Headline News

Airguide Online, May 14, 2004

According to the American Weekend Getaway Poll, conducted by Enterprise Rent-a-Car, 93 percent of respondents said they are likely to take driving weekend getaways in the next year. In addition, 20 percent responded that they are likely to consider renting a vehicle for such trips. Among other facts revealed, the study showed that one in six people (approximately 17 million Americans) have rented a vehicle for a weekend getaway in the past 12 months and that nearly seven in 10 motorists prefer weekend getaways to extended vacations because they are more economical.

Aloha Airlines and www.alohaairlines.com is boosting its service between Oakland and various Hawaii destinations to five roundtrips a day this summer. Aloha is launching seasonal service linking Oakland and Lihue, Kauai (LIH) on June 17; it will continue through Sept. 6. The carrier also is adding a second daily flight between Oakland and Honolulu (HNL) on July 2. It currently provides nonstop service between Oakland and Honolulu; Kahului, Maui (OGG); and Kona, on the Big Island (KOA), all using Boeing 737-700 aircraft accommodating 12 passengers in first class and 112 in coach.

Gavarnie Holding has completed its purchase of Island Air from Aloha Airgroup effective May 11. With the sale, Aloha Airgroup, parent company of Aloha Airlines, can focus on its primary Hawaii and long- haul routes. Travel Agent reported in December 2003, when the two parties signed a purchase agreement, Island Air's new owner plans to more than double its fleet of 37-seat de Havilland Dash-8 aircraft over the next few months and to significantly expand the scope of its interisland service. Thus, Island Air is set to launch daily service between Maui and Kona on the Big Island on May 13 2004. Island Air is continuing its marketing agreements with Aloha Airlines.

American Airlines filed a domestic across-the-board fare increase of $2 each way to offset its rising fuel costs. The increase is effective immediately and applies only to travel within the U.S. American said the price of crude oil is at its highest level since 1990 at $40 per barrel. Each one-cent rise in the price of a gallon of jet fuel costs American $30 million per year. There was no word at press time if other airlines were considering matching the increase.

Explore Chinatown is NYC & Company's newest marketing campaign to boost Chinatown's awareness as an important destination for New York City visitors. The two-year campaign aims to rebuild the area's economy, which took a big hit from the Sept. 11 attacks. The new campaign includes a Web site www.explorechinatown.com with itineraries, an events calendar and an online map. A visitor information booth will also be built in Chinatown and an Explore Chinatown brochure with a map will be available at local businesses, information kiosks and NYC's Official Visitor Information Center on Seventh Ave. at 53rd St. Tourism packages and programs are also being developed.

Lufthansa German Airlines and Connexion by Boeing announced Tuesday that passengers on LH 452, flying May 17, 2004 from Munich, Germany, to Los Angeles, Calif., will become the first air travelers to experience real-time, WiFi-based, high-speed Internet connectivity on a commercial flight. The new system is being installed on Lufthansa's A340-300 aircraft and five planes already have the new technology. Lufthansa plans to offer this new service to all passengers traveling long haul from Munich and Frankfurt by 2006. Using a FlyNet portal, passengers can access free updates for news, travel information, shopping and frequent flyer details, whereas the Connexion by Boeing is a fee-based service that allows travelers to surf the Web, send and receive emails with attachments, and set up a secure data connection via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to their corporate intranets or mail servers. The latter will cost either a flat rate of $29.95 for the entire flight or $9.95 for 30 minutes plus 25 cents for each additional minute.

Southwest Airlines said that in the first quarter of 2004, its SWABIZ corporate booking tool at www.southwest.com logged 88 percent more bookings from registered corporate customers than in the first quarter of 2003. Southwest recently announced it had created a full-time sales force to focus on SWABIZ and that customers booking through SWABIZ would continue to receive double Rapid Rewards credit through the end of this year. Now, Southwest says it also has tied SWABIZ into its 24- hour customer service support line at 800-435-9792 for help with existing travel reservations.

Southwest has three days of promotions and festivities planned May 8-10 2004 to celebrate its move into the Philadelphia market. In addition to water cannons that will christen the airplanes as they pull up to the gate, employees will be on the tarmac to cheer for the flights as they come in, and to hand out Mother's Day flowers and gifts at the ticket counter. Chairman Herb Kelleher will be led through the Terminal E sky- bridge by a Mummers band, where he will declare the city free of high fares and will ring a "Liberty" bell and sign a declaration of independence with a Texas-sized quill pen. Free snacks will be given to Southwest passengers.