Corporate travelers and managers may finally get their wish of a more streamlined travel service that incorporates the purchase of ancillary fees through their travel management companies.
USAirways is developing options to distribute ancillary services through travel intermediaries' Global Distribution Systems (GDS) bypassing the need to purchase these services separately at the airport.
GDS providers, airlines and IATA will cooperate to offer solutions for corporate travelers and managers who have complained about the ambiguity of these fees and the additional difficulties in accounting for them. A likely outcome will be a "Miscellaneous Charge Order" (MCO) that would enable agents to issue and report these sales through traditional clearing house methods electronically.
www.premieretravel.com
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Qantas to Resume A380 Service
Qantas is set to resume it's A380 Airbus services on Saturday November 27, but no flights on the super jumbo will be scheduled from/to the U.S. at least for the foreseeable future. Two flights scheduled this weekend will operate between Australia and London at a reduced thrust setting.
Reduced thrust, limited destinations and a reduced load (150 below capacity) is indicative of on-going issues that continue to dog the Trident Roll-Royce engines.
www.premieretravel.com
Reduced thrust, limited destinations and a reduced load (150 below capacity) is indicative of on-going issues that continue to dog the Trident Roll-Royce engines.
www.premieretravel.com
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Extreme Reactions To TSA Screening Continue
Organizers campaigning through the internet are calling for opt-out protests over thanksgiving holiday, one of the busiest weeks of travel of the year.
Business Travel Coalition (BTC) has called such contemplated actions "irresponsible", while at the same time squarely putting the blame on TSA. BTC urged the groups planning the opt-out event to cancel those campaigns and instead refocus the effort to the "highest levels in Washington" by conducting a complete review of TSA.
“The deployment of full-body scanners without a formal public comment process and sufficient medical and scientific vetting is one of the worst TSA abuses of authority since its creation,” stated BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell. “The overly aggressive pat downs represent citizen-mistreatment in the extreme, especially if used as “punishment” when passengers opt out of full-body scans.
Passengers have complied with layer upon layer of new and changing airport security measures and protocols since 2001. However, an inflection point would appear to have been reached with the body scanner and offensive pat down issues where increasingly forceful push back from the traveling public should lead to an overall review of U.S. aviation system security. The current security screening process, and the inherent opportunity for abuse, is so over-the-top as to even invite mockery from former President George W. Bush on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
While layers of security represent a global best practice, a risk is that all manner of new security measures can be justified and independent scrutiny circumvented simply by hiding behind the “security layers” mantra. Importantly, treating all passengers transiting the aviation system as if they are equal threats to national security represents worst practice because it is ineffective, costly and distractive of better practices. The return on every dollar of investment in intelligence gathering, analysis and sharing within and across borders is orders-of-magnitude greater than dollars spent screening passengers at airports. The intent of Congress should be acted upon by TSA with respect to a true risk and security-based trusted traveler program that streamlines airport security and frees up funds to find the terrorists where they sleep, and before they arrive at our airports.
Premiere Travel supports the BTC mission of empowering corporate travel managers to influence issues of strategic importance to travel related matters.
www.premieretravel.com
Business Travel Coalition (BTC) has called such contemplated actions "irresponsible", while at the same time squarely putting the blame on TSA. BTC urged the groups planning the opt-out event to cancel those campaigns and instead refocus the effort to the "highest levels in Washington" by conducting a complete review of TSA.
“The deployment of full-body scanners without a formal public comment process and sufficient medical and scientific vetting is one of the worst TSA abuses of authority since its creation,” stated BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell. “The overly aggressive pat downs represent citizen-mistreatment in the extreme, especially if used as “punishment” when passengers opt out of full-body scans.
Passengers have complied with layer upon layer of new and changing airport security measures and protocols since 2001. However, an inflection point would appear to have been reached with the body scanner and offensive pat down issues where increasingly forceful push back from the traveling public should lead to an overall review of U.S. aviation system security. The current security screening process, and the inherent opportunity for abuse, is so over-the-top as to even invite mockery from former President George W. Bush on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
While layers of security represent a global best practice, a risk is that all manner of new security measures can be justified and independent scrutiny circumvented simply by hiding behind the “security layers” mantra. Importantly, treating all passengers transiting the aviation system as if they are equal threats to national security represents worst practice because it is ineffective, costly and distractive of better practices. The return on every dollar of investment in intelligence gathering, analysis and sharing within and across borders is orders-of-magnitude greater than dollars spent screening passengers at airports. The intent of Congress should be acted upon by TSA with respect to a true risk and security-based trusted traveler program that streamlines airport security and frees up funds to find the terrorists where they sleep, and before they arrive at our airports.
Premiere Travel supports the BTC mission of empowering corporate travel managers to influence issues of strategic importance to travel related matters.
www.premieretravel.com
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Congressman Call To Ditch TSA
The furor over the intrusive full body scanners and the aggressive pat-downs implemented by TSA has grown into a feverish pitch with angry travelers nationwide organizing and campaigning against the security crackdown.
Congressman John Mica (R-Florida 7th) is suggesting getting rid of the TSA altogether. He is calling the nation's top airports to exercise their rights to install private security that would supplant TSA. It's very explicit, it's like doing a nude photo shoot," Congressman Mica said. "I think we could use half the personnel and streamline the system," Mica said Wednesday, calling the TSA a bloated bureaucracy.
www.premieretravel.com
Congressman John Mica (R-Florida 7th) is suggesting getting rid of the TSA altogether. He is calling the nation's top airports to exercise their rights to install private security that would supplant TSA. It's very explicit, it's like doing a nude photo shoot," Congressman Mica said. "I think we could use half the personnel and streamline the system," Mica said Wednesday, calling the TSA a bloated bureaucracy.
www.premieretravel.com
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Qantas A380 Fleet Remains Grounded
Qantas is likely to keep its Airbus A380 fleet grounded until at least early December as it works on problems with its Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, one of which recently broke apart in flight.
Qantas is scrambling to find replacement airplanes to make up for the loss of the super jumbos that will be out of commission until at least early December.
Should the problem prove to be a design flaw or issue with the Rolls-Royce engines, the grounding might be extended well beyond December.
www.premieretravel.com
Qantas is scrambling to find replacement airplanes to make up for the loss of the super jumbos that will be out of commission until at least early December.
Should the problem prove to be a design flaw or issue with the Rolls-Royce engines, the grounding might be extended well beyond December.
www.premieretravel.com
Monday, November 15, 2010
Coming To An Airport Near You-Very Intrusive Body Scanners
Ever increasingly annoying, inconsistent, and intrusive procedures continue to be rolled out at U.S. Airports.
The latest is the full body-scan radiation and x-ray technology that TSA has started implementing. Some scientists and two major airline pilots unions contend not enough is known about the effects of the small doses of X-ray radiation emitted by one of the two types of airport scanning machines.
Anything that emits radiation and has x-ray features should be well researched before the traveling public is subjected to it.
Wildly inconsistent procedures from one airport to another also remains an issue and a some of those TSA procedures have become arbitrary and subjective. For instance, a TSA employee insisted on removing "anything metallic" regardless of how small it is. This requirement was not mentioned on the return flight a day later.
www.premieretravel.com
The latest is the full body-scan radiation and x-ray technology that TSA has started implementing. Some scientists and two major airline pilots unions contend not enough is known about the effects of the small doses of X-ray radiation emitted by one of the two types of airport scanning machines.
Anything that emits radiation and has x-ray features should be well researched before the traveling public is subjected to it.
Wildly inconsistent procedures from one airport to another also remains an issue and a some of those TSA procedures have become arbitrary and subjective. For instance, a TSA employee insisted on removing "anything metallic" regardless of how small it is. This requirement was not mentioned on the return flight a day later.
www.premieretravel.com
Thursday, November 11, 2010
"Spamcation" Nightmare Cruise Finally Ends
November 11, 2010: The Carnival "Splendor", with 4500 on board limped in this morning towards San Diego Bay where passengers broke into applause upon disembarking.
The nightmare cruise finally ended after 3 nights of backed up toilets, dark cabins, limited power and spam food, and no HVAC. An engine room fire knocked out the vital systems of the modern vessel and she was unable to steer or cruise without help from tugboats.
Carnival will issue vouchers to passengers good for a free future "fun" cruise.
www.premieretravel.com
The nightmare cruise finally ended after 3 nights of backed up toilets, dark cabins, limited power and spam food, and no HVAC. An engine room fire knocked out the vital systems of the modern vessel and she was unable to steer or cruise without help from tugboats.
Carnival will issue vouchers to passengers good for a free future "fun" cruise.
www.premieretravel.com
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