EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT 04/24/06 Welcome to EXECUTIVE TRAVEL SKYGUIDE E-ALERT for the week of April 24, the weekly e-mail of essential business travel news! To sign up for the e-Alert, click here. TSA sees limited deployment of Registered Traveler plan this year FAA ruling could avert Venezuela's ban on U.S. flights Delta pilots give tentative OK to new pact with management Northwest rescinds new seat-booking fee for WorldPerks elites American, Vietnam begin code-shares; BA slashes intra-Europe fares Minneapolis-St. Paul delays expansion plans for two years Hotel group lets guests link devices to in-room TV, speakers JW Marriott debuts in San Francisco; Westin comes to DFW THIS WEEK'S QUESTION FOR READERS: Air fares have gone up several times this year. Does your company's travel policy, or your own travel budget, have enough flexibility to absorb those increases, or will you have to cut back your travel schedule this year? Send your reply to skyguide@aexp.com. Last week, we asked if readers still consider loyalty programs effective considering United's increase in mileage costs for many award trips. Most responders were pretty upset. "'Saver' awards are almost impossible to get," said Brad Fendler. "Right now I feel like most carriers are sticking it to us..." "It is already very difficult to redeem award travel, and adding higher costs ... will only deter me from using United to build award mileage," said reader DBM. Reader Green747 said United's new mileage prices are "a personal and professional insult to those of us who supported United through its tough times." "I think airlines are trying to get away from rewards on their planes and would rather have customers using their miles in other ways, and this is their way of showing it," suggested reader Diana. FAA/SECURITY TSA sees limited deployment of Registered Traveler plan this year The Transportation Security Administration's plan to implement its long-awaited Registered Traveler (RT) program for frequent flyers will get started in June as promised - but only at a handful of airports, the agency said. The national roll-out of RT won't come until 2007. In a progress report last week, TSA said it expects to see the RT plan gradually put in place at only 10 to 20 airports over the second half of this year, with the speed of deployment based on how soon the private-sector firms that operate it can make arrangements with airports, airlines and the TSA overseers. The initial participating airports won't be named until later, the agency said. Why the slowdown? "A phased approach to implementation will allow the agency to confirm the private sector's ability to provide interoperability among RT airports," and to study the impact of RT on non-participating travelers' security line waiting times, TSA said. Before the program can be expanded beyond the 10 to 20 airports in the pilot program, TSA said, it will hold a new rulemaking procedure on the system so the public can comment on it, and to "allow criminal history record checks to be added to the background checks of program applicants." How will it work? TSA is still vague, except to promise that RT participants will undergo a screening process "that is modified to afford greater customer service." Participants who undergo the required TSA "security threat assessment" will be issued a biometric-encoded card for ID purposes, but they will still have to go through a metal detector, have their carry-on and checked luggage screened, and be subjected to secondary screening "if they trigger an alarm." So where's the benefit? Well, at some checkpoints, RT members will have their own check-in lane, TSA said. "While the combination of benefits and security measures available at each participating airport may vary, all RT travelers should receive an expedited and more convenient checkpoint experience," TSA said. FAA ruling could avert Venezuela's ban on U.S. flights The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration last week raised its safety rating for Venezuela to Category 1 after recent inspections of that country's civil aviation infrastructure. Since 1995, Venezuela had been listed by the FAA as a Category 2 nation - a designation that led to the Venezuelan government's recent threat to block all air service into the country by Continental and Delta, and to sharply curtail service by American. The flight restrictions had been slated to take effect at the end of April unless the U.S. revised its decade-old FAA categorization of Venezuela. ADVERTISEMENT Exclusive offer for American Express® Cardmembers Purchase a round trip ticket on Eos from New York to London and get a FREE companion ticket plus earn $800 worth of travel rewards.* Purchase your ticket by June 30, 2006 with your American Express® Card and travel by December 31, 2006. Visit www.eosairlines.com/etbonus for details or call 1.800.598.2150. AIRLINES Delta pilots give tentative OK to new pact with management Pilot union leaders at Delta Air Lines have approved a tentative agreement with management that averted a threatened strike earlier last week. According to press reports, the deal would cut pilot pay by about 14 percent, and the union would also agree not to block the company's expected effort to terminate its existing pension plan. The concessions still have to be approved by a vote of the airline's 6,000 rank-and-file pilots, however, and by the bankruptcy court overseeing Delta's reorganization. The pilots' membership vote on the plan should be finished by May 31, Delta said. Northwest rescinds new seat-booking fee for WorldPerks elites Faced with strong opposition from frequent flyers to its new $15 fee for reserving an aisle or exit-row seat at the last minute, Northwest Airlines last week changed its policy. Northwest will now allow elite-level members of WorldPerks to reserve the prime seats for no fee, starting when they are put on sale for non-elite travelers 24 hours before departure. Previously, elites had to pay the fee, although they had access to the special seats 36 hours in advance. The carrier also said it will remove from the program's inventory some of the most in-demand seats, saving them for frequent flyers instead, like seat 6D on the DC-9, which has extra legroom. The aisle and exit-row seats set aside for the short-notice booking plan will account for about five percent of Northwest's domestic coach seats. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS American, Vietnam begin code-shares; BA slashes intra-Europe fares • American Airlines and Vietnam Airlines last week started code-sharing. The first phase puts Vietnam's VN code on AA flights from the U.S. to Tokyo, Osaka, Paris and Frankfurt that connect to the former's services to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The second phase, at a date not yet announced, will put the AA code on Vietnam's flights from those four cities to Vietnam. • In a strong response to competition from U.K.-based low-cost carriers, British Airways last week said it has permanently cut fares on short-haul routes from London to 65 points in Europe by up to 50 percent. The lowest BA fare from London to Naples fell to $70 each way; London-Bordeaux flights are now as low as $52 one-way. • Air France said it now permits online check-in and boarding pass printing across most of the Air France/KLM network, up to 24 hours before departure. Passengers can choose seat assignments online and the system can also be used by those who have bags to check; luggage can be turned in at special airport drop-off points. AIRPORTS Minneapolis-St. Paul delays expansion plans for two years The Metropolitan Airports Commission that oversees Minneapolis-St. Paul International has decided to postpone for two years the next phase of expansion at the facility. The commission said that the original plan, relying on projections from Northwest Airlines - the airport's largest tenant - envisioned a growing need for more passenger gates at MSP by 2007. But since Northwest's bankruptcy, the carrier has cut flight operations at the MSP hub by around 10 percent, precluding the need for extra gates in the immediate future. The expansion plan, which called for the addition of 12 gates at the Humphrey Terminal and 36 at the main Lindbergh Terminal, was due to begin this year; now it won't start until 2008 at the earliest. HOTEL UPDATE Hotel group lets guests link devices to in-room TV, speakers San Francisco-based Stanford Hotels, which owns 17 Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson, Holiday Inn and Doubletree properties around the U.S., said it is installing a new system called GuestLink that lets guests connect any personal electronic devices to the large-screen TV and speakers in their rooms. It's already available at the Hilton Dulles Airport and will be coming this year to the Sheraton Gateway San Francisco Airport, Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio, Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown and Hilton Charlotte City Center. "Guests can now plug their iPod, laptop computer, DVD, camcorder, digital camera or Xbox directly into our exclusive Guestlink panel and spend hours viewing images on the super-sized screen or listening to audio on surround-sound speakers, said Hilton Dulles Airport general manager Greg Langweg. JW Marriott debuts in San Francisco; Westin comes to DFW Marriott has taken over operation of the former Pan Pacific Hotel in downtown San Francisco at Union Square, and renamed it the JW Marriott San Francisco; an extensive two-year renovation is planned ... The former Harvey Hotel DFW Airport, a mile and a half from the terminals in Irving, Tex., has been re-branded as The Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport following a $25 million upgrade ... The Radisson Hotel in nearby Fort Worth - known as the Hotel Texas when it opened in 1920 - is now the Hilton Fort Worth ... The former St. Louis Pavilion Hotel, next to Busch Stadium and close to the Gateway Arch, has become the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark ... Conrad Hotels opened its fourth U.S. property, the 241-room, 23-story Conrad Indianapolis, downtown at 50 West Washington St. ... In Chicago, April 20 marked the grand opening of The James Chicago Hotel at North Rush and Ontario, with rates starting at $250; the owners plan additional James hotels in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Boston ... Also in the Windy City, the Westin Chicago River North overhauled its Westin Executive Club Level; guestrooms now have iMac computers, free high-speed Internet, speakerphones and large new desks ... In California, there's a new Doubletree Guest Suites Anaheim Resort/Convention Center, located next to the city's convention center ... Baltimore will get its second Sheraton by year's end with the re-branding of the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbor as the Sheraton City Center ... Overseas, Novotel opened a hotel in Hong Kong next to the Citygate shopping complex, five minutes from Hong Kong International Airport ... Hilton added two properties in Central America - the Hilton Princess Managua in Nicaragua, in that city's business district; and the Hilton Princess San Pedro Sula in Honduras, six miles from that city's airport. AIR ROUTES CHICAGO MIDWAY (MDW). ATA Airlines is slated to discontinue its daily non-stop service between Midway and Orlando on May 24, and to drop its Midway-San Francisco flights on April 27. On April 28, Southwest Airlines will add a third daily roundtrip between Midway and Buffalo; a second between MDW and Salt Lake City; and an eleventh between Midway and Las Vegas. LAS VEGAS (LAS). Southwest Airlines is scheduled to begin one daily non-stop between Las Vegas and Orlando effective April 28. OAKLAND (OAK). As part of its growing partnership with Southwest Airlines, ATA Airlines will add new service to Hawaii from Oakland on April 27, including one daily roundtrip to Hilo, two to Honolulu and one to Maui. ONTARIO, Calif. (ONT). ATA set an April 28 launch date for new daily non-stops between Ontario International and Honolulu. DEALS AND SPECIAL OFFERS FOR BUSINESS TRAVELERS AirTran (www.airtran.com) is having a fare sale for flights to or from Atlanta, and is also doling out double A+ Rewards credits for travel to selected airports. The mileage promotion (www.aplusrewards.com) provies double credit for trips booked and flown by June 15 to or from Chicago Midway, Westchester County Airport, Richmond, Rochester, Newport News/Williamsburg, Bloomington/Central Illinois Regional Airport, Moline/Quad Cities and Akron/Canton. The Atlanta sale fares, available for purchase through May 4 for travel through October 4, require a 14-day advance purchase. Sample one-way sale fares to or from Atlanta are $89 from BWI, $99 from DFW, $79 from New Orleans and $99 from LaGuardia. Southwest Airlines is also having a fare sale, with sharply reduced prices on tickets purchased 21 days in advance. For bookings, go to www.southwest.com/jp/luvhome.shtml?src=PR_SysSale-041806. The sale applies for purchase through May 11 and for travel May 9-August 3. Sample one-way fares: $49 between LAX and Tucson; $99 between Indianapolis and Omaha; $119 between Chicago-Little Rock. In southern California, the recently renovated Newport Beach Marriott (888-864-0680; www.marriott.com) is offering special rates through May 18. Rates start at $229 a night Sunday-Thursday, $169 on weekends. Use promotional code COR in the corporate/promotional rate code box when booking. For links to other websites where you can search for bargains, click here: www.executivetravelonline.com/reference/deals.html ADVERTISEMENT Exclusive offer for American Express® Cardmembers: Terms & Conditions To qualify for a free companion ticket, payment must be made using your American Express® Card and you must purchase a round trip ticket on Eos by June 30, 2006. Companion must travel with the purchasing passenger. All travel must be completed by December 31, 2006. Offer is valid only on published, publicly available round trip fares. For free companion ticket–Per person government imposed taxes of up to $100, PFCs of up to $18 and the September 11 Security Fee of up to $10 per round trip ticket are additional and must be paid at time of reservation. Original fare rules of the purchased ticket apply Passenger traveling on free companion ticket is not eligible to receive complimentary car service or a complimentary day room. *Travel rewards of $800 refer to 7,500 base points for each flight taken plus a 65,000 point bonus for using this offer for American Express® Cardmembers. Eos Club 48 points are good for travel on virtually any major airline. No blackout dates. 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. It's almost vacation time. Do you have plans yet for an extended summer getaway? Except for getting on a plane, leisure travel is nothing like business travel. Find out how to arrange a vacation trip that really taps your personal desires, fantasies and preferences in the June 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.