Airlines & Air Travel Articles

(Dive Travel Business News - May 17, 2011) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's new proposal on the disclosure of airlines' ancillary fees through global distribution systems will likely not be announced until next year. However, a draft of the rule is expected to be sent to the Office of Management and Budget in August and will be evaluated until the end of the year.

The U.S. Department of Transportation does not expect to publicly reveal before January 2012 a new proposal on airlines' disclosure of optional service fees through global distribution systems. According to a DOT update issued last week, a public comment period following that Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would extend until June 2012. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - December 20, 2010) -- Air Pacific, Fiji's International Airline, the world’s friendliest airline, has been voted by the readers of Global Traveler magazine as the “Best Airline in the South Pacific” in the seventh annual award survey for 2010.  This is the third year in a row Air Pacific has been awarded this prestigious award by Global Traveler readers.

Global Traveler, a premier luxury travel magazine, is dedicated to the executive traveler.  The annual survey was created to tap into this readership of experienced travelers with prominent opinions of the business and luxury travel market resulting in an exclusive listing of the best in a variety of travel related categories. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - November 8, 2010) -- WestJet has begun new seasonal nonstop service between Toronto and Santa Clara, Cuba. WestJet will fly between Toronto and Santa Clara weekly each Friday. One-way fares, available in both directions on non-stop flights only, are available from $149 plus applicable taxes and fees. For more information, call WestJet's Sales Super Centre at 888-WEST-JET (937-8538) or visit www.westjet.com.

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(Dive Travel Business News - November 2, 2010) -- The Transportation Security Administration said it is implementing new pat-down procedures at airport security checkpoints nationwide in the U.S. The TSA called the initiative "one of our many layers of security to keep the traveling public safe," but has so far declined to detail exactly what its new procedures entail.

Television news reports from around the country show TSA agents using the palms of their hands on passengers at the checkpoints. Instead of patting passengers, the agents are firmly sliding their hands along and around the passengers' bodies. The American Civil Liberties Union said the new methods are "now much more invasive." read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - September 9, 2010) -- Asia-Pacific airlines are raising ticket prices in response to a strong economic rebound in Asia, led by China, reflecting growing consumer confidence across the Asia-Pacific region. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that the global passenger traffic to expand by 7.1 percent this year despite a projected easing of the economic rebound in the second half of 2010. 

PATA reports that Fiji, the Marshall Islands, The Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga all recorded double-digit increases in their China arrivals counts last year, ranging from a low of 11% to a high of 66%. In addition, the compound annual gross rate (CAGR) for the 2005-2009 period for most of these Pacific island destinations has also been relatively high, as Chinese travellers continue to search for new international destinations for both business and pleasure. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - July 14, 2010) -- A U.S. House of Representatives hearing hosted by the US Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Aviation will be held today that focuses on the proliferation and disclosure of ancillary airline fees.  The hearing comes about four weeks before the close of a public comment period on a related set of rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Among other things, the proposed DOT rules would require carriers to provide GDSs with information about bag fees and optional services fees. Proposed rules also include details on tarmac delay regulations and data, disclosure of customer service plans, consumer problem rectification, oversales and advertising "full" fares.

"The proliferation of ancillary fees over a relatively short period of time has raised concerns over the costs and transparency of such fees," according to the subcommittee. "Often, consumers are not entirely aware of the range of fees that they may encounter in the ticket booking process, at check-in and at the gate." read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - June 30, 2010) -- Air Pacific, Fiji's International Airline, the world’s friendliest airline, is offering a "Kids Fly Free*" fare, allowing parents to take the whole family to fabulous Fiji.

The offer is for flights to Fiji from Los Angeles August 1 – February 28 (Dec 15 – Jan 15 is blacked out).  The offer is good for one child or infant ticket with each adult round trip ticket purchased — round trip fares start at $1200 or so for 2 people (not too shabby).  Add-ons are available from other departure cities and, bonus, the child fare does not have to pay the add on.  To book, you must call the airline at 800-227-4446 before August 15th.

  read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - June 9, 2010) -- Just months after the US Department of Transportation  (DOT) dealt with lengthy on-ground flight delays with new tarmac rules,  DOT Secretary Ray LaHood has released a new round of consumer-friendly airline rules. If adopted, this newest set of airline regulations would:

• Force smaller airports and international air carriers to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays;
• Make airlines give passenger more information on delays;
• Foreign airlines would become subject to the same ground delay data reporting and disclosure rules as U.S. carriers;
• Establish of minimum standards for carriers’ customer service plans and extend the customer service plan requirements to cover foreign carriers;
• Change airline policies on denied boarding compensation, also known as involuntary bumping, to increase minimum compensation, add inflation adjustment, and offer more information to passengers about the policies

(Dive Travel Business News - May 10, 2010) -- Delta Air Lines is starting nonstop service from New York’s JFK to the Cayman Islands on June 12, 2010. The flights will operate once a week on Saturdays using the 160-seat Boeing 737-800. The Caymans are also offering the family-oriented Summer Splash promotion, which is valid for travel May 15 to Sept. 6, 2010, and includes discounted accommodations, activities, meals, car rentals, attractions and more. For more information, visit the Cayman Islands site or Delta.

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(Dive Travel Business News - May 4, 2010) -- JetBlue gave a substantial boost to its Caribbean flight schedule this week, offering Boston travelers 25 percent more departures to cities including Aruba; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and San Juan, Puerto Rico starting May 3, 2010. 

Key summer schedule highlights:
* Three additional weekly flights from Boston to Aruba (for a total of five);
* Two additional weekly flights from Boston to Cancun (for a total of three);
* One additional weekly flight from Boston to San Juan, Puerto Rico (for a total of 11);
* One additional weekly flight from Boston to Montego Bay, Jamaica (for a total of two)
* Daily flights from Boston to Bermuda (total of 7 weekly);
* Daily flights from Boston to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (total of 7 weekly).

Increased flight frequencies will be available on these routes year-round. A full rundown of flights schedules and fares is available at JetBlue. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - May 3, 2010) -- As of May 1, 2010, Air Jamaica has been taken over by Caribbean Airlines, the state-owned airline of Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidadian Government will invest $50 million in the airline and retain Air Jamaica's  seven routes and 1,000 employees.

Caribbean Airlines will continue to fly Air Jamaica’s 140 weekly flights between Montego Bay and Kingston to Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, New York Kennedy, Philadelphia and Toronto. Caribbean Airlines expects to announce other routes soon. Tickets issued by Air Jamaica before May 1 will be honored, as will frequent-flyer miles. 

During a transition period, which is expected to take between six and 12 months, the company will be called Caribbean Airlines Air Jamaica Transition Ltd. Air Jamaica’s fleet will retain its logo during the transition. The Jamaican Government will have a 16 per cent share in Caribbean Airlines: Air Jamaica will keep its equipment and offices at the airports in Jamaica. read more »

(Dive Travel Business News - February 4, 2010) -- If you are using Air Jamaica to get your clients to Caribbean dive destinations, take note.  Due to financial woes, Air Jamaica is reducing its fleet by 1/3 and revising its schedule to focus on its core routes. 

Suspension of service on selected routes will take place in two stages:  Effective March 9, Air Jamaica will suspend service on the New York (JFK) - Grenada  and the Jamaica-Orlando routes. Effective April 12, Air Jamaica will cease service on the Jamaica-Chicago, Jamaica-Curacao and Jamaica-Nassau routes. read more »

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com -- January 20, 2010) -- In conjunction with select Bahamas Resorts, US wholesaler Travel Impressions has launched the Free Companion Fare Promotion to the Islands of the Bahamas.

To receive the Companion Fare for free, an air-inclusive vacation package of 4 nights or more at select resorts in Nassau/Paradise Island, Grand Bahama Island, and the Out Islands of Abaco, Bimini, Eleuthera/Harbour Island and Exuma. View the list of resorts here.

Certain government imposed taxes and fees on free air travel are additional. Travel must be booked by March 3, 2010 for travel to June 23, 2010. Some blackout dates apply. This promotion is available through the Travel Impressions Call Center at 800-284-0044.

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(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com - January 19, 2010) -- For tickets purchase on or after Feb1, American Airlines is increasing its checked bag charges to $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second checked bag, payable at the airport on the day of travel. American had been charging $20 and $30, respectively.

Baggage charges apply to travel within the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights. As before, American's top customers are exempt from these checked bag charges. Among the exemptions to the charges are American's elite AAdvantage members, full-fare customers, confirmed passengers in the First or Business Class cabin, those traveling on military fares, and other travelers booked on the same record locator as the premium customer.

American’s move follows similar fee hikes by US Airways, Delta Air Lines, Continental Airlines and United Airlines. For more information, visit www.aa.com.

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(DiveTravelBusinessNews - Dec 1, 2009) -- Luggagelimits.com is an ambitious new site built around a central database that picks out what you can expect by matching your airline with your departure and arrival airports. Once you choose your airline, a bunch of general information gets displayed, both as a broad description and in boxes with specific information. At the top there's a drop-down box where for setting airline-specific ticket class, which reflects the idiosyncratic options of each company. Visit LugggageLimits here.
 

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(USA Today - Nov.18, 2009) -- Back in September, the major airlines began imposing $10 surcharges on heavy travel days around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's travel dates. Since then, surcharges have started doubling and then last week United, Delta and its subsidiary Northwest increased surcharges up to $50 and extended surcharges to cover a total of 41 days all the way to Memorial Day 2010.

Bestfares.com sounded the alarm on surcharges and provides this most recent list for 2009-2010 of surcharges on a one-way ticket:

$20 Surcharges: Nov 29, 30, Dec 18, 19, 23, 26, 27, 30, Jan 2, 3, Feb 12, May 20.

$30 Surcharges: March 14, 20, 21, 28, April 5, 11.

$50 Surcharges: Feb 8.

Most surcharges extending into March and April range from $10 to $30 and coincide with Easter or spring breaks.The $50 surcharge applies to tickets only on one day: Monday, Feb. 8, the day after the Super Bowl based on a one-way ticket.

US Airways will impose a different surcharge, equivalent to 5% of the ticket price on all domestic travel starting May 8 2010.  read more »

(TravelPulse.com - Oct 15, 2009) -- New air service between New York's JFK Airport and Hewanorra International Airport in Saint Lucia starts Monday October 26, 2009.

The thrice-weekly service uses spacious 150-seat Airbus A320 aircraft. The A320 offers complimentary seatback television programming including free first-run movies on flights to and from the Caribbean, comfortable leather seats, lots of legroom, unlimited free snacks and more. read more »

(TravelPulse.com - Oct 19, 2009) - A new partnership between the Barbados Tourism Authority and US Airways Vacations is discounting packages from Oct. 12 through Nov. 22. During that period Barbados vacation packages are $150 off for bookings of five nights or more. Travel must be completed by April 7.

US Airways reinstated non-stop flying from Philadelphia to Barbados four days a week earlier this month and will begin to offer daily service to the island for the winter season on Dec. 19. Flights are operated by Airbus A319 aircraft with 12 seats in First Class and 112 in the main cabin. For full terms and conditions of this offer, visit www.usairwaysvacations.com/barbados . For Barbados information and accommodation options, visit www.visitbarbados.org. read more »

(DiveTravelNewswire.com - Oct 12, 2009) - Airlines may not arbitrarily limit compensation for passengers who purchase necessities because their baggage is lost or delayed, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a newly issued notice.

In its notice, the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office said that a number of carriers have policies stating that they will reimburse passengers only for buying necessities purchased more than 24 hours after arrival and limiting such reimbursements to the outbound legs of trips. This is in violation of DOT regulations which require that airlines cover all expenses caused by lost or delayed baggage up to $3,300 per passenger on domestic flights, DOT said.

“Travelers should not have to pay for toiletries or other necessities while they wait for baggage misplaced by airlines,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We expect airlines to comply with all of our regulations and will take enforcement action if they do not.” read more »

(June 11, 2009 - DTN) - Air Canada and WestJet Airlines, both Canadian carriers, have increased commissions for travel agents and lowered fares to attract passengers as the summer travel season kicks off. "The way the economy is with the recession, everybody's trying all kinds of things to get people flying," said Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for Air Canada. read more »

(May 15, 2008 - CNNMoney.com) -- As if high fuel prices aren’t enough, airlines and passengers are getting pinched by rising taxes as the U.S. government demands a bigger piece of the pie.

About 20% of the price of a $300 domestic round-trip ticket goes to taxes and fees, according to the Air Transport Association, compared with 13% in 1992 and 7% in 1972.

“When the government decides to throw another tax on passengers, that is greatly hurting an already financially hurting industry,” said ATA spokesman David Castelveter. “We’ve long said that we are one of the most overtaxed industries, and we now are dealing with record-level fuel increases. The airline industry is in a worse financial situation than it was on 9/11.”

Rick Seaney, chief executive of online ticket vendor Farecompare.com, dissected ticket prices and estimated that the U.S. government reaped $40 billion in airline ticket taxes in 2007.

Seaney broke down the price of a $300 domestic round-trip flight: read more »

(May 27, 2008 - The New York Times) --  The six network airlines put in place another round of fare increases over the holiday, ranging up to $60 for a round-trip ticket, said Rick Seaney, the chief executive officer of Farecompare.com. It was the 11th fare increase of the year that all six major carriers had joined in. Despite the wide-ranging fare increases, airlines have been “very cautious” about increasing fares on routes where there is competition from Southwest, JetBlue and other low-cost carriers, Mr. Seaney said. Additionally, he said, airlines are now frequently “firing out short-duration sales” on fares for certain routes, mostly to fill seats on off-peak business travel days.

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