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Volume 6, Issue 26, July 2, 2008 |
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With crude oil breaking the $140 barrier this week, the airline industry is probably the hardest hit of all, due to the high degree of price sensitivity among the majority of its customers.
As a result, airlines are removing their least-efficient aircraft from service and paring routes with lower passenger loads. That may be less convenient for travelers, but it’s just good business sense.
Domestic route cutbacks have dominated the airline news for the last several months, but now the international routes are coming into play as well. Here are some of the latest and most noteworthy changes:
United’s new Denver (DEN) – London (LHR) route, launched in March, will be discontinued as of Oct. 25.
Northwest, along with its transatlantic partner KLM, will end flights between Detroit (DTW) and Dusseldorf (DUS), and between Hartford (BDL) and Amsterdam (AMS), as of Oct. 1. The airlines will also put flights between Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) and Paris (CDG) on hiatus as of that date, hoping to resume them on March 28, 2009. The partnership also warned that these may not be the last of the cutbacks on frequency or routes for other of its transatlantic service. 
British Airways today announced an agreement to acquire French airline L’Avion and integrate the company with its new subsidiary OpenSkies which recently launched daily flights between Paris (ORY) and New York (JFK). L’Avion operates two Boeing 757 aircraft between Paris and Newark (EWR). The combined airline will operate up to three daily flights between Paris and the New York area using Boeing 757 aircraft.
“L’Avion has built a fantastic business offering high-value premium service that has inspired tremendous customer loyalty on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Dale Moss, OpenSkies managing director. “Together we share common values and a deep commitment to safety, innovation and customer service.”
On July 1, Hertz opened its new Self-Service Express Kiosks at 50 airport locations in the United States. Emulating the airline model, the kiosks allow travelers to make reservations online and then check in at the airport kiosks (or at Express counters). Anyone using the self-service system who is kept waiting more than 10 minutes is promised a $50 rebate on their rental.
Although airlines have been closing some clubs and lounges as a cost-cutting measure, hubs tend to be exempt. A case in point is Chicago O’Hare (ORD), where United is opening a brand-new Red Carpet Club adjacent to gate B18 in Terminal 1. It will be United’s first new club at O’Hare since 2000. The club is double the size of the one it replaces, and has power outlets accessible to virtually every seat.
The Hilton Beijing on Tuesday opened the cylindrical Executive Tower adjacent to the main hotel. The new wing, geared to business travelers, has 126 executive rooms and suites, including one floor of executive junior suites, an Executive Plus lounge, a ballroom and meeting rooms.
Surpassing American Airlines’ imposition of small fees (starting at $5) on frequent-flyer mile redemption, Delta Air Lines has announced that as of Aug. 15 it will add fuel surcharges to its awards tickets originating in the United States and Canada: $25 for domestic travel and $50 for international. Charges will not be applied to awards tickets issued before Aug. 15. Delta got into hot water back in April when the carrier began applying its new excess baggage fee to passengers who had purchased their tickets before the new fee was announced. Delta is now in the process of rebating the baggage fees charged those travelers. If you bought a ticket on Delta before April 9 for travel after May 4 and were charged the fee, contact the airline for a rebate.
Not all surcharges are getting higher, however. Continental has just announced that it’s widening the window within which passengers can make same-day ticket changes for a discounted fee. Previously, customers holding anything other than a full-fare ticket could only change to another flight departing within three hours of the originally scheduled flight without incurring large change penalties; now the flight can be within 12 hours of the original, for a change fee of $50; that fee is reduced to $25 for OnePass Platinum and Gold elite members.
Air Berlin
New York (JFK) - Dusseldorf (DUS), Business Class
Dusseldorf (DUS) - Berlin (TXL), Economy Class
tel 866 266 5588
www.airberlin.com
When Air Berlin took over the German charter airline LTU last year, it also became Germany’s second largest airline (Lufthansa is first). The long-haul service it inherited from LTU, between New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX) or Miami (MIA) and Dusseldorf (DUS) with onward connections to dozens of other European, Scandinavian, Russian, African, and Middle Eastern cities, has become quite popular for leisure and business travelers.
I flew recently on Air Berlin’s service from JFK’s Terminal 4 to Berlin’s Tegel Airport (TXL), starting with the nonstop segment to Dusseldorf, Air Berlin’s hub airport. The flight uses A330-300 aircraft, configured for 30 business-class seats and about 200 in coach. All the business-class seats on Air Berlin’s U.S. - Germany flights have been upgraded, and the five rows of 2-2-2 seating, with seats that recline to an almost flat position, provide plenty of space to stretch out.
I checked in too late to experience the airline’s business-class lounge at JFK, but I could appreciate the benefits of flying up front even before takeoff, as severe thunderstorms halted all outbound flights as soon as our plane left the gate on time at 5:45 PM. We sat on a taxiway for an hour, until the storms passed; then our plane joined the conga line, with about 50 aircraft ahead of us waiting to take off. We would spend three hours on the ground at JFK, but the Air Berlin crew was great about handing out snacks and water bottles, and starting the entertainment system while we were waiting our turn to lift off. In business class, a 9-inch personal video screen flipped up from the seat divider and offered a fair selection of films and audio choices, and the larger seat certainly helped make the extra three hours of flying time that much easier to take.
In-flight service was efficient, and dinner was served promptly after we reached cruising altitude. The menu included an antipasti appetizer, main course choices of chicken breast with saffron risotto and marsala sauce, beef strips stroganoff with pasta farfalle and broccoli, grilled filet of salmon in mustard lemon sauce, or gnocchi with tomato pecorino filling. Dessert was a cheese plate or strawberry cheese cake. Fresh fruits and cold cut sandwiches were served prior to landing.
We landed in Dusseldorf about 6.5 hours later, and although we Berlin-bound passengers missed our scheduled connection, Air Berlin had already rebooked us for the next flight out two hours later. The connection was quite easy, ground staff was efficient as they restamped our original boarding passes for the new flight, and it only was a short walk through a clean, quiet Dusseldorf Airport terminal to the new departure gate. The B737 Air Berlin all-economy class flight, with drinks and snacks served on the 45-minute trip to Berlin, was an easy jaunt.
Score: ••••• Ron Bernthal
If you’re flying Emirates in first class to Dubai through Aug. 31, the airline will throw in two free nights at a top hotel and a $100 credit per person for food, beverages or spa services. Business-class passengers get accommodations for one night and the same $100 credit per person. Heading for Abu Dhabi? To celebrate the Summer in Abu Dhabi Festival, which runs through Aug. 18, Etihad Airways has donated almost $20,000 worth of tickets to anywhere the airline flies, to be given away at drawings during the festival.
Enter SpaFinder's Spa Experience sweepstakes by Aug. 10 for a chance to win a four-night trip for two to the Evason Phuket Resort & Six Senses Spa in Phuket, Thailand. The single grand prize also includes 12 spa cuisine meals per person; two 60-minute spa treatments per person per day; one private consultation per person; and round-trip transfers to and from the local airport via limo and boat. Airfare is not included; one entry per household is allowed.
LAN Airlines has introduced a business-class version of its popular South America Airpass. The new pass, which is priced according to the number of legs chosen, allows travel at a discounted rate on services offered by LAN, LAN Argentina, LAN Peru and LAN Ecuador.
The Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok has a new package for travelers passing through Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) with a long layover. The Touchdown at the Met package includes round-trip transfers between airport and hotel, use of a room for up to eight hours, access to the hotel’s gym, pool and steam room, a one-hour massage, and a three-course meal, for $200 single, $150 per person double.
There’s one week to take advantage of Air France’s late summer/fall fare sale. Bargain fares for travel between Sept. 1 and Oct. 29 are on sale through July 8. Sample round-trip fares are: Philadelphia (PHL) – Madrid (MAD) $552; New York (JFK) – Paris (CDG) $682; Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR) $840. Add $60 for weekend travel; stay over a Saturday night to qualify.
Fly American Airlines to Paris until Sept. 1 and you can earn triple bonus AAdvantage miles. Flights must be booked by Aug. 25; preregister and use promotion code CDG3X to accrue bonuses, which are triple miles for business-class tickets and double miles for full-fare economy tickets.
If you do pass through Paris this summer, don’t be surprised to see folks “dancing in the aisles.” Aeroports de Paris-owned shops at both Orly (ORY) and Charles de Gaulle (CDG) will be giving free dance lessons in the boarding lounges. To avoid disturbing other travelers, each dance student will be given a cordless headset.
