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Volume 6, Issue 34, August 27, 2008 |
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Traveling this Labor Day weekend? The Air Transport Association of America predicts that 16 million passengers will travel globally on U.S. airlines this holiday weekend, a decline of 5.7 percent from the 17 million passengers estimated to have traveled on U.S. airlines during the same time last year. The projected decline consists of a 6.5 percent drop in domestic travel and a 1.0 percent increase in international travel. “We expect airplanes to be less full and skies to be less crowded this Labor Day holiday,” said James C. May, ATA president and CEO. “Economic uncertainty and the heavy hit from sky-high energy prices mean that many vacation and business travelers are choosing to stay closer to home — if they go at all.”
Airports may be less crowded than last year, but roads will be busy. According to AAA, nearly 34.38 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Labor Day weekend, a slight decrease from the 34.7 million who traveled last year. Approximately 28.64 million Americans are expected to travel by automobile and 1.8 million plan to travel by train, bus or other mode of transportation.
Though there is a decrease in the amount of people traveling this year, Labor Day weekend still remains one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. For those heading to the airport, the ATA urges passengers to plan ahead and provide plenty of time for check-in and security screening. 
Passengers flying American’s Boeing 767-200 aircraft coast-to-coast on flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Miami (MIA), and San Francisco (SFO) and New York (JFK) can now access the Internet thanks to the launch of mobile broadband service by Aircell’s Gogo. Gogo turns an American Airlines flight into a WiFi hotsport, enabling passengers to surf the web, check e-mail, Instant Message and more. Once the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet, users can turn on their WiFi-enabled devices such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs and link to the Gogo portal page where they can sign up and begin surfing. Gogo will be available to customers on a fee-based service in all cabins. Price is $12.95 on flights more than three hours and includes full Internet access. Cell phone and VOIP services are not available.
Kingfisher Airlines, India’s only 5-star airline, will launch daily international service between Bangalore (BLR) and London Heathrow (LHR), starting on Sept. 3. Kingfisher will operate brand-new Airbus A330-200 with two classes of service. Passengers can expect live TV channels such as BBC World, CNN International and Bloomberg via satellite at every seat; cuisine by London’s famed Chutney Mary’s restaurant; USB connectors; and webchat and email. First-class passengers can enjoy in-seat massagers, merino wool blankets, a bar and bartender and jacket pressing service.
Starting Sept.15, EarlyReturns, Frontier’s mileage program, members will be charged a $25 non-refundable redemption fee per ticket on EarlyReturns award tickets. Award tickets purchased within 14 days of travel will be charged a $75 non-refundable expedite fee per ticket (both fees are waived for EarlyReturns Summit members). In addition, mileage redemption levels will be changing: Domestic round-trip tickets will be increasing from 15,000 to 20,000 miles and all other mileage levels will increase by 5,000 to 10,000 miles.
Skytrax, special research advisors to the travel industry, has announced the 2008 winners of their annual World Airline Awards. A few of the winners include:
Best Business Class - Singapore Airlines
Best Airline in Europe - Lufthansa
Airline of the Year - Singapore Airlines
Best Airline in North America - Continental Airlines
Best Cabin Staff - Asiana Airlines
Research was conducted between August 2007 and June 2008 with a total of 15,442,605 responses by air travelers.
It’s sad, but true: most people dread sitting next to a child on an airplane. According to a recent poll by airfarewatchdog.com, 85 percent of the flying public wants to see children in separate sections of the airplane.
Comments posted by parents with small children on airfarewatchdog.com message boards said they would be in a more understanding and supportive environment were they to sit with other families than next to business travelers and adults without children. Despite the complaints, it doesn’t look like airlines will be adding separate “children only” sections any time soon. If you find yourself seated next to an unruly child, airfarewatchdog.com recommends the following tips to help ease frustration:
- Never travel without noise-cancelling headphones
- Try to sit in the first exit row of planes that offer two exit rows
- Take very early morning flights if available
- Speak up. Talk to the parent of the offending child, politely but firmly.
Taipei (TPE) to Newark (EWR)
tel 800 695 1188
www.evaair.com
I had connected through Taipei (TPE) from Hong Kong (HKG) for my return flight to the U.S. Having worked with EVA Air since their U.S. launch in the mid-90s, I was excited to try out the product. EVA has a bustling business-class lounge, and they cater to their customers with a wide range of entertainment options (they have a game room) and a delectable buffet with items such as Chinese steamed dumplings filled with meat and vegetables, Asian delicacies and finger sandwiches. For children, they have a hotdog machine with warm rolls (I saw a few adults indulging on these, too!).
On the way to the gate, I dropped off my foreign currency at one of the duty-free shops and then was pleased to see that I was flying from the Hello Kitty gate — the entire gate area is decorated with a Hello Kitty theme. EVA is the official airline of Harmonyland, the amusement park for Hello Kitty, and has several planes painted with Hello Kitty images.
Business-class passengers boarded first. The flight attendant showed me my seat and offered me a glass of champagne. Unfortunately, what EVA lacks is a fully flat bed; however, they make up for it with their attentive, friendly flight attendants. I ordered a Scotch on the rocks, which came with about a half-inch of Scotch and one ice cube — I thought I was in the United Kingdom for a minute! Service was orderly and the cuisine was good. The entertainment options are sparse on EVA and could use improvement; a larger selection of movies would have been better as I already viewed many of them on other legs of my trip. The power plug, located below the left armrest, is a real plus and offered me the ability to do some work in flight.
I slept for eight hours of the flight, mostly in the fetal position, as sleeping on my back was not an option due to the seat pitch at 62 inches. However, the B777 lighting and the simulated nighttime (with stars) to dawn does help easing one to sleep.
Once I arrived at Newark, I was through immigrations and customs quickly and on the monorail to my car in minutes.
Score: ••••• Francis X. Gallagher
From Nov.1-May 31, 2009, Air Tahiti Nui and its tour operators, Island Escapes by Goway, Happy Vacations, Sunspots and Tahiti legends, are offering three fun-filled six-day packages for under $2,000 per person. Packages include Family Fun in Tahiti, Tahiti and Moorea, and Tahiti and Bora Bora all with non-stop service from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tahiti’s Faa’a International Airport (PPT). Bookings must be made by Dec. 31.
The newly renovated W Hotel San Diego, which was redesigned by design guru Thom Filicia (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Dress My Nest), is offering a special rate of $289 for a room with a king bed or two double beds, now through Dec. 31. The W San Diego’s On The Town package includes: two, one-hour sessions on the San Diego’s Wave House Flowrider (a surf pool that creates waves), one disposable camera, two bottles of Voss water and W flip-flops.
Through Dec. 31, the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort is offering a Golf Getaway package, starting at $349 per night, which includes overnight accommodations, unlimited golf for one, all golf amenities, a 15-percent pro shop discount, and 15-percent golf lesson discount.
Through Sept. 30, Marriott is offering Marriott Playful Getaway weekend packages in Southern California. When staying the weekend, guests will receive a $25 Chevron Gas Card, $100 Bonus Bucks with a portion of proceeds going to The Angels Foundation, plus a sweepstakes contest for a chance to win a brand-new Toyota Corolla, $500 Chevron Gas Card, a weekend stay for two at the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa and 2009 Angels baseball season tickets for two.
Through Sept. 30, South African Airways is offering round-trip airfare from New York (JFK) or Washington DC (IAD) to Cape Town (CPT), Johannesburg (JNB), Durban (DUR) and Dakar (DKR) from $1,120. Fares do not include taxes and fuel surcharges.
