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Corporate Travel Planners
• 1919 N. W. Loop 410=
, Re=
nnert
Travel • 1919 N. W. Loop 410, =
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In This Issue Tips to reduce Travel Stress Continental Airlines Offers Paperless Boarding Passes New Airport Services To Prevent Boredom Avoiding Baggage Fee’s AA New Fee Hikes June Vacation Specials Travel News Briefs WAYS TO =
AVOID
THAT BAGGAGE FEE
=
Hotels
and others are already stepping up with ways to help travelers avoid the =
new
American Airlines baggage fee, which would amount to $30 for one bag on a
round-trip flight. A few that came in today: -
Kimpton Hotels had already decided to add new amenities to it's "For=
got
it? We've Got It" program, which offers free or low-cost items.
Especially helpful: They're including bulky curling irons and straighteni=
ng
irons. Check w=
ww.kimptonhotels.com
for more. -
Affinia Hotels lets you set up an online profile of the amenities and
services you need for every stay, including a diffuser for your hair drye=
r,
chargers for your electronics, even "fun stuff" like a guitar or
yoga mat. Check www.m=
yaffinia.com
for hotel locations, rates, etc. -
Owner's Locker would probably save money in the long run for frequent
travelers to AA TO IMPLEMENT FEE HIKES<=
/a>
=
Here's
a breakdown of the new and increased fees American Airlines is going to be
implementing:
=
The
checked bag fee takes effect for tickets purchased on or after June 15.
Everything else is effective today. =
So ...
if you're an unaccompanied minor on a domestic trip, traveling with two p=
ets
(one in the cabin and one checked), who books a ticket by phone, changes =
the
ticket once and has one oversized bag, you're seeing a total increase of =
$375
round-trip. =
Few of
us, obviously, will be hit by all these fees. But most travelers will lik=
ely
be impacted by at least one or two, particularly leisure passengers. =
JUNE VACATION SPECIALS Apple Vacations offers a=
dded
value and free night stays in Register with the
Embassy or Consulates Registration with the U.S. Embassy o=
r Consulate
(in the country you are visiting) makes your presence and whereabouts kno=
wn,
in case it is necessary for a consular officer to contact you in an
emergency. During a disaster overseas, American consular officers can ass=
ist
in evacuation were that to become necessary, but they cannot assist you if
they do not know where you are. You can register with the nearest U=
.S.
Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s TRAVEL QUICK LINKS =
Bureau Consular Affairs – www.travel.state.gov/inde=
x.html
Health Information – www.mdtravelhealth.com=
FAA – www.faa.gov
Traffic Conditions – www.traffic.com Weather – www.weather.com Currency Conversion – www.oanda.com/convert/class=
ic Time Conversion – www.worldtimeserve.com=
CURRENT=
TRAVEL
WARNINGS Travel
Warnings are issued to describe long-term,
protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable. A Travel
Warning is also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to assist Ameri=
can
citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or
because of a drawdown of its staff. For list of countries please visit:<= o:p> www.travel.state.gov/inde=
x.html CURRENT=
TRAVEL
ALERTS Travel
Alerts are issued to dis=
seminate
information about short-term conditions, generally within a particular
country, that pose imminent risks to the security of Burundi 04/22/2008 CONTACT=
CTP Phone:<= o:p> (210) 3=
66-9565 (800) 5=
23-9036 Fax: (2=
10)
366-5052 http://www.ctptravelservices.c=
om |
TIPS TO REDUCE YOUR TRAV=
EL
STRESS
Here is some advice for "defensive
flying."
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES OFFERS PAPERLESS BOARDING PASSES Now when you check in fo=
r your
flight, you can choose to receive your boarding pass electronically on yo=
ur
mobile phone or PDA. Just display your barcode at the security checkpoint=
and
when boarding your flight, and you're on your way. Tips f=
or
Using a
Continental is the first=
This program also height=
ens
the ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes while improving customer
service and reducing paper use. Check in with your mobile phone or P=
DA
now. AIRPORTS NOW OFFERING SERVICES TO PREVENT BOREDOM As air travelers begin soaring into another s=
ummer travel
season, the country’s airports will be waiting with a growing bount=
y of
services that go well beyond mere takeoffs and landings. Passengers can catch live music at airports i=
n At a time when record flight delays and long =
waits
on the tarmac have become part of Americans’ flying experience, more
and more airports are trying to convert themselves into huge comfort zone=
s to
soothe the nerves of harried passengers—and, at the same time, bols=
ter
their credibility with the flying public. D/FW has taken the lead in an industry wide
campaign to more aggressively assist passengers stranded by bad weather a=
nd
flight delays. After widely publicized delays in which passe=
ngers
were stranded for hours on tarmacs at other airports, Crites convened a
summit of more than 30 groups representing industry, passenger advocates =
and
government in September to begin charting a series of emergency responses=
. Now, with the onset of the peak summer flying
season, D/FW and other airports are stockpiling blankets, cots, pillows a=
nd
sleeping mats to hand out to stranded passengers. Other measures include
keeping at least one concession open around the clock to feed hungry
passengers and deploying volunteer “ambassadors” to aid
travelers. Red Cross units are also working with some airports to provide
relief. Kate Hanni, who became one of the countryR=
17;s
leading passenger advocates after her American Airlines flight was stuck =
on
the tarmac at Austin-Bergstrom for more than nine hours in late 2006, says
she considers Crites a hero for confronting the problem. The “He’s on our side,” Hanni s=
aid of
Crites. But, while some airports “are doing a tremendous job,”
said Hanni, others “are ignoring it altogether.” Among those =
that
have a long way to go, she says, are smaller airports that have limited f=
ood
services for stranded travelers. The emergency measures put in place over the =
past
year parallel a broader effort by airports to greatly diversify their
concessions and offer a home-away-from-home environment to an increasingly
mobile society. “People are spending more time at
airports,” said Debby McElroy, executive vice president at Airports
Council International-North America, the umbrella organization for A growing roster of airports have children=
217;s
play areas, game rooms, Internet connections, business centers, massage
services, nail salons, DVD rentals and trendy restaurants that often refl=
ect
the local culture. Several have fitness centers and health clinics. At le=
ast
four have pet hotels. Art exhibits grace numerous airports. Passengers at Airports are also rushing to meet the needs of
high-tech passengers lugging laptops and cell phones. McElroy said passen=
gers
often complain about a shortage of electrical outlets at airports, often
forcing travelers to sit on a walkway floor huddled around one of the few
wall sockets. Joanne Paternoster, an airport consultant with
Gateway Group One in “More and more airports are providing n=
ew,
innovative levels of service as the cost of doing business today,” =
she
said. “A lot of them are stepping up to the plate.” L=
IST OF
AIRPORT ATTRACTIONS Here’s a small sampling of what you mig=
ht see
on your layovers this summer: Charlotte Douglas’ white rocking chairs=
, the
airport’s signature amenity, were intended as part of a temporary
exhibit in 1997 but were so popular that they became permanent. The chairs
are made from Another popular trademark, an atrium-bar pian=
o open
to anyone who wants to play, is out of service but is expected to make a
comeback this summer, customer service representative Jennifer Long says.=
The
airport has a business center and 70 volunteers to assist passengers. D/FW D/FW has installed several kiosks provided by
commercial sponsors that offer free wired Internet and power. The Samsung
business center, less than 3 years old, has television, Internet access a=
nd
soft leather chairs, all available to the public. Wi-Fi is available
throughout the airport. In addition to a diverse array of concessions=
, the
airport is fortified for emergencies, with hundreds of cots for stranded
passengers and a giant vending machine that sells diapers, toiletries and=
baby
formula. Said passenger advocate Kate Hanni: “If you’re going=
to
get stuck, this is the most pleasant place to get stuck.” The airport is one of the few in the country =
with a
cafe in the meeter-greeter lobby—the Cafe Carreta, which offers Cub=
an
and Latin American cuisine. An additional 25 concessions will open within=
the
next six months in the South and North terminals. Airports are increasingly installing play are=
as for
children. One of the most innovative is at Chicago O’Hare, where an
exhibit called “Kids on the Fly” includes aviation-themed
stations such as an SUV-sized helicopter, a two-story purple cargo plane,=
an
air traffic control tower and a small check-in counter with a luggage sca=
le. Many airports have art displays and historical
exhibits. More than 30 interpretative panels arrayed throughout the airpo=
rt
trace
Major carriers dropped fares by as m=
uch as
$30 roundtrip largely on routes where they compete against Southwest
Airlines. But the up-to-$60 roundtrip airfare =
hike
initiated by United Airlines Thursday, and matched by American, Delta, No=
rthwest,
Continental and US Airways over the weekend, "is still holding
steady," Rick Seaney of farecompare.com reports Monday. AMERICAN ELIMINATES ROUTES, SAYS MORE CUTS COMING Americ=
an
Airlines announced Tuesday the first of its route cancellations and said =
it
will cut more flights at a later date. The carrier attributed the move to
soaring fuel prices and a weaker economy. It plans to cut capacity by up =
to
8% by the fourth quarter. Separately, the company said a contract propose=
d by
its pilot union would boost costs by $3 billion per year. UNITED
AIRLINES, US AIRWAYS CEOS: NO DEAL FOR NOW Gary Kelly, the chief executive of
Southwest Airlines, told shareholders at this morning annual meeting that=
the
airline has no plans to eliminate any cities from its route map."We're continuing to trim our f=
light
schedule of unproductive flights," Kelly said. But, "we have no
plans to close any operations at any of the cities we serve." AVIS
SAYS YOU
RENT, WE DRIVE
Now thanks to Avis, you can rent not=
only
the car, but a driver to go with it. Of course it's going to cost you. The
going rate for a driver provided by San Mateo, Calif.-based WeDriveU is $=
30
an hour for a minimum of three hours. You also must pay a 15 percent serv=
ice
charge. DELTA TO START NEW SOUTH AM=
ERICA
ROUTE Delta Air Lines on Sunday will launch nonstop service
between New York JFK and In a press release,
Delta says: " |
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