.-London routes face price-fixing probe Investigators from the U.S. Justice Department and Britain's Office of Fair Trade are reportedly looking into the possibility that major airlines operating between the U.S. and London have colluded on pricing matters - specifically the levels of fuel surcharges they asses. According to press reports, the probe at this point involves British Airways, American Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways, and possibly other companies. While officials have said only that the probe is at a very early stage, American indicated that it has received a subpoena for information from a U.S. federal grand jury. Fuel surcharges on air tickets between the U.S. and London currently run between $60 and $70 one-way. MAXjet claims success with all-business-class service MAXjet Airways, which flies all-business-class, 102-seat 767s to London Stansted from New York JFK and Washington Dulles, said last week that its business is doing so well that it plans to add more planes and announce service from a new U.S. city soon. Company officials said MAXjet recently took delivery of its third plane, which will "allow increased frequencies on existing routes as well as development of new service." In addition, they said MAXjet is negotiating to acquire a fourth and fifth aircraft. When the fourth is delivered later this year, a spokesman said, the airline will announce a new U.S. gateway city. In recent weeks, press reports have quoted MAXjet officials as saying that Boston was next on their list, but they also have their eyes on Chicago, Dallas, San Jose and San Francisco. On June 29, MAXjet will add a fifth weekly flight from Dulles with new Thursday departures. LAN will install new business class cabins Latin American carrier LAN Airlines said it plans to begin installing new business class cabins in its long-haul 767-300s, used between North and South America, during the second half of this year. Over the next two years, the cabins will be included in all of the airline's 767-300 fleet. They will feature lie-flat seats that recline 180 degrees, as well as a new configuration with 74 inches of space between seat rows - a 32 percent increase in pitch - and privacy dividers between seats. Passengers will get down comforters and soft pillows for sleeping, and each seat will have a larger personal video screen at `5.4 inches. The entertainment system will be converted to an on-demand version, with a choice of eight movies, 20 short subjects, 14 video games and 100 music CDs. AIRPORTS Chicago passengers to get free public "re-charging" stations Chicago's new Commissioner of Aviation is planning to open free facilities at both O'Hare and Midway airports where travelers can recharge their laptops, cell phones or other electronic devices in relative comfort, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The newspaper, noting that the only existing recharging station is at O'Hare's Terminal 1/United Gate B-6, quoted Commissioner Nuria Fernandez as saying that she plans to open 25 electric charging locations - to be called "Re-charge and Relax" stations - including 21 at O'Hare and four at Midway. They will be counters with five stools, each one equipped with a double outlet so passengers can charge two devices simultaneously. The first eight stations at O'Hare and two at Midway should be open by September, the rest by January 2007. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). Delta Connection/Atlantic Southeast Airlines on June 29 will start flying 40-seat regional jets twice a day between Atlanta and Wilmington, Delaware. Delta says this service will make it the only airline to fly to all 50 states. On July 1, South African Airways will discontinue its daily Atlanta-Johannesburg flight, moving it to Washington Dulles. BOSTON (BOS). JetBlue Airways boosts its Boston presence June 30, when it will start flying three times a day between Boston and Buffalo, and twice a day between Boston-Pittsburgh. BURBANK (BUR). JetBlue Airways will begin a new transcontinental service June 30 when it launches one daily non-stop between Burbank and Orlando. On the same date, JetBlue will start flying once a day between Burbank and Las Vegas. CHICAGO MIDWAY (MDW). On July 2, Southwest Airlines will add a second daily Chicago-San Antonio flight and a second daily Chicago-Portland, Ore. roundtrip. DALLAS/FT. WORTH (DFW). Mexicana Airlines returns to DFW on July 1, when it will start operating two flights a day to Mexico City out of Terminal D. LOS ANGELES (LAX). June 29 is the scheduled launch date for Frontier Airlines to jump into the Los Angeles-San Francisco market, operating five daily Airbus roundtrips. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). Effective July 1, Virgin Atlantic Airways will add a fourth daily flight between JFK and London Heathrow, with a new 7:30 a.m. departure from New York. Delta Air Lines will strengthen the domestic feeder network into its international hub at JFK on July 1, when Delta Connection/Comair adds two more daily flights to Boston and two to Richmond, as well as one more daily roundtrip to Nashville, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham. PHILADELPHIA (PHL). Southwest Airlines will bolster its Philadelphia schedules on July 2, adding three new daily roundtrips between PHL and Columbus, Ohio; two new flights a day between PHL and Nashville; a sixth daily frequency between PHL-Providence; and a seventh daily roundtrip between Philadelphia and Orlando. PITTSBURGH (PIT). On June 30, Pittsburgh becomes the newest dot on JetBlue Airways' route map. JetBlue will fly between Pittsburgh and its New York JFK base four times a day, and between Pittsburgh and Boston twice a day. SALT LAKE CITY (SLC). Effective July 1, Delta Connection/SkyWest will add a second daily flight between Salt Lake City and Aspen/Snowmass, Colo. On the same date, Delta Connection/SkyWest will begin new service between SLC and Durango, Colo., with two daily roundtrips. On July 2, America West Express/Air Midwest will start service between Salt Lake City and Moab, Utah, with two daily roundtrips; and between SLC and Vernal, Utah, also with two flights a day. Three days a week, the SLC-Moab flights will be extended to Farmington, N.M. SAN DIEGO (SAN). Air Canada will offer the only non-stop service between San Diego and Toronto starting July 1, operating one daily A319 roundtrip. TORONTO (YYZ). Air Canada has launched Toronto-Shanghai non-stops; the 14-hour-and-45-minute flight will operate three days a week with an Airbus A340-300. WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD). On July 1, South African Airways will boost frequencies on its Dulles-Johannesburg route from four flights a week to daily service, via a stop in Dakar, Senegal, with a 747-400. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Got business in New Zealand? Qantas has a web special available for booking through July 7, and good for travel from July 23 to August 31. Roundtrip fares to Auckland are $798 from Los Angeles, $888 from Phoenix or Las Vegas, $1,148 from New York, $1,098 from Newark and so on. Sale fares are also available to Wellington, Christchurch or Queenstown. Point your web browser to www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/us/specials/webDeals285. In Las Vegas, the newly opened, all-suite Platinum Hotel and Spa, located just off the Strip, has an introductory special through October: a rate of $129 a night for a suite. The rate also includes use of the fitness center, tea and coffee in each suite, and a daily newspaper. Rooms have 42-inch plasma HDTVs, electric fireplaces and whirlpool baths, as well as high-speed Internet access and WiFi. Call 877-211-9211 or visit www.lvplatinum.com. Homewood Suites by Hilton (www.homewoodsuites.com; 800-225-5463), noting that its average guest stays at least 12 nights, has upgraded fitness options for customers. The chain said it recently completed upgrades to all member properties' exercise facilities, adding dumbbells and weights to the existing treadmills and elliptical machines. What's more, for guests who want to use a full-service gym, Homewood Suites "is making it a brand standard that all of their hotels partner with a neighborhood gym as part of their fitness program," a spokesman said. "Guests can obtain daily passes to facilities like Gold's Gym and Crunch Fitness in most cases free of charge." 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. What's new in luxury travel? Watch for the September issue of Executive Travel magazine for an analysis of half a dozen leading-edge trends in upscale travel, and a look at some of the companies that are leading the way in developing innovative travel products and services. By Jim Glab Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.