EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 08/21/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of August 21, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. New security rules lead to checked-baggage boom Court won't block job action against Northwest this week Boeing pulls the plug on Connexion in-flight Internet service United plans IAD expansion; Delta targets Hispanics via LAX More airlines seek new China route authority Office rental firm takes over Laptop Lanes at airports THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: The ban on liquids in checked bags is bad enough, but for a few days after the terror threat in London, British authorities banned ALL carry-on bags. Everything had to be checked, from $2,000 laptops to women's handbags. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that another incident could lead to a similar ban in the U.S. Our question this week: How would you handle a total ban on carry-on bags? Send your replies to skyguide@aexp.com. Last week, we asked how readers are coping with the Transportation Security Administration's new rule banning liquids and gels from carry-ons. Not everyone is happy. "I just canceled a trip for next month to Chicago," said reader Jerry Dalven. "I'm going to wait to fly again until the brilliance of TSA deems my shampoo a non-hazardous material." The new policy might mean little to leisure travelers, said reader Stephen Dew, "but to the business traveler it is major." He flies three to five times a week, Dew said, and now "I have no choice but to check a bag. This will add 2 to 2-1/2 hours to my work week, and if my bag gets lost, I may lose the day's work, as I need what is in the bag to work." "I bought a very small bag to check only my seven small items that have liquid," said reader E. Tuskegee; "I also bought a post office envelope and a stamp because I may need to mail these items home for some reason." Reader Carol Lumb said she will simply "pack more in checked luggage and buy some things at the destination." Reader Laura Hinrichs had no problem with the rules: "I've been checking my bags for years. Frankly, it's much better for my back!" And she sees a side benefit from the rule: "Have you noticed how fast the planes are boarding?" FAA/SECURITY New security rules lead to checked-baggage boom The Transportation Security Administration's new rules banning almost all liquids and gels from carry-on luggage have - to no one's surprise - sparked a big increase in the number of checked bags at airports nationwide. The foiled terror plot in the U.K. two weeks ago has not kept people from flying, but it has led many of them who only brought carry-ons before - like business travelers - to start checking bags. Various media reports put the checked-bag increase at 10 to 40 percent, depending on the airport involved. The Chicago Tribune reported that a week after the new rules took effect, the number of checked bags each day at O'Hare Airport was up 33 percent, to 61,000. One beneficiary of the trend: Skycaps, who are being used (and tipped) more than ever now, as bag-checking passengers try to avoid the long lines at check-in counters and even at self-check-in machines. The Wall Street Journal noted that baggage systems at many airports were already operating at or near capacity before the new rules, and that bag handlers are now "working overtime to alleviate waits of more than an hour at busy airport carousels." The paper added: "If the ban on liquids continues, industry experts see more flight delays, lost luggage and increased costs for airlines." The ban on carry-on liquids was supposed to be temporary, but the TSA has not estimated when it might be lifted. In other security-related developments: • Reflecting consumer confusion about the new rules, one web-tracking service reported that the day TSA's new rules took effect (August 10), visits to the agency's web site increased by 1,365 percent. • Look for changing faces on the people who check your boarding pass and ID before you go through security. Until now, those ID-checkers have been employees of private contractors hired by the airlines. But now TSA reportedly plans to replace them with TSA employees who will be trained in psychological profiling. The private contractors would be moved to the baggage area, where they would lift bags into scanning machines to free up TSA staffers (although TSA people would still do the actual scanning evaluations). • According to press reports, TSA is planning a broad new training program for its airport staffers, teaching them to look for small signs of stress in passengers. Flyers who sweat too much or look shifty-eyed might find themselves subject to extra screening or special questioning. Despite all the security turmoil in the past two weeks, the Air Transport Association - representing major U.S. airlines - said last week that most people are getting to the gate on time, and flight schedules are pretty much back to normal operations. In fact, ATA president James May commented: "I can think of no better time to fly." AIRLINES Court won't block job action against Northwest this week The judge overseeing Northwest Airlines' bankruptcy case has turned down the company's request for an injunction to stop flight attendants from beginning a threatened job action - which could start as soon as the evening of August 25. Rank-and-file flight attendants have voted down two tentative agreements that their representatives had worked out with management, and no talks are currently being held. Northwest won the court's approval to unilaterally impose the terms of the first tentative agreement, which will save it $195 million annually. But the flight attendants' union warned the company that any wage and work rule changes not agreed to by both sides will trigger a job action. The flight attendants are plotting a tactic called CHAOS - short for 'Create Havoc Around Our System' - which could take various forms. It could mean limited strikes targeting specific flights, or larger actions where flight attendants would fail to show up for all flights at a specific airport. The point is to create enough uncertainty among passengers that they will avoid Northwest, squeezing revenues until management comes back to the bargaining table. Northwest has told the court that in its current financial state, any such action could force the airline out of business altogether. Boeing pulls the plug on Connexion in-flight Internet Connexion by Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer's six-year-old subsidiary that offers high-speed broadband Internet service to airlines, is being shut down. "Regrettably, the market for this service has not materialized as had been expected," said Boeing CEO James McNerney. The company said it will work with customers to arrange "an orderly phase-out" of the service. Boeing had tried to find a buyer for the subsidiary, but none materialized. Carriers using the service include Lufthansa, Japan Airlines, SAS, ANA, Korean Air, China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, El Al and Asiana. Part of the problem: The big U.S. airlines, strapped for cash in recent years, never signed on. Some experts say Boeing overestimated the market from the start. "While the in-flight communications market opportunity within the U.S. remains significant, and may grow to around $300 million in annual revenues over the next 10 years, the opportunity on both long-haul and intra-European flights is far smaller," said Tim Farrar, a consultant with Telecom, Media and Finance Associates in Menlo Park, Calif. "Inmarsat-based services will provide an appropriate solution for cell phone-based connectivity, but given the modest size of the overall market, it is hard to see affordable in-flight Internet services for laptop users being widely deployed outside North America." United plans IAD expansion; Delta targets Hispanics via LAX United Airlines said last week it plans a major expansion of service at its Washington Dulles hub, while Delta unveiled plans for a number of new routes out of Los Angeles International Airport to serve what it called "soaring demand" in the Hispanic ethnic market. United said its plans at Dulles will increase its total daily flight departures there to 321 by November, a 13 percent increase over last fall. The airline has already announced plans to launch two new international non-stop routes out of Dulles in October - one to Kuwait and another to Tokyo Narita. United has also applied for rights to serve Beijing from Dulles - although the next China route award is subject to considerable competition. In addition, United said it will add new service from Dulles to West Palm Beach, Fla. in December; and to Ft. Myers, Fla. and to Tucson, Ariz. in October. United also plans to add more frequencies in 18 domestic markets it currently serves out of IAD, mostly in the northeast and south. Delta, meanwhile, said it expects to launch non-stop service out of Los Angeles International this winter to nine Mexican destinations, and to Liberia, Costa Rica and Guatemala City as well. In addition, Delta said it will begin new Delta Connection feeder service between LAX and five cities in the western U.S., including Las Vegas, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland and San Jose. INTERNATIONAL More airlines seek new China route authority Two more airlines have joined the competition for the Transportation Department's next award of new route authority between the U.S. and China. The last route winner in the growing U.S.-China market, which is being gradually opened up by the two governments, was American Airlines, which started Chicago-Shanghai flights last April. Last week, United applied for government approval to kick off non-stop service between its Washington Dulles hub and Beijing; and Northwest asked the government for rights to operate daily non-stops between Detroit and Shanghai. Previously, Continental had applied for Newark-Shanghai authority; and American filed for rights to offer daily Dallas/Ft. Worth-Beijing service. United said it would use a three-class 747 on the Dulles-Beijing route if its wins, while Northwest is proposing two-class 747-400 service from Detroit to Shanghai. AIRPORTS Office rental firm takes over Laptop Lanes at airports The Regus Group, which provides "outsourced workplaces" (i.e. short-term rentals of fully-equipped offices) worldwide for companies, has acquired Laptop Lane, which operates business centers in several major U.S. airports, including Atlanta, O'Hare, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Oakland, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. The Laptop Lanes let travelers buy time to use PCs, Internet access, faxes, printers, copiers and unlimited long distance phone lines. The new owner said customers should expect to see the Laptop Lane name be replaced in the months ahead by Regus Express, but otherwise the facilities will continue to offer pretty much the same services at the same rates. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Fed up with business travel? Software specialist Citrix Systems is offering a respite from the road with a product called Citrix GoToMeeting, enabling corporate types to get together online with a few mouse clicks. And it's offering a free 60-day trial at http://www.gotomeeting.com/now. Anyone with a PC and Internet browser can host or attend. "Meeting attendees don't need pre-loaded software to participate," a spokesman said. "They can attend simply by clicking n a URL sent from the meeting host or by going to the GoToMeeting web site and clicking on the 'Join a Meeting' button." Sister car rental companies Thrifty and Dollar have new bonus promotions. At Dollar (http://www.dollar.com), customers can earn 1,000 bonus miles per rental in the frequent flyer programs of seven airlines. The offer applies for rentals through November 15, as long as the vehicle is intermediate or larger, the rental is for three or more days, and it is picked up Sunday through Wednesday. Use promotion code DLR6 when you book. Thrifty, meanwhile, is offering triple miles in seven airline programs for rentals of midsize or larger cars booked online and picked up through November 15. The minimum qualifying rental is two days, maximum is seven; go to http://www.Thrifty.com and visit the "Partner Specials" area. In addition, Thrifty is offering members of its Blue Chip Rewards plan two credits for each rental day during the promotional period, instead of the usual one credit. In that program, 16 credits earn a free rental day. Got business in Shanghai? On August 28, Millennium & Copthorne International will open its first property in China, the Millennium Hongqiao in Shanghai. The five-star hotel is on Yan An Xi Road, in the commercial/residential Hongqiao district. Special introductory rates start at $165 in August and December, or $193 from September through November; in addition, with two paid nights you'll get one free night, through December 31. To book, call 011-86-21-6208-5888 or email sales@millenniumhongqiao.com. For hotel information, visit http://www.millenniumhongqiao.com 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.