Essential Travel News for 4/23/07

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AIRLINES

New low-cost airline will offer flying billboards to advertisers

Skybus Airlines, the new low-cost carrier based at Columbus, Ohio, plans to break new ground in the U.S. airline industry by selling ad space on the sides of its planes – and all over their interiors. It’s just the latest example of how airlines are looking to non-traditional sources of revenue, but it’s one that some passengers could find a bit jarring. Skybus – which plans to fly A319s from its Columbus base to “major U.S. markets” starting sometime this spring – said it has already sold the exterior livery of one plane to Nationwide, the insurance giant. A Skybus official said Nationwide is one of several Columbus-based companies that have invested in the start-up. The exterior of the plane will be painted with a large Nationwide logo and the slogan “Nationwide is on your side.”


“Advertising opportunities are available on all Skybus planes as well as on the interior of the plane, allowing advertisers to create a complete brand experience for passengers,” the company spokesman said. “Nationwide will also place branded images inside the plane, including on the plane’s tray tables, overhead bins and restroom doors.” Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderfer said the airline’s goal is providing very low fares, and “one of the ways we are able to do this is by offering both traditional and non-traditional marketing opportunities – like advertising on our planes.”


Skybus (www.skybus.com) has yet to announce where it will fly or when it will start operating (although USA Today reported last week that Portsmouth, N.H. is believed to be on its route map). The company also said last week it has signed a deal with Travel Holdings Inc. to provide other travel products through the airline’s web site. Travel Holdings “will provide hotel, cruise, attractions and transfers for Skybus passengers in every destination the airline flies,” the company said. Diffenderfer noted that because the airline will only sell tickets online, “we need to offer our passengers convenient and easy access to hotels, cruises, attractions and transfers.”

Southwest reportedly will test in-flight WiFi capability

Southwest Airlines, on the hunt for new sources of revenue, reportedly plans to request proposals from WiFi vendors for in-flight systems that will allow passengers to check email and surf the Internet. The trade newspaper Travel Weekly quoted CEO Gary Kelly as saying Southwest will test the systems on a small number of aircraft, starting sometime in the next several months. The Federal Communications Commission recently decided it will continue the existing ban on in-flight cell phone calls, but that does not rule out the possibility of Internet connectivity. As for other new revenue sources, Travel Weekly said Kelly did not rule out the possibility that Southwest might charge for seat assignments or on-board items, but he stated that the airline would not charge passengers for paper tickets, telephone reservations or checked luggage.

Delta set to exit bankruptcy; eyes London Heathrow service

Delta Air Lines, which filed for bankruptcy in September 2005, is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of April. The company said that more than 95 percent of its creditors have voted in favor of the airline’s plan for reorganization (and a similar proportion voted to approve the same for Delta’s Comair regional subsidiary, which is also in Chapter 11, Delta noted). The results will be presented to the bankruptcy court on April 25, and if the judge has no objections, Delta could be out of Chapter 11 within a few days after that, the company said. Once the company exits Chapter 11, owners of existing Delta common stock will be left holding the bag – their shares will be cancelled and Delta will issue new stock, some of which will be doled out to creditors. The airline will also have a new board of directors, and their first job will be to hire a CEO to replace Gerald Grinstein, who will resign once a successor is named.

Meanwhile, London’s Sunday Times is reporting that Delta has “stunned industry experts” by already securing landing and operating rights to London’s Heathrow Airport, with service to begin in April 2008 when the new “open skies” agreement starts between the U.S. and Europe, replacing the existing bilateral agreements between the U.S. and individual national governments. USA Today said it was told by a Delta official that the reported deal for LHR slots is “not yet finalized,” but clearly Delta is eager to get a foot in the door at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport for international connections. Delta currently flies into London Gatwick because the existing U.S.-U.K. agreement only lets American and United operate into Heathrow.

Northwest expands $25 option for same-day flight changes

Northwest Airlines said it will now let customers on non-refundable tickets change their flights any time on the day of departure for a $25 fee. Previously, the airline’s FlyNow option with a $25 fee for same-day flight changes only applied for changes within three hours of their originally scheduled departure; changes outside that window cost the usual $100 change fee for confirmed reservations. The airline does not charge passengers holding refundable tickets a fee for same-day flight changes, and that policy remains the same. The FlyNow option is valid for any domestic flights of Northwest or Northwest Airlink. WorldPerks elite members can still stand by for alternate flights any time on their day of departure and get a seat if one is available, for no charge.

Continental finalizes e-ticketing with all alliance partners

Continental Airlines said last week it now has interline e-ticketing capability with all of its SkyTeam global alliance partners, as well as all other code-share and frequent flyer program partner carriers – a total of 77 airlines. The company said it expects to eliminate all paper tickets system-wide by the end of 2007, in line with the mandate of the International Air Transport Association. Currently, some 98 percent of its customers worldwide travel on e-tickets, Continental said.

Delta to offer passengers “carbon offset” donation option

Do your eyes glaze over when you see terms like “carbon emissions offsets”? You ought to be aware that airlines are becoming a prime target for environmentalists due to the damage caused by burning jet fuel high in the atmosphere. It’s already a big issue in Europe, where governments are looking to new programs of taxing airlines and/or passengers to pay for the cost of the environmental damage caused by air travel. In the U.S., Delta announced last week that it will be the first major U.S. carrier to come up with a voluntary program to help atone for environmental damage. Starting June 1, passengers who buy tickets at www.delta.com will have the option of making a contribution to offset the carbon emissions caused by air travel. Delta suggests an offset of $5.50 per domestic flight and $11 for international flights; the money will be donated to The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit environmental organization, which will use the funds to plant trees in the U.S. and overseas. For its part, Delta said it will commit to planting one tree for each of its 47,000 employees.

FAA/SECURITY

U.S. warns against using Indonesian domestic carriers

The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia is warning travelers to avoid flying on domestic airlines in that country. “Whenever possible, Americans traveling to and from Indonesia should fly directly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international safety standards,” the embassy said. It cited an April 16 downgrade by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in Indonesia’s “safety oversight category,” from Category 1 to Category 2 “due to serious concerns” about the safety oversight and operational systems at Indonesia’s Directorate General; of Civil Aviation. The FAA determined that Indonesia’s aviation oversight agency is not in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s standards for oversight of the nation’s air carriers, the embassy said. For details, check out the FAA’s web site at www.faa/gov/safety/programs_initiatives/oversight/iasa.

Registered Traveler program coming to San Francisco, Little Rock

The “Registered Traveler” program, which allows pre-screened frequent flyers to use a special security line for a $99 annual fee, is coming to two more airports. Little Rock Airport in Arkansas has signed on Verified Identity Pass to provide its “Clear” system. “Enrollment is expected to begin within 30 days, once a contract has been executed,” the vendor said last week. And media reports in San Francisco said that city’s airport plans to seek bids from vendors to begin a Registered Traveler option at SFO, with the expectation that it could be operational by October. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Canada announced that Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport is now equipped with the NEXUS program, with kiosks that speed the customs and immigration process for frequent travelers between the U.S. and Canada. It is already available in Vancouver and Toronto’s airports. The program has 120,000 members already, and “enrollment centers in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Halifax will open in the coming months in anticipation of NEXUS kiosks expanding to those airports,” the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service said.

INTERNATIONAL

New aviation pact with China could open many more routes

U.S. and Chinese officials are continuing negotiations toward a revised aviation agreement, and the trade publication Aviation Daily last week cited U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters as saying that this could mean “a new and much more liberalized aviation deal with the U.S. by the end of May.” According to the report, “Peters is confident that the agreement will include much greater liberalization, ‘with the end goal of free market access.’” The existing agreement between the two countries has permitted only a couple of new routes each year, despite dramatic growth in demand for travel. The U.S. wants a full “open skies” regime within three or four years, Peters said. China has reportedly not ruled out that kind of relationship, but “in general, China’s largest airlines believe they have far less to gain from opening the U.S.-China market than their U.S. counterparts,” the publication said. It noted that the deal will likely include agreement by the U.S. to help China phase in domestic airline deregulation. “Specifically, Chinese officials have been curious about how the U.S. government protects consumers without interfering in pricing, how regional service can be encouraged, and how startup airlines are certified,” the publication said.

AIRPORTS

JFK’s Terminal 4 getting new baggage system

Terminal 4 at New York JFK – one of the nation’s busiest international connecting points – is installing a new baggage tracking system that should significantly cut down on lost and misdirected luggage. The BagManager system -- provided by SITA, a leading airline technology and communications firm -- will be “integrated with our information systems so that the airlines and their ground handlers can load aircraft more efficiently and locate baggage more quickly,” said an airport spokesman. Besides minimizing baggage handling mistakes, the system will also improve security, since it includes a positive passenger bag match feature, insuring that bags and their owners go onto the same aircraft. JFK’s Terminal 4 is used by some 50 airlines and handles 7.7 million passengers a year.

Minneapolis-St. Paul offers real-time parking information

If you fly out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, you can now find out in advance whether parking space is available at your preferred terminal thanks to a new information system called SurePark. The free service provides up-to-the-minute information on parking availability at both the Lindbergh and Humphrey Terminals’ general and short-term parking areas. It can be accessed online at http://www.mspairport.com/msp/parking/realtime.aspx or by calling 1-877-FLY PARK (877-359-7275) to hear a voice message on availability. Travelers can also call that same number from a text-enabled device and press 5 to ask that a text message about parking availability be sent to the caller within a specified number of minutes. “Travelers who park at the Humphrey Terminal ramp but will be boarding their flight at the Lindbergh Terminal should allow an extra 30 minutes to park and take the shuttle to the Lindbergh Terminal,” a spokesman said.

New bookstores coming to O’Hare

The City of Chicago has approved a retail concession contract for a popular Chicago bookseller, Barbara’s Bookstores, to open five new locations at O’Hare Airport. The local company has been operating popular local outlets around the city since 1963, with stores in places like Macy’s, the Sears Tower and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Barbara’s Bookstores and three other partners won a seven-year contract for the O’Hare stores, whose exact locations and opening dates are yet to be announced.

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