EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 09/05/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of September 5, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Deadline looms for transatlantic pact on passenger data Poll finds preference for profiling; Chertoff disagrees MAXjet brings all-business-class to Las Vegas-London route Ryanair to launch in-flight phone service next year Oneworld alliance upgrades its web site Nashville airport gets new eating, drinking options THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: U.S. and European officials are once again talking about gaining access to a greater amount and variety of data on airline passengers (see below). How much personal information do you think they should be allowed to gather and store? Credit card numbers? Past travel activity? Contact information or next of kin? Are you concerned about privacy issues? Send your comments to skyguide@aexp.com. Last week, we asked readers what they would do differently if they were appointed to head the Transportation Security Administration. The change of choice: Institute profiling of passengers at security checkpoints (see related story below). "I would instigate profiling immediately," said reader Bob Hoffland. Reader Richard Kaye agreed: "I would profile people and avoid Grandma," he wrote. Under reader Patrick Milligan's plan for profiling, "those people who fit the profile would be thoroughly searched and the rest of us could be searched using random criteria, which would change periodically." He added that he would "constantly search for new technologies to enhance real security." Reader George Kowalski said he would make sure screening procedures are standardized across the system: "It seems that every airport is doing it differently, and that is causing confusion for people when they fly." The most radical change was suggested by reader Craig Dickson, who said TSA should use the military to take over airport screening and security duties. Dickson concedes that the troops are stretched pretty thin these days, but he would solve that by instituting mandatory military stints of at least one year for all men and women, offering them tuition grants in exchange for their service. "All in all, the cost for all this security would be far less, and I truly believe the quality would meet a much higher standard with more uniform training," he said. AIRLINES Deadline looms for transatlantic pact on passenger data Negotiators for the U.S. and the European Union are trying to come up with a new agreement on access to airline passenger data by the end of this month, or transatlantic air travel could be thrown into turmoil. "Failure to agree by September 30 could ground up to 105,000 travelers a week," the top official of the International Air Transport Association said in Tokyo last week. IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani added: "The U.S. and Europe must move quickly to avoid a big potential crisis over the Atlantic." The two sides had reached a consensus on passenger data exchanges earlier, but last May Europe's top court struck it down over personal privacy concerns, and gave the two sides until September 30 to reach a new agreement. According to a report in the New York Times last week, the U.S. Homeland Security agency wants broad authority to search through a variety of passenger data, and European security officials are inclined to agree, as long as privacy issues can be addressed. Current rules give governments access to basic passenger information like name, nationality and date of birth. But government officials would also like to gather other personal records that airlines and travel booking systems might contain on individual travelers, like credit card numbers, names of other persons traveling in the same party, previous travel bookings, contact information, next of kin and so on. The previous agreement - the one struck down by the court - would have given the U.S. authorities access to this kind of data from European and travel industry sources. It is unclear at this point what kind of a compromise might be reached by the September 30 deadline. Homeland Security Secretary Micahel Chertoff told USA Today in an interview last week that "if we had more specific information about travel history and things of that sort - this is not deep secret stuff, this is stuff that you give to your travel agent - that data allows us to focus on people that we are really more worried about. I actually view that as a plus to civil liberties." Poll finds preference for profiling; Chertoff disagrees According to a Reuters report last week, a new poll finds that Americans would like to see security officials adopt passenger profiling as a more efficient way to screen for likely terrorists. The survey of 1,080 U.S. adults, conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute shortly after the latest terrorism scare in the U.K., found that respondents favored profiling by 60 to 37 percent. Respondents said security officials should devote special attention to persons who appear to be Middle Eastern. Meanwhile, 62 percent said they were very or somewhat worried about a terrorist strike in the U.S. in the coming months. Civil libertarians criticized the poll findings, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff also took issue with the concept in an interview with USA Today, calling racial or ethnic profiling is "a bad thing." "I'm hesitant to say that we should focus only on males, or Muslims of a particular age," Chertoff said, noting that women have acted as suicide bombers in some instances. Instead of profiling based on ethnicity, Chertoff said the Transportation Security Administration is training its screeners in "behavioral pattern recognition, looking at ways people behave that will actually suggest they're trying to hide something." AIRLINES MAXjet brings all-business-class to Las Vegas-London route MAXjet Airways said last week it will bring all-business-class transatlantic service to the western U.S. starting in November. The airline, which currently operates 102-passenger 767s from New York JFK and Washington Dulles to London Stansted, will add Las Vegas to its network November 2, with one daily roundtrip. The flight will depart Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. and arrive in London at 12:30 p.m. the next day; return flights leave Stansted at 1 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 5 p.m. the same day. "With the addition of new aircraft in 2007, the airline plans to open new scheduled service to London from a number of major markets in key U.S. destinations," a spokesman said. MAXjet is currently taking reservations on the London-Las Vegas service, with fares starting at $1,999 roundtrip. Ryanair to launch in-flight phone service next year While regulatory officials and airlines in the U.S. still struggle over when, and if, in-flight phone service should be offered, European low-fare carrier Ryanair said it will begin to roll out a mobile communications system on its fleet of 200 737s starting in 2007, subject to government approvals. The company said 50 of its planes should be equipped with the service by the end of next year, and the rest in 2008. The fast-growing airline's passengers will be able to send and receive phone calls as well as text and email messages from their own mobile phones and PDAs. Oneworld alliance upgrades its web site The Oneworld global airline alliance, which includes American and British Airways, has upgraded its web site (www.oneworld.com). New features on the site include an interactive map showing every destination and route served by member carriers; the ability to check member airlines' schedules from the Oneworld home page; more direct links to member companies' sites for booking; and enhanced fare information, with downloadable brochures in nine languages. Member airlines include American, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus. Joining next year will be Japan Airlines, Malev Hungarian and Royal Jordanian. AIRPORTS Nashville gets new eating, drinking options At Nashville International, HMSHost Corp. has won a contract to develop new food and beverage outlets. Travelers will start seeing the new tenants in May 2007. Among them: Two Starbucks locations, one before the security check and one on Concourse C; a Jack Daniel's Tennessee Tavern, with bar service and Neely's Bar-B-Que offerings; the Gibson Café, a concept restaurant themed around Gibson guitars (and also serving up Neely's Bar-B-Que items); the Noshville Delicatessen, with table service; Provence Breads & Café on Concourse C, with sandwiches, salads and pastries; a Quiznos Subs outlet; Burger King; Baja Burrito; Famous Famiglia Pizzeria; and a Seattle's Best Coffee. AIR ROUTES ATLANTA (ATL). On September 7, Delta Connection/Atlantic Southeast Airlines will kick off twice-daily regional jet roundtrips between Atlanta and the Killeen-Fort Hood, Tex. Regional airport. CHICAGO MIDWAY (MDW). On the heels of American Airlines ending its presence at Chicago Midway last week, United Airlines will do the same effective September 5. United's Midway operations include three daily Ted flights to Denver and two United Express flights to Washington Dulles. CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). American Eagle on September 6 will begin new daily regional jet service between Chicago O'Hare and three cities in the southeast: Greensboro, N.C., with two daily roundtrips; and Columbia, S.C. and Jackson, Miss., with one daily roundtrip each. DALLAS/FT. WORTH (DFW). Effective September 6, American Eagle will start one daily non-stop between DFW and Harrisburg, Pa., using a 70-seat regional jet. DENVER (DEN). On September 6, United Express kicks off daily regional jet non-stops between Denver and Grand Rapids, Mich., offering United's "explus" service. LOS ANGELES (LAX). United Express launches daily Los Angeles-Oklahoma City flights September 6, operating its "explus" regional jet service. On the same date, United Express begins twice-daily LAX-Vancouver non-stops. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). The next phase in Delta's expansion of domestic spokes into its international hub at JFK comes on September 5, when Delta Connection/Freedom Airlines begins new twice-daily service between Richmond and JFK; and adds three more daily roundtrips between Baltimore-JFK and Washington Reagan National-JFK, all with 37-seat turboprops. On September 6, US Airways will supplement its busy LaGuardia-Charlotte schedule with new JFK-Charlotte flights, operating three times a day. The US Airways service is a response to JetBlue's recent launch of JFK-Charlotte service. On September 8, Eos Airlines will add a second frequency to its all-premium-class service between JFK and London Stansted, operating daily except Saturday. NEW YORK LAGUARDIA (LGA). September 6 is the staring date for new American Eagle service between LaGuardia and Jacksonville, Fla., with one daily roundtrip. ORLANDO (MCO). US Airways Express/Republic Airways will link Orlando with Key West starting September 6, using a 72-seat regional jet for one daily roundtrip. RALEIGH/DURHAM (RDU). American Eagle will inaugurate non-stop service September 6 between Raleigh/Durham and Columbus, Ohio, with two daily regional jet roundtrips. SAN DIEGO (SAN). Hawaiian Airlines' daily San Diego-Maui service, which had been operating seasonally during the summer only, will become a year-round operation effective September 6. SAN FRANCISCO (SFO). September 6 is the launch date for new daily United A319 service between San Francisco and Toronto. WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD). United will begin daily non-stop service September 6 between Dulles and Albuquerque, using an A319; on the same date, new United Express daily regional jet service begins between Dulles and Birmingham, Ala. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Choice Hotels International is offering a free night's accommodations for every two paid stays from September 1 through December 15. The offer applies for more than 1,000 Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Clarion or Mainstay Suites properties in North America. To participate, guests must be members of the Choice Privileges rewards program (www.choiceprivileges.com; 888-770-6800). There are no blackout dates for the free nights, and no limit to the number of free nights that can be earned. Marriott Rewards members www.MarriottRewards.com) can now use a new Promotion Tracker on the program's web site to see where they stand in ongoing Marriott promotions. "Members simply sign in to their account to view the specific offer or offers for which they have signed up, and the page will display the number of stays or nights needed toward reaching their goals," a spokesman said. "In addition, Promotion Tracker can also let members know about other promotions that they have not signed up for but are eligible to participate in." 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.