THE TICKET Newsletter

THE TICKET Archive

T H E T I C K E T Newsletter

For Atlanta-based Frequent Travelers

February 28, 2002

Volume 9, Issue 2

See THE TICKET PORTAL! Made just for you: www.travelskills.com/portal.htm

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<<AIRLINE NEWS>>

THE SUN’LL COME OUT. It’s looking like the sun might be coming back out for Delta and other airlines. Both bookings and pricing are creeping back up after the long, dark and ugly post-September 11 period. While that means new flights, the increased demand means that we’ll be paying slightly higher prices. And with more travelers jetting about, you can expect longer airport lines as travelers are slowed down at the various security choke points.

NEW DL FLIGHTS. Delta has been spewing out the press releases announcing new service from Atlanta and its other hubs to a slew of new (mostly small to mid-sized) cities using its growing fleet of 50-70 passenger regional jets. It will also add a new nonstop from Atlanta to Milan on April 1 (intro fare: $425). Also, Delta Express is adding new flights from the NYC area to FL.

AIRTRAN’S UP. Atlanta’s second largest carrier, AirTran, is adding new flights to Rochester, NY, on April 9, and Wichita, KS on May 9. (That’s a total of 38 destinations from ATL.) It is also expanding its presence at Baltimore-Washington airport, and has recently accelerated delivery of 20 new Boeing 717’s this year.

STICK IT TO ME. The bad news is that despite all the optimism and growth, the airlines are still looking for ways to stick it to business travelers. Northwest and United are reportedly working on ways to forbid travelers from large corporations with negotiated discounts from applying those discounts to the least expensive, most restricted sale fares. This means that if your company has a deal with an airline, and you are willing to suck up and buy your ticket 21 days in advance, sit at the back of the plane AND stay over a Saturday night in order to get a decent fare, the airline is still not going to give you your corporate discount.

ELITE SECURITY. The final word from the TSA: Lines, yes! Lanes, no! On Feb 17, frequent flyers and the airlines that cater to them were caught off guard when it appeared that the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) would force the elimination of the exclusive security lanes set up for premium customers and airline employees. After heavy lobbying by the airline industry and an outcry from business travelers, the TSA quickly modified its stance. Now, the TSA says that the airline are allowed to have special LINES that lead up to security screening areas. But the airlines can no longer reserve screening machines and magnetometers ("lanes") for the exclusive use of a select group of customers. Bottom line for frequent flyers: Don't fret: you'll still get to the head of the line faster than "everyone else." Delta now offers elite security screening lines at Hartsfield, as well as New York (La Guardia, Kennedy and Newark), Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas and Salt Lake City.

TSA WEBSITE & EMAIL. Thanks for your many e-mails about the above issue. Several of you asked for a way to contact the TSA. If you still feel like venting, take a look at its web site: www.tsa.gov (currently under construction) or e-mail: mailto:9-AWA-TELLFAA@faa.gov

DISCONNECTED: Get ready for one more cut: inflight phones. Following a recent move by Southwest Airlines, American Airlines (the nation’s largest carrier) said last week that it will soon remove inflight phones from all its domestic planes. The carrier reports that use of the phones has fallen and that on average, only about three calls per day were being made from each of its planes. Delta, which has the Verizon Airfone seatback units installed on its aircraft, said that it has no current plans for removal. It’s rare to see anyone using the phones—- and this is mostly due to cost. Here’s a breakdown: $3.99 connection fee plus $3.99 per minute talk time plus tax . . . that means a five 5-minute call would run a steep $25 plus.

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<<AIRPORT NEWS>>

ATL LINES SHORTER? According to a press release issued by the Hartsfield authorities on Feb. 28, departing passengers currently wait an average of eight to eleven minutes to be processed through the security screening area compared to an average of 20 minutes in the months preceding February. Aviation General Manager Ben DeCosta said, "Departing passengers are experiencing the shortest wait times that we have seen in the past four months. We attribute the improvement to several factors including minor adjustments in the processing of passengers through the magnetometers. Another contributing factor is adequate staffing of the checkpoint lanes during peak travel periods." Have you noticed a marked improvement in airport security wait times? Anecdotal evidence points to much longer lines in the early morning than at other times of day. Let us know about your recent experiences: mailto:ticketatl@travelskills.com

PARKING. The daily decks in the North and South terminal regularly sell out as the airport has had to cordon off several hundred spaces nearest the airport terminal due to security concerns. Always call ahead to determine parking availability: 404-530-6725. Press 2 to go straight to the availability hotline.

FREE PARKING? Book online with Expedia or Orbitz, and you’ll get a coupon good for two free days of airport parking. Book with Travelocity, and you’ll get a 20% off coupon for use at The Parking Spot.

DETROIT DEUSY. Anyone who has ever flown into the aging and decrepit Detroit/Wayne County "Metro" Airport will be pleased to know that a new two million square foot, modern, airy and convenient terminal opened in late February. The $1.2 billion, three-concourse complex is located on the existing airport grounds, approximately one mile from the old terminal, and houses the operations of Northwest, Continental, KLM, Lufthansa and British Airways. (Bad news: If you are flying into Detroit on another carrier, you’ll have to suffer through using the old terminal for the next 1-2 years.) For a peek, see: http://www.newdetroitterminal.com/ Bonus: If you fly Northwest to from or through Detroit, which it now calls its "WorldGateway," you’ll earn 2002 bonus WorldPerks miles now through March 31.

If you are cutting and pasting COPYRIGHTED information from THE TICKET into your internal publications, we ask that you do the right thing and credit your source with the following line:

<<Source: THE TICKET Newsletter, free subscriptions available at http://www.travelskills.com/signup.htm >>

KEEP READING >>>>>>>>

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<<HOTEL NEWS>>

TOP PRIORITY. Speaking of frequency programs, Priority Club, the loyalty program of Six Continents, which owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Inter-Continental, is announcing a re-vamp of its 12 million-member program. Tweaks to the program include: easier transfer of points among members; a faster path to elite status, based on dollars spent instead of nights spent; and instant online redemption, which means that when you make a reservation online, you’ll be given a choice of paying with a credit card or with your bank of points. Members will soon hear more on this directly from Priority Club. (http://www.priorityclub.com)

FREE WEEKENDS. Starwood (Sheraton, Westin, W) is offering two free weekend stays to members of its Preferred Guest plan who stay ten nights between March 1 and June 30. The free stays are good at participating Starwood hotels (and even resorts) worldwide from April 1 through August 31. Award stays are not available at St. Regis properties. (http://www.spg.com) You can bet the bank that Marriott Rewards will soon come out with a competitive offering.

Did you miss a recent issue of THE TICKET, or want to refer back to a NEWSBITE? Then check out our new ARCHIVE: http://www.travelskills.com/tktarchive/Directory.htm

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<<FREQUENT FLYER NEWS>>

EASY MILES. Continental, American and US Airways are offering 1000-2000 miles to members who opting for money- and tree-saving e-mail statements, online mileage summaries, and program newsletters. Delta remains mum on the subject of offering any incentive to make the switch. Our advice: Hold out on signing up for Delta’s electronic versions until Delta matches its competitors by offering us an incentive to help them save money!

MCI DEAL: Did anyone else out there in Atlanta take the bait of 10,000 SkyMiles, and switch your local/residential phone service to MCI? We did, and so far have seen little detectible difference—- EXCEPT that MCI does not offer a voice mail option like Bellsouth’s Memory Call. (Had to by an answering machine) If you’ve switched to MCI, let us know what you think: mailto:ticketatl@travelskills.com. (FYI: the deal expired on Dec 31, and was limited to a small area where MCI offers residential service.)

FEDS COME MARCHING IN. Until last month, hundreds of thousands of frequent traveling federal employees were not allowed to collect frequent flyer miles for their business trips. That’s right, government employees have been forbidden to collect or use airline miles or hotel points for personal travel due to rules disallowing accepting gifts or promotional items. But a small bill quietly attached to the National Defense Authorization Act that the president signed last month now allows the employees to collect the miles used on official trips keep them for personal use. While that is great news for federal employees, it’s not such great news for everyone else. The GSA reports that there are more than 93,000 federal employees traveling on official business EVERY DAY. The addition of that many new members to the rolls of the programs will mean more competition for a shrinking number of free seats and hotel rooms.

FEWER MILES: Through March 20, Delta is offering reduced mileage awards to SkyMiles members traveling within the continental United States and Alaska. "SkySaver" awards are now available at a reduced rate of 20,000 miles for coach class or 35,000 miles for first class. Normally SkyMiles members must have 25,000 miles to redeem for a coach class or 40,000 miles for a first class domestic SkySaver award. You can now book award travel on Delta’s site at http://www.delta.com/awardticket.

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<<WWW NEWS>>

DELTA.COM UP >100%. Delta announced record-breaking January ticket sales and revenue from bookings made at delta.com. Customers purchased more than 545, 000 tickets representing $145 million in revenue, the highest since the airline began offering online purchasing in 1996. Ticket sales in January exceeded the January 2001 figures by more than 100 percent, while revenue from those sales grew by 64 percent.

WIRELESS. AirTran has signed a contract with Airpath Wireless, a full service high-speed broadband wireless Internet service provider. The partnership offers passengers high-speed wireless Internet service at the gate with the purchase of an Airpath Wireless(TM) card for $79.00. Currently, several AirTran Airways' destinations offer the new service including Atlanta, Washington Dulles, Baltimore/Washington, Boston and Philadelphia. (ANYONE OUT THERE USING THIS? Please let us know: mailto:ticketatl@travelskills.com )

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SEEKING HOTEL DEALS? Then check out "Hotel Discounts" in the Hotel Section of THE TICKET PORTAL, which offers some pretty amazing hotel consolidator bargains in most major cities. Check it out at http://www.180096hotel.com/cgi-bin/pickcity?SID=TVK&LKF=TVK

When you book hotels via this link (and others) on the PORTAL, you HELP SUPPORT THE TICKET! Check it out at http://www.travelskills.com/portal.htm .

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INTERNATIONAL

AMAZING ASIA DEAL: If you’ve got a sales junket to Asia (or a sabbatical) and you’re looking to save on your airfare, you’ve got to see this deal to believe it: for $747, you fly Malaysia Airlines LAX/Kuala Lumpur round trip, PLUS, you get an air pass good for one month of travel from KL to any (or all) of 23 cities throughout Asia. Check out the Access Asia Pass at www.malaysiaairlines.com. Best part: The deal is good for travel through next year!

WE MISS SWISS. The collapse of Swissair, and the resulting loss of yet another European carrier at Hartsfield, was a blow to many frequent international travelers from Atlanta. But with a government bailout approved by Swiss voters, a new Swiss flag carrier, Swiss Air Lines (or just "Swiss" as its handlers would like us to call it) is due to begin flying on April 1, replacing the old Swissair. Sadly, Swiss will launch without firm plans to return to the Atlanta market. It will fly to 126 destinations worldwide, including nonstops between Switzerland from Boston, Chicago/O'Hare, New York/Kennedy, Newark, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington/Dulles and Montreal. For more info and a peek at "the look" of the new carrier, check out its web site at http://www.flyswissairlines.com .

<<MAILBAG!>>

FRUITY COMMENTS. Thanks for all your tips and observations about whether or not Delta has eliminated lime wedges and red wine in coach. Your answers were varied, but one thing is certain: Delta has cut back on limes and wine, but not consistently, nor across the board. (For the record, AirTran does not and has never served limes at all.) Here are some of your comments:

>FROM SUSAN KRUG: I was flying coach on Delta flight from San Antonio, TX to Atlanta. The man next to me ordered a gin and tonic but the flight attendant had no limes. She said they "forgot to put them on the plane." When he complained she went and got him a slice from first class explaining it was a crime to drink a G&T without a lime. On the trip to San Antonio in coach a person behind me asked for red wine. She was told Delta no longer served red wine. I was very surprised when she made the comment. "Delta's too cheap." I didn't realize these incidents were connected until I read THE TICKET. By the way, I'm a Gold Medallion and I refuse to order alcohol or pay for a headset when I fly coach. Delta gets enough of my company’s money!

>FROM ANDREW WISEMAN: After paying $1900 for a last minute had to be there business trip from ATL => PHX => DFW => ATL in two days, I was shocked to learn of the fruit wedge cutbacks. No more lime or lemon in the sodas in coach. Pinching from first class was not an option as we were politely told they only had two lemon wedges left.

>FROM CHRIS LUBINSKI: Several flight attendants told me the same thing. Also soon to be gone when supplies run out: the granola and fruit snack in first, as well as almonds. They said pretzels and the snack mix would stay, as well as the little cookies.

STATE CONTROLLED ATL? Last month we asked TICKET readers what you thought about the possibility of the airport being run by a state-appointed or regional board, instead of the City of Atlanta. Your overwhelming response? Get the airport out of City hands as soon as possible! Unfortunately, the state effort to wrest control of the airport failed on the floor of the Capitol. But it’s an issue that is bound to come up again.

BRIGHT IDEA from TICKET reader Laing Heidt: I drove to Birmingham to save the company money. I forgot that when you exit their airport parking, you could use that neato-keeno self-pay thing-a-ma-jig. You just slide your parking ticket in, and then your credit card, and you are on your way in no time. No surly-faced attendants snarling at you as you pay $30.00 for parking. Ben DeCosta needs to put some of these puppies at Hartsfield.

PLEASE JOIN IN and provide us with your questions, observations and comments about your travel experiences! Send your questions and comments to us at mailto:ticketatl@travelskills.com.

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See you again next month, or when news breaks.

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<<THE FINE PRINT>>

THE TICKET - ISSN 1083-9453 (c) Copyright 2002, Travel Skills Group, Inc. Christopher McGinnis, Publisher and Editor; Louise Walker, Assistant Director; Birch LeClerq, Business Mgr., PO Box 52927, Atlanta, GA 30355.

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