The Ticket Newsletter

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FAT LADY SINGING FOR SONG? For the time being, Delta has put any expansion plans for SONG on hold, and has even discontinued its flights from Washington/Dulles airport to Florida. Apparently, Delta's new CEO Gerald Grinstein has never been too hot on the SONG concept, and has ordered a review. Delta recently announced a big expansion at its New York- Kennedy airport hub. But interestingly, the only expansion for SONG, which is based at Kennedy, is the addition of two flights to Ft Myers. Regarding the airline's future, SONG chief John Selvaggio recently told the Wall Street Journal: "It may be larger, it may be smaller. It's not really decided." (Our near term prediction: SONG's two lonely flights between ATL and JFK will soon be cut and possibly replaced by new RJ flights.)

FEWER 777s IN DELTA'S FUTURE. To cut capital expenses, Delta has stopped buying Boeing 777s, which at one time were going to be key in Delta's future expansion.

Delta is selling two 777's scheduled for delivery next year, and is buying other Boeing aircraft in lieu of the 777s it has on order in later years. Delta will continue to operate its current fleet of just eight 777s, and instead, rely mostly on its much larger fleet of 767s (123 total-- see image). That's too bad because the 777 is a much more comfortable plane, especially in BusinessElite, where seats are wider that in the 767s.

NEW LOOK FOR UAL. United Airlines is unveiling a new branding campaign this week, including a new look for its airplanes. Aircraft with the new livery will have a dark blue belly, a bright white top, and large, bold ‘United’ lettering printed on the front sides of the plane. However, it will take a while for the fleet to get the new paint—only 72 aircraft are expected to sport the new look by the end of the year. UNITED AIRLINES

United 777 pa inted with New Livery

SLOWLY BUT SURELY. As America West did a year ago, Alaska Airlines is the second major carrier to completely do away with the onerous Saturday night stay rule, and simplify its fare structure. Now, there are only five or six fares in each market, with first class and full coach fares in the reasonable range. Since America West implemented similar changes (sparking retaliation by other majors), it has enjoyed a miraculous turnaround, and consistently posts profits. Slowly, but surely, the majors who want to survive are going to have to do the same, or die. (Ailing US Airways is apparently mulling a similar move. Stay tuned . . .)

HANGING ON FOR LIFE. United Airlines has asked the US bankruptcy court to extend its March 8 deadline to submit a reorganization plan until June 30—its third request for an extension since it sank into bankruptcy in Dec 2002. Nonetheless, the beleaguered carrier says that it remains on track to emerge from Chapter 11 protection in the first half of this year. We'll see . . .

ON-TIME PERFORMANCE PARADE: The big news for Atlanta-based travelers is that ASA's on-time performance soared from its well-worn rut at the bottom of the pack to fourth from the top in the February Consumer Report from the DOT. For the month, AirTran remains stuck near the bottom—16^th out of 18 carriers listed, and Delta ranked 12^th. For the year 2003, Delta came in at a respectable 6^th, while AirTran ranked 15^th, and ASA came in 16^th.

BAGGAGE BLUES. If you've gotta check bags on Delta Connection carriers ASA or SkyWest, beware. Both carriers mishandle significantly more bags than their competitors. In the most recent DOT report, ASA mishandled nearly 18 bags per 1000 passengers, and SkyWest mishandled 19. That's nearly THREE TIMES the industry average of just six mishandled bags per 1000 passengers.

DID YOU KNOW . . . that flight attendants make a commission on the sale of duty-free items they peddle on board? No wonder they are so eager to push that cart around! Now, get ready for the same thing to happen with on-board food sales. The WSJ says that America West and US Airways already offer flight crews prizes for the most meals sold. And now United's FA's are asking for sales commissions on food.

AMERICA WEST MAKES FIRST AFFORDABLE. If you are taking a loooooong flight out west, consider America West's new way to sit up front for a fraction of what it used to cost. Its new GO FIRST fares from ATL to many West Coast cities run in the $500 to $600 range ROUND TRIP! For example, ATL-PORTLAND-ATL in March is just $615 round trip on America West. To get the deal, you have to accept two condition: non-refundability, and a stop over in PHX. As we go to press, Delta's first class, fully refundable round trip is $2490. For more on the AmWest deal, see Go First Fares. (TRAVEL AGENTS: America West is offering an uncapped 5% commission on its first class fares.)

EASIER UPGRADES ON AMERICA WEST. If you purchased a coach class ticket on AmWest, you can still try to upgrade to first—the carrier's new upgrade plan allows upgrades from any coach fare. Just call ahead-- from 30 hours to 30 minutes prior to departure and you can buy your upgrade for $50 to $200 depending on the length of the flight. Learn more: Go First Upgrades. ADVICE: For flights into LAX or SFO, AirTran's reserved, nonstop business class round trip fares are $604 (Delta matches these on certain flights), and worth it for the 4-5 hour flight. But if you are going BEYOND those cities, the America West offer is hard to pass up.

WORDY FREE*BIES. In addition to all the free worldwide seats Delta and American feel they must give away to keep their New York and Boston customers off JetBlue (See The TICKET, Jan 2004 edition), they are now offering even more free*bies to those willing to cough up the $5000 - $8000 for a business class ticket. Here goes: You'll earn one free* coach class round trip ticket for every paid transatlantic (Europe or India) business class round trip taken between Feb 6 and April 15. (Keep in mind these fares run in the $5000 to $8000 range.) The free* ticket can only be used for trips between Sept 1 and Apr 1, 2005, with many blackout dates thrown in for good measure. Register here, or call 800-558-3358 and enter promotional code 4110. Key statement in the 900-word "terms and conditions" of this offer: "E class inventory is limited and seats may not be available on all flights or in all markets." (Which means its going to be nearly impossible to redeem those free* tickets to any desirable destination. Can you say "suckah?")

MORE WORDY FREE*BIES: Not to be outdone, United is offering a Free* Upgrade to all Mileage Plus members who book at least $1000 in air travel on United between Feb 16 and Mar 31. Sounds simple, but United's "terms and conditions" on this offer are 875 words long! Come on, legacy carriers, don't you get it? Your customers aren't dummies! You tick us off when you dangle stuff like this in front of us, and then water down the offer with hundreds of words. Make it valuable. Make it simple.

HAWAII ON SALE. It's rare to see winter fares to Hawaii drop below the $600 mark. But right now, you can fly nonstop to Honolulu on Delta in coach for just $558 round trip, or just $1326 in first class. To Maui from ATL (one stop) in coach for $638. Continental also offers convenient flights to both Honolulu and Maui via its Houston hub. Buy tickets by Feb 20 for travel through April 30.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH AIRTRAN. ATA Airlines is out to woo business travelers by installing a new business class section on all its Boeing planes—and capping prices at no more than $399 each way for long-haul domestic flights. (ATA still uses other aircraft for its charter business). Unfortunately, ATA does not fly into Atlanta—most of its flights run out of bases at Chicago-Midway and Indianapolis. But if you are out and about a looking for a cheap seat at the front of the plane, it's worth a look. Word is that ATA might be one of the first low fare carriers to offer service to Europe. It already offers long over water flights to Hawaii. Have you flown ATA? Let us know what you think.

IT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE, STUPID. The New York Times reports: "As fare-war melees continue while in-flight service generally declines, a lot of domestic airline customers have become brand disloyal, according to a survey by the Innovation Analysis Group, a San Diego market research company. Nearly a third (31 percent) of travelers said they switched their preferred airline last year. Most (61 percent) cited lower fares. But 24 percent said that poor customer service was the main reason they switched.

INTERLINE: Did you know that if you have an electronic ticket on a Delta flight, but for some reason you must switch to another flight on another carrier (due to a flight cancellation or delay, for example), you can now do so without having to convert your Delta ticket to a paper one on the following carriers: Alaska, American, Continental, Northwest, United and now US Airways. One stop at a Delta counter and your record is electronically transferred to the other airline.

Delta's new ZONE BOARDING process is a hot topic in this months MAILBAG. Scroll down to see what TICKET readers are saying about it.

NICE DELTA BONUS. If you fly Delta and earn from 5,000 to 25,000 MQM's between Feb 19 and May 31, you'll like this. With the new "Great Choices, Great Rewards" promo, you'll get a mileage bonus (based on the number of MQM's you've earned), plus, you can choose one of the following three rewards, which vary based on the number of MQM's you earned:

3) An American Express gift card valued at $10 for every 1000 MQM's earned June 1 – Aug 31

This is a nice deal for those who normally buy more expensive tickets, and can rack up MQM's easily. For those who must buy the least expensive tickets, which only earn .5 MQM's per mile flown, it is going to be tough to qualify in the three month window. Details and registration.

TRIPLE MILES FOR DELTA PURCHASES. From Feb 15 through Mar 15, AMEX/SkyMiles credit card holders earn triple miles (vs. the standard double miles) when using the card to pay for Delta tickets or Delta Vacations that cost $265 or more. To take advantage of the triple SkyMiles promotion, enroll online or call 800-615-0403.

TAX TIME AGAIN. Don't forget that you can score a nice chunk of miles by paying your taxes with your Delta SkyMiles card. From Feb 15 through Apr 15, you'll earn double miles when using your card to pay for 2003 Federal income taxes. (State taxes earn only one mile per dollar paid.) Catch: You'll pay a 2.49% fee to do so, so a $1000 federal tax payment will get you 2000 miles, but would end up costing you an additional $24.90. Tim Winship of www.frequentflier.com writes, "If the earning rate is two miles per $1, as with the Delta promotion, you are in effect buying the miles for 1.25 cents per mile." Not a bad deal. More info: www.officialpayments.com

TEN MILLION AWARDS? Here's an interesting factoid from the WSJ: "Delta said at the end of 2002, it had 10 million awards (each representing 25,000 miles) on its books that it expected to be redeemed. The carrier recorded a liability of $228 million to cover the cost, or about $23 for each award."

KENNEDY UPGRADE. Delta recently announced that it will pull 10 jets out of the desert and invest millions to expand service from New York's JFK Airport, which is now dominated by low-fare darling JetBlue. Delta plans to add at least 10 new mainline flights over the next year and says it will update its now tatty JFK terminal. Delta's new Kennedy routes will include service to Denver and San Juan on April 4; to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 1; and to San Diego on July 1. Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua will begin service to Savannah on June 1, then add Greensboro and Charleston on July 1. Delta is also adding more frequencies between JFK and LAX, San Francisco, Seattle, and Las Vegas.

BIG DIG COMING TO ATL. First it was December, then it was "this winter," and now Hart-Jack officials are saying that the "big dig" should start in May. The airport is installing bomb detection machines underneath the airport's roadways that run along the north and south terminals—where you pick up or drop off passengers. During the construction, which could last into 2005, the current six lane roadway will be reduced to two lanes. Stay tuned.

GREENVILLE, S.C. to NY La Guardia. For those of you in the far northern reaches of metro Atlanta: Delta Connection (Comair) will offer two daily RJ flights between New York LaGuardia and Greenville, S.C., starting April 4. Introductory fares range from $117 to $322 each way.

SPRING BREAK PARKING. With Spring Break expected to produce big travel crowds this year (from mid-March through Easter Weekend, April 10-11), expect Hart-Jack parking lots to fill up fast. ALWAYS call on your way to the airport to determine if you need to park in off-site lots. 404-530-6725, then press 2 for an automated update. Also, the airport has recently installed new informational electronic billboards to display parking availability. Messages should include info on which lots are available, and which ones are sold out.

MASTERS RUSH. Got plans to travel to/from ATL during the Masters Golf Tournament, which takes place in Augusta April 5-11? The airport will be super busy at this time, so make your reservations NOW. Flights and rental cars are filling up fast around those dates, which is also Spring Break in many parts of the country.

PHOTOS AND FINGERS. While visitors from many other countries are howling over new Homeland Security rules requiring them to submit to photos and fingerprinting at airport immigration, there is a positive side to the story. In the first three weeks of the US VISIT program, at least 30 n'er-do-wells were nabbed, including drug traffickers, fugitives, and those traveling on false documents, according to Homeland Security officials. (No word on whether any al Qaeda operatives have been found, though.)

SPARTAN AIR. Keep an eye on what Ryanair, the Southwest Airlines of Europe, is up to—and pray that it stays on its side of the Atlantic: In order to get its costs down, the carrier says that it will remove reclining seats and window shades (hard to fix), and head rests and seatback pockets (hard to clean). It is currently being sued over its policy of charging $34 for the use of a wheelchair for passengers who do not bring their own. Just how cheap are Ryanair tickets? Currently, it's offering round trips from London-Stanstead to Milan, Frankfurt or Brussels starting at $2.60 each way. Don't believe us? Check it out for yourself: www.ryanair.com.

BRITISH AIR PERKS UP. Earlier this month, British Airways reported its biggest quarterly profit in 12 years—about $233 million for the three months ended Dec 31. What's interesting is that it recorded the profits despite the spate of flight

cancellations due to security concerns around Christmas. On the local front, BA is now offering new business class flat beds in the Club Class sections of its daily B-777 flights between ATL and London. Currently, it's the ONLY carrier in Atlanta offering business class beds. And it will soon be the ONLY carrier offering 777 flights to London when Delta switches to only B-767 flights to London later this spring. Also, BA is installing free Wi-Fi in all its airport lounges over the coming year.

MIAMI SLICE. Beleaguered United Airlines is cutting out its Latin America service from Miami, dumping to both Buenos Aires and Sao Paolo. However, citing increasing demand, Delta plans to re-introduce ATL-Buenos Aires B-767 non-stops—but not until Dec 1.

LONGEST FLIGHT. The much anticipated new non-stop Singapore Airlines flight of 18.5 hours between Los Angeles and Singapore took off this month. The flight covers over 8000 nautical miles using an new Airbus A345 with only 181 seats (64 business, 117 "executive economy" coach) compared to the standard 300 or so. The big jet also has areas where passengers can stand up, stretch and socialize, or have a drink and a snack. Later this year, Singapore will fly nonstop from New York to Singapore on a polar route that will take about 18 hours, too.

AEROFLOT IN SKYTEAM. At one time, we would have chuckled at the mere suggestion of the inclusion of Russia's Aeroflot in the SkyTeam fold. But in recent years, the carrier has been making a turnaround, and it's slowly reaching western standards of service using new B-767's and 777's (however, internal flights on Ilyushin and Tupolev planes could be a little dodgy). Nonetheless, the SkyTeam steering committee recently confirmed their decision to add Aeroflot to the SkyTeam alliance, pending Russian government approval. Currently, Aeroflot flies between Moscow and New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. www.aeroflot.com

In April, taxi fares in New York City will increase a whopping 26 percent. Base fares will go from 2.00 to $2.50 ($3.50 during peak hours from 5-8pm), and mileage for each 1/5 mile increases from .30 to .40. Flat rates for trips to/from JFK will increase from $35 to $45. LGA trips will still be metered rides.

BUGGY TRAVEL. Anyone who's traveled lately has heard the coughing, sneezing and wheezing of fellow passengers suffering from the flu or a cold. But there's another bug to watch out for -- the bedbug. Yes, bedbugs are making a comeback in hotels, according to experts. No, these are not lice, fleas or scabies. These are those old bugs from medieval times that likely spawned the phrase "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." For the whole story, see TICKET editor Chris McGinnis's CNN.com column on the subject.

DELTA & HOTELS.com. Starting this month, when you book a Delta trip on the phone, reservationists will ask if you want to be transferred directly to hotels.com for hotel accommodations. Hotels.com is now featured on Delta's ticket jackets and its commercials are appearing on Delta's on-board video presentations.

10,000 MARRIOTT REWARDS POINTS. Just stay seven nights at any Marriott brand hotel from now through May 15, and you'll earn a 10,000 point bonus. To get in on the deal, you must register for the Mega-bonus promo first.

HAMPTON INN MAKEOVER. Since 1984, Hampton Inn has added little things like in-room ironing boards and coffee makers and a free continental breakfast. Now those little things are standard at most roadside hotels and motels. Starting this month, Hampton is embarking on a multi-million dollar brand makeover, and is adding a slew of new touches that you'd not expect at a mid-priced chain, including: new hot items in the free breakfast, like eggs and sausage; new beds that are four inches higher; bigger, brighter bathrooms with granite counters; and a new alarm clock that you can set in just three simple steps. Your TICKET editor recently stayed at the new Hampton Inn in New York (Chelsea) and was amazed at the value—all of the above at a $119 rate!

RED ROOF. If you've been saving up your Red Roof Redicard points, you can now convert them into Delta SkyMiles. But hold on until March 15, when you'll be able to get twice as many SkyMiles (2000 instead of just 1000) for every 5000 Redicard points. Deal good through June 30. Details.

MICROTEL: FREE CALLS AND INTERNET. Microtel Inn & Suites is the first budget brand to offer guests free local and long distance calls, and free wireless high speed Internet access in every room in all 260+ hotels. (Internet access should be available in all rooms by the end of 2004).

AMERICA WEST PACKAGES. If you want to combine a new first class fare with a luxury hotel stay, American West Vacations offers some nice deals—for example, fly round trip ATL-PHX in first class, and stay two nights at the Arizona Biltmore or the new JW Marriott Desert Ridge for about $1000. Interested? See www.americawestvacations.com

BIG SPENDERS. According to a study from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, spending by hotel guests maintains 13,122,888 jobs with a payroll of $358.9 billion nationwide; additional spending by hotel guests creates $1, 014.8 billion in sales; and room taxes average 12.4 percent ($9.51) per night nationwide above the average room rate of about $86.26 (2003).

HOTEL CHECK IN KIOSKS A HIT. From Travel Weekly: "Hilton Hotels said 10% to 12% of guests at the Hilton New York and the Hilton Chicago are using self-service kiosks to check in, only a few weeks after Hilton installed the units. The wireless, touch-screen devices can be used for checkout, as well, and can accommodate groups and convention delegates, Hilton said. By the end of the year the kiosks will be installed in 25 more hotels, all of them city-center properties."

BOOKING ONLINE YET? Travel research firm PhoCusWright Inc reports that about 23 % of U.S. corporate travel bookings are now made online. That means about $18.8 billion worth of air, car rental and hotel industry revenue came from bookings made via on-line sites operated by the suppliers themselves or on sites such as those run by Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and other travel bookers. The firm estimates that online corporate bookings will grow to 38.5 percent of total sales in 2006, when they are expected to reach $36.5 billion, out of an estimated total travel spend of $95 billion.

At this Buckhead favorite, where the son of a loyal TICKET reader is the new chef, the décor is very “après ski,” with a stacked-stone fireplace, log walls and wooden canoes nestled in the rafters of the timbered ceiling. The exhibition kitchen adds an extra dash of excitement to the noisy dining room, and a comfortable enclosed porch with wicker seating makes waiting for a table or enjoying drinks with friends. Can you name this hot new spot? For the answer, read more from our fearless Atlanta taste-tester in her latest dispatch from the food scene. Check out the TASTE OF THE TICKET

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Your thoughtful responses to issues brought up in THE TICKET regarding: Delta's new ZONE BOARDING procedure:

PHL-ATL on Thursday January 22. Total confusion. The line was the entire length of the jetway, and they continued calling new zones. Yes, we departed the gate on time, but no advantage to "Zone" boarding. --Mark Schweinebraten

They are doing it the same as United and others, in that the zones (after the 1st and Medallion) are (4) windows, (5) center, and (6) aisle seats. This ensures that people who have to crawl across the seats get on first, but doesn't necessarily relieve the clutter in the aisles. Since I'm Medallion it doesn't matter that much to me since I get on in the first groups anyway.--Gene Maggard

My flights to and from Philly every week are full of business travelers with medallion status. So when Medallion-level members are invited to board the plane, basically every passenger scrambles to get to the front of the line. The new zone boarding process that I experienced on Thursday evening puts an end to that headache – no more elbowing and jockeying for pole position. I think once they get the kinks worked out people will agree that it’s a good move. --Emily J. LeMaster

Delta's new Zone boarding still needs a lot of work. Last night I boarded a plane in Indianapolis and was categorized as Zone 3. Zone 1 was First Class and I have no problem with that. Zone 2 was all Medallion and FF flyers in the Front of the plane. Zone 3 was all Medallion and frequent flyers in the back of the plane (I was only four rows from the back). Then they had 5 more Zones for a little 737. Ridiculous and it annoyed many of the customers. It makes No sense to board Medallion and FF flyers in the Front of the plane First, only to have flyers in the same category have to climb over or past them to get to the Back. –Frank Crosby

While I haven't flown Delta yet with the new zone boarding, I have flown on United which uses it extensively. When I first encountered it I said to myself, "Self, this is a great idea. Why don't all airlines board this way?" I suspect that this is just a new process going through introduction blues. --Richard Wolf

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