EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 09/11/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of September 11, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Poll: Most would support a total ban on carry-ons Northwest flight attendant situation still tense Frontier plans new regional subsidiary at Denver Canadian low-cost airline halts all scheduled flights New web site details global airline options New York gets a new Schrager hotel; Kimpton moves into Dallas Hertz expands fleet with fuel-efficient models THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: Send your replies to skyguide@aexp.com. In your travels overseas, what's the oddest thing that has happened to you in an airport security check? (E.g., when I was in Srinagar, Kashmir, the screener confiscated my ball-point pens – not because they were a security risk, but because they were hard to come by in Kashmir and much sought after.) Send your comments to skyguide@aexp.com Last week, we asked if readers were concerned about new government efforts in the U.S. and Europe to gather and exchange more detailed information about passengers from the airlines and reservations companies. Most readers weren't bothered much. "If it will make me safer and is more efficient, I don't care what information they have on me; I have nothing to hide," said reader Rick Rohrs. "The only data I would object to being released to any agency would be credit card information," said reader Mike Green. "I think that is crossing the line." Reader Danek Bienkowski commented: "I am not concerned about privacy issues. Give the airlines and police/FBI what they need. I am concerned about the next 9/11." FAA/SECURITY Poll: Most would support a total ban on carry-ons A consumer survey conducted by Harris Interactive finds that a significant majority of Americans will agree with just about any tough new measures that the Transportation Security Administration considers necessary. And that includes the one most dreaded by business travelers: a total ban on all carry-on luggage. Asked if they would support or oppose a ban on carry-ons "if the TSA thought it was necessary," 62 percent said they would support it vs. 35 percent who would not. The strongest support for such a move came from those in the 45-64 age group (73-74 percent), while the greatest opposition was found among those age 25-34 (51 percent). In the same vein, 61 percent of those polled said they agree that the current ban against liquids in carry-ons is necessary, while 33 percent said they don't think it is. How long should that ban remain in effect? Some 48 percent said it should stay "as long as the government deems it necessary," while 25 percent said "indefinitely," and 20 percent opted for "a few months." One-third of respondents said the recent U.K.-based terrorist plot involving liquid explosives made them more apprehensive about flying. AIRLINES Northwest flight attendant situation still tense Minneapolis newspapers reported last week that an unusually high number of Northwest Airlines flight attendants were calling in sick, although their union leaders denied that the group had called for any kind of organized sick-out. The company did not comment on whether the absences were affecting operations. Northwest and the flight attendants are awaiting a court ruling on whether the union can legally proceed with its plans for CHAOS job actions (Create Havoc Around Our System) against the airline. This would involve targeted walkouts against specific flights or in specific markets. The flight attendants claim they have the right to take such actions after Northwest voided their previous contract and imposed new wages and work rules on them unilaterally. Meanwhile, Northwest said it is recalling more than 1,100 furloughed flight attendants to staff its planned schedule increases this fall, and to replace a large number retirements and resignations. Frontier plans new regional subsidiary at Denver Frontier Airlines Holdings, the parent of Frontier Airlines, said last week it plans to create a new subsidiary operating out of its Denver hub that will bring "low-cost service to underserved markets in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region." The company has placed an order with Bombardier for 10 74-seat Q400 turboprops, with an option for 10 more. The first 10 aircraft will be delivered in 2007. The company said it has not yet finalized a decision on where the planes will fly, but it expects the new subsidiary to serve as many as 18 destinations and to create 300 to 400 jobs. "This aircraft purchase will enable our service to grow by giving Frontier access to regional leisure and business travel destinations that were previously inaccessible to us but are ideally suited to the economics of the Q400," said CEO Jeff Potter. The new turboprops will have "jet-like speed," the company said, and will offer two-by-two seating, legroom of 31 to 34 inches, stand-up headroom and ample overhead storage bins. Meanwhile, Frontier said it is also looking for a partner to operate up to 20 regional jets "to either augment or replace" its existing fleet of nine RJs flown by Horizon Air as Frontier Express. Canadian low-cost airline halts all scheduled flights CanJet, a Halifax-based low-cost airline with a fleet of 10 737s, stopped operating scheduled flights last week. The carrier was a division of I.M.P. Group Ltd., a diversified company that also has interests in manufacturing, health care, aerospace, industrial marine products and hotels. "With the rising business risks of operating a scheduled airline, I.M.P. has decided to suspend year-round scheduled airline service and focus on their increasing charter business," said I.M.P. Chairman and CEO Ken Rowe. The airline served 13 destinations in Canada and the U.S., including St. John's, Deer Lake, Moncton, Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, New York LaGuardia, St. Petersburg, Sarasota/Bradenton and Orlando. New web site details global airline options A new web site called Flight Consultant (www.flightconsultant.com) made its debut last week; it's designed as an impartial search engine that lets travelers find out at a glance what their best routing and fare options are between any two global destinations. It contains data on 850 airlines and 3,500 airports worldwide. "Designed to be complementary to online travel sites and airline sites, the user will first run a search on flightconsultant.com to view all the possible combinations of flights and to get an indication of the distance and suggested benchmark ticket cost," a spokesman said. "Then then will follow the links to go to their preferred booking agent or airline to purchase the trip." We sought out the options for a trip from Denver to Ashkabad, Turkmenistan, thinking it would be sufficiently complicated for the site; to our surprise, the first option that popped up was an all-Lufthansa routing with a simple one-stop connection through Frankfurt. The searches don't even have to be airport-specific; the site can search for flights to or from a single state or even an entire country. The site said its next phase will include the ability to search for the best airline seats, to look up airport codes, and to see what direct flights are available from any given airport. HOTELS New York gets a new Schrager hotel; Kimpton moves into Dallas In New York City, iconoclastic hotelier Ian Schrager has opened his newest project, the 185-room Gramercy Park Hotel in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan, with a style he calls "eclectic bohemian" … In Dallas, the former Mockingbird Hilton in the Park Cities district has been transformed into the Hotel Palomar Dallas, a member of the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group … Two Marriott properties in downtown Atlanta are being taken over by Wyndham and rebranded: On September 24, the former Courtyard by Marriott at 175 Piedmont Ave. will become the Wyndham Garden Hotel Atlanta, and on October 11, the adjacent Fairfield Inn will become the Baymont Inn & Suites … In Texas, Marriott has just opened a new, combined Courtyard and Residence Inn next to the Austin Convention Center … The Hilton Key West Resort & Marina in the Florida keys has become the Westin Key West Resort & Marina … The former Hotel Orlando North in Florida's Maitland Center office park has become the Sheraton Orlando North … In Princeton, N.J., the former Doral Forrestal Conference Center and Spa has been rebranded as the Princeton Marriott Hotel and Conference Center … Hilton is taking its mid-priced Garden Inn brand outside of North America for the first time; the company said that in the fourth quarter of this year, it will open the Hilton Garden Inn Stuttgart Neckarpark in Germany, and two Garden Inns in Italy: One at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, and one in Florence two miles from the historic city center … Britain's Millennium & Copthorne hotel group has opened its first property in China, the Millennium Hongqiao in Shanghai. CAR RENTALS Hertz expands fleet with fuel-efficient models In case your accounting department is keeping a close eye on gas bills for your rental cars, Hertz has added a new option: fuel-efficient cars that can be reserved by specific make and model. Called the Hertz Green Collection, the new vehicle types – which all have an EPA fuel efficiency rating of 28 miles per gallon or better – include the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Buick LaCrosse and Hyundai Sonata. They're available at 50 Hertz airport locations nationwide. Meanwhile, Hertz has also broadened the choices available in its Fun Collection of sporty cars: it now includes the Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger. AIR ROUTES BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON (BWI). Effective September 14, Southwest Airlines will begin service between BWI and Detroit Metro, with four daily roundtrips. BOSTON (BOS). Delta Connection/Comair on September 11 will inaugurate service between Boston and Dayton, with one daily regional jet roundtrip. JACKSONVILLE (JAX). September 11 is the launch date for new Delta Connection/Comair service between Jacksonville and Pensacola, with one daily regional jet roundtrip. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). JetBlue has added Houston as its newest destination, operating three daily roundtrips between JFK and Houston Hobby. On September 15, JetBlue will begin one daily roundtrip from JFK to Aruba. NEWARK (EWR). JetBlue adds another destination from Newark on September 14 when it begins one daily roundtrip between Newark and Tampa Bay. ST. THOMAS (STT). Caribbean Sun Airlines on September 11 will suspend service at St. Thomas, eliminating its daily non-stop flights to San Juan and St. Maarten. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS British carrier bmi (www.flybmi.com; 800-788-0555) is having another fare sale, this time for travel during the month of October. The booking deadline is October 13; the fares are nonrefundable and require a stay of three nights or overnight Saturday. Roundtrip fares are $480 economy or $880 premium economy from Chicago to Manchester, or $530/$930 from Las Vegas to Manchester. Travel beyond Manchester, with a free stopover there, costs an extra $38 roundtrip from either departure city to London, Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh. Members of Priority Club, the frequent guest program of InterContinental Hotels Group, can earn double points or double miles with each qualifying stay from September 12 through December 15 – starting with their second stay – at 3,600 participating properties worldwide. (The double credit starts with the first stay at Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites.) The company's brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. To register, go to www.priorityclub.com. By Jim Glab Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.