UPDATE, Wednesday, November 18, 2006

UPDATE: Tuesday, November 17, 2006

NOW THIS IS INTERESTING-- SOUTHWEST AIR IN ATL?. Reuters reports that low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines has told Delta and US Airways it would buy any assets they sell if they merged, according to a report on Monday. US Airways made an unwanted $8 billion bid for Delta last week. Delta, which has operated under bankruptcy protection since September 2005, said it aims to emerge from Chapter 11 as a standalone airline. Southwest assumes a deal has a "decent chance of actually happening," according to a report on the Wall Street Journal's Web site. Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said if the bid were to proceed, US Airways and Delta would have to sell some assets to address antitrust concerns, according to the report. Southwest wants to buy any aircraft and airport gates put up for sale, especially on the U.S. East Coast, and it has told Delta and US Airways of its interest, the report said.

UPDATE: Thursday Nov 16, 2006

UPDATE: Wednesday, Nov 15, 2006

UPDATE: Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006

AIRTRAN-FRONTIER LINK. Big News for AirTran A-Plus Rewards Members: AirTran has linked up with Denver-based Frontier Airlines to allow A-Plus Rewards members to earn and redeem points on Frontier flights (Including those to Canada and Mexico!) Read more here.  Does this make you more likely to focus on AirTran as a primary carrier from ATL? Let us know what you think.

UPDATE: Tuesday, October 31 2006

Sorry for the lack of recent postings, but we’ve had a very busy month! Check out the fruits of our labor:

• TICKET editor Chris McGinnis offers holiday travel advice on Good Morning America (video)
• October Expedia Travel Trendwatch—check it out if you are planning to fly during the upcoming Thanksgiving/Winter Holiday period. (PDF)
• FORTUNE Magazine, Special Luxury Travel Section, October 30 2006 issue. (PDF)

Let us know what you think!

UPDATE: Monday, Sept 25, 2006

UPDATE: Friday, Sept 15, 2006

FEWER OPTIONS FOR DELAYED/CANCELED FLYERS AT ATL. The AJC reports that, “Delta has told AirTran  it plans to scuttle its ‘interline’ agreement that enables the two rivals to handle each other's stranded passengers, and AirTran says the move points to an increasingly tense rivalry. Delta says it sends about 30 delayed passengers a day to AirTran under the so-called interline agreement but can handle that number wdelith its own planes or deals with other carriers. AirTran says a slightly smaller number of its passengers wind up on Delta because of flight problems. Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said Delta concluded its interline deal with AirTran isn't cost-effective and plans to end it on Oct. 8. ‘This is not a Delta vs. AirTran ... event,’ she said. But AirTran marketing chief Tad Hutcheson said ending the pact could mean ‘a major pain for the customer.’ He thinks Delta's move is part of a sharpening competition as Delta retools in bankruptcy court and AirTran continues growing.” (Interline agreements allow for streamlined rebooking of stranded passengers at a negotiated rate paid by the carrier whose customer was delayed.)

UPDATE: Wednesday Sept 13 2006

DELTA ANNOUNCES TRANSCON CABIN UPGRADE WITH SATELLITE TV.

Delta's new standard in domestic transcontinental flying is available to all passengers on select Delta flights over four hours (or more than 1,750 miles) including those from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and others. Delta’s new domestic, transcontinental product features a state-of-the-art digital entertainment system, available on-demand, with more than 24 channels of live television, more than 20 first-run and popular classic movies, a broad range of music, and a suite of 10 video games.

Delta is unveiling the product first on its fleet of 48 former Song Boeing 757s on domestic, transcontinental flights primarily from both New York’s JFK and Atlanta in a two-class configuration featuring 26 first-class seats with 38 inches of pitch while coach class offers 158 seats with 33 inches of pitch – both in comfortable all-leather seating. Between September and November, the airline will introduce approximately 18 aircraft per month, each featuring this exclusive new product. By the end of November, all flights from JFK to the West Coast will fly this signature service. Through 2008, Delta will expand the product to include more than 100 Boeing 767-300, 767-400, 757 and 737-800 aircraft. In November, these aircraft will operate approximately 70 daily round-trip flights, with plans to double this frequency over time. On delta.com and in the OAG system, Delta will feature a TV icon to designate which flights will provide the signature service.

Click here for the full Delta release

UPDATE: Tuesday SEPT 12, 2005

Hello TICKET readers! Welcome back from a long, hot summer! We hope you've had a good one out there on the road and in the skies. Business travel season begins in earnest this month, and we've got an issue of THE TICKET packed full of useful tidbits for you. Some highlights include:

• Weaker demand for airline tickets could mean better fall deals

• Delta to announce details of new long-haul fleet upgrades

• Simplifares fading away

• New low-fare carrier makes a big push at ATL

• Delta braggadocio refuted in WSJ

• New York City Hotel rates out of control

• 7 things you need to know about new TSA rules

• Making a liquid explosive in an airplane lav (not likely)

• Business Class to London for $1300 round trip (seriously!)

Quick reminder here: WE NEED YOUR BUSINESS! Don’t Forget! BOOK ALL YOUR ONLINE TRAVEL VIA LINKS FROM THE TICKET!

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AIRLINE NEWS:

WEAKER OUTLOOK. In early September, AirTran, JetBlue, Continental and even Southwest warned that early fall tickets sales were running slightly behind last year's numbers during the same time period. This could be the beginning of a drop in demand due to security hassles, or evidence of a more widespread economic slowdown. Time will tell. Nonetheless, weaker demand usually scares the airlines into deeper discounts, so stay tuned for some nice "shoulder season" deals. Lighter crowds are certainly evident to anyone who has flown since Labor Day-- it's smooth sailing through the nation’s airports these days now that the summer crowds are gone. (Your TICKET editor recently flew round trip to Seattle and New York City and found airport security checkpoints, gates and airplanes crowd-free and actually very pleasant!) How's it going out there for you? Let us know 

DELTA BUFFS UP LONG HAUL AMENITIES. Stay tuned for an announcement from Delta this week on new in-flight amenities for its long-haul domestic fleet. Expect to hear about new leather seat covers and best of all, new seat-back live satellite TV-- in both coach and first class. (Many of Delta's re-furbed long-haul 757’s are actually old single-class Song planes that have been configured with first class sections.)  Tune into THE TICKET later this week for details of the expected announcement. To do so, make this page a favorite and visit often! HOW TO MAKE THIS PAGE A FAVORITE

DELTA COMING BACK TO LIFE? Delta reported a $69 million profit in July, its first month in the black since it declared bankruptcy last year. That compared to a $41 million loss during the same month in 2005. In addition, the carrier recently recalled 65 pilots and 200 flight attendants. (Recent press releases state that Delta is on track to emerge from bankruptcy “in early 2007.”) The outlook is rosier overall, too-- The International Air Transport Association recently cut by nearly half the amount it forecasts the global airline industry will lose in 2006, despite higher fuel prices. (All this good news comes at the end of a robust summer season. Now that we are entering a slower phase, we'll have to wait and see if these early signs of recovery have legs . . .)

ATL'S NEW FIFTH RUNWAY HELPING? Let’s hope so. On-time performance for both Delta and AirTran improved in July-- the second full month ATL's new fifth runway has been operational. Delta ranked 7^th and AirTran ranked 8^th among major carriers in the month of July (both improvements over the previous month). Bad news for ASA fliers, though (but this is nothing new). ASA ranked dead last among all carriers for the month of July, as well as for the previous 12 months. ASA also mishandled more bags than any other airline.

ARE SIMPLIFARES DEAD? Delta made waves two years ago when it introduced “Simplifares,” first in Cincinnati, then system-wide. Delta’s big idea was to make its complex fare structure fairer, more rational and transparent-- and more like that of its low-fare competitors. It capped walk-up fares, eliminated Saturday night stayovers, and cut change fees in half. But in the two years since, Delta has been quietly chipping away at Simplifares. Now Cincinnati ranks as the most expensive city for air travel in the country (walk up fares between CVG and Atlanta are up to a whopping $1429!) Many of Delta’s lowest fares now require Saturday night stayovers. Currently, the last remnant of Simplifares remains the $50 fee for changes to non-refundable tickets—which remains competitive with low-cost carriers, but quite a deal compared to other legacy carriers which still impose an onerous $100 fee on changes.

NEW DELTA FLIGHTS.  Delta will start a single daily Comair regional jet flight between Atlanta and the New Jersey capital, Trenton, starting on Dec 18. Introductory fares are in the $200 round-trip range. On Dec 11, Delta will also add new RJ non-stops between Atlanta and  Jacksonville, NC (home of Camp Lejeune). On Dec. 13 it will add flights between Atlanta and Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe in the French West Indies.

ATLANTA GETTING THE SPIRIT. You may not have heard of Ft Lauderdale-based Spirit Airlines, but you can thank it for helping to lower fares for flights to the Caribbean in recent years. The carrier currently offers a single flight from ATL to its Ft Lauderdale hub, but it will add a new flight from ATL to Las Vegas on Nov 11, to Tampa on Dec 14, and another daily to Orlando starting Jan 11. (The carrier offers low coach AND business class prices. But remember, with just a handful of flights per day at ATL, things could get a little sketchy if there are delays/cancellations. Here’s more about Spirit Air.

DELTA'S SIZE CLAIMS DON'T ADD UP. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal rips apart Delta's recent advertising braggadocio, stating, "Delta Air Lines has been doing a lot of bragging lately, claiming it has become 'America's largest airline' and 'New York's largest airline.' Yet by standard measures in the airline industry, those claims and others don't hold up. It all depends on how you measure size." The article then goes on to refute several Delta claims, like "We are proud to be America's largest airline." WSJ says: Delta is basing this claim on its number of flights and destinations served. But, airlines have always been ranked by revenue passenger miles, not the number of flights or destinations served. Based on RPM's, Delta remains third largest, after American and United. "It would be a bit like ranking retailers by the number of stores rather than sales, or scoring baseball games by the number of hits instead of runs," writes the WSJ. Another claim that Delta makes is that it has more flights to Europe from New York City than any other airline. The WSJ points out that Delta conveniently overlooks the fact that Continental Airlines, which operates out of Newark, New Jersey, (physically closer to Manhattan than Delta's JFK hub) offers twice as many flights to Europe than Delta does. In fact, Continental flies to 139 cities overall from Newark, compared to Delta's 92. The article also debunks Delta's dubious claims about "becoming" the second largest carrier to Latin America, and its puffery that it has more departures from JFK than any other airline. (JetBlue has more flights from JFK than any other carrier-- the article reveals that Delta's claim stems from a belief that it would have more flights than JetBlue this summer, but it did not pan out.) What do YOU think about Delta's claims? LET US KNOW and we will publish select quotes in a future entry.

FULL FLIGHTS MEAN MORE BUMPS. Here’s one side effect of fuller planes: More frequent involuntary bumps. USA Today reports, "Airline passengers in the USA are getting bumped off flights more frequently than at any time in the last six years, the government reported Thursday. Some 16,300 passengers were bumped against their wishes in the April-June quarter, a rate of 1.12 passengers per 10,000. That rate is one-third higher than a year earlier. The airlines' rate of what the Department of Transportation calls involuntary denied boardings was the highest since the same quarter in 2000. In all, the DOT said, airlines bumped about 185,000 passengers during the last quarter, also up from the year-ago quarter. Most volunteered to give up their seats.” NOTE: You are MOST likely to be bumped from ASA flights, according to the article.

AIRPORT NEWS:

MORE SPACE AT ATL. Airport check-in areas are feeling less stuffy as ATL’s new baggage screening system, which sends checked baggage to new bunkers underneath airport roadways for screening, is now operational at the North Terminal. This month a similar underground screening center will begin functioning at the South Terminal, where Delta's check-in gates are located. A third underground center will open next spring for international flights at the airport.

RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION. Now that the new fifth runway is up and running, Atlanta Airport has closed one of its first runways (the north departure runway nearest the Renaissance hotel and Delta HQ) for re-construction. Laid in 1969, the 10,000-foot runway will be pulverized, removed and replaced in the next 60 days at a cost of $90 million (your Passenger Facilities Charges at work!). Anyway, with the decreased runway capacity, the airport is warning of the possibility of congestion and delays.  (Also,  beware of heavy equipment on airport roadways.)

WATCH THE TOWER CRUMBLE. In case you missed this on the evening news, it’s cool to watch the old ATL control tower crumble. http://www.atlanta-airport.com/videos/tower/topple.mov (Note: video can take a while to download)

HOTEL NEWS 

NEW YORK HOTEL RATES OUT OF CONTROL. Ouch! Have you tried to make a mid-week reservation at a NYC hotel this fall? We've never seen higher rates. Based on our research, you can now pretty much gauge hotel price by star rating. This means that the MINIMUM you will pay for a five-star hotel (Ritz, St Regis, Mandarin, etc) is $500 per night. However, you should expect to pay more like $700-$800 during particularly busy weeks. Four stars? (Hyatt, Marriott, Sofitel, etc) A minimum of $400 per night. Three stars? $300 minimum, and so on. The last time we saw hotel rates this high was last December, when you'd expect to see higher rates. We can only imagine what folks will be paying in December this year. Prepare for sticker shock! And book now if you want to find availability during the first 2-3 weeks of December. (Otherwise, you'll be overnighting out by the airport.)

ANY GOOD NY HOTEL FINDS? If you know of a decent hotel at a decent price in the Big Apple, let us know! We'll plug it in the next issue of THE TICKET.

SPEAKING OF NEW YORK HOTELS. Ian Schrager has finally opened the much anticipated Gramercy Park Hotel, which will surely be the the hottest hostelry in town this fall. Rooms start at $550 per night (natch). You should expect a few growing pains, but you are sure to be cool, even if you hang out in the lobby or the roof bar. (Gramercy Park is located south of Midtown near 23rd Street.)

AIRPORT SECURITY ROUND-UP

BROAD STROKES: Here are some up-to-date nuggets of advice for travelers relating to the recent changes in airport security screening:  

1) Despite all the media hype and noise, things have not changed that much out there; travelers are reporting that airport crowds, check-in and security lines are back to normal, which means much slower and more manageable now that the summer peak is past.   

2) Remember: The ban only applies to carry-on bags. You CAN travel with liquids and gels, but you have to pack them in checked luggage. So, in addition to the extra half-hour to forty-five minutes you have to build into your schedule on each end of your journey when checking backs, you’ll have less flexibility out at the gates to change flights if your bags are already checked.   

3) Anecdotally, several TICKET readers have said that they are experiencing longer than usual waits for bags at luggage carousels. (Airlines report that checked luggage volume is up about 20%, but staffing is still sparse.) Tip: Be sure your checked luggage is labeled INSIDE AND OUT with your contact info in case it is mis-directed.

4) Here's a bright side: With fewer carry-ons to slow up the boarding process, airline boarding times have improved. AirTran says it's boarding aircraft four minutes faster, on average, than before the recent changes. 

5) The TSA is already starting to water down its initially stringent ban on all liquids and gels. Now it says that you can carry on non-prescription medicines like contact lens solution, eye drops, cough syrup, if the container holds less than four ounces. Solid lipstick, Chapstick and stick deodorant are now okay to carry on (even “personal lubricants” like KY jelly are okay in an detailed itemized list on the TSA site). Toothpaste, shampoo, shaving cream/lotion and perfume are still verboten. There has not been and currently there is no ban on bringing laptops or other electronics onboard U.S. flights.  

6) Tight rules for flights from the UK to the U.S. have loosened, and authorities there are now allowing one small carry-on per person, and also allowing electronics like laptops or iPods.  

7) For updates see the TSA site www.tsa.gov/travelers and before leaving for the ATL airport, check on security lines here: Airport Trak-A-Line

IMPLAUSIBLE/IMPRACTICAL SCHEME? As the hype settles, details emerge and rational thinking takes over, we are hearing and reading more and more about the implausibility of creating a liquid explosive onboard an aircraft. According to several web sites, it’s a highly technical and tedious process requiring hours of stirring at sub-freezing temperatures to create a liquid explosive made of TATP, or HMTD, the compounds that the terror cell in London was allegedly scheming to use to bring down 10 planes. We are no chemists, but is this really something that could be concocted in an airline lavatory with a tube of toothpaste, some shampoo, or a bottle of water or Gatorade? While it is certainly possible for these compounds to be made elsewhere and brought onto the plane (like Shoe Bomber Richard Reid did), it seems rather implausible that they could be combined into something lethal in an airline lav. What’s going on here? Interested in walking down this road a bit further? Check out this illuminating and disturbing article from The Register, a techie website written by and for scientists.  Let us know what you are thinking.  

LIQUIDS/GELS BAN LOOKING INDEFINITE. Despite valid questions about the chemistry required to make liquid explosives onboard an aircraft, lawmakers from both political parties say the month-old ban on carrying most liquids on airliners should remain until airport screeners and machines can detect explosives such as those that alleged terrorists planned to use to destroy U.S.-bound planes in August, according to an article in USA Today.

YOU LOOK SCARY. Should the TSA single out air travelers “who look middle eastern” for more extensive screening at security check points? According to a recent survey by Quinnipiac University, 60% of Americans thought so and 37% thought not. In a Reuters article on the survey, polling director Maurice Carroll said he was surprised by the public support for race-based profiling by the TSA, asking, "What's the motivation there -- is it bigotry, or is it fear or is it practicality?" What do YOU think? Let us know your thoughts on this touchy subject. 

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INTERNATIONAL

BUSINESS CLASS TO LONDON SALE. ACT BY SEPT 12! If you are headed to the UK this fall/winter, consider flying Delta via New York Kennedy. To celebrate its new non-stops between JFK and Gatwick, Delta has slashed BUSINESS CLASS airfares to only $1300 round trip. Coach class deals are hard to beat at $200 round trip! Buy your ticket by Sept 12 and travel between Nov 15 and March 21. Details here. British Airways has retaliated, by offering an unheard of $1300 ROUND TRIP business class deal to London from Atlanta. BA is also offering round trip fares of around $900 in its premier economy cabin-- a "middle class" between coach and business. These are both outstanding deals. (And premium economy is GREAT-- we have seen it and it's much better than coach.)

DELTA BUSINESS CLASS ON SALE. Delta’s 50-day advance purchase “leisure” fares for big business class seats to Europe are a great deal at about $2800 round trip. Details here.

CHECK YOUR PASSPORT. If your passport is about to expire (or you don't have one) now is the time to get it renewed or issued. The State Department is saying now that all travelers entering the U.S. (including U.S. citizens) from air or sea from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean MUST have passports starting on January 8, 2007. (Currently, citizens can enter from these areas with birth certificates and drivers licenses.) Since this new directive includes U.S. citizens, experts are predicting a rush at passport offices as the deadline looms. It would be smart to go ahead and beat the rush by getting your application in NOW. See travel.state.gov

SO LONG CONNEXION. Last month Boeing announced that it would axe its money-losing Connexion in-flight high-speed wi-fi service. That's too bad. It was an innovative service much loved by business travelers who needed an internet connection in-flight. But it was too expensive for mass appeal (about $30 per flight) and never took off among ailing U.S. carriers. (Only non-US carriers like Lufthansa, SAS and ANA offered the service.) The good news is that the industry is hinting that new technology could have high speed internet back on aircraft in coming years. Stay tuned. This story is not over yet.

IN-FLIGHT CALLING NEXT SUMMER. Euro-discounter Ryanair says that it will offer passengers the ability to make and receive calls in flight using their own cell phones starting next summer at two euros per minute.

MAILBAG

Your thoughtful comments and suggestions based on queries from previous issues of THE TICKET regarding:

NEW CARRY ON RESTRICTIONS. “I'll buy [toiletries] when I get there.  With all this chaos (and hype) I think there will be a lot of lost baggage, and I'm not willing to take that chance.  Unless it is required, I won't check my bag.   One thing is certain, there should be plenty of bin space.  While I certainly understand the seriousness of this situation, it does seem that some of the rules implemented in the last few days are extreme.” --S Gaskins

HOW ARE YOU adjusting to the new ban on liquids and gels in carry-on bags? Let us know how this is affecting your trips.

INDIAN RESERVATIONISTS GOOD FOR DELTA. “I read with interest on readers' suggestions on how to avoid Indian Reservation agents and get the message across to Delta. Looks like these folks are OK with Delta going belly-up burdened with higher costs. Apparently to these folks, avoiding hearing a heavily accented Indian rez agent for a few minutes in their life overrides the benefit of a U.S. Airline becoming healthy and competitive again. After all, we know that the agents, whether in India or in U.S., read off screens and there is no intelligence involved in the activity of reservations. Or perhaps all these folks actually have greater good on their mind - let the U.S. airline industry fail and we may get the far superior airlines operating here,  such as Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific.” --J Neelam

INDIAN RESERVATIONISTS TRAINING ISSUE. “Regarding Delta's outsourced call centers.  Last week I called the 800 number after I could not get award travel reservations to Denver that suited my schedule.  After explaining what I wanted, the agent asked me to spell "Denver."  Then, I was asked if Denver was in the US or Mexico.  After the third question, "is that Denver, Colorado?" I hung up in disgust.  In the future, I will insist on a US agent.” --D Monde

AMERICAN RESERVATIONISTS. “Anyone who complains about Indian reservations people at call centers has not had to deal with the Delta counter reps at National Airport in Washington, who are good ol’ Americans who don’t have a clue, don’t want to have a clue, don’t understand service, and don’t care about the customer.The Indians staffing the call centers are glad to have their jobs and will try hard to improve.  Give them a chance.  We live in a big world.   India has a huge service economy and the most highly educated engineers are taking these call center jobs.  I’m glad to speak with them and don’t have a problem.  Maybe it’s you!” --Nancy in Paris 

DELTA INTERNATIONAL SERVICE KUDOS. “As we are now retired and can no longer afford Business Elite, my wife and I now occupy the "cheap seats" at the rear of the plane. However, since we have just returned from a two week cruise on the Baltic, which we were able to book on Delta's new flights to and from Atlanta/Copenhagen, we felt compelled to report on this wonderful new service. To make the trip even more enjoyable, we were fortunate enough to be able to book seats using our frequent flyer miles. The flight, cabin service and food were wonderful! The stewardesses really look great in their new uniforms and their attitude and cheerful presence are a tremendous improvement over the past few years - it was almost like going back to the late 70's, when flying was FUN. Delta's ground and flying staff just couldn't do enough for us. Way to go, Delta...” --L Oswald

AIRPORT PARKING. “I travel quite frequently and have had much success with Park N Fly Plus and their service. I can go to the pnf.com website before I travel and reserve and pay for my valet parking in advance. This always assures that I will have a spot when I need it on busy travel days and greatly reduces the stress associated with crowded lots. I find the valet service at Park N Fly Plus an added benefit when I am in a hurry to catch my flight and it is also less expensive than on-site airport parking. I think anyone traveling for business should know about this time saving website.” --T Del Greco

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 and look for your postings in the NEXT issue of THE TICKET .

THE TASTE OF THE TICKET 

Hello hello hello?? Is there anybody out there there there? This buzzy new Midtown spot is one of the summer's hottest new finds. "I ordered the fig glazed lamb loin with warm potatoes and chicory ($34), and my friend ordered the balsamic marinated quail with pine nuts and cauliflower ($22).  We also ordered a bottle of 'Old World' French pinot noir off their lengthy wine list fit for occasional wine drinkers and oenophiles alike."  Wanna hear more? Then check out this month’s “Taste of The TICKET” and see what our fearless taste tester says about this hotspot in her latest dispatch from the Hotlanta food scene. See the TASTE OF THE TICKET 

Read Last Month's Issue

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