Terminal renewal

Boston, Houston get new passenger facilities

After years of dealing with dust, noise and the other inconveniences that accompany construction, two domestic airports have finally unveiled new terminals. Boston Logan recently opened its $400 million, state-of-the-art Terminal A, which houses the operations of Delta Air Lines, the Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection and Song. The new terminal should speed up check-in—it includes 32 self-service kiosks, eight Delta Direct phones and 12 fully covered Skycap curbside check-in locations. And lest you forget your gate number, gate information display screens are positioned at every gate. Earlier this year, Houston unveiled a new International Arrivals Building (IAB) at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The $440 million, three-level IAB is linked to both Terminal D and the new adjacent Terminal E. The number of Customs and Border Protection inspectors was expanded from 32 to 84, allowing the airport to more than double its capacity for welcoming international visitors up to 4,500 an hour from 2,000.

Can you dig it?

Terminal construction at Heathrow unearths relics

When European countries break ground on new airport terminals, archaeologists often can make significant discoveries. That’s just what happened with the construction of London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, where the first phase will open in 2008 and the second in 2011. A 15-month archaeological dig at the 250-acre airport site unearthed about 80,000 historic objects, including evidence of human activity going back to hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age (around 6,000 B.C.), as well as Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Saxon, medieval and later remains. The dig uncovered 18,000 pieces of pottery, 40,000 pieces of worked flint and the only wooden bowl found dating to the Middle Bronze Age (1,500 B.C. to 1,100 B.C.). Objects from the dig are on display at the Museum of London. Meanwhile, the new steel–and-glass Terminal 5 will have aircraft stands capable of handling the new Airbus 380 super jumbo jet. In addition, the Heathrow Express and Piccadilly rail lines will be extended to the new terminal.

Getting satisfaction

Studies rate carriers, Web sites for consumer friendliness

The votes are in. JetBlue ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction among major U.S. air carriers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Airline Satisfaction Index Study. Southwest, Delta, Alaska, AirTran and Continental followed, in that order. Overall, passengers were most satisfied with the ease of making a reservation and least satisfied with lack of roominess/leg room in the aisle/seat area. Meanwhile, a Customer Respect Group (CRG) survey of more than 40 travel Web sites revealed that more than half of online travel sites are slow to respond to customer inquiries, while nearly three in 10 travel Web sites share customers’ personal data with other companies without permission. Rated tops for customer online experiences were the Web sites of US Airways, British Airways and Air Canada, in that order. Frontier Airlines was last. Top-ranked hotel sites, in order, were Marriott, Mandalay Resort Group, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Trump Hotels and Casinos was last. Among Web-based retailers, the top three were Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, with ebookers in last place.

Win some, lose some

Carriers continue to contemplate the correct amenities

Airline passengers have been winning and losing amenities during the course of their travels this year. Continental is now providing first-class passengers on flights from Newark to select cities with complimentary gift bags featuring Prada and Carolina Herrera fragrances, Ghirardelli chocolates, Caudalie lip conditioner and five Bantam books. Discount carrier AirTran said it plans to offer XM Satellite Radio programming on all its flights. Delta eliminated food for sale onboard, but is distributing free snacks to coach passengers on flights longer than 90 minutes within the U.S. and Canada and to some Latin America and Caribbean destinations. (Delta’s Song continues to sell food onboard.) At press time, Continental was the only major U.S. airline still serving free meals to coach passengers on flights longer than two hours. Both American and Delta eliminated pillows in their cabins. Still, amenities rank among the top five areas passengers are least satisfied about, according to the J.D. Power 2005 Airline Satisfaction Index Study.

Feeding the dragon

China’s growing travel market attracts new airlines

China’s powerhouse economy has attracted plenty of interest from U.S. carriers wanting to cash in on an expanding travel market between the two countries. Last July, China and the U.S. agreed to drop most restrictions on each other’s airlines and expand passenger service. As a result, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently granted both American and Continental approval to begin nonstop flights from the U.S. to China, but turned down route applications from Delta, Hawaiian Airlines and low-cost North American Airlines. American will begin flying from Chicago to Shanghai in April 2006. Continental will fly daily, nonstop Newark−Beijing flights on June 15 using 283-seat B777-200ER aircraft. The roughly 13-hour flight will have BusinessFirst service. United already offers nonstop service to Beijing and Shanghai from both Chicago and San Francisco, while Northwest offers flights to Beijing and Shanghai via Tokyo. Air China offers nonstops to Beijing from San Francisco and New York, while Air Canada has nonstops to Beijing and Shanghai from Vancouver.

More rooms at more inns

Hotel chains plot global growth as demand rises

As hotel business continues on an upswing, major chains are again getting aggressive about expansion. Hilton is actively developing its luxury Conrad brand on a global basis, planning for 50 new Conrad Hotels by 2010. A joint venture of Hilton Hotels Corporation and Hilton International, Conrad currently has 17 luxury hotels and resorts in the U.S., England, Ireland, Belgium, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Uruguay. The first newly built Conrad in North America opened in Miami in 2004. New Conrad Hotels are scheduled to open in Tokyo and Phuket in 2005, Las Vegas and Indianapolis in 2006, and Dubai in 2007. Marriott, which opened hotels in China, Belgium and Italy last year, expressed interest in developing properties in Europe, Las Vegas and key markets in Asia. Midmarket Thistle hotels in the U.K. has launched a new luxury global brand called Guoman Hotels. The Cumberland Hotel in central London is the new brand’s flagship property.

From laptop to tabletop

Web sites make restaurant booking a snap

Want to make a restaurant reservation from your computer? You now have several online options available for eateries worldwide. At eat2eat.com, you can book tables at fine dining establishments in the Asia Pacific region, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Kyoto, Phuket, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. The site also offers a restaurant review section and corporate discounts. For dining hotspots all over the U.K., including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, visit TopTable.co.uk, which also posts special dining offers. CusineNet.co.uk offers reservations for restaurants in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. ViaMichelin.com provides the email addresses of many restaurants in Continental Europe. For U.S. restaurant reservations, check out OpenTable.com, which is also adding a U.K. version at OpenTable.co.uk. With more than 170,000 listings, RestaurantRow.com provides a worldwide searchable database of 82 countries and more than 13,000 cities and towns. It charges $4.95 per booking or $7.95 a month, while all other sites mentioned here are free.

In brief

Oneworld now has interline e-ticketing among all eight airline members in its alliance. Passengers need just one e-ticket when traveling throughout the combined network served by American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus, as well as their 17 affiliates…Google has been beta testing a new mapping service at http://maps.google.com. The interactive maps are draggable, meaning there’s no clicking and waiting for graphics to reload each time you want to view adjacent parts of a map. The service offers driving directions and the ability to search for local businesses and free Wi-Fi spots…Hilton teamed up with Bally Total Fitness to give guests dial-up access to more than 5,000 certified personal trainers across the country. For in-room use, Hilton offers workout kits that include yoga mats, elastic exercise bands, resistance tubing, two sets of hand weights and a training guide…Marriott said that by year’s end, beds at about 2,400 hotels worldwide across eight of its brands will have luxurious new mattresses, white sheets and duvets, and more pillows…Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport has started self-service boarding, allowing passengers with an e-ticket to enter a plane without any interaction with boarding crew. The service is being used in the C pier, occupied mainly by Air France-KLM…Honeywell has joined the list of companies looking to provide airlines with the technology enabling mobile phone use in flight…China has overtaken Japan as the largest air travel market in Asia.

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