EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 07/10/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of July 10, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Court lets Northwest impose new terms on flight attendants US Airways said to be planning reconfigurations of Airbus fleet Northwest adds separate boarding lane for elite flyers Delta enhances coach service on overseas flights Northwest speeds up elimination of DC-10s from its fleet Cathay Pacific to acquire Dragonair, access to mainland China Marriott deploys airline check-in service in lobbies THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: What do you do to pass the time in flight? Do you seek out airlines with the most advanced electronic entertainment systems? Do you carry a portable DVD player? Just read a book? Or strike up a conversation with your seatmate? Send replies to skyguide@aexp.com. In our last issue, we asked what readers thought about Northwest's adoption of a "random boarding" procedure - still keeping assigned seating, but letting passengers board in no particular order. (Northwest has since tweaked the concept - see below.) Most readers thought it was a bad idea. "Random boarding will only increase the pushing and shoving which already exists in the battle for overhead bin space," said William Pomeroy. Reader Jerry Pond notes that this is actually "a return to the way it used to be" before airlines started boarding back to front. "I always thought that it was a stupid idea and now it seems I have been proven right," he wrote. Reader Mike Green predicts random boarding "will create confusion, especially in the winter when there is more need for overhead space," and says Northwest is "barking up the wrong tree." But reader Carol Delage used the procedure on Northwest and "to my surprise, it was pretty efficient," she said. "It seemed no more chaotic upon boarding the plane, but there was a rush to the gate by some folks when boarding was called." AIRLINES Court allows Northwest to impose new terms on flight attendants A bankruptcy judge in New York has ruled that if Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants can't agree on a new contract by July 17, then the company can move ahead and impose new wages and work rules on the attendants. Specifically, Northwest could implement the terms of a tentative agreement that management and flight attendant union representatives had reached several weeks ago. That agreement was subsequently voted down by rank-and-file union members. The union had originally threatened to walk off the job if management imposes new terms on its members unilaterally, but lately it has been quiet about the possibility of a strike. Maybe that's because the Northwest flight attendants are switching unions. They voted last week to end their affiliation with the Professional Flight Attendants Association, joining up instead with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. The new union said it would "begin negotiations immediately with the company." Northwest has already reached agreement with its other major unions, including the pilots, on permanent wage reductions, but those deals are contingent on management reaching a similar agreement with the flight attendants. US Airways said to be planning reconfigurations of Airbus fleet The Washington Post reported last week that US Airways is weighing some significant changes in the configuration of its Airbus aircraft, in an effort to bring some consistency with the planes of merger partner America West. Specifically, the newspaper reported that US Airways plans to add another seat row to economy class on its A319s, reducing average seat pitch by about an inch; and to remove four first-class seats from its A320s by the end of this year, cutting the cabin capacity from 16 seats to 12. The Post also said the company is "considering" the removal of 10 seats from the first class cabins of its transcontinental A321s, cutting the number from 26 to 16. "The move could mean that business travelers will more often have to buy first-class tickets to get a seat up front, instead of paying for a coach ticket and using frequent flyer miles to upgrade," the newspaper said. Northwest adds separate boarding lane for elite flyers Northwest Airlines, which last month adopted a new procedure of random boarding (but still with assigned seating), said it is modifying that concept by adding a separate boarding lane at the gate for premium passengers. That includes elite-level members of WorldPerks as well as passengers ticketed in first and business class and elite-level members of SkyTeam Alliance partner carriers. The separate lanes were introduced last week at Northwest's Detroit hub and in Bismark, Fargo, Phoenix and Portland (Ore.). "The lanes will be introduced at all Northwest loading bridge-equipped gates in U.S. airports within the next two months," a spokesman said. The carrier also defended its new open boarding process (see our readers' comments above), claiming that it reduces boarding time by an average of seven minutes per flight. "The new process also reduces congestion in gate rooms, loading bridges and aboard aircraft," a Northwest spokesman said. ADVERTISEMENT Peak-Season Florida Travel Schedule Available Daily nonstop service between Milwaukee and Ft. Lauderdale begins October 1 and is now available for booking. Daily nonstop service will also be offered between Milwaukee and Ft. Myers from October 14, 2006 through April 30, 2007. Book now and get the lowest fares at midwestairlines.com. INTERNATIONAL Delta enhances coach service on overseas flights Delta Air Lines said it is implementing some improvements in coach cabin service on its international routes. Starting this month, economy class passengers on international flights will receive printed menus; a complementary cocktail of their choice, including new signature drinks like the Mile High Mojito or Mango Kiss; beer or wine with their main meal; and a mid-flight snack. In the fall, Delta will start doling out eyeshades and ear plugs to international coach passengers, and the airline is moving ahead with an aircraft refurbishment program that includes the installation of all leather seats in international coach cabins. Northwest speeds up elimination of DC-10s from its fleet Northwest Airlines is reportedly planning to accelerate the retirement of the last remaining DC-10s in its fleet; all of them should be gone by this winter. The airline will replace the aging DC-10-30s on routes to Europe with new, more fuel-efficient Airbus A330s, and across the Pacific with 747-400s that had been temporarily out of service. The A330s will have lie-flat seats in business class. Most of the DC-10s should be gone by October; the last to keep flying will be on the Minneapolis/St. Paul-Honolulu route, and that one is expected to be retired in the first week of January. Cathay Pacific to acquire Dragonair, access to mainland China Although Cathay Pacific is based in Hong Kong - now a part of China - its access to the mainland is limited to Beijing and Xiamen. That will soon change, thanks to a wide-ranging agreement that will give Cathay control of Hong Kong-based Dragonair and will increase the links between Cathay and Air China, the mainland's largest carrier. By acquiring Dragonair, Cathay will gain substantial route authority to mainland cities; Dragonair currently operates 300 flights a week between Hong Kong and China proper. The deal also gives Air China an additional 10 percent stake in Cathay, to a total of 17.5 percent; and it increases Cathay's equity in Air China from 10 to 20 percent. The two carriers are expected to retain their existing global alliance links - Cathay is in Oneworld, and Air China is a new member of Star Alliance. HOTEL UPDATE Marriott deploys airline check-in service in lobbies Marriott is the latest hotel company to start making airline self-check-in service available in the lobbies of its properties. Dedicated computer kiosks in the lobbies will provide links to the web sites of major airlines, where guests can check in for their flights and print boarding passes. The computers will not be configured to handle general web browsing or email - just airline check-in. The service was expected to be available at more than 180 Marriott hotels by mid-July, and should be at all 400 Marriotts in the U.S. and Canada by September. There is no charge for the service. AIR ROUTES BOSTON (BOS). AirTran Airways last week launched twice-daily 717 roundtrips between Boston and Rochester, N.Y. CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). United has started daily Ted non-stops between O'Hare and Cancun, using an A320. LOS ANGELES (LAX). Aeromexico on July 12 will begin non-stop service between LAX and Culiacan, Mexico, with four flights a week. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). Delta Connection/Freedom Airlines last week started operating three daily Dash-8 turboprop roundtrips between Washington Dulles and Delta's international hub at New York JFK; and Delta Connection/Comair began twice-daily regional jet service between JFK-Burlington, Vt. and JFK-Richmond, Va. On July 15, Delta Connection/Freedom will launch four roundtrips a day between JFK and Philadelphia. Canadian carrier Harmony Airways has started daily 757 roundtrips between JFK and Vancouver. PHOENIX (PHX). From now through August 19, US Airways has upgraded equipment on its Phoenix-Kalispell, Mont. Route from a 50-seat regional jet to a two-class Airbus A319. TAMPA (TPA). AirTran Airways last week started one daily roundtrip between Tampa and Gulfport/Biloxi. THIS WEEK'S DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Budget Rent a Car is the newest car rental partner in US Airways' Dividend Miles program. Program members who give their Dividend Miles number when booking will earn two miles per dollar spent on Budget rentals (or one mile per dollar for rentals booked at corporate or government rates). Members of the Hilton HHonors program have a new redemption option: Effective for stays after September 1, they can use program points to book rooms at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa in Maui. The resort is part of the Hilton group's new Waldorf-Astoria Collection, which also includes La Quinta Resort & Club in California and the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. Got business in Turkey? Swissotel Hotels has opened a hotel in the capital city of Ankara. Through August 31, special opening rates start at $99 for a Swiss Business Advantage room. The hotel is located near the presidential palace and foreign embassies. Go to www.ankara.swissotel.com for reservations. 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. Cell phones are probably the most critical piece of technology carried by most business travelers - but who can keep up with this rapidly-evolving technology? For an update on what you should know about cell phones, watch for the upcoming September issue of Executive Travel. By Jim Glab Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.