Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Over-reacting to Travel warnings and travel advisories

Travel Warnings and advisories (TW and TAD for those who love acronyms) are issued when long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable lead the State Department to recommend that Americans avoid or consider the risk of travel to that country. A Travel Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff.

So when The U.S. Department of State issues such warnings, it usually covers entire countries, not specific areas. For example by adding "Mexico" in July to the list of "TW", it triggered corporate managers who follow the strict directives of the Department of State (DOS) to curtail travel to such countries. So while the "DOS" warning is relevant for an area such as Durango in the north, it does not necessarily apply to Mexico City or Cancun, a major touristic destination. Fortune 500 companies and most colleges and universities may eliminate travel altogether to countries on the "list". A better system should pinpoint particular areas and zones within countries that these warnings should cover.

In addition to Mexico, added in the month of July were Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

EU clears United-Continental merger

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The European Commission Tuesday cleared the merger of UAL Corporation's (UAUA) U.S. airline United Airlines and U.S. airline Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL)

The $3 billion dollar deal, initially announced in May, will create the world's largest airline by traffic, transporting 21% of U.S. passengers. The resulting company, United Continental Holdings, Inc., will be 8% larger than Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) by number of miles flown by paying passengers, including commuter affiliates.

The commission found there to be few competition overlaps between the airlines on their European routes, as they operated from different U.S. hubs. The airlines also had limited cargo business between the U.S. and the EU.

The combined company will use the United name and the Continental logo and operate out of Chicago, United's current headquarters

Friday, July 23, 2010

Lawmakers tell airlines to share ancillary fees data

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee conducted a hearing on July 14 to discuss the impact of U.S. airlines ancillary fees on business travelers. The committee made it clear to the airlines to share and clarify those fees with their distribution channels, or face the consequence of tough new congressional rules and mandates forcing them to do so. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the airlines ancillary fees which continue to proliferate unabated. The GAO reported that based on its findings, they determined that the airlines are unlikely to cooperate with the fee information unless they are compelled to do so.
www.premieretravel.com

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Frequent Flyer Bulletin

When the full implementation of the TSA requirement of "Secure Flight" goes into mandatory status on November 1, 2010, many passengers may encounter discrepancies and problems with their frequent flyer memberships and status.

As we have stated before in this column, passnegers' names on the travel document must be an exact match with the government issued driver's license or passport. However, if there is a discrepancy between that and what your frequent flyer membership name is, one of two bad things can happen:
A) No mileage credit
B) Denied entry by TSA, flight cancellation or denied boarding.

What to do: Contact your mileage program as soon as possible, and let them know that you are amending your name to conform to the TSA "Secure Flight" that should match with your photo ID. This will insure that you continue getting credit for future travel without losing any benefits.

Monday, July 19, 2010

TSA Secure Flight Update Mandatory Information

TSA will begin strict adherence to Secure Flight requirements for all travelers beginning November 1, 2010. The soft launch of the program has already begun on June 15 and airlines and travel management companies are on notice that full compliance and adherence will be strictly implemented on November 1, 2010.
Premiere Travel will request all passengers' records to be in full compliance.
Specifically, the regulation requires customers to supply the passenger information at the time of reservations. This includes full name, date of birth, gender and optional redress number. Please go to "Traveler Profile" on the left column and update your information as soon as possible in order to avoid problems with bookings/boarding flights.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

American, BA, Iberia get EU approval of joint venture

One World alliance led by British Airways and American Airlines received EU approval for their proposed joint venture, along with Iberia, allowing the creation of a routing system between the carriers. The airlines still need the U.S. Department of Transportation's approval before they can start their new services.

The three airlines are aiming to coordinate flights between the United States, Mexico, Canada, the European Union, Switzerland and Norway. All three carriers are members of the Oneworld alliance.

With the expected approval of this deal by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the stage is set for three global powerhouses that will have almost total control of vital traffic and airport slots worldwide. Star Alliance headed by United and Lufthansa, SkyTeam led by Delta, Air France,and the Oneworld alliance.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Industry Survey Results Reveal Significant Concern Over Airline Unbundling Practices

JULY 13, 2010, WASHINGTON, DC - Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today published results of a survey of 188 travel industry professionals from 11 countries, including corporate travel managers and travel agency executives, regarding airline product unbundling and ancillary fees. These survey results are being released ahead of a July 14 U.S. House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation hearing regarding airline fees at which BTC is providing testimony.

The overriding message from survey participants is that ancillary fees are wreaking havoc on corporate managed travel programs and the U.S. Department of Transportation must, through it Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, require airlines to make add-on fee data easily accessible not only on their websites, but also to the travel agency channel through any GDS in which an airline has agreed to participate.
(From BTC News Release July 13)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

When to book air travel...

A question that keeps coming up: is it better to book far in advance or wait?
A very good question, and the answer is simply: "it depends".
Airlines have their yield management methodology that varies widely. Then when you take into account the destination, seasonality, how far in advance and other factors, the answer will carry many "ifs" and "buts".

So here are some tips:
1) Booking too far in advance may not get the lowest rates as airlines are not compelled to discount deeply 4-8 months prior.
2) Many airlines perform their yield management continuously and cheaper fares are sometimes posted briefly Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
3) Cheaper seats are added or deleted based on anticipated demand that may or may not materialize.
4) Certain destinations have a high percentage of no-shows or cancellations, allowing airlines to manipulate fares and number of seats sold. Miscalculations are costly when more "confirmed" passengers show up and not enough seats available.
5) Waiting till the last minute/day will never result in better fares.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

"Ancillary Fees" by U.S. Airlines....on track to $10 Billion in 2010

U.S. airlines collected more than $7.8 billion in ancillary fees in 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), and that number is up more than 40% over the previous year. Ancillary fees now comprise 6.5% of all airline revenue. With such compelling numbers, it is certain those pesky ancillary fees are here to stay and will go higher still as airlines concoct new ways to extract additional funds from travelers. This is on track to be $10 billion in 2010.
These fees include baggage, upgrades, seat assignments, lounge passes, purchase of pillows/blankets, boarding priority and ever more creative things are being rolled out.

These fees and the difficulty that companies are encountering in paying for such services is getting the attention of the the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Aviation which will hold hearings on July 14. The focus of the hearings is the disclosure and clarity of these fees when airline tickets are purchased, as these fees have become a larger percentage of the overall cost of transportation.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

U.S. Passport fees set to increase July 13

Just in time for summer travel, the State Department has hiked the passport service fees.
Even adding pages to your existing passport will incur a fee now.
Adult passport: New fee: $135. Old fee: $100
Adult passport renewal: New fee: $110. Old fee: $75
Minor passport (under age 16): New fee: $105. Old fee; $85
Adult passport card (allows border crossings by land): New fee: $55. Old fee: $45
Minor passport card: New fee: $40. Old fee: $35
Extra visa pages: New fee: $82. Old fee: It was free of charge

To save money, apply before July 13.