Archive for the ‘Opening Remarks’ Category

Dear TICKET readers:

I’m very pleased and proud to report that I’m now the business travel columnist for BBC.com/travel! Sorry if our TICKET posts have thinned out a bit recently, but the Brits are calling! The gig started earlier this month, and here are a few posts for your perusal:

Is upscale business travel back?

The state of business travel to Japan

Moving closer to Cuba

Please do me a favor and read them! Also, sign up for BBC.com/travel’s Twitter feeds and Facebook fan pages.

And of course, let me know what you think! I’ll be periodically posting links to our content on The TICKET.

Cheerio!

Chris McGinnis, editor/publisher, The TICKET

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KEEP SCROLLING DOWN>>>>>to the next post!

TICKET Editor Chris McGinnis doles out holiday travel tips on FOX News (BEFORE all bad weather hit!)

Happy Holidays! It’s that time of year again…when travel pundits and prognosticators do their best to gaze into the future and predict what may or may not happen in the big wide world of travel in the coming year.

Here are The TICKET’s top ten predictions for frequent travelers in 2011:

1-RISING PRICES. Business travel prices will continue to rise, but not enough to dampen renewed demand.

2-AIRFARE. Fares will continue to rise sharply, especially for flights between cities where only one or two legacy carriers operate. From Atlanta, all you have to do is follow the route map of AirTran (and soon, Southwest) to know where the deals are (or aren’t). We do not expect much change in AirTran operations in 2011– 2012 will be the big year for full integration with Southwest. Also, prepare for more fuel surcharges as oil nears $100 per barrel– it’s currently about $89 and rising.

3-TRAVEL DEALS. In terms of travel deals, there will be a wider gap between peak season and off-season prices. Those with flexibility to travel outside the peak travel dates will continue to find good deals and more short-term “flash” type sales. (Think Jetsetter or Sniqueaway) Those who must travel during peak periods will face sticker shock. (Peak periods generally run when school is out: Holidays, long weekends, July and August.)

Rates in NYC will rise, but remain in check due to an abundance of new rooms coming online. Pictured: The swank penthouse suite at the brand new 6-7-room InterContinental Times Square.

4-HOTEL RATES. Due to continued overcapacity, hotel rates should remain about the same or slightly up, on average, over the next year. Hotel rates in New York City will rise, but a steady supply of new hotels opening there should keep rate inflation to acceptable levels, especially among mid-tier properties.

5-FREE WI-FI. More upscale hotel chains will join their midscale counterparts to offer free in-room Wi-Fi. We’ll also see hoteliers pay more attention to bandwidth issues on their existing systems. What good is free Wi-Fi if it doesn’t work? In-flight Wi-Fi prices could moderate as Southwest’s $5 flat fee for inflight Wi-Fi expands to more flights.

(Like what you are reading? Then or TWITTER)

6-LONGER STAYS. Hotel chains will offer more loyalty program promotions designed to get travelers to increase the duration of their stays. (Such as “buy two nights, get the third free.”)

7-DRIVING VS. FLYING. Due to recent changes in security screening, the airport hassle factor could return, and more frequent travelers will consider driving instead of flying. The “five hour rule” might change to the “six hour rule.”

8-MOBILE DEVICES. We’ll see more focus on business travelers’ smart phones, which will soon be used to open hotel room doors and will be accepted as payment instead of credit cards. There will be more promotions designed to encourage the use of mobile devices to book and manage travel reservations

9-IN-FLIGHT PHONING. In-flight phone calling, now available on several non-U.S. airlines will become more prevalent and might even be considered by a domestic carrier. High per-call rates and peer pressure should keep abuse in check– remember those pricey GTE Airfones that no one ever used because they were too expensive? I expect the same with in-flight cell phone use.

10-MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS. More of us will attend large annual trade shows and conventions this year as pent up demand is released. Many companies banned non-essential travel over the last two years and business travelers are eager to get out of the office and re-establish face-to-face contact with customers and colleagues. However, I think small and medium-sized meetings will face more competition from virtual alternatives.

(ONE EXTRA PREDICTION: 11- Better airline coverage in The TICKET! We’ve brought on a new airline correspondent, Ramsey Qubein! Ramsey,  a Diamond Medallion on Delta, has been enhancing our airline coverage with great insider news and tips over the last month. Stay tuned for more from him and The TICKET in 2011.)

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU ARE READING? PLEASE HELP THE TICKET INCREASE READERSHIP! Think of it as your holiday gift to us! Just copy and paste the following message into an email to your frequent traveling family and friends: >> Hey there: You should check out The TICKET, a blog I always take the time to read and one that always provides a tip or two I have not read anywhere else. It’s free. There’s no spam. You’ll get 2-3 emails a month from them. Check it out and subscribe here: http://www.theticket-atlanta.com <<

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(Photo: testpatern / flickr)

WORD OF WARNING: If you think you’re beating crowds by taking off for Thanksgiving this weekend, beware. Airlines and online travel agents report that some of the holiday’s busiest days will be this Friday and Saturday. In another new twist, the TUESDAY before Thanksgiving is expected to be busier than Wednesday, a traditional peak day. And as always, be prepared for tough days at the airport on the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving— be particularly wary of Monday morning back ups at airport security checkpoints. Add to that a high level of angst about new security screening procedures and we are ripe for disruptions this week. Plan accordingly.

BODY SCANNERS. In case you’ve not been to ATL lately, there are now 14 of the controversial new full-body scanners scattered across all four security checkpoints. Some good news: The scanners in use at ATL are “millimeter wave” machines instead of the newer “backscatter” ones now being rolled out across the country. I’m no expert on radiation, but from what I’ve read, the millimeter wave scanners use radio waves which sounds less threatening than the low-dose X-rays used by the newer backscatter machines. There’s a lot of hyperbole surrounding the machines this week, so if you are interested in reading a well researched and informative article, check out this one from Bloomberg (written by a fellow TICKET reader Mary Jane Credeur!) One good nugget from the article: A radiology professor at the Mayo Clinic says, “You would need 1000 or 2000 airport scans to equal just one dental X-ray.”

AIRTRAN+SOUTHWEST CLOSING DATE? Closing date for the sale is expected to be this coming spring and then full integration of the two carriers will take about two years. Currently, the deal is under government anti-trust scrutiny which most observers don’t expect to significantly slow down the integration time line. So far, no date has been set for the first Southwest “redbelly”  (see photo below) to touch down at ATL.

SOUTHWEST’S BIGGEST CITY? Right now, it’s Las Vegas, but guess what? Once Southwest gobbles up AirTran, Atlanta is going to be its largest city in terms of daily flights. So in ATL, we’re Delta’s biggest city AND soon, Southwest’s biggest. Go figure…

COKE…NO PEPSI. Just in case Atlantans are wondering or worried…Southwest Airlines is a COCA-COLA airline. However, its selection of in-flight beverages is not as robust as AirTran’s.

SEARCHING FOR SOUTHWEST. One thing Atlanta-based travelers are going to have to get used to when Southwest moves into town:  more time devoted to searching for low fares. Unlike AirTran, Southwest Airlines does not participate in systems that allow its flights to appear on online travel agency sites like Expedia or Travelocity. They don’t show up on meta-search sites like Kayak, either. To compare, you are going to have to check southwest.com, the only site that lists all of Southwest’s flight and fare info.

HOW DO TICKET READERS FEEL ABOUT SOUTHWEST? Be sure to read the COMMENTS section of our post, 10 Things you need to know about Southwest + AirTran. Very revealing!

MORE AWARD SEATS. Delta announced a fatter international summer travel schedule this week, which could help out if you’re having trouble redeeming your SkyMiles. From Atlanta, Delta is re-launching B777 nonstops to Shanghai. From NYC there are new flights to Iceland. Boston and Miami get nonstops to London Heathrow. Paris gets new or more nonstops from Boston and Pittsburg (via a skinny B757…not so sure about that!)

DELTA SKY CLUB RE-DO. Delta’s opened a new SkyClub at Indianapolis’s flashy new airport terminal. The new look for this Sky Club is expected to carry over to new Sky Clubs in Philadelphia and Seattle and in others where renovations are in the works such as ATL and LAX. Here’s a short video tour of the club at Indy.

premium economy on British Airways

PREMIUM ECONOMY ON DELTA? Our contacts at Delta won’t confirm it, but several sources point to a leaked internal Delta memo that shows plans underway for a new class of international service between coach and business class. This is good news for travelers at companies that forbid business class travel, but might turn a blind eye to a product called “premium economy.” If Delta’s product is anything like competitors such as British Airways, the premium economy cabin will be separated from standard economy and offer a slightly larger seat with slightly more legroom and better food and beverage service.  It’s a poor substitute for a nice flat business class bed, but a welcome step up from the horrors of eight-plus hours in coach. For transatlantic flights from the East Coast, I would expect Delta’s premium economy fares to run in the $2500 round trip range.

DELTA READY TO RUMBLE WITH SOUTHWEST. In an interview with Business Travel News, Delta CEO Richard Anderson sounds confident that Delta’s product will beat Southwest’s when it comes to business travelers. Here’s what he said: “AirTran had first class, they had assigned seats, and Southwest has no first class, no assigned seats, doesn’t sell through global distribution systems—a very different product than what AirTran offered in the market. It’s very distinguishable. If you want international service, if you want high frequency all around the world, a club, business class, first class, don’t have to stand in a line to get on airplanes when you’re a business traveler—that’s the product Delta offers.” What do you think? Will you be giving Southwest a try? LET US KNOW!

REGIONAL JETS BECOMING…REGIONAL! Delta and its subsidiaries are dumping Barbie jets like crazy these days. Seems they’ve finally figured out that RJ’s don’t make much economic sense, they tend to clog up airspace and runways, and travelers don’t like them. All this means that on Delta you will no longer find regional jets used on flights longer than 750 miles (or about 2.5 hours).

At the CLEAR sign up kiosk at MCO

CLEAR IS BACK. But only in Orlando for now. The airport security line by-pass lanes reopened on November 9 at MCO’s Main terminal East and West.  Plans to open up lanes in Denver this month have been stymied, but stay tuned. If you had a CLEAR card before, new owners are honoring membership terms. Have a minute? Check out the new company’s clever new video describing how CLEAR works. Cost: $179 per year.

DELTA + MARRIOTT = 5000 MILES. From now through January 31, SkyMiles members will earn a 5000-mile bonus when Delta flights coincide with Marriott stays. Not bad! Details.

DELTA NOT SO DREAMY. Delta has pretty much thrown in the towel on the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner,” delaying delivery for TEN YEARS (to 2020). It had inherited an order of 18 of the new fuel-efficient but delay-plagued wide bodies from Northwest. This means that at least the next decade, Delta’s wide body fleet will remain 777, 767, 747 and A330. United hopes to be flying the 787 sometime next year…

DILUTING MQM’s? As you know, it’s getting harder and harder to travel on award tickets. I’m writing to tell you that I’m really disappointed to see the newest oncoming freight train – the awarding of MQMs by someone other than Delta.  I’m sure that the new Hilton promotion is going to be great for Delta, otherwise you wouldn’t have  written about it in The TICKET.  BUT it makes the Medallion Qualifying Miles worth far less to us Delta fans and that’s at a time when Delta need all the friends it can get. I’m a friend!  And I’m a Hilton Honors Gold level but I’m still annoyed by what I see happening: the demise of the value of the MQM.  I know there’s a segment qualifier, but the MQM devaluation is really a disaster.  I wonder if you’ve heard about this from others or am I the only crab in town? –JL from Atlanta. Is he? LET US KNOW! Leave your comments below.

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After a couple years in the doldrums, business travelers are anticipating an increase in corporate travel for 2011 according to a new survey from Deloitte.

Some key findings:

>MORE TRIPS: By the end of 2011, 80 percent of business travelers surveyed predict they will take more or the same number of business trips than they did in 2010.

>MORE SPENDING: 79 percent said that they will also spend more or the same amount on business travel in 2011.

>CUTTING BACK: Nearly all respondents said that they monitored business travel expenses more closely this past year by: shortening trips, reducing spending on food/restaurants, or choosing less expensive hotels.

>TIGHTER REINS: 59 percent said that their companies are more strictly enforcing travel guidelines such as getting pre-trip approvals and setting dollar spending limits for hotels.

>KEY AMENITIES: Four out of five respondents felt that high-speed Internet (79 percent) and free parking (77 percent) were the most important amenities to them when staying at a hotel for business.

What about you? Have you sensed a loosening of the purse strings at your company? Do you think you’ll be traveling and spending more next year? Please leave your comments below.

* The September survey polled a nationally representative sample of 1,001 business travelers and has a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.

Don’t Forget! BOOK ALL YOUR ONLINE TRAVEL VIA LINKS FROM THE TICKET! It helps us help you!

Just click here:

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photo: Churl/Flickr Creative Commons

Please Talk Up The TICKET!

NOTE: THIS PROMOTION HAS EXPIRED!

How would you like a free round trip BUSINESS CLASS ticket anywhere AirTran Airways flies? (Cancun? San Francisco? Denver? San Juan? LA?)

Would you like it even more if a friend or colleague won one, too? (Depending on destination, a business class ticket could be worth well over $1000!)

Here’s what we’ve got going on:

AirTran has generously donated FOUR roundtrip business class tickets to The TICKET for our new subscriber campaign. (see AirTran route map here)

We are going to give these tickets away to four lucky TICKET readers in a contest using word-of-mouth and social media to help increase the number of TICKET readers.

Here’s all you need to do to be entered into the contest:

Via email:

>Between now and March 30, send an email to a list of at least FIVE of your friends or colleagues and encourage them to sign up for The TICKET.

>When they sign up for THE TICKET, there will be a field on the sign-up page asking for the name or e-mail of the person who referred them. They MUST enter your name or email in this field for you to be entered to win. (See below for a suggested e-mail you can use to cut and paste into your email.)

this is a sample view of the sign up page for The TICKET. Please see box in upper right margin to sign up!

Via Social Media:

>Using Twitter or Facebook, suggest The TICKET via a tweet or a wall posting. Again, the new subscriber MUST enter your name or email address in the “Who referred you” field for you to be entered to win.   (See below for suggested tweet)

The more of your friends that sign up, the more likely you are to win.

At the end of March, The TICKET will hold a drawing. TWO current subscribers will win a free round trip business class ticket on AirTran as will TWO of their friends or colleagues who signed up. (Note: free tickets do NOT have to be used together. Winners will be contacted via the email provided on sign up page. Winners will be announced on the blog. )

Suggested email:

Dear ____________:

Have you ever heard about The TICKET? It’s a free online travel blog that I subscribe to. It’s full of helpful news and advice for frequent travelers that I read every month. I think it’s definitely something you could use, and get this: If I can convince you to sign up, we’ll both be eligible to win a free round trip business class ticket ANYWHERE AirTran flies. (see AirTran route map here)

So please check out The TICKET at the URL below by MARCH 30.  If you like it, SIGN UP (See “Subscribe” in the upper right margin of the blog) and BE SURE to include my name or email address as the person who referred you.

IMPORTANT: On the sign up page, please be sure to enter my email address where it asks: “Name or Email of who REFERRED you.” That’s the only way we can both win the tickets.

Here’s where to go: http://www.theticket-atlanta.com

Suggested Twitter Tweet or Facebook Wall posting:

Subscribe to The Ticket travel blog, use my name/email as reference, and we could both win free biz class tix http://bit.ly/8FO9vE

Hey Folks:

Thanks for all your compliments and suggestions on our new blog format.

We are still working away on improvements, so bear with us!

Here are some tips on navigating the new format:

• First, you can scroll down and see the familiar headline categories as you’ve seen in the past, such as “Airline News” and “Airport News” and “Hotel News,” etc. If you’d like to head straight to one of those categories, just click on the appropriate category on the list on the upper left side or along the bottom of your screen.
• Second, on the main page, only the first few paragraphs of each section are displayed. To read ALL the great info we have prepared for you, be sure to always click on the “read the rest of this entry” at the end of the second paragraph, which will open up the entire section for you.
• Third: PLEASE be sure and leave your comments! Blogs and other social media tools are all about interactivity and we want to hear from you! Sound off with your comments, tips and advice! (See “Comments” links at the bottom of each post) Thanks!
• NOTE! Which post garnered the MOST comments last month? The one about problems with the iPhone.
• Important: The URL for THE TICKET has changed. It’s now http://www.theticket-atlanta.com

Stay tuned for some new delivery options (like RSS feeds), but for now, sit back, relax and enjoy the new format! We’ll continue to send you an email once or twice per month to alert you to our latest issue.

Let us know what you think about the changes! This is a work on progress and we are counting on you to help us make it perfect!

Sincerely,

Chris McGinnis, Editor/Publisher, THE TICKET,  www.theticket-atlanta.com

The view from here is brightening and there’s lots of evidence to back that up. First off, while it’s not the best news for travelers, airlines feel confident enough about strong holiday booking trends that they are adding $10 surcharges on peak days around Thanksgiving and Christmas. They would not be doing that if they did not see clear signs of improving demand. (You know that there are a LOT of grandkids who did not get to see grandparents last winter when we were all in shock over the financial system meltdown and put the brakes on holiday trips. That’s less likely this year…)

Also, American Express is saying the decline business travel seems to be bottoming out, and demand is on the rise, which will lead to slightly higher airfares next year, while hotel rates will decline slightly (but not as much as they crashed this year.) We are thinking that everyone who has missed out on important meetings, tradeshows and conventions this year are now chomping at the bit and ready to hit the road again as the economy warms up.

So, I think all this points to a phrase we’ll all be hearing a LOT more this fall: PENT UP DEMAND. When it comes to holiday travel bookings, we suggest you go ahead and purchase now, because prices are much more likely to increase than decrease. And they might just POP up if we keep hearing positive economic news.

Happy Travels!

Chris McGinnis, Editor & Publisher, THE TICKET. www.theticket-atlanta.com

What do YOU think? Is a release of pent up demand on the horizon….or not? We’d love to hear your comments! Leave them right here:

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IN THIS ISSUE:

>ATL gets lots of new flights to sunny climes, loses others

>British Airways is giving away business class seats

>Video interview with Southwest Airlines CEO re: flying to ATL?

>A live look at Delta’s new lie-flat business class seat (video)

>Do you feel like throwing your iPhone out the window?

>A new, hip (and cheap!) hotel in California’s Silicon Valley (video)

Dear TICKET Readers:

As you may have noticed by now, we’ve transitioned THE TICKET to a new blog format.

First thing you’ll notice: We’ve added a lot more VIDEO. Frequent travelers clearly prefer online video as a way to get their news, so you’ll enjoy a new visual sensation. Our video production skills are still in their infancy, so please bear with our learning curve and expect big improvements in coming months.

The new format is shorter and a lot easier to read. When you see THE TICKET, look for the list of “Categories” on the top left side. These are the titles of the various sections you have seen in the older version— such as Airline News, Airport News, Frequent Flyer News, etc.

So now, you can click on the categories that interest you, or you can continue to read THE TICKET from top to bottom, just like you’ve done in the past.

Important: The URL for THE TICKET has changed. It’s now http://www.theticket-atlanta.com

Stay tuned for some new delivery options, but for now, sit back, relax and enjoy the new format! We’ll continue to send you an email once or twice per month to alert you to our latest issue.

PLEASE interact with us. THE TICKET is really a community of readers and responders. Travelers are our eyes and ears out there, so we expect to hear from you frequently. Tell us when we are wrong or right! Let us know when you agree with us, or not. Did we save you money or time? Add your own quips and anecdotes!

Let us know what you think about the changes! This is a work on progress and we are counting on you to help us make it perfect!

Sincerely,

Chris McGinnis, Editor/Publisher, THE TICKET,  www.theticket-atlanta.com

e-mail:  chris@travelskills.com

Hello Dear Readers:

We are transitioning THE TICKET to a new blog format and ask for your patience and your feedback.

With the new format, we hope to provide you with more frequent, shorter updates instead of the lengthy monthly version from the past. (However, the August issue, which you will find below, is in the format of the older once-a-month version. Expect newer shorter updates going forward.)

The new format will also give you all the opportunity to contribute to THE TICKET immediately with your comments (similar to the old “MAILBAG”).  At the bottom of each post, you’ll see where to leave your comments.  Please do so! Reader feedback and interaction is what social media is all about.

Again, we beg your patience as we work through the kinks of our new format.

Enjoy this month’s issue and have a wonderful August!

Sincerely,

Chris McGinnis, Editor/Publisher

chris@travelskills.com

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Southwest Comes to ATL?
• Virgin America Comes to ATL?
• Delta Makes Big Moves at La Guardia
• AirTran Leaves Newark
• More In-Flight Wi-Fi Updates
• Delta Ups Checked Bag Fee
• Busiest Domestic Air Routes in the US…Guess Which is #1?
• American Express Honoring Clear Card Refunds
• Free Wi-Fi at ATL?
• A New TICKET Hotel Review Feature: Checking In
• Brand New Hotel in NYC
• Car Rental Rates Soar…Why?
• Business Meals and Entertainment Deduction to Increase?
• TASTE of THE TICKET Goes Asian This Month!

Hi Folks:

Here we are in the dog days of summer in the midst of a recession that won’t stop dogging us! (I recently heard someone refer to the situation as a “repression”— a combination of a recession and a depression!) We were hoping that summer was going to be a turning point or a bottom to the travel industry’s tailspin, but based on recently released 2nd quarter numbers from airlines and hotel chains, we just are not there yet. Airline revenue is down about 25% compared to this time last year. Average hotel rates have declined below $100 per night-– for the first time since 2007 (currently at about $97).

Business travel is still in the pits. Leisure travel is a hair better, but still not good. It seems like the travel industry is stuck in a “less worse” situation. But…bad industry news is good for consumers, at least in the short run…airfares are exceptionally low as are hotel rates nearly everywhere. Airport security lines are no longer an issue. Airline and hotel employees are treating customers a lot better for the most part.

Longer term, the news is not so good for consumers who should expect fewer flights on older, smaller and dirtier planes. Ancillary fees will continue to bloat. Hotels could start to appear frayed and tatty as renovations get postponed and staff get overworked. Rental cars might get older, smellier and clunkier.

Wish we had better news! For now, we’ll keep muddling through and chronicling all the changes for you, dear readers. Thanks for tuning it!

Best,
Chris McGinnis
Editor

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YOUR TICKET EDITOR NOW TWITTERING: follow my business travel commentary, newsings and musings here:  twitter.com/cjmcginnis

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