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Volume 6, Issue 9, March 05, 2008 |
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First United and now US Airways have announced a $25 charge if you want to check more than one bag. United’s fee applies only to domestic flights, plus those to and from Canada and the Caribbean; US Airways is also charging for a second bag on its international flights. Both airlines are waiving the fees for their elite frequent-flyer program members, and for Star Alliance silver- or gold-level program members.
Fees like this until recently were being seen only on some bargain carriers, such as Ryanair, or in unbundled fare programs such as those offered by Air Canada. The reality is that the price of fuel is making it harder for the airlines — or the other passengers — to subsidize those who travel with extra luggage. The new fees are meant to encourage people to travel light, and to put the onus of the extra cost on those bringing along the extra weight, which translates to greater fuel use.
For a year or more now, we’ve been seeing fuel surcharges added and altered by most airlines, but with the price of oil still heading upward, we’re now seeing it reflected in airfares. USA Today commissioned an analysis of fare prices that found the average price being quoted for travel between the United States and Europe in April or May 2008 is up about 7 percent over the same period last year, but that on many routes the increases are much higher — in some cases, as high as 87 percent.
If anything, it makes more sense for fares to rise substantially than it does for them to increase by the relatively small amounts we saw over the last year, given the rising cost of fuel and the accelerating weakness of the dollar. The wild card in the equation is capacity. Airlines have more capacity this year than ever, particularly on transatlantic routes, where the exchange rate is encouraging European tourism to the United States. When capacity increases, fares tend to decrease, a factor that has until now been offsetting much of the fuel costs.
What does all this mean for the frequent traveler? It means you can expect to pay a lot more if you buy your tickets well in advance; but if higher fares depress demand, the combination of lower demand and higher capacity could mean a lot of last-minute discounts. We also think that you’ll see more airlines either charging for excess baggage or unbundling their fares so that those willing to travel only with carry-on will pay less. 
Misery doesn’t seem like something one could compute by crunching numbers, but again this year U.S. News & World Report has given it a try. In calculating its annual Airport Misery Index, it ranks the 47 busiest U.S. airports by combining their statistics of delayed flights and load factors. For 2007, Chicago O’Hare (ORD) again wins the “most miserable” title, with one out of every three flights delayed, and an average 83 percent load factor. O’Hare is joined in the top five by Newark Liberty (EWR), San Francisco International (SFO), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) and Miami (MIA). In comparison, at “least miserable” San Jose International (SJO) only one in every six flights was delayed, and load factors averaged 77.3 percent. What the study doesn’t take into account are the offsetting advantag
es of a busy airport, such as easy access, the availability of connections, frequency of flights, plethora of clubs, and shopping and dining amenities that make O’Hare so popular despite its hassles.
Alitalia, which had scaled back many routes during some financial restructuring, has announced a “new business strategy” that involves the airline’s “return to its traditional mission as a carrier that serves Italy.” At the top of its list is resumption of service to Los Angeles (LAX), which it last served in 2001. As of June 1, Alitalia will begin nonstop service between LAX and Rome (FCO) five days a week, using Boeing 777-200s with two-class (economy and business) configurations. Alitalia is deep in buy-out talks with Air France-KLM to pick up the Italian government’s 49.9 percent stake in the airline; those talks were given a boost last week when an Italian court ruled against a challenge made by Italian carrier Air One, which had hoped to compete in the bidding. If the Air France group can cut a deal for the government share — which probably won’t happen until after Italy’s April elections — it has said it in
tends to make an offer for all other outstanding shares.
Avis Rent A Car has set a speed limit for its Preferred car rentals in Europe and is ready to extend it throughout the United Kingdom after a successful trial at Heathrow (LHR). The “three-minute promise” is that within three minutes of walking in the door (or up to the desk) the Preferred member will have car keys and rental agreement in hand, or else Avis will give you an apology — and a $40 credit. In the Heathrow trial, only one of every 1,083 Preferred members needed an apology; across 18 branches in France, only three in 1,000 have experienced delays.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is opening a new restaurant at London Heathrow (LHR) called Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food — and it looks to be anything but plain. It opens March 27 in the new Terminal 5, seats 180, promises “sweeping views” of the runways, and will be a “fine dining” establishment with menu and management borrowed from Ramsay’s Boxwood Café in Knightsbridge.
They’re in different corners of the world, but newly opened hotels in Manhattan, Mumbai and Morocco are worth checking out, for entertaining if not for lodging. In New York City, The Plaza is back, with 281 guestrooms (going rate: $1,000 a night and up) and 181 sold-out condos. The Palm Court is open again, there is a new Champagne Bar in the lobby; the new lobby Rose Club will open later this month, and the famed Oyster Bar will reopen in time for the grand opening on May 10 (the ribbon-cutting soft opening took place this weekend.)
Mumbai’s latest is the Palms Hotel, self-described as the city’s first “super-luxury business hotel,” with accommodations in 106 luxury villas with many private pools, surrounding a central “Lodge.” To create an elite ambience, the public areas of the hotel aren’t (open to the public, that is); non-guests can only visit the property’s three restaurants or spa at the invitation of a guest. Rates start at about $475 a night. Meanwhile, in Marrakech the Ana Yela is a 300-year-old city palace turned into a deluxe boutique hotel, with just five guestrooms, two of which are suites. It’s an oasis in the heart of the bustling Medina, with a swimming pool in the central courtyard and spectacular views from the rooftop bar and barbecue, complete with a nomad tent, and a small restaurant in the rooftop tower called T
apis Volant, or Flying Carpet. Rates start at about $500 a night, including airport transfers.
Radisson Edwardian New Providence Wharf
5 Fairmont Ave.
London E14 9PQ England
tel 44 20 7987 2050 or 800 333 3333
www.radissonedwardian.co.uk/new-providence-wharf.html
I’d never been to the Docklands, the up-and-coming area east of Central London, before, and as my airport van kept heading away from the familiar I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew I was en route to one of London’s newest hotels. We pulled up in front of a spectacularly modern high-rise with curved walls juxtaposed against some sharper angles, in an area that spoke of high-end offices and high-priced condos. I could see straight through the lobby to the windows that overlooked the Thames, and spotted an old friend — the Millennium Dome. Okay, now it’s called the O2, and is one of the most popular arenas in Europe, but I’d been there in 2000, so I no longer felt like a stranger in a strange land.
I was greeted by a charmingly professional, black-suited bellman/concierge and walked across the airy, open lobby to the check-in desk, where I was efficiently dispatched to my room. The guestroom was spacious and modern, with an angled window overlooking the courtyard. Sheer metallic red curtains parted to give an indirect view of the Thames and the O2 with its video billboards. The furniture was black lacquer, and the king-size platform bed more comfortable than it looked. Tall windows and high ceilings increased the sense of space.
A large wall cabinet turned out to be a valet center—a shallow cupboard with a pants press, ironing board and iron, and a hiding place for the hairdryer. The closet was actually inside the bathroom, designed (with no door) so that steam from the shower could smooth wrinkles. It made me wonder a bit if too many showers would lead to mold, but I wasn’t there long enough to find out — and the ventilation seemed to disperse the steam pretty quickly. The bathroom itself had a “wet room” design, with a glass door separating the shower section from the rest; the shower had a huge rainshower head and plenty of water pressure. The whole bathroom, except for the fixtures, was gray stone, but the thick, fluffy white towels offset the cold modernity.
There was good lighting over the desk, which I appreciated, as I did the easy-access free wireless throughout the hotel. There’s also has a terrific spa, which merits its own review, and a spacious cocktail bar with leather sofas and chairs set up in conversation groups, overlooking the river and leading into the Azura restaurant. I didn’t get to check out the restaurant, but the hot sandwiches and cheese plates I got at the bar and from room service were first-rate.
As night fell, I was wowed some more — first by the light sculptures illuminating the courtyard, and then by the view over the Thames to the O2 and the green-laser line marking the measurement point for GMT. Being able to wander down to a promenade along the Thames was pretty nifty too, although I’ll have to return in spring or summer to really take advantage of the outdoor courtyard dining and strolling.
The hotel is located between Canary Wharf and the ExCel center, but it isn’t close enough to either of them to really be convenient; not much is in walking distance. With the way this part of London is growing, however, it won’t be long before this brand-new hotel (which opened in September) has plenty of active neighbors.
Score: ••••• Mary Hunt
El Al has just posted some Special Spring Fares for travel April 1 through May 31 between its U.S. gateways and Tel Aviv (TLV). The first-come, first-served deals offer both individual discounts and special companion fares, in several classes of service. The round-trip economy sale fare is $1,113 from New York (JFK/EWR); add $350 to depart Miami (MIA), $450 to depart Los Angeles (LAX), or $170 to connect from Chicago (ORD). Companion-fare offers include $1,433 per person from LAX in economy, $3,451 per person in business class from JFK, and $7,105 per person in first class from LAX, based upon two people traveling together.
If you’d like to spend some time in New Zealand and take a break from luxury hotels, here’s a sweepstakes to enter. San Diego State University is sponsoring a contest geared to students but open to all adults, and with only one entry per person allowed, the odds are relatively good. The winner of the STA Travel Sweepstakes gets round-trip airfare to Auckland (AKL) from Los Angeles (LAX) and eight nights’ budget accommodations (with no law saying you couldn’t upgrade yourself at least some of the time), to be used by June 30 (or later, for a surcharge). Enter by March 31.
Starting this month, you can be a Weekend Connoisseur in Hong Kong, courtesy of packages at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. The first package in the series is for the weekend of March 21-24 and includes two nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast, a three-course tasting lunch, a group wine class and wine tasting, an eight-course gourmet dinner, a chocolate tasting, Sunday champagne brunch, and a 60-minute massage in the hotel spa. The price: $1,798 per guestroom.
Nick Faldo’s new golf course has just opened in Cambodia, in the shadows of Angkor Wat, and a new package makes it readily accessible. The 18-hole, 7,230-yard, par-72 course is the heart of the Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap. The nearby Victoria Angkor Resort & Spa is offering a Nick Faldo Golf Package priced at $251 per person for three days and two nights. That includes round-trip airport transfers, guestroom, daily breakfast, and a round of golf including caddy. Non-golfers can substitute a half-day spa package.
Members of Emirates Airline’s Skywards frequent-flyer program can earn lots of bonus miles for flying during the month of March. First class gets you triple miles, while business class miles are doubled. These Skywards Global Premium Class Bonus Miles are available on select routes and flights, including New York (JFK) – Dubai (DXB), Houston (IAH) – Dubai, and service to Toronto (YYZ), Shanghai (PVG), Mumbai (BOM), among others — more than 100 flights, all told. See the complete list online.
