EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 10/23/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of October 23, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. Wright Amendment repeal brings fare competition to north Texas Mesaba labor situation coming to a head this week JetBlue wins approval to fly out of Chicago O'Hare Northwest expands boarding pass fax service internationally AirTran coming to the Hudson Valley this winter Northwest will start flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners in two years Connexion by Boeing will give away Internet access in its final months SuperShuttle to launch Houston service Marriott eyes big international expansion by 2009 THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: Southwest has started selling one-stop or connecting service in and out of Dallas Love Field from 25 new markets (see below) - all of which are already served non-stop from DFW by American. Our question for this week: Would you ever book a one-stop or connecting flight when non-stop service was available in the same city-pair? If so, how much would you have to save, or under what circumstances? Does your company ever require you to take a one-stop or connecting flight if it offers a certain level of savings off non-stop service? Send comments to skyguide@aexp.com. Last week, we asked readers' opinions of the all-premium-class service to London operated by MAXjet Airways and Eos Airlines, which are both about a year old. Reaction was generally positive. "I definitely will try to take advantage of these flights," said reader M.D. Baldwin II. He said the fare difference from coach "is not so great that it is an insurmountable barrier, and the difference in comfort alone is probably worth it. My one concern is the added cost to get to their gateways from the Midwest. That may be enough added cost to make it prohibitive." "I haven't flown on Eos or MAXjet yet, but I probably will fly on one of them or their brethren," said reader Patrick Milligan. "I normally fly business class when I leave the continental U.S., so I will look for the best deal." AIRLINES Wright Amendment repeal brings fare competition to north Texas Nearly two years after Southwest Airlines launched a vigorous – and successful – campaign for the repeal of the Wright Amendment, the airline last week started selling flights to 43 markets in and out of Dallas Love Field, vs. the 18 non-stop markets served previously. Of the additional 25 cities served, about one-fifth are via one-stop, same-plane service while the others are connections. Before the new law repealing the 30-year-old Wright Amendment took effect, airlines flying out of Love Field could only operate to states adjacent to or close to Texas. New one-stop or connecting service gives Southwest fliers access to the following airports from Love Field: Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, Louisville, Nashville, Omaha, Philadelphia, Portland (Ore.), Salt Lake City, Seattle, Phoenix and Tucson. Southwest kicked off the new services by slashing fares in its Love Field markets as low as $99 one-way for 14-day advance purchases. American Airlines retains a strategic advantage from its Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport hub because it serves all of the new Southwest markets non-stop from there; nonetheless, American cut its own fares in response to the Southwest move – and so did AirTran Airways. American also said it would start selling one-stop and connecting trips from Love Field via St. Louis this week. Southwest is also offering double credit to Rapid Rewards members who fly in and out of Love Field through December 31. Mesaba labor situation coming to a head this week Court rulings this week could determine whether employees at bankrupt Mesaba Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink in the upper Midwest, go out on strike or stay on the job. The court has already given Mesaba management the OK to dump its union contracts and unilaterally impose new wages and work rules on unionized pilots, mechanics and flight attendants, with pay cuts averaging more than 17 percent. But the court asked Mesaba to wait until Thursday (October 26) before it does so. The bankruptcy court is expected to rule as soon as today (October 23) on whether the unions can legally strike if management imposes its own pay plan on them – as they have threatened to do. There is still a chance the two sides could reach negotiated agreements for new wage levels this week. JetBlue wins approval to fly out of Chicago O'Hare The FAA has awarded JetBlue Airways permission to operate four flights a day at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the largest airport yet to be added to the low-cost carrier's route network. JetBlue hasn't yet said where it will fly from O'Hare – it had requested authority for eight flights a day – but good bets are New York JFK, where JetBlue is the largest carrier; and perhaps Boston, where it has been growing rapidly in the past year. Service could start as soon as next month. It also marks JetBlue's first foray into the upper Midwest; its existing route network concentrates on the eastern states and on transcontinental services. According to press reports, JetBlue will likely get access to gates in O'Hare's Terminal 2 which are being given up by America West following its merger with US Airways. JetBlue's entry into O'Hare had been strongly opposed by the two dominant legacy carriers there, United and American. Northwest expands boarding pass fax service internationally Passengers on Northwest Airlines flights will now be able to check in online and direct the printing of their boarding pass to a fax machine at overseas locations. The fax printing service for boarding passes had previously been available only to North American fax numbers. "Particularly when traveling, many of our customers have told us they often have easy access to a computer and the Internet, but not to a printer," a spokesman said. "This enhancement allows them to check in from a laptop or other computer no matter where their travels take them around the world and have their boarding pass waiting for them at their hotel, a nearby office or another location." He noted that Northwest's 1,100 self-service check-in kiosks are also equipped with passport readers to speed up the airport check-in process. AirTran coming to the Hudson Valley this winter Low-cost AirTran Airways unveiled plans to continue its non-hub route expansion by adding service this winter from two airports in New York State's Hudson Valley – Westchester County Airport in White Plains and Stewart International in Newburgh. On December 21, AirTran will begin daily non-stop service from White Plains to Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers and Tampa, Florida, using Boeing 717s. And on January 11, it will start operations at Stewart International, with daily non-stops to Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. Northwest will start flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners in two years Northwest Airlines, still operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, said last week it has come to financing terms with Boeing and Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, that will allow it to move ahead with its May 2005 order for 18 of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliners – assuming the bankruptcy court approves. "Northwest expects to take delivery of its first 787 in August 2008 and place the aircraft into commercial service in October of that year," a spokesperson said. If that happens, it will make Northwest the first North American airline to fly the next-generation aircraft. The company now says it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in the first half of next year. INTERNATIONAL Connexion by Boeing will give away Internet access in its final months The Chicago Tribune reported last week that Connexion by Boeing, the in-flight Internet service available on some foreign carriers, will be available to passengers at no charge through the end of the year. Boeing has announced a few months ago that it plans to discontinue the service at the end of December if it can't find a buyer to take it over, and so far, none have come forward. The service is not available on any U.S. airlines, but is on several foreign carriers including Lufthansa, El Al, All Nippon and JAL. AIRPORTS SuperShuttle to launch Houston service The blue and yellow vans of SuperShuttle are coming to the Houston area. On November 1, SuperShuttle (www.supershuttle.com; 800-BLUE-VAN) will begin door-to-door shared-ride service at both Houston Intercontinental Airport and Houston Hobby. Average fares between the airports and downtown will be $19 for the first person and $7 for a traveling companion. The service will operate 24 hours a day with a fleet of 50 vans, and will extend to all parts of the greater metropolitan area, including Sugar Land, the Woodlands, Clear Lake, Pasadena and Pearland. HOTELS Marriott eyes big international expansion by 2009 Marriott Rewards members who expect to do a lot of global traveling in the future will have a lot more lodging options: The hotel giant said last week that it expects to increase its total inventory across all brands by 85,000 to 100,000 additional rooms by the end of 2009. The company's recent announcement of plans to add 50 Courtyard properties in Europe over the next few years was only the beginning. Now Marriott says it expects to add 58,000 to 69,000 more rooms in North America through 2009, as well as 12,000-14,000 in its Europe/Middle East/Africa division; 11,000-12,000 in Asia; and 4,000-5,000 new rooms in Latin America. Marriott noted that in its Asia growth plan, Ritz-Carlton properties will account for almost 25 percent of its new rooms. Much of the North American growth will be in lower-priced or limited-service brands; but "up to 60 percent of additions to the company's full-service brands are expected to come from openings outside the U.S. and Canada," Marriott said. AIR ROUTES BOSTON (BOS). American Airlines on October 28 will discontinue its daily 757 Boston-Shannon, Ireland service, consolidating it with its existing Chicago-Dublin flights. CHICAGO O'HARE (ORD). Starting October 28, American Airlines will consolidate its Boston-Shannon, Ireland route into its daily Chicago-Dublin service, using a two-class 767 that will fly Chicago-Dublin-Shannon-Chicago. DALLAS LOVE FIELD (DAL). Effective October 29, Southwest will add a fourth daily Dallas-New Orleans roundtrip and a sixth daily flight between Dallas and Kansas City. KANSAS CITY (MCI). On October 29, US Airways Express/Air Midwest will kick off twice-daily service between Kansas Cit and McCook, Nebraska, operating via a stop in Omaha; on the same date, it will also start three flights a day between Kansas City and Grand Island, Nebraska, with two of them stopping in Omaha and one operating non-stop. LOS ANGELES (LAX). On October 29, Alaska Airlines will boost capacity between Los Angeles and Mexico, adding a fourth weekly frequency from LAX to Loreto, a fifth and sixth from LAX to Manzanillo, and an eighth between LAX-Mazatlan. NEW YORK KENNEDY (JFK). On October 26, Ethiad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, will launch daily non-stop service between JFK and Abu Dhabi, using a three-class A340-500. Effective October 27, United will discontinue its daily JFK-Tokyo Narita flight, moving it to its Washington Dulles hub. On October 29, Emirates begins a third daily JFK-Dubai flight, operating via a stop in Hamburg, using a 777-300ER. PORTLAND (PDX). Effective October 28, Alaska Airlines kicks off seasonal service from Portland to Los Cabos, Mexico four times a week; and on October 29, Alaska starts three flights a week from Portland to Puerto Vallarta. Both will use 737-700s. SAN FRANCISCO (SFO). Alaska Airlines will inaugurate San Francisco-San Diego service October 29 with four daily non-stops on weekdays. On the same date, Alaska will increase frequencies between San Francisco and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo from two a week to four. SAN JOSE (SJC). American Airlines will discontinue its daily San Jose-Tokyo service effective October 28. SEATTLE (SEA). Alaska Airlines will begin seasonal Seattle-Cancun service on October 27, with 737-800 southbound departures on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. TAMPA (TPA). On October 29, Southwest Airlines will begin one daily roundtrip between Tampa and Albany, N.Y., and will add a third daily flight between Tampa and New Orleans. WASHINGTON DULLES (IAD). United Airlines on October 28 launches daily 777 non-stops between Dulles and Tokyo Narita; the route was previously served from New York JFK. On the same date, United begins three non-stops a week between Dulles and Kuwait, operating eastbound on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com; 800-645-3880) has put international business class fares on sale, but you have to act fast – tickets must be purchased by October 27. The sale fares, up to 65 percent off regular prices, are available for outbound travel from November 18 through January 7, 2007, with returns no later than February 7, 2007. Blackout dates are November 26-December 15. Sample one-way sale fares for business class: Atlanta-Oslo from $1,188; Philadelphia-Zurich from $1,232; Charlotte-Brussels from $1,232; Portland-Paris from $1,339; Detroit-Amsterdam from $1,240. Delta SkyMiles members can now earn miles for wireless equipment and services. Delta has teamwed up with InPhonic, Inc. to create an online storefront that awards 5,000 miles for each wireless rate plan activated, and 10 miles for every dollar spent on wireless accessories. The new SkyMiles Wireless includes a wide selection of wireless phones, smartphones and PC cards from major carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Cingular. For information, visit www.skymileswireless.com or call 888-843-2610. United is encouraging Mileage Plus (www.mileageplus.com) members to convert hotel program points into miles through December 31 by offering mileage bonuses. The offer applies to Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Priority Club, Hyatt Gold Passport, Radisson's Goldpoints Plus and Choice Privileges. Depending on the program, transferring 10,000 to 19,999 points into Mileage Plus miles will earn a 2,500-mile bonus, and conversion of 20,000 miles or more will earn 5,000 extra miles. For links to other websites where you can search for bargains, click here: www.executivetravelonline.com/reference/deals.html By Jim Glab Have a question or comment? Send it to skyguide@aexp.com. To sign up for the e-Alert, click here.