Ready for new airline fees for traveling with an
infant or perhaps bringing a carry-on bag?
George Hobica, founder of the travel website
Airfarewatchdog, predicted airlines will be
tempted to adopt new fees to compensate for
higher fuel costs. After all, the nation's airlines
collected more than $6 billion from such fees in
the first nine months of 2010, according to federal
statistics.
Hobica drafted a list of possible charges, some of
which he said have already been imposed in the
U.S. or Europe. For example:
Infant fee: a charge to hold a baby on your lap
during a flight. Europe's Ryanair charges 20
euros, or roughly $30, each way.
In-person check-in fee: a charge to check in with
an airline employee instead of checking in online
or at a kiosk at the airport.
Credit card fee: a charge for buying tickets with a
credit card. Hobica says foreign airlines already
charge a small fee to passengers who don't pay
for their tickets with cash.
Lock-in fee: a charge to lock your fare for three to
seven days while you consider buying a ticket.
Continental Airlines introduced the option in
December, and several European carriers already
had been charging for such price insurance.
Carry-on bag fee: a charge to bring luggage in the
cabin that doesn't fit under the seat. Florida-based
Spirit Airlines added a charge of up to $45 for
such bags last year.
Although new airline fees in the last few years
have prompted many travelers to choose a
different mode of transportation, Hobica says
most are resigned to paying those costs.
But after publishing his list of possible airline fees
on Airfarewatchdog, he said the most common
response from website visitors was, "Don't give
the airlines any ideas."
BUSINESS TRAVEL GROUP OPTIMISTIC
To gauge the strength of the economy, some
experts look at consumer spending, retail sales
and unemployment numbers.
Not surprisingly, the trade group for the nation's
corporate travel managers focuses on business
travel spending.
Based on that criterion, the National Business
Travel Assn. says the economy is looking strong.
The group says business travel spending grew
2.3 percent last year, compared with a 14 percent
drop in 2009. The group's research arm predicts
that business travel spending will rise 5 percent
this year.
When business executives feel optimistic about
the economy, they spend more on travel, group
officials say. As a result of such spending, they
say, the economy thrives.
"Our research is ringing in the new year with
reason for cautious optimism," said Michael
McCormick, the group's executive director.
In another sign that companies may be willing to
spend more on business travel, a new survey of
business travel managers found that the top
criterion when choosing a hotel was proximity to
a meeting location.
In previous surveys by other travel companies,
the top criteria were low prices, loyalty program
points and wireless Internet access. In the latest
survey by Travel Leaders, a travel agents
network based in Minneapolis, price ranked ninth.
"It's interesting to see that location is coming out
so far ahead of price," said Kath Gerhardt, a
spokeswoman for the network. "It definitely
shows you that other things are more important
to making business travel easier than price."
AIRLINES MUST SAY IF THEY'LL USE PARTNERS
Anyone who has flown for business or leisure in
the United States in the last few years probably
has experienced what the airline industry calls
code sharing.
It happens when an airline sells you a ticket but
books a portion of your journey on a small
regional operator or another large airline, often
without telling passengers. Carriers have
increasingly relied on code sharing to branch out
to new markets without investing in extra planes
and staff.
But the U.S. Department of Transportation now
wants airlines to identify the actual carriers for an
entire route before tickets are purchased.
The DOT announced recently that airlines and
travel websites have 60 days to modify their
websites to clearly identify the airlines that will
serve the passengers under code sharing
agreements.
"When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have
the right to know which airline will be operating
their flight," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
said in a statement.
The DOT order clarifies provisions of a law
adopted last summer after a regional jet crashed
in 2009 near Buffalo, killing all 49 aboard and one
person on the ground. The turboprop plane was
operated by Colgan Air, a regional carrier working
with Continental Airlines Inc. Investigators largely
blamed crew error for the crash.
Although airline officials insist that pilot training
and working conditions are the same for large
airlines and regional carriers, backers of the law
say passengers should know before buying a
ticket on which airline they would be flying.
In December, the DOT fined JetBlue Airways
Corp. $600,000 for violating disability access
rules and failing to disclose a code-sharing
agreement with a regional carrier, Cape Air. DOT
investigators discovered the violation by calling
JetBlue reservation agents and posing as potential
passengers.
FEW AIRPORTS OPT TO REPLACE TSA
Since the Transportation Security Administration
added new security measures last year -
including more full-body scanners and enhanced
pat-down searches - privacy advocates have
called on U.S. airport managers to take advantage
of a little-known law to replace TSA agents with
private contractors.
An opt-out clause was included in legislation that
created the TSA after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But of the nation's 450 or so major commercial
airports, only 18 have opted out.
Last month, the San Diego County Regional
Airport Authority board discussed the idea of
becoming the 19th airport to opt out. But after
airport staff explained the process, the board
members lost interest in the idea.
If an airport chooses to opt out, the TSA must
select and hire a private contractor to take over
security. The TSA must also train the contractor
employees and supervise them to follow TSA
guidelines for searching passengers and cargo.
TSA agents who lose their jobs in the opt out also
get to apply for positions with the private
contractor.
"Is there a possibility of cost savings if we go
with a private contractor," board member Jim
Desmond asked during a recent meeting. "Not
really," replied board President Thella F. Bowens.
With that, the board ended discussion and
moved on to other topics.
WEBSITE ADDS AIRLINE REVIEWS
Before seeing a movie, booking a hotel room or
sitting down at a restaurant, you can read a
review to get an idea of what to expect.
Now travel website TripAdvisor has added a
feature that lets passengers rate airlines and then
posts the results. The carriers are rated on such
things as baggage handling, check-in experience,
in-flight amenities, punctuality, seat comfort and
value. For each category, passengers can submit
a rating from one to five.
But to ensure that airlines don't skew the
outcomes by submitting favorable reviews,
TripAdvisor specialists have been assigned to
monitor the website and look for bogus reviews.
In addition, only TripAdvisor members can add
reviews.
Said TripAdvisor spokesman Justine Drake: "We
have safeguards to make sure no one is gaming
the system."
Source: Http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/24/2605234/what-new-fees-might-airlines-impose.html
infant or perhaps bringing a carry-on bag?
George Hobica, founder of the travel website
Airfarewatchdog, predicted airlines will be
tempted to adopt new fees to compensate for
higher fuel costs. After all, the nation's airlines
collected more than $6 billion from such fees in
the first nine months of 2010, according to federal
statistics.
Hobica drafted a list of possible charges, some of
which he said have already been imposed in the
U.S. or Europe. For example:
Infant fee: a charge to hold a baby on your lap
during a flight. Europe's Ryanair charges 20
euros, or roughly $30, each way.
In-person check-in fee: a charge to check in with
an airline employee instead of checking in online
or at a kiosk at the airport.
Credit card fee: a charge for buying tickets with a
credit card. Hobica says foreign airlines already
charge a small fee to passengers who don't pay
for their tickets with cash.
Lock-in fee: a charge to lock your fare for three to
seven days while you consider buying a ticket.
Continental Airlines introduced the option in
December, and several European carriers already
had been charging for such price insurance.
Carry-on bag fee: a charge to bring luggage in the
cabin that doesn't fit under the seat. Florida-based
Spirit Airlines added a charge of up to $45 for
such bags last year.
Although new airline fees in the last few years
have prompted many travelers to choose a
different mode of transportation, Hobica says
most are resigned to paying those costs.
But after publishing his list of possible airline fees
on Airfarewatchdog, he said the most common
response from website visitors was, "Don't give
the airlines any ideas."
BUSINESS TRAVEL GROUP OPTIMISTIC
To gauge the strength of the economy, some
experts look at consumer spending, retail sales
and unemployment numbers.
Not surprisingly, the trade group for the nation's
corporate travel managers focuses on business
travel spending.
Based on that criterion, the National Business
Travel Assn. says the economy is looking strong.
The group says business travel spending grew
2.3 percent last year, compared with a 14 percent
drop in 2009. The group's research arm predicts
that business travel spending will rise 5 percent
this year.
When business executives feel optimistic about
the economy, they spend more on travel, group
officials say. As a result of such spending, they
say, the economy thrives.
"Our research is ringing in the new year with
reason for cautious optimism," said Michael
McCormick, the group's executive director.
In another sign that companies may be willing to
spend more on business travel, a new survey of
business travel managers found that the top
criterion when choosing a hotel was proximity to
a meeting location.
In previous surveys by other travel companies,
the top criteria were low prices, loyalty program
points and wireless Internet access. In the latest
survey by Travel Leaders, a travel agents
network based in Minneapolis, price ranked ninth.
"It's interesting to see that location is coming out
so far ahead of price," said Kath Gerhardt, a
spokeswoman for the network. "It definitely
shows you that other things are more important
to making business travel easier than price."
AIRLINES MUST SAY IF THEY'LL USE PARTNERS
Anyone who has flown for business or leisure in
the United States in the last few years probably
has experienced what the airline industry calls
code sharing.
It happens when an airline sells you a ticket but
books a portion of your journey on a small
regional operator or another large airline, often
without telling passengers. Carriers have
increasingly relied on code sharing to branch out
to new markets without investing in extra planes
and staff.
But the U.S. Department of Transportation now
wants airlines to identify the actual carriers for an
entire route before tickets are purchased.
The DOT announced recently that airlines and
travel websites have 60 days to modify their
websites to clearly identify the airlines that will
serve the passengers under code sharing
agreements.
"When passengers buy an airline ticket, they have
the right to know which airline will be operating
their flight," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
said in a statement.
The DOT order clarifies provisions of a law
adopted last summer after a regional jet crashed
in 2009 near Buffalo, killing all 49 aboard and one
person on the ground. The turboprop plane was
operated by Colgan Air, a regional carrier working
with Continental Airlines Inc. Investigators largely
blamed crew error for the crash.
Although airline officials insist that pilot training
and working conditions are the same for large
airlines and regional carriers, backers of the law
say passengers should know before buying a
ticket on which airline they would be flying.
In December, the DOT fined JetBlue Airways
Corp. $600,000 for violating disability access
rules and failing to disclose a code-sharing
agreement with a regional carrier, Cape Air. DOT
investigators discovered the violation by calling
JetBlue reservation agents and posing as potential
passengers.
FEW AIRPORTS OPT TO REPLACE TSA
Since the Transportation Security Administration
added new security measures last year -
including more full-body scanners and enhanced
pat-down searches - privacy advocates have
called on U.S. airport managers to take advantage
of a little-known law to replace TSA agents with
private contractors.
An opt-out clause was included in legislation that
created the TSA after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But of the nation's 450 or so major commercial
airports, only 18 have opted out.
Last month, the San Diego County Regional
Airport Authority board discussed the idea of
becoming the 19th airport to opt out. But after
airport staff explained the process, the board
members lost interest in the idea.
If an airport chooses to opt out, the TSA must
select and hire a private contractor to take over
security. The TSA must also train the contractor
employees and supervise them to follow TSA
guidelines for searching passengers and cargo.
TSA agents who lose their jobs in the opt out also
get to apply for positions with the private
contractor.
"Is there a possibility of cost savings if we go
with a private contractor," board member Jim
Desmond asked during a recent meeting. "Not
really," replied board President Thella F. Bowens.
With that, the board ended discussion and
moved on to other topics.
WEBSITE ADDS AIRLINE REVIEWS
Before seeing a movie, booking a hotel room or
sitting down at a restaurant, you can read a
review to get an idea of what to expect.
Now travel website TripAdvisor has added a
feature that lets passengers rate airlines and then
posts the results. The carriers are rated on such
things as baggage handling, check-in experience,
in-flight amenities, punctuality, seat comfort and
value. For each category, passengers can submit
a rating from one to five.
But to ensure that airlines don't skew the
outcomes by submitting favorable reviews,
TripAdvisor specialists have been assigned to
monitor the website and look for bogus reviews.
In addition, only TripAdvisor members can add
reviews.
Said TripAdvisor spokesman Justine Drake: "We
have safeguards to make sure no one is gaming
the system."
Source: Http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/24/2605234/what-new-fees-might-airlines-impose.html
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