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| Vol. 5 | Issue 11 | March 13, 2007 |    |
There’s a lot of dissatisfaction with airline loyalty programs, as the
recent Congressionally mandated DOT report showed. But how aware are the executives
that manage those programs? A survey of more than 100 registrants for the third
annual FFP Conference showed that while they are all too aware of consumer resentment,
other issues may be driving the train. Essentially, the programs aren’t
about loyalty any more.
Those surveyed — executives from large, medium and small airlines around the globe — say they try to measure their customers’ satisfaction, but almost one in three only track complaints; the rest attempt to ask their customers about their experiences, at least occasionally. They readily identify reward availability as the biggest problem; 57 percent say that “it’s a major problem and members are very upset.” Only 6 percent say they think their program members are happy.
The biggest frustration among their members, executives say, is a lack of available awards at the lowest “saver” levels. This was named as the primary frustration by 65 percent of respondents. Despite this, more than half said that availability of reward seats was not increased in 2006, and more than 40 percent will not increase availability in 2007. The biggest surprise of the study, according to conference co-organizers IdeaWorks and Airline Information & Global Flight, is that the primary mission of frequent-flyer programs is no longer to create loyalty among passengers; now, it’s the bottom line.
The rise of co-branded credit cards has become a big generator of cash flow for the airlines; more than 40 percent of program execs say that revenue is the primary interest of their management, while keeping customers loyal now only counts for 15 percent. Miles sold to the credit-card banks now account for almost half of all mileage accrual. So while individual frequent flyers are less important to the airlines, management is beginning to see that dissatisfaction with availability could negatively impact the bottom line if credit-card participation begins to drop.
The study also provided an interesting insight into airline revenue management — what IdeaWorks calls “the dark art.” So far, revenue management is conducted at a higher level of airline management than frequent flyer programs. Priority is given to cash-paying customers, so mile-redemption seats are those most likely to go empty. Only a few loyalty programs control their own availability by increasing or decreasing mileage award levels.
The one area where improvement can be expected is international redemption.
The explosion of new alliance memberships and partnerships with international
carriers can help take the pressure off redemption dissatisfaction, as
more program members save their miles for more meaningful and more available
international rewards. Seventy-three percent of the mileage programs represented
at the conference will likely increase their international rewards activity
in 2007. 
The Egyptian Tourism Authority has a spiffy new
Web site with many cool features, from video tours of 16 destinations
in Egypt to an email gadget that will send your messages in hieroglyphics
(with a translation link). The best feature, however, is useful for travelers
anywhere in the Arab world: It’s an interactive Arabic language tutor
that can be reached from the home page or directly at lexicon.egypt.travel.
It allows practice of basic conversational skills, with the option to hear
any phrase shown as it’s spoken aloud; about 100 phrases are included,
from the travel-oriented to small talk, numbers, and days of the week. You
can also set up your own notebook on the site to save any phrases you want
to practice later.
A recent survey conducted by CheapTickets.com showed that more people would
consider adding a day or two onto a planned trip in order to work on a volunteer
project than would consider devoting a vacation week to volunteering. CheapTickets
has now partnered with United Way to establish a Volunteer
Vacations Web site for booking volunteer vacations, initially inside
the United States. The volunteer opportunities, drawn from the United Way database,
allow you to search by location, or to explore volunteer needs at CheapTickets “hot
spots” tied in with special airfare and hotel deals.
Newest hotel in Hamburg is the just-opened
Golden Tulip Hamburg Aviation, with a beautiful setting on the
banks of the Elbe. The 170-room hotel, adjacent to the Finkenwerder Airport
(XFW) and about 20 miles from the Hamburg Airport (HAM), has a crescent shape
that allows most rooms a river view, and a top-floor recreation area with fitness
center, sauna and solarium. There are a variety of accommodations, from standard
to executive rooms, junior suites, and five apartments for longer stays, and
the option of decompressing on a ferry ride from downtown. Introductory rates
start at just over $100.
JAL and five of its subsidiary airlines are joining the OneWorld alliance
on April 1, and to honor the new affiliation, OneWorld is launching a series
of year-long initiatives that should make life easier for travelers to Japan — and
for their wallets. Some will take the form of marketing and advertising, but
you can also expect to see special fares to Japan and mileage bonuses from
that will vary from airline to airline. As of April 1, there will also be the
new Yokoso Visit Japan airpass for 42 destinations throughout Japan, good
for up to five flights within 60 days. Each flight will cost $80; only the
first local sector must be booked before arrival in Japan. April 1 also marks
the addition of several other airlines to OneWorld: Malev, Royal Jordanian,
LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador.
Global Traveler's annual silent auction is up and running
at www.globaltravelerusa.com/auction.
Bidding has been lively on the more than 50 different items up for auction
— from pairs of international
airline tickets to hotel stays, miles and gift certificates. Donors include
Air France, South African Airways, InterContinental Hotels, Shangri-La Bangkok,
Prince Resorts Hawaii, and Hilton Hotels. Items up for
bid include business-class and economy air tickets and hotel stays for Europe,
Asia, Latin America and the Middle East as well as the United States, and some
opening bids are still under $100. This auction benefits The
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. And even if you lose, you could win: All bidders
are automatically entered in the grand-finale drawing for two round-trip business-class
tickets donated by British Airways.
Rene Pujol Restaurant
321 W. 51st St.
New York, NY 10019
tel 212 246 3023
www.renepujol.com
It’s still there. Restaurants that last more than a decade in New York have something special, and reliable, going for them, and the family-owned Rene Pujol Restaurant belongs in that category. Rene Pujol is in the theater district, between 8th and 9th Avenues, but it’s not one of those tourist spots. It’s in an area that gets a lot of native French traffic, from the Novotel nearby and the New York headquarters of a major French publishing company, so it’s subjected to comparison with real French food by those who know the difference, and it bears up well under the scrutiny.
I checked the menu posted on the wrought-iron railing out front and saw that the menu was much as I remembered, with prix fixe as well as a la carte options. A few steps down into the entryway, we were greeted by the proficient maitre d’ and immediately shown to the table I’d reserved.
Our waiter appeared immediately to take our drinks order, and seemed a bit discomfited when I wanted to look at the menu before deciding what wine I wanted; I like reds and my guest likes whites, so we wouldn’t be ordering by the bottle. The wine list is extensive and often quite reasonable, and there’s an interesting selection of wines by the glass, many of which won’t shatter the budget. My Merlot of not-too-recent vintage was excellent.
My guest — okay, my mother, it was her birthday — had her heart set on lamb chops she’d had here before, but it was no longer an individual menu item; now the closest was a rack of lamb for two, so my mind was made up for me. It was an $8.50 premium per person on the prix fixe menu. On the outside menu it was shown as only $5 more, so I stepped into the foyer and quietly pointed that out to the maitre d’. With a classic Gallic shrug, he said that he hadn’t gotten around to fixing the price on the outside menu yet. On my own I would have gotten huffy about it, but what Mom wants, Mom gets, so I bit my tongue. Later the difference was deducted from the bill, but I would have had less of a chip on my shoulder if he’d indicated that I would get the posted price. And I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t said something, I wouldn’t have been given the lower price.
Both the food and the setting are lovely. It’s a comfortable, spacious experience, divided into a bar area and two dining rooms, with cream-colored walls, crisp white tablecloths, and lighting that’s subdued just enough and not too much. The lamb was crustily glazed on the outside, perfectly tender on the inside, and the portion was substantial, accompanied by a nice selection of greens. For dessert we shared the dark chocolate terrine — a slice of dense mousse, artfully drizzled with pistachio sauce. Other than a slight delay in finding our waiter to order a second round of wine, service was impeccable.
The prix fixe dinner at Rene Pujol is $44, including a choice of 12 appetizers (five with premiums), 13 entrees (eight at the base price), 13 desserts and tea or coffee. Fellow diners are a mix of upscale New Yorkers, theatergoers and businesspeople. There’s no nouveau to the French food, either; portions are reasonable and the menu avoids those adventures into novelty items that are all too common in Manhattan.
Score: ••••• Mary
Hunt
On top of its new nonstop service between San Francisco (SFO) and Sydney (SYD)
that started three days a week earlier this month, Qantas is now adding flights
on Mondays and Saturdays, and promoting them with a special
Web fare of $898 round-trip being sold only through March 16, for
travel April 4-June 3. Add-ons from Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW),
Miami (STL) and St. Louis (STL) are also available at sale prices. Add $50
to travel on any of the other three flights each week, from April 7-30 only;
to travel before April 6, add $250.
Just seven miles south of LAX is the Glen
Ivy Day Spa — the South Bay spinoff of the famous Glen Ivy Hot
Springs — that
opened last year. To celebrate its first birthday, the Day Spa is offering
a bevy of bargains on spa treatments. Through March 31, you can get 20 percent
off any treatment or products by asking to “Go Green” (that’s
in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, not an ecological statement). In addition,
if you’re in the right place in the right time you can get a free on-the-spot
application of a sea-kelp deep-hydration mask (yes, it’s green) and/or
a two-for-one guest pass to the spa’s Grotto underground treatment experience
(a $48 value). Employees called Green Gals will be at locations
to be posted online giving out the freebies throughout March.
Avis has a disproportionate amount of its cars currently in Florida, so it’s
offering very low rates from April 9 to June 15 on one-way rentals starting
at Florida airports. Daily unlimited-mileage rates for the special offer (go
to www.avis.com and click “Deals”)
start at $12.95. The catch: Your rental must be dropped off outside Florida. Budget Rent A Car is offering a similar deal.
Check out American Airlines’ last-minute packages and you might win
one free, or at least save $150. The Morning
Grind Unwind sweepstakes is open for entries until March 20, and
will award three prizes of between $1,000 and $2,500 to be used toward any
of American’s last-minute packages during the next year. There’s
also a special discount promotion on last-minute deals; use promo code AASWEEPS07
to get up to $150 off the already discounted packages. To enter the sweepstakes,
you must be a legal U.S. resident; winners will be announced by the end of
April.
This week one quick British Airways fare sale to London (LHR) and beyond ends, and one gets started. Book by March 14 to get in on the economy-class sale, for travel between March 26 and May 27. Sample round-trip fares for Monday-Wednesday travel: New York (JFK)-London $398; Boston (BOS)-Madrid (MAD) $524; San Francisco (SFO)-Paris (CDG) $648; Phoenix (PHX)-Cairo (CAI) $1,194. Add $30 for Thursday-Sunday travel; add $300 to upgrade to premium economy.
The other sale, running for seven weeks until April 26, is on Club World tickets
to London from all of BA’s 19 U.S. gateways, for travel between July
1 and Sept. 2. Round-trip fares in the Summer
Club Sale start at $2,232 from New York to London, topping out
at $3,771 Seattle (SEA)-London. Both sales also include additional discounts
if you book your hotel through the airline.
