AIRTRAN AND DELTA REPORT PROFITS. The two largest carriers at ATL reported second quarter profits, which is great news for the ailing airline business. But it’s not such great news for travelers who are paying substantially more than they were this time last year. For example, AirTran says that its average one-way fare in the second quarter increased 10 percent to $97. Overall, summer airfares are 24 percent higher than last summer according to Bing Travel.

FEES HERE TO STAY. Airline revenue from ancillary fees totaled $7.8 billion in 2009, a 42 percent increase from 2008. That fat number includes $2.7 billion in checked bag fees, $2.4 billion from reservation change fees and $2.7 billion from miscellaneous fees. Delta alone raked in  $1.6 billion from ancillary charges in 2009.

MORE AIRPORT PERKS FOR AMEX PLATS. If you fork over $450 per year for your American Express Platinum card, your benefits just got better– cardholders now get access to US Airways airport clubs, as well as those from American, Delta and Continental airlines.

DELTA BEEFS UP IN NYC & DC. Stung by the feds disapproval of its slot-swap scheme with US Airways, Delta is nonetheless charging forward toward its goal of “dominating the New York market.” Beginning Sept. 7 it planes to add flights from New York (either LaGuardia or JFK) to  Nashville, St. Louis, Norfolk, Richmond,  Kansas City, San Antonio, Cleveland, Charlotte, Orange County, Baltimore, Montreal and Toronto. More details. And don’t forget that Delta recently expanded its Delta Shuttle operation with 11 new daily flights (and fat mileage bonuses) between New York-LaGuardia and Chicago O’Hare. Delta’s also expanding at Washington Reagan National airport with a total of 22 destinations served, up from the current 16.

GET DELTA HELP VIA TWITTER. If you are one of those whose eyes glaze over at the mention of Twitter, consider this: Delta has wrangled a team of social media and customer service reps to try and solve problems via Twitter. Delta asks that users to “tweet your questions, comments, concerns, praise – we love praise ; ) – etc. to @DeltaAssist.” And as long as you are on Twitter, be sure to follow my updates! @cjmcginnis

TIRED OF BAD COFFEE IN THE SKY OR ON THE ROAD? Our new sponsor Starbucks VIA plans to help out good-coffee-starved TICKET readers with an exclusive giveaway in a coming issue. Stay tuned!

Virgin America A320 Interior (Photo: Crucially / Flickr)

VIRGIN AMERICA TO ATLANTA? Don’t get your hopes up yet, but sassy California startup Virgin America just picked up 40 new Airbus jets at the Farnborough Air Show and is looking to expand to several major business travel markets over the next year. For example, it just announced new flights between SFO, LAX and Orlando. “Atlanta is definitely on our prospective cities list,” said Virgin spokesperson Abby Lunardini when contacted by The TICKET. If Virgin jumped into the Atlanta market, it would likely add flights to both San Francisco AND Los Angeles (LAX) where it operates nearly as many flights as it does at its home base at SFO. Would YOU fly Virgin America if it came to Atlanta, or would you stick with Delta and/or AirTran? LET US KNOW! Leave your comments below.

APPLE TO THE RESCUE. There’s a very helpful new iPhone application from the TSA that allows users to check airport security wait times and flight delays in real time.

FREAKISH FEES? While Congress and the airlines battle it out on Capitol Hill over new fees and transparency, the smart folks over at TripAdvisor have fashioned a very helpful “fees estimator” to its search engine– allowing users to enter the number of bags they plan to check as well as their frequent flyer program affiliation and status. Then the site calculates the TOTAL fee you’d pay and presents it for comparison on a matrix. Nice! See www.tripadvisor.com/flights and try it yourself.

AMERICAN BACK ON ATL-LGA. Earlier this month, American Airlines launched five daily roundtrips between ATL’s Concourse T and New York’s close-in La Guardia airport. It’s using smaller CRJ-700 “Barbie jets” on the route, but they all have first class sections, which helps. From now through September 30, AAdvantage members earn double miles. Register at www.aa.com/offers

HEATHROW EXPRESS DISCOUNTS. The fast and easy rail link between London’s Heathrow airport and Paddington station is half price (9 pounds instead of the normal 18) for groups of two or more through Sept 5. Details here.

EASIER SEAT SEARCHES. We love us some Seatguru.com when trying to pick the perfect seat for a long international or transcon flight. In the past it was tough because there are so many different configurations flying around out there. Seatguru’s solved that by letting you enter your airline flight NUMBER first, which means you’ll always see the exact layout of your flight.

THE TICKET GOES TO NBTA. Your TICKET editor will be hitting the tradeshow floor and checking out all the latest news and trends at the annual National Business Travel Association convention in Houston this August. Stay tuned for reports and videos! Interesting: I booked a standard car from Enterprise for three days in Houston via Hotwire for just $104 all in. Not bad, considering Hertz wanted a whopping $375 for the same car class!

RADICAL DESIGNS ON COACH CLASS. Check out this well done CNN video report on Air New Zealand’s radical designs on coach class seating for long haul flights.

WATCH THOSE VALUABLES. A 47-year-old Air France flight attendant is facing 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to stealing from business class passengers sleeping on long haul flights. She targeted passengers who would fall asleep after a big meal with lots of alcohol.

AIRTRAN TO THE D.R. AirTran will fly to another warm-weather destination, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, starting February 16. Punta Cana is closer to the D.R.’s increasingly popular all-inclusive resorts and is easier to navigate than Santo Domingo, the capital. And in case you are geographically challenged, the D.R. shares the island if Hispaniola with Haiti. It’s located between Cuba (to the west) and Puerto Rico (to the east). It’s AirTran’s fifth Caribbean destination. No word yet on fares.

NEW AIRPORT IN INDIA. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport just opened Terminal 3, a much needed 6.4 million square foot addition that includes 78 gates and 168 check in counters.

Delhi's new Terminal 3 welcomes travelers this week. (Photo: AP)

DELTA + GOL. Delta and Brazil’s GOL Airlines have linked the SkyMiles and SMILES programs allowing members to earn miles on both carriers. Redemptions are expected later this year.

SADNESS OF THE SILVERS. We received quite a lot of responses to our post about Silver status with SkyMiles. Check them out here—by far the longest list of comments we’ve EVER seen on The TICKET.

DOUBLES AT HILTON. HHonors members earn double points OR double airline miles for each stay between now and September 30, but you must register first.  (As always with Hilton, you earn both airline miles and HHonors points at qualifying rates, but in the case of this promo, you must choose which one you want to earn the bonus.)

VACATION BARGAINS? If you are still wondering where you’d like to go for a summer break, consider Florida where hotel prices have crashed due to the oil spill, even though most beaches remain unaffected. Expedia reports that average daily rates crashed nearly 30 percent in popular summer destinations such as Miami, the Florida Keys, Ft Lauderdale and New Orleans. On the other hand, don’t expect the place to be deserted. Smith Travel Research reports that hotel occupancy in the region was up 7 percent in June year-over-year and will be up around 4 percent in July.

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Air Force One

On Tuesday, President Obama urged federal government employees to cut back on business travel in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The president wants the federal government, now the largest energy consumer in the country, to cut its emissions from indirect sources like commuting and business travel by 13 percent by 2020.

That sounds fair enough, but the announcement did not sit well at all with the travel industry.

On Wednesday the U.S. Travel Association fired back, calling Obama’s effort to curb government employee travel “short-sighted and counter-productive…. and will further economic decline at precisely the wrong time for the more than two million Americans whose jobs depend on business travel.” (Read the full statement here.)

Michael McCormick, executive director of another travel trade organization, the National Business Travel Association stated, “President Obama’s recent statements calling for a reduction in government travel are troubling for two reasons. First, they are part of a pattern of negative and misguided comments from the Administration that hurt the travel industry at an incredibly challenging time. Second, they seem to imply that cutting travel is the goal. The goal should be to use travel as cost-effectively as possible to meet the needs of the United States…”

On Thursday, perhaps as a way to hold out an olive branch to the beleagured travel industry, the President announced the he and his family would be vacationing on the Florida Gulf coast in August.

Who is right here? Should we be cut back on business travel to reduce emissions? Or should we encourage business travel to aid an ailing travel industry that’s just now starting to recover? Please leave your comments below!

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I’m still a little bit star struck.

Last week, on the first leg of my journey home from my summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., I traveled with one of my all-time favorite singers and songwriters, Carly Simon.

Here’s what happened: As we were walking along the pier to enter the queue for the ferry back to the mainland, a woman in a billowy white dress, a big handbag, blonde hair and a very familiar face walked up behind us in line.

Carly Simon looking and sounding great at 65 on the ferry between Martha's Vineyard and Woods Hole, Mass. (and me!)

I looked at her and smiled, then looked away, and then a little bell went off in my head. I turned and looked again, and she smiled back at me, and I stuttered something like, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like. . . um wait a minute. . . are you Carly Simon?” As a long-time fan, I knew that she lived on Martha’s Vineyard, so the possibility was not completely far fetched.

She smiled and said, “Yes, I am,” and seemed eager for a friendly chat, so I engaged. Read the rest of this entry »

Singapore Air's business class "seat" looks more like a sofa!

Remember last year when everyone thought that no one would fly in the front of the plane again…forever? Times they are a changin’! And for the better if you are a frequent international business traveler.

Check out what American Express found when looking at its first quarter data:

Historically there has been close to an even split of passengers flying businesses class versus economy for International travel.  However during the heart of the recession last year – particularly in the second quarter of 2009 – the percentage of tickets booked in business class hit its lowest rate at 36%.  As the trending now shows, percentage rates are on the rise, indicating travelers are moving back to the front of the plane.

>  Q1 2010 International Business Class – 41%

>  Q1 2009 International Business Class – 39%

>  Q1 2008 International Business Class – 51%

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Remember the CLEAR registered traveler program? Those who shelled out $179 per year got a special bio-metric membership card, which provided access to exclusive, shorter security lines at 21 airports across the country.

While CLEAR won the hearts and wallets of its customers, it struggled with debt and demand and abruptly shut down last June.

In recent months, a new company called Alclear announced an agreement to purchase the assets of the old company (Verified Identity Pass) and crank the operation back up.

Alclear’s first move was to update the www.flyclear.com web site, which had been dormant. The revived site encourages previous, new, or just curious travelers to fill out a form and vote on which airports where they’d like to see the service.

However, it does NOT state which airports it intends to target for the re-launch. (Prior to shut down, CLEAR operated at ATL.) Don’t get your hopes up yet. The new company has to sign all new airport agreements, a process which could take quite a while. The site says, “We are in discussions with multiple airports to re-introduce CLEAR,” but does not mention any airports by name. However, Denver is rumored to be the re-launch airport sometime this fall.

The site’s FAQs also state that the new company will honor previous members’ remaining membership terms as of June 2009. (For example, those who had three months left in their term will get three months free membership.)

In what appears to a bungled first step, this week Alclear sent out a confusing and unwieldy email (two full pages, 1200 words) to former members. The gist of the tome was to ask those former members who DO NOT want back in to send the new company a letter (via snail mail) asking to “opt-out” of the new program and have their data destroyed. (Here’s the full email.)

Anyway… I was a former member of CLEAR and must admit that the service paid for itself, but not because it actually saved me all that much time. As an elite level member of several frequent flyer programs, I already had access to shorter, faster security lines.

What CLEAR did was remove the uncertainty from the airport screening process– at ATL as well as in other airports that don’t have special elite lines, or those that have unpredictable wait times. To me, as a frequent business traveler, that kind of peace of mind was worth $179.

So, frequent travelers, what do you think? Would you sign up again or for the first time?

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YEAH! BURGER

1168 Howell Mill Road, Suite E

404-496-4393

www.yeahburger.com

The burger craze has certainly hit Atlanta in the past year as several burger-focused eateries are popping up all over town.  I decided to see what the buzz was all about and visit the latest modern-day burger joint, YEAH! BURGER.  The restaurant is owned and operated by Chef Shaun Doty of Shaun’s in Inman Park and entrepreneur Erik Maier.  Since Doty is normally known for his upscale fare, I was curious to see how his casual burger joint would pan out.

We arrived at YEAH! BURGER on a Monday evening right around 6 p.m. and the restaurant was fairly busy with a nearly full house inside and a few couples enjoying their meal on the patio. I liked that YEAH! BURGER was designed as a fast-casual restaurant where customers place their order at the counter and their food is delivered to the table.  I think this offers a certain convenience for this type of restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Stenz / Flickr

Ever since Delta announced its new “Sky Priority” recognition program (for gold, platinum and diamond members of SkyMiles), I’ve been hearing from long-time silver medallion status members complaining about their rank at the bottom of the medallion totem poll.

But really now, has something changed? Or is it perception and a nagging inferiority complex on the part of silvers? We’ve got both sides of the story (a reader letter and a response from a Delta exec) so let’s take a look:

Speaking for many, TICKET reader “Nancy” submitted the following, which we forwarded to the head of Delta’s SkyMiles program, Jeff Robertson, requesting a response:

Dear Chris:

Last year, my company cut back travel substantially (and is doing so again this year).  I missed Gold by about a thousand miles — silly me, I should have flown somewhere on my own to have gotten to Gold.  So I’m Silver Medallion now and feeling the pain.  I’m a Million Miler with Delta and purchased the Sky Club membership for 3 years, but now due to Sky Priority and the new signage, I can’t go through the dedicated security lines (they removed club membership as a qualifier).

Photo: M. Fullmer

I’ve never felt so under-appreciated until I read the CEO’s article in Sky Magazine this month.  He states, “Delta continues to take steps to offer our MOST VALUABLE customers added travel conveniences.  To this end, we recently launched Sky Priority, …” (emphasis mine) So as a Million Miler, I’m not considered one of the “most valuable” customers — though my loyalty is indicated by how I’ve consistently flown Delta for years and I’ve been Platinum for many of those years.

I understand Delta needs to influence their customer base to fly more now and the past is the past, but I think there is some recognition due to those who’ve reached milestones with Delta that demonstrate strong customer loyalty.  For example, simply indicating the MM [Million Miler] status on the ticket and providing a few free drink coupons now and then would be a nice gesture.

Thankfully, due to the Rollover Miles feature, I’m close to achieving Gold status.  That was a nice addition to the program.

Thanks for giving a forum to share our thoughts.

Delta's Jeff Robertson

Here’s what we heard back from Jeff Robertson:

Thanks for the note.  Are these customers being specific as to what benefit has been taken away?  I’m confused.  We did add incremental benefits referred to as SkyPriority for our highest tiers (Diamond, Platinum and Gold) that includes the highest boarding priority, priority baggage, security access and a better phone line, but Silvers had no takeaways or changes to their existing benefits and never had access to priority baggage, these new phone lines or preferred security access.

I want to answer, but I guess I’m not sure what the takeaway is?  When a customer hits a Million Mile threshold, they are awarded with lifetime elite status at various levels and generally a set of Hartmann luggage.  That hasn’t changed, nor has the gifting of Silver elite status to these 1M miler levels.

–Jeff

So Silvers, to warp a phrase from Janet Jackson: What has Delta NOT done for you lately? Is there a specific take-away you can point to as a reason for all the scorn? Please leave your comments by clicking on the COMMENTS tab below.

Here are a few snippets from other slighted silvers:

• I actually saw this Sky Priority “thing” in action this past Wednesday in Boston, when all Gold, Platinum, Diamond, SkyTeam Elite Plus, and Business/First Class passengers formed a long line to pre-board.  The Silver Medallion members, of course, waited until all these important people boarded and then were allowed to board. –JL
• I have been Gold/Silver for over 15 years. Last year, I only flew 23k miles. I thought that the carryover would get me back into at least Silver, but after re-reading the rules, the carryover is only after you reach a medallion level. So now it’s to the back of the bus. Now that I’m starting to travel again, it sucks. —WL
• Silver level is now practically worthless since Diamond and partners were added to priority boarding, one does not board with other Medallions and is lucky to be in Zone 2. Sometimes SILVER status isn’t even mentioned… –DC
• Yes, it would suck to be a Silver Medallion, Especially in Atlanta.  You have to put up with all of the uppity Diamonds, like me! –PB
• Due to travel cutbacks related to the economy, I went from Gold to Silver to No Medallion status at Delta. Apparently, having maintained either Gold or Silver for the past 15 years means nothing to Delta.  Compare that to Marriott.  I went from Gold to Silver.  Their response:  An upgrade back to Gold!   My response:  All of my hotel stays this year have been at Marriott properties. — EH
• Last year, as a Silver Medallion, you called 800 325 6330. You put in your Medallion number. Within 2 to 3 minutes, you got “Special Member Services”. I’ve booked/called 5x times this year. I’ve waited MORE THAN 30 MINUTES on the weekend. And then when I ask is this the “silver medallion’ line, they say ‘no’. –JT
• Not only am I silver medallion for over 14 years running, with some years making gold o platinum I’m a million miler as well. What does this get me? Nada. I have to board with everybody else. Hmmm, silver translates to so what suckers.—Ivan
• I’m a million miler and silver medallion for life…A few weeks ago I entered the premium security line with my Platinum AMEX card (not platinum Skymiles). This card allows you free entry into the Crown Rooms, Continental’s clubs and American’s clubs and usually was good enough for entry into the premium security line given that club room members can use this line as well. Delta’s agent very nastily informed me it was no good to them any longer. RJS
• Delta makes those of us who start at Silver Medallion earn it all over again (yes 25k) every year before they will use our miles to advance to Gold status. They also do not carry over these miles to the next year for us to use to advance our status. –RJC

Please add your comments by clicking on the COMMENTS tab below.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzRKw567GVo

Remember last Christmas when the “underwear bomber” almost brought down a Delta jumbo-jet over Detroit?

That prompted the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to grab a big pile of federal stimulus money for about 150 more full body scanners– you know, the ones that produce images like the one you see below.

There are currently 97 of the so-called “advanced imaging units” in use at airports across the country  but TSA says that number will soar to around 500 by the end of this year– with nearly 1000 in place by the end of 2011.

There are currently three full-body scanners in use at ATL. Two are located at the main terminal checkpoint and one is at the international arrivals checkpoint in Terminal E. When the additional machines are deployed there will be machines at all of the airport’s checkpoints.

Earlier this month, The TICKET  was invited to San Jose Mineta International Airport to check out the first batch of four new “backscatter” scanners. These are different than the “millimeter wave” units you may have seen at ATL and elsewhere, but represent the latest technology. This means that you’ll see more backscatter machines appear at ATL and 28 other airports (see list) between now and the end of the year.

(See video for a look at the new generation units.)

Here’s what you need to know:

>WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE? The newer backscatter machines look like two big blue boxes with a small open alley down the middle. (Millimeter wave units are rounder looking with the passenger surrounded by Plexiglas for the scan.)

>HOW DO I GET SCANNED? You walk into the scanners, turn sideways, place feet in square boxes marked on the rubber floor, hold hands up and wait for the TSA agent to tell you to exit. The whole process takes about five seconds. (See video for a real-life walk through.)

>WHAT IS DIFFERENT? As usual, you must remove shoes and belts and place them with carry-on luggage in bins. But when getting a full body scan, you must also remove your wallet or any other non-metallic objects from pockets. (Wallet removal is not necessary with the standard magnetometers.)

>WHAT ABOUT RADIATION? The TSA says that the radiation emitted by these machines is equivalent to what you are exposed to during about two minutes aboard at aircraft at altitude, and far less than what the government permits for cell phones.

>WHAT DO SCANNERS SCAN? Body scanners only expose what’s between your skin and the clothes you are wearing. They are NOT like x-rays, which penetrate your skin and show internal organs and bone. (This is a plus for travelers with artificial joints or other metallic implants who’ve been slowed down and forced to submit to pat downs at traditional magnetometers.)

Dummy image provided by TSA

>WHO SEES MY PRIVATES? The TSA agent directing you into the full body scanner never sees your image. This officer is wearing an earpiece and is in radio contact with another TSA officer viewing your image in a remote area. Once your image has been checked, this officer then tells the attending officer to allow you to pass, or to subject you to secondary screening if he/she sees any anomalies. (See video for a behind the scenes look at the remote viewing room.)

>WHAT HAPPENS TO THE IMAGES? The TSA emphasizes that these images cannot be stored, saved or transmitted. In addition, they do no allow officers to bring cameras, cell phones or PDA’s in rooms where images are viewed. (Except for ours, of course, but that was just for the media…)

>WHAT ABOUT ADULT DIAPERS OR SANITARY PADS? Citing confidentiality, the TSA officer at San Jose Airport would not tell me how or if the machines can tell the difference between a sanitary pad and contraband placed in the crotch area.

>WHO IS PAYING FOR ALL THIS? You are. The units cost about $150,000 a pop, which means that the TSA spent nearly $75 million on this latest round of full body scanners. (Check out how the stock of OSI Systems, parent of scanner manufacturer Rapiscan, has soared since Christmas when this order was placed)

So, what do you think, folks? Is this an invasion of your privacy, or a necessary evil for safety’s sake?

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A Delta Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ700) Photo: Kevin Boydston / Flickr

Delta Air Lines plans to make First Class service available on all domestic flights longer than 750 miles, or about two and one-half hours of flight time, beginning this fall.

Delta says, “The enhancement means Delta customers can enjoy the benefits of First Class service on more domestic flights, and SkyMiles members will have more opportunities for upgrades to First Class seating. With its June schedule, Delta already leads the industry in availability of first-class seating, with 11 percent of the carrier’s domestic seats in First or Business class.”

This will add two-class service to 50 more of these longer routes where Delta only offers coach class service on these so-called Barbie Jets (its fleet of smaller, thinner Delta Connection CRJ700s).

The following routes from ATL are scheduled for the upgrade:

Here’s the full release from Delta.

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NOTE: In the June issue, we’ve got SEVEN different posts– please be sure to scroll through all of them! And click on the “COMMENTS” link at the bottom of each post to let us know what you are thinking.

• Airline News
• Delta News
• AirTran News
• ATL Airport News
• The TASTE of the TICKET
• Summer Travel Tips
• Special post about winners of of 4 business class tickets

Happy Reading!

–Chris McGinnis

FARE SALES. FARE SCHMALES. Don’t be fooled by fancy marketing techniques…while airlines continue to churn out and promote summer fare “sales,” have you actually checked out the fares? For summer travel at convenient times, fares are getting much higher than we’ve paid in recent years—especially if you are trying to fly from ATL non-stop on a route not served by AirTran or another low-fare carrier. The only other way to save money during peak summer travel season (roughly June 20-Aug-20) is to take one-stop flights, or early morning or late night flights. Many of the decent fares are gone for convenient morning and afternoon flights favored by business travelers. Advice: If you see a fare that feels right, go ahead and buy it because fares are not coming down any time soon. Silver lining? Hotel rates are at about the same very low level they were last summer. Car rental rates have come down, too. And gas is expected to remain at about $3 per gallon on average all summer.

FARE EXAMPLES: Roundtrip fares between ATL and Europe during July and August are already well over $1200 and moving higher, fast. The cheapest nonstops to Portland, OR are now $600 roundtrip. Nashville nonstops are now over $400. El Paso, TX, $500 round trip. Jackson, WY, $420. More competitive business travel routes are still reasonable for July flights, but the lowest fares are found on slow days or inconvenient times: for example, you can still fly to Boston or Denver for about $250 round trip. July roundtrip flights to San Francisco and LAX are in the $300 range. New York (LGA) and Chicago (ORD) are still relative bargains with fares dipping below $200 in some cases. Do you have any examples of freakishly high summer airfares? If so, click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW.

BIG GOVERNMENT ON YOUR SIDE? Even those frequent flyers who think we’ve got a socialist in the White House might appreciate the strong pro-consumer stance the administration has taken when it comes to airline abuses. Over the last week, it’s proposed more fair and sensible new rules for airlines to follow:

• Higher penalties paid to flyers who are involuntarily bumped from flights.
• A 24-hour grace period after purchasing a ticket in which you can get a full refund.
• Inclusion of all taxes and fees in airfare advertising.
• Refunding of checked baggage fees if bags are lost or late.

Earlier this year, the administration took a very tough stance on tarmac delays, imposing a new three-hour limit, which is forcing airlines to adopt new ground-handling procedures to avoid unusually stiff fines. Despite loud protests from the airline industry, the administration has not backed down. According to this ABCnews.com article by emerging travel-writing star Scott Mayerowitz, this new “get-tough” stance is in marked contrast to previous administrations that preferred to let airlines police themselves— something that clearly did not work. What do you think? Please click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW.

ITA SOFTWARE SEARCH. When it comes to searching for airfares, I’m a big fan of the meta-search sites like Kayak.com and Fly.com. But there’s another one that flies under the radar that’s even better called ITA Software. (It’s not heavily marketed and PR’d because it’s mostly a development site that provides the backbone for other search engines.) Anyway, it’s always been a little bit unwieldy, but they’ve come out with a much cleaner, easier matrix display interface that you should check out and use when you can. Overall, it seems to provide the most comprehensive list of available fares, and now has easy-to-use filters and charts to help you make a good decision. http://matrix2.itasoftware.com

BUH-BYE TO LIQUIDS BAN? In his recent MSNBC post colleague Chris Elliott surmised that the TSA has quietly stopped enforcing the ban on liquids and gels in carry-on bags. Based on a lot of frequent flying over the last six months, I’ve noticed the same thing…I never take my toilet kit out of my bag any more. I don’t separate 3-oz. toiletries and place them in the one liter plastic bag. And the TSA does not stop me. I was even in London last week and packed two 5 oz tubs of shaving cream in my carry on…and just carried on. What’s been your experience? Please click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW!

WATCH YOUR TICKET EDITOR CHRIS MCGINNIS on GOOD MORNING AMERICA talking about summer airfares. (Short but sweet!)

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ONE FEE DOWN. Many more to go… Finally, a little bit of good news when it comes to airline fees. Matching a recent move by United, Delta recently eliminated its irritating $75-$150 fee for award trips booked within 21 days of departure. It was one of those fees that you paid and thought, “Now wait a minute here…how can it possibly cost Delta more for me to book a trip inside that window?”  (In typical fashion the email from Delta said that it did this “based on customer feedback”…but to me it was clearly a competitive move as Delta sees the combined United/Continental breathing down its neck…)

ANOTHER FEE UP. At the same time that Delta nipped those fees for close-in award bookings, it RAISED its fee for changes to frequent flyer award itineraries—  to $150 from $100. Grrr.

SEATTLE: DELTA’S NEW PACIFIC HUB. Remember when you had to fly to Portland to get across the Pacific on Delta? That changed a while back, but the idea of a trans-Pac hub is back in vogue. Delta recently inaugurated new 767 nonstops between SEA and both Osaka and Beijing and plans on adding more destinations.

Express Tram, Detroit-DTW's McNamara Terminal (Photo: Afagen / Flickr)

DETROIT: ONE STOP TO ASIA. If you are trying to get to Asia from Atlanta on Delta (and you can’t get routed via Tokyo on that nice new 777 with lie-flat biz class seats), it’s increasingly likely you’ll be routed through Detroit where the carrier now offers nonstops to Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Good news: The international terminal the Delta inherited from Northwest at DTW is state-of-the-art and not a bad place to change planes at all. Plus, it’s got a really nice on-terminal Westin in case you get stuck there during a bad storm like your TICKET editor did last year.

DELTA/AMEX MEMBERSHIP REWARDS BONUS. Don’t forget that through June 30, American Express Membership Rewards members get a 25% bonus when converting their rewards points to Delta SkyMiles. Registration is required. (Note that Delta and Amex periodically offer this promo….offering anywhere from 15% to 40% bonuses. So no biggie if you miss it this time. It will be back.)

BAG FEE WAIVED. Delta recently announced that it’s waiving the first bag fee for those who charge tickets on Amex/SkyMiles Gold or Platinum credit cards. That’s a nice bone to throw to the masses angry about the new fees, and is especially appealing to families traveling together when those per bag fees really add up. A family of four checking four bags saves $200 round trip…more than enough to cover the annual fee for the card. Don’t think that Delta’s doing this out of generosity, though…insiders tell us that American Express is paying Delta the bag fees and charging it off as a marketing expense for obtaining new cardmembers. So I guess everyone wins!

MQM MILEAGE RUN ALERT:  DELTA SHUTTLE 3X. Delta’s pulling out the big marketing guns in its battle to win over flyers on the high-volume business route between New York and Chicago.  Here’s what I mean by big guns: It’s offering TRIPLE bonus miles AND triple Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) on its hourly shuttle flights between La Guardia and O’Hare from June 14-August 31. Let’s see, that’s 733 miles times 3, round trip …a whopping 4398 MQM’s. Not bad! (These Embraer 175 flights operate from Delta’s Marine Air Terminal at LGA.) It’s also offering the triple miles on shuttle flights between BOS, LGA and Washington National. Registration required.

REDEEMING ON DELTA. Delta’s taken a lot of flack recently for placing dead last among major carriers when it comes to success when redeeming frequent flyer miles. (To be fair, the much-discussed study by ezRez/IdeaWorks took only a small snapshot, June-October 2010.) Since Delta, like other airlines, won’t come out and say how easy or difficult it is to redeem its miles, it’s interesting that Delta inserted the following paragraph into a recent press release: “Last year, frequent flyers redeemed more than 230 billion miles in the SkyMiles program for more than 11 million award redemptions.  In 2009, 8.5 percent of revenue miles flown on Delta were for award travel, among the best of U.S. network airlines according to data filed in airlines’ 10-K annual reports.  Delta offers more ways to redeem frequent flyer miles than any other airline – including airline tickets, mileage upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, Delta Sky Club memberships, merchandise and more than 30 types of gift cards.” Agree or disagree? Is Delta really the worst when it comes to redeeming miles? What’s your experience? Do you have any comparisons? Please leave your comments below!

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BIG LINE AT THE MAIN AIRTRAN COUNTER? Then head over its recently remodeled and expanded secondary counter on the near north side of the MARTA station. The airport moved the WWII artifacts and history exhibits so AirTran has more room to operate its expanded ticket counter and kiosk operation.  And, celebrating its partnership with the Atlanta Falcons, the backwall is now a photo of its specially painted “Falcons 1″ in air.

EARLIER IS BETTER. AirTran’s made it a lot easier for business travelers to make day trips—out early in the morning and home in time for supper. Okay…home in time for the 11 o’clock news.. Anyway, flights to the following cities now depart in the 7 am hour – Boston, New York-LGA, Baltimore/Washington, Washington National, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Chicago-Midway and Fort Lauderdale.

SAVE 5 PERCENT ON ALL AIRTRAN FLIGHTS. Did you know that AirTran is now the only airline partner in the American Express OPEN Savings program? This means you get an automatic 5 percent discount on all AirTran flights purchased with the card. 5 percent is not huge, but it adds up over time if you’re flying a lot. Details:  http://www.airtran.com/opensavings/

AIRTRAN AND FRONTIER PART WAYS. On July 16, AirTran and Frontier will terminate their four-year old frequent flyer program partnership. That’s too bad for AirTran A+ members who redeem their miles for Frontier flights to western cities like Portland, OR where Frontier flies but AirTran does not. But AirTran officials tell The TICKET that this is a much bigger deal for Frontier’s EarlyReturns members because they were booking eight times as many AirTran flights as A+ members were booking on Frontier.

DRINK YOUR MILK. AirTran now serves milk – it offers NesQuik chocolate and regular milk for $2 onboard in coach (free in business class). AirTran tells The TICKET that good old milk’s been a much bigger hit than expected.

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photo: StGundy / Flickr

On July 1 on-airport parking rates will rise for the first time since January 2006. ATL officials tell The TICKET that this brings its rates closer to those at comparable airports across the country. Daily rates at the Park-Ride lot ($9) and the Park-Ride Reserve lot ($12) will remain the same, but hourly rates are doubling in many cases.

Rate increases will go into effect July 1 for the following lots:

For more information about Airport parking, please visit www.atlanta-airport.com/Parking/.

RELATED: ANOTHER “BESTFEST?”

Here’s an interesting video story from CBS Atlanta news about outgoing airport chief Ben DeCosta’s $25,000 farewell party which unfortunately took place on the eve of layoffs at the airport. In the segment, Mayor Kasim Reed acknowledged the appearance of impropriety, but said that no taxpayer dollars were used. The $25,000 tab was picked up by companies that do business with the airport. (This reminds me of another overly lavish airport party scandal in the early 90’s….remember when the airport got caught throwing a $700,000 party called “BestFest” to celebrate the airport winning “Best Airport” from an obscure travel magazine.) Thoughts please! Click on COMMENTS below and let her rip!

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Fresh herbs on the patio at Miller Union (photo: David Naugle)

MILLER UNION

999 Brady Ave, NW (map)

Atlanta, GA 30318

Phone: 678-733-8550

www.millerunion.com

Admittedly, I became a sucker for this place the moment my dinner companion and I sat down. Upon arriving, we had asked the host if there were any available tables on the patio, and the only one left was being held for another reservation so we were seated in one of the small dining rooms.  Five minutes later, the host came back to tell us the guests who had reserved the outdoor table were going to be late and offered to move us outside.  Though a small gesture, this thoughtfulness really made an impression on me.

The patio turned out to be lovely and our table was surrounded by large planters filled with fresh herbs, which is always a good sign at a restaurant that touts local cuisine.  I ordered the Papi Chulo cocktail ($11) and my companion ordered … Read the rest of this entry »

As you may remember, The TICKET had a new reader promotion several months ago where we asked readers to introduce us to their social networks. With your help, the promotion brought us about 200 new readers! Those who participated were signed up for a sweepstakes drawing.

Do you remember the prize? We gave away FOUR free round trip business class tickets compliments of AirTran.

So without further ado, allow us to introduce the lucky winners! (I asked each to send us a little info about themselves to share with other TICKET readers.)

Clare Millians: Oh my gosh!  I am thrilled to win the contest.  I can’t believe I won.  You have made my day.  I am retired.  I was a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines and then worked as a corporate sales manager for The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead.  My husband and I decided it was time to travel, so off we went for 7 years.  We still travel, but mostly in the U.S. these days.   We are sneaking over to Vancouver later this month though.  I plan to use the prize to fly to SEA to see my niece and her family.    We love AirTran because of their prices, keeping the fares from ATL competitive and they don’t fly regional jets.  The service is very good and they are flexible with changing dates of travel.  I only wish they went to more places out of ATL.  We have only flown AirTran’s business class once from ATL to SEA and back and it was great.  I enjoy reading your column on a regular basis. (The photo was taken in Alesund, Norway last summer.  It is called, “the prettiest town in Norway”, and I have to agree.)

Ann Larson: This is awesome and I am delighted!! I am an Atlanta-based tour operator and am still jet lagging from dodging volcano ash- having returned yesterday from a fabulous AMA Waterways riverboat cruise/tour with 26 of my “Happy Campers” (travelers) doing the Danube River from Budapest to Prague and everything in between! What a great treat to win this. I will use my AirTran ticket to do a site inspection in the West for something special to put into my 2011 agenda of great tours!! I love and appreciate Air Tran– the best thing that has happened to Atlanta. I travel about 50,000 to 60,000 miles a year- much more in the past. (Photo  is from Mykonos, Greece.)

John Penninger: AWESOME!  You’re serious, right?  Where is Ed McMahon? That is so cool…Thank you so much…I feel like I need to make an acceptance speech. As far as the number of miles I travel per year, it’s definitely down for this Million Miler.  I haven’t flown business class on AirTran before, but I just flew Business Elite on Delta for the first time and it rocked! Thanks again for the AirTran ticket — it will definitely come in handy– working in the nonprofit world has its rewards, but big money certainly isn’t one of them.  :)

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