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AIRLINE
NEWS
SUN
COMING OUT? Even though it's been monsoon city in ATL, the
clouds seem to be clearing for the
travel industry. An increasing number of experts and industry
watchers are cautiously noting a recent
uptick in bookings by business travelers. Citing
increasing demand, airlines are pulling a few planes out of
the desert, hotels are opening up moth-balled floors and
restaurants, rental car companies are increasing daily rates.
The terror threat level is down to yellow, and SARS seems to
be waning. Hartsfield says more people are using the airport
now than they did this time last year. Consulting firm
Runzheimer Int'l now says that companies will increase their
travel budgets by 6.5% in 2004.
QUESTION:
Will you soon be getting back to business-travel-as-usual, or
have you made permanent changes to your travel habits? Let
us know.
SONG
SLIPS IN. In stark contrast to all the hoopla surrounding
SONG's April launch in NYC, Delta's new "mini-me"
got off to a surprisingly quiet start here in Atlanta. Its lime green planes
began flying twice a day between Atlanta and JFK on June 1,
but as evidence of the quiet start, the press release
announcing the maiden voyage come out two days later—on June
3. Hmm. In
addition to the two daily SONG flights, Delta also offers four
CRJ flights, and four mainline flights per day to JFK. Delta
says it put SONG on JFK routes due to increased customer
demand. Umm-hmm. We all know better. SONG is on the route to
keep JFK-based JetBlue out of the market. QUESTION:
Would you fly SONG into JFK for the novelty of the experience,
or are you going to stick to the more frequented routes into
LGA or EWR? Please let
us know!
ALERT: June
12, 2003, Delta Announces Alliance w/ Northwest and
Continental Airlines (Newsbite)
SHOCK
AND AWE. Next time you're at Hartsfield, check out how JetBlue has "redecorated" the airport MARTA station with
its ad blitz on the floor, ceiling and walls. JetBlue says it
paid MARTA about $100,000
for the ad space, which should remain in place for the next
four months. Un-named sources tell us that a miffed Delta
has demanded equal access to MARTA stations once the
JetBlue campaign is removed.
SPEAKING
OF ADS. Thanks for all your comments about the item in last
month's issue about the new crop of humorous
airline commercials. Here is one more that we have been
cracking up at recently, from Travelocity
in the UK.
TRIPLE
MILES=BASE MILES? Bob Frank writes: "In your story on the
Delta-LA-triple miles promo, you discussed the base miles
question, but you did not answer the real question readers
wanted to know. We all know base miles have disappeared, but are
the triple miles Delta is offering Medallion Qualifying Miles
or bonus miles?"
Delta answers: "The triple miles offer currently
in-market is based on bonus miles only, so for a one-way trip
from ATL to LAX for a customer purchasing a ticket in Q class
of service, the following applies: Total Medallion
Qualification Miles Earned - 1,947 (1,947 X 1). Total Bonus
Miles Earned - 5,841 (1,947 X 3)"
SPEAKING
OF LA. AirTran's twice daily service from ATL to LAX started
on June 2. Check out this picture
of AirTran's new A-320 used for its new flight
to LA and Las Vegas. Have you flown on the AirTran A-320 yet? Let
us know. (Care to win two free business class tickets to
LA? Check out our "Help Us Help You" promo below.)
HOOTERS
A THREAT? Delta seems to be responding to the
threat  of Hooters Air 737 service between ATL and Myrtle
Beach. Previously, Delta only flew cramped RJs to the popular
beach and golf destination. AirTran flies both 717's and RJ's
on the route. Never one to sit back and watch the upstart
competition sap market share, Delta
will add MD-88 service on the route in July. (Are
in-flight Delta "girls" far behind?)
SIGN
OF THE TIMES. On
June 2, AirTran reported a 17% increase in revenue passenger miles (RPMs)
for May compared to May 2002. It recorded a record 964,840
passengers that month, a 12% increase from the year before. On
June 4, Delta's dour news came out: a 9.4% decrease in RPMs, and the total
number of passengers enplaned down 5.6%. If you are wondering
just exactly who is flying AirTran these days, check out its demographics—you
might be surprised.
SICK
AND TIRED of lengthy long RJ flights? Readers responded with
several examples of
tortuously long flights on the little planes, in addition
to our mention of ATL-Montreal flights.
- ATL-Monterrey,
Mex.: 3 hrs
- DFW-PHX:
2:40
- Raleigh-DFW:
3 hrs
- Birmingham-DFW:
2:40
- DEN-Edmonton:
3 hrs.
(Some
good news—we think!> America West and US Airways have
orders in for new RJs that have first class sections.)
SUFFERING
KNEES. We were surprised at the number of responses we
received from TICKET readers mourning
the loss of extra knee-room on American Airlines. (Check
out the MAILBAG at the end of this newsletter for a sampling
of your comments.) NOTE: American flies mostly MD-80s and
Fokker-100's from ATL, which are currently not slated for
knee-room reductions. TIP:
Starting this fall, book away from AA's 757's and A-300's, the
two aircraft slated for knee-room reductions.
HOT
SEATS TO LAX. The New York Times recently reported that AirTran is now flying 312
seats a day each way between LAX and ATL. JetBlue is flying
486 seats a day each way between Long Beach and ATL. And Delta
is offering 2,876 seats each way this June — a 38% increase
over June last year and a 30% increase over June 2001.
VANCOUVER
IS BACK. Delta has brought back ATL-Vancouver, BC flights for
the summer using a 757. Flights end on Sept. 30.
WHY
DID DELTA DO IT? TICKET readers were flummoxed by Delta's dramatic changes to its SkyMiles program last winter, and
wondered why in the world the airline would seemingly be out
to tick off its best customers. An interesting article from
Baseline Magazine (for IT professionals) may
provide some clues. Here's an excerpt
from the lengthy, but very interesting article: Airlines,
including Delta, assumed that the members of their
frequent-flier programs…were their best customers. But …
managers at Delta knew that frequent fliers could pile up
mileage even when flying discount tickets. Delta decided to
find its real best-paying customers instead. The company
pulled its passenger records from the [data] warehouse and
ranked them by criteria such as who was flying first class,
who was paying full fare, and who was flying on long hauls and
overseas. To its surprise, Delta
found that only 18 of its top 100 frequent fliers were on the
list of its top 100 paying customers …Now, Delta
concentrates on serving—and keeping—its highest-margin
customers. (Full
text)
GREEDY
BOSSES? In case you've not heard enough about this by now, on
June 10, the AJC published a scathing
editorial, after Delta admitted that, despite the
controversy, it has recently added execs and $$millions more
to its protected pension plan. "We
have the sight of the captain and his officers donning life
jackets on the bridge, while the crew members in the engine
room are told to keep working harder to keep the troubled ship
afloat," it says. We're curious. QUESTION: What
is your opinion on this matter?
THE
TICKET PORTAL: LINK OF THE MONTH
Check
out the NEW
AND IMPROVED TICKET PORTAL for links to helpful site like:
TravelAxe.
(For online hotel bookings) This is not an actual booking site, but a small program that
you download onto your computer that searches multiple
discount booking sites. The upside is that you get an
exhaustive array of rates, which brings us to its downside:
you are presented with so many options and rates that it's
hard to make up your mind! But it’s a great source for
determining the "going rate" when looking for
internet deals, or making bids on Priceline.com.
Want
to have a look? You'll find the link on THE
PORTAL PAGE. Just look for it under the HOTELS heading in
the third column.
SAFETY
AND SECURITY NEWS
HOMELAND
SECURITY THREAT LEVEL: YELLOW
MONDAY
MONDAY. Despite assurances from the TSA that security wait
times shouldn't be negatively affected by recent headcount reductions, Monday
mornings remain  a serious issue at Hartsfield, with waits
regularly exceeding 50 minutes from 6:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. ATL
General manager Ben DeCosta has asked the TSA to delay the
headcount reductions at ATL until these problems are worked
out, but has so far been refused.
WORST
AIRPORTS FOR SECURITY DELAYS. Recently, the TSA published a
chart listing the ratio
of screeners to passengers, which is a good window into
where you can expect checkpoint delays at peak times. Atlanta
has one of the worst
ratios for a major airport: one screener per 59 passengers
(1:59). Other large airports with potential problems include:
- Chicago
Midway: 1:59
- Washington-Reagan:
1:52
- St.
Louis: 1:66
ADVICE: If possible, don't
make flight reservations departing Hartsfield on Monday
mornings. Instead, fly out on Sunday evening, or wait until
mid-morning on Mondays when peak crowds have dwindled.
Hartsfield officials tell us that the worst times are from
6:45 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. on all weekday mornings, and even on
some Saturday mornings. At that time, all 21 lanes are open
(including mezzanine lanes accessed from the Atrium, and
concourse T entries).
NEW
ONLINE SERVICE. Another good idea, no matter what time you are
flying out: Use Hartsfield's new
Trak-a-Line service on its recently revamped web site at www.atlanta-airport.com.
The service asks you to enter your flight date and time, and
will send alerts and estimated security checkpoint wait times
to your PC, mobile phone, or handheld device before you leave
for the airport.
HELP
US HELP YOU!
HOW
ABOUT TWO FREE BUSINESS CLASS TICKETS TO LOS ANGELES?!
We
rely on our readers to suggest THE TICKET to like-minded
travelers to grow our subscriber base. To all who have
forwarded our newsletter recommending it to others in the
past, please accept our sincere THANKS.
But
this month, we are able to offer you more than just a THANKS.
We can offer you the opportunity to win two
free roundtrip business class tickets to/from Los Angeles on
AirTran if you can help us spread the word.
Here's
how: Go back to the email that we sent alerting you to
this month's issue of THE TICKET. Forward that email (with
your personal recommendation to sign up) to at least THREE
other business travelers you know that could benefit from THE
TICKET.
IMPORTANT:
Be sure to include us in the cc line of your email to
prospective readers! Our contest address is promo@travelskills.com.
That way we know you've helped spread the word, and will be
sure to include you in the drawing. (Since we are an opt-in
only newsletter, please be assured that we WILL NOT
automatically add any of these email addresses to our rolls.
Readers must sign
up.)
At
the end of June, we'll randomly draw one of those emails as
the WINNER of the AirTran tickets to LAX.
GO
FOR IT! YOU COULD EASILY WIN!
Thanks
to 
for sponsoring this promotion!
FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS
DO
THE MATH. TICKET reader Anonymous writes: "Regarding
Delta's triple miles to L.A.
If you assume that 1000 points are worth $16 and that a
trip to L.A. is about 2000 miles each way, the value of a
round trip on Delta is 4000 x 3 or 12,000 miles, which are
worth $192. Paying
$230 for a ticket,
which has $192 of points attached to it, is not a bad deal
(especially if you can write the ticket off for tax purposes,
in which case you may even made a profit, depending upon your
tax bracket.)"
FLY
3, GET ONE FREE. In a bid to get business travelers back,
Delta, United, Northwest and American are all offering one
free, highly restricted, heavily blacked out ticket to
those willing to buy three very expensive, unrestricted,
no-Sat-night tickets over the next three months. Delta's deal requires
registration. (Sadly, this is evidence that
the major airlines STILL think that they can bribe
business travelers into paying old-world, highly
restricted, exorbitant fares and then reward them with highly
restricted "free" tickets.
Please! That is SO NINETIES! We know better now! Get a grip,
majors.)
AIRTRAN
EXPANDS LAX OFFER. Not to be outdone, AirTran is offering double flight credits to those flying between ATL and LAX. And if
you book your ticket at AirTran.com, you earn an extra flight
credit—five credits in all for each roundtrip. (And if you
book your trip using your AMEX card by June 30 when its
partnership ends, you'll get four more extra credits for a
total of nine, which is
only three credits away from a free trip.)
AT&T
or EARTHLINK? If you are shopping for a new ISP, Delta
announced last month that SkyMiles members will now earn 500
miles per month when they sign up for the access using AT&T
Worldnet. However, we
think the better deal might be with Earthlink, which
offers a whopping 10,000
mile signup bonus. Both plans offer dialup service for
$21.95 per month. (Earthlink's deal with Delta ends on 9/30,
and we doubt it will be renewed due to Delta's new love affair
with AT&T, so you might want to act on this one soon.)
DOUBLE MILES FOR EVERYTHING.
Delta SkyMiles cardholders must
register
to earn double miles on all purchases made between May
15 and July 15.
BOSE
HEADPHONES TOO EXPENSIVE? Then check out this less expensive
version of the popular noise-canceling headsets. (You know you
covet or are at least curious about those headsets you've seen
on the plane.) The
Plane Quiet headset costs just $80, versus the Bose
version which runs $300. While we have not yet tested the
headset sent to us by the folks at Outside the Box Group in
Charlotte on a plane, it works like magic in a car with the
windows down, or in the bathroom with the exhaust fan on.
Extraneous sounds are hushed out, and all you hear is the
music. Best of all, it has a plug that works on aircraft
entertainment systems as well as personal CD/DVD
players.
HOTEL NEWS
CHRIS
PIX IN NYC AND LONDON. From
TICKET reader Carol Baum: "Chris, I will soon be
traveling frequently to London
and New York, can you recommend hotels?" Answer:
"London is always full of great surprises. My fave,
although quite expensive, is One
Aldwych. Even if you can't stay there, you should go by
for a cocktail in the lobby which is very popular among chichi
locals. Also, Hazlitts
Hotel is a pretty cool place with lots of personality, and
a good location. The best place for the latest, coolest
happenings and hotels in London is always TimeOut,
so check it out to help make your decision. In New York, I
always like the Affinia
Group of hotels-- very cool lobbies and common areas in
neat parts of town, some with kitchenettes. But a good value.
(The best of that bunch is The
Benjamin, which I've always liked-- right on Lex and 50th
near the Waldorf—a great location.) I also like staying at The
Mansfield, a boutique with good rates (about $140-$160) on
44th Street. If you want a really good deal on a newly
renovated property, check out the new La
Quinta Manhattan going for only $89 per night this summer.
See . Hope that helps! CJM"
MARRIOTT
REWARDS ELITES. Marriott recently revamped its elite status,
making it easier to get
in and more lucrative once you are there. Silver Elite can
be had for only 10 nights per year—down from the previous
15. You'll also get elite bonuses at ALL Marriott brands now,
instead of just the more expensive full-service ones. Plus, it
will offer a certain awards to only elite members, make
redemptions somewhat easier. Details.
Overall, these
changes make the Marriott program on
par with the previously more lucrative Hilton and Starwood
plans.
A
FREE DINNER. Holiday Inn is offering a
coupon for a $12 hotel restaurant credit for summer
travelers. Two adults traveling together can use a coupon
each—for a $24 discount. (In addition, if you're vacationing
with kids, those under 12 eat free. Not a bad deal at all!)
PRIORITY
CLUB is out to keep business travelers coming back this
summer. Get 5,000 bonus points or 1,500 bonus miles after
every third qualifying stay, up to 25,000 bonus points or
7,500 bonus miles. Just
register and stay at any InterContinental, Crowne Plaza,
Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express or Staybridge Suites hotel
worldwide between June 16 and Aug 31, 2003.
DID
YOU KNOW that the Radisson (as in the hotel chain) name comes
from the French Explorer Pierre Radisson, who trapped furs in
much of the western US Canada in the 1600's?
AIRPORT
NEWS
SF
BOUND? Be sure to save yourself the $45 cab fare and jump on
the new BART line that will run from
the San Francisco  International Airport to the city starting
on June 22. Trains leave every 15 minutes from a station
in the new international terminal; the fare is $4.70 for the
trip downtown—with stops at the Civic Center, Powell St.,
Montgomery St. and the Embarcadero Center.
ACCESS
TO AIRPORT CLUBS? From TICKET reader Carl Burnham: "I
have recently received a mailing from Priority Pass, which
claims by joining I
will have access to multiple airline clubs in over 400
locations. Is this true?
Have you heard of this company?" Answer: Yes, it's
a legit outfit, but as a member, you have to pay a per-visit
fee (in addition to your membership fee) to enter many or all
of the clubs. It's
worth it to mostly frequent international travelers. In
the US, membership gets you in Continental and Northwest
clubs. In Atlanta, it offers lounge access only on concourses
D and E, but not on the more heavily traveled Delta A and B
concourses. More
at www.prioritypass.com
AIRTRAN
SHIFT. On or about June 15, AirTran will swap
ticket counters with US Airways, giving the burgeoning
carrier 30 contiguous ticket counter positions at ATL.
SECRET
PASSAGEWAY. Part 2: In last month's TICKET we provided a
"secret" way to get around the traffic snarl that
occurs when traveling north on I-85 from the airport, and
merging on to I-75. Several readers were quick to point out
that there is a SOUTHBOUND
secret passage as well:  Rich Wolf writes: "There's a
secret passageway southbound to the airport as well. Take
the Lakewood Freeway ramp and stay to the left. It merges back
onto I-85 south with its own lane. You miss the bottleneck as
people jockey for lane position when I-75 and I-85
split."
EARLY
CHECK IN AT NWA. Northwest says passengers may run the risk of
losing their seats if they do not have their boarding
passes 45 minutes before their flights leave, up from the
previous 30 minute limit. Northwest says that it expanded the
window for flights departing ATL as well as Denver and Las
Vegas due to security screening delays. ADVICE:
Check in online, or at the ticket counter or kiosk BEFORE
making your way through security.
TASTE OF THE TICKET
Hungry
for a new Buckhead high-note? Consider this: "For an entrée,
I decided to order a special of four scallops roasted on a
rosemary skewer and served over garbanzo beans with a strong
Moroccan curry note. At
less than $10, this plate was definitely a
bargain."
Where
has our intrepid critic been dining lately? Check out her
latest dispatch in TASTE
OF THE TICKET.
INTERNATIONAL
SARS
FREE=ALMOST FREE. Get ready for a tidal
wave of incredibly low "loss leaders" to come
out of Hong Kong and other Asian cities now that travel
advisories are being lifted and suppliers are desperate for
business. This could be the chance of a lifetime to fly to
Hong Kong and stay at a luxury hotel for pennies on the
dollar. We are hearing rumblings from Asia that even the top
hotels could be in on packages that include airfare and five
nights for $500-$700. That's incredible. The deals are in the
works right now, but for updates, check out the new discount
travel site under construction from the Pacific Asia
Travel Association. Also, try www.discoverhongkong.com
Singapore Airlines is offering a super
low $289 round trip fare between SF and Hong Kong, too. QUESTION:
Would you go to Honkers for business or pleasure now that it
has been deemed safe for travel by WHO and CDC? Let
us know!
INTERNATIONAL
ARRIVALS. Adding to the unwieldy process of getting back into
the country at ATL are new delays at those obnoxious TSA
security checkpoints at Concourse E through which you must
pass to get back into the airport. We've heard reports of up
to one hour delays in the late afternoon hours, especially on
Saturdays, when the bulk of international flights arrive. (A
stopgap measure using buses to transport arriving passengers
to the main terminal was nixed by the TSA.)
15,000
MILES BONUS. Fly to Europe
from JFK on Delta this summer, and you'll get a 15,000
mile bonus for business class tickets, 10,000 miles for
unrestricted coach fares, or 5000 miles for more restricted
coach fares. The cheapest fares (S,T, U) are excluded. Registration
required.
EURO
CHANGES COMING. The EU is working on an agreement between
member countries that would allow European airlines to fly to
the US from ANY city in Europe, not just from their home
countries. This means, for example, that British Airways could
offer flights from Atlanta to Madrid, or that Lufthansa could
fly between Atlanta and London. Should be interesting. Stay
tuned. . . .
MISCELLANY
PLUS-SIZED
HAVEN. Under the motto "live large-live free" the
new Freedom
Paradise Resort, located just south of Cancun, Mexico,
says it's the first and only
size-friendly vacation club in the world. To take care of
the special needs of plus-sized guests, the resort offers
hotel buildings just one story tall and amenities like armless
pool chairs and oversized sun beds. It also has five
restaurants serving all-you-can-eat buffets until 1 a.m...
Introductory rates start at $147 per night, all inclusive.
KIDS
GOING OFF TO SCHOOL? Here's a great idea: Collegiate Choice
Walking Tours are simple, non-promotional
videos of the student guided campus tour offered at more
than 350 colleges and universities across the United States,
Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. These videos are
produced by high school guidance counselors, not professional
university PR or marketing types, so you get a true picture of
university life, and little hype. More
info.
Don’t Forget! BOOK ALL YOUR ONLINE TRAVEL VIA
LINKS
FROM THE TICKET!
delta.com | Hotwire
| Orbitz
| Site59
Each time you click on an airline
website link, button or banner ad from this newsletter or
elsewhere on our site, and end up buying a ticket, we earn a
few dollars. (Same web sites, same online booking bonus miles,
just a different way of getting there!) Each time you want to
visit an airline site, do so via a link from this newsletter
or via our portal
page.
delta.com | Hotwire
| Orbitz
| Site59
NOTICE!!: © Copyright 2003, Travel Skills
Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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 >>>>>>>>
MAILBAG!
Feedback from TICKET readers
regarding American Airlines' decision to reduce its
well-like More Room Throughout Coach which offered an
extra 3-4 inches of legroom. 
Phil
Brown
writes: " I feel duped, because I switched to American
last year after upgrades became almost impossible to come by
-- I figure if you're going to have to fly in the back of the
bus anyway you might as well have a little extra legroom.
So I switched *because* of the extra legroom, period.
If American can't make money while offering a decent
product, then they need to focus on improving their business
practices -- not on making the product worse!"
Suzanne Ballew
reports: "I am a travel agent and when I could, I would
sell American on the basis of more leg room.
Of course, I had to charge service fees but the advice
was good and the clients were happy."
Tim Norton
says "In late 2002 I made the choice -- based on some
stupid decisions by Delta to further reduce their customer
service policies for Medallion level fliers -- to switch
loyalties over to American. I must say that I have been
extremely pleased with their service, attentiveness to detail,
on-time departure and early arrival into cities, and the extra
leg room in coach class. I will miss this on American, but
it's not enough for me to go back to Delta."
Todd
Burke,
an American spokesperson responds, "It certainly wouldn't hurt to
remind your faithful readers this return to 'standard seating'
will be on 23% of our fleet, leaving over 75% with the more
room feature."
PLEASE JOIN IN and
provide us with your questions, observations and comments
about your travel experiences or topics in this issue! Send
your questions and comments to us at mailto:ticketatl@travelskills.com.
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