| NEWS
HEADLINES |
Thursday,
June 2, 2005 |
United
Airlines Targeting Non-Labor Cuts While Moving Toward
Exit Sign in Bankruptcy
Pillows and blankets will stay. More corporate and
administrative costs will go. Airport operations will
be redesigned to become more cost-efficient. Moving
toward the exit sign in bankruptcy, United Airlines
is looking for more non-labor savings after effectively
completing work force-related cuts totaling a staggering
$3.8 billion annually over the past two years. MORE
United
Airlines reaches agreements with unions
June 2, 2005 -- United Airlines reached an agreement
with its machinists union regarding a new contract,
while its mechanics voted to ratify a separate pact.
The two agreements would enable the company to achieve
its targeted cuts in annual costs and avoid a possible
strike by the unions. MORE
NWA
Debt Downgraded; Union Says Airline Hired Replacements
June 2, 2005 -- Fitch Ratings downgraded Northwest
Airlines debt on Wednesday, saying the nation's fourth-largest
airline is taking too long to cut worker pay while
fuel costs remain high. MORE
U.S.
Will Enforce Machine-Readable Passport Requirement
June 26
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced
that effective June 26 all Visa Waiver Program travelers
will have to present a machine-readable passport (MRP)
for visa-free entry into the United States, but it
says the requirement will affect only about 0.35 percent
of travelers currently entering the United States
under the program. MORE
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AIR |
| United
Airlines, CHASE Welcome Loyal Customers Onboard With
New Rewards Credit Card
May 31, 2005 – United and Chase [NYSE: JPM]
today added a new rewards card to their fleet –
the United Mileage Plus® Platinum Class Visa®
Signature card, giving travelers more mileage-earning
capabilities and accelerated eligibility toward elite
status. MORE
Cincinnati,
Be Happy! Delta Starts Non-stop Flights to Montego
Bay June 4
June 2, 2005 – Beginning June 4, sunny Jamaica
will be a short trip away from “The Queen City”
with the launch Delta’s first-ever non-stop
service between Cincinnati and Montego Bay. MORE
Travelers
in U.S. Southeast Now Have Non-stop Link to Moscow
with New Delta Service from Atlanta
June 1, 2005 – Customers flying to Moscow now
have another convenient gateway in Delta Air Lines’
hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
MORE
Continental
Airlines Inaugurates Daily Nonstop Service From New
York to Stockholm, Sweden
Continental Airlines will begin daily nonstop flights
from its New York-area hub at Newark Liberty International
Airport to Stockholm, Sweden. MORE
Delta
Reaches Agreements With Key Lenders
June 1, 2005 -- Delta Air Lines Inc. has reached revised
financing agreements with two key lenders that give
the nation's third largest carrier leeway to earn
less but require it to have more cash on hand at all
times. MORE
Star
Alliance To Select Alt. Dist. Systems By Year-End
June 2, 2005 -- Following the lead of founding member
United Airlines (BTN, Feb. 7), the 16-member Star
Alliance actively is pursuing alternatives to the
four primary global distribution systems and plans
to choose partners before the end of this year. MORE
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ATA
seeks interim backing
June 2, 2005 -- ATA Airlines will look for a new cash
infusion from investors to help carry it through the
lean months expected before profits rise next spring.
Fitch
Downgrades Northwest Airlines Debt
June 1, 2005 -- Fitch Ratings downgraded Northwest
Airlines Corp. debt on Wednesday, saying the nation's
fourth-largest airline is taking too long to cut worker
pay while fuel costs remain high. MORE
Northwest
Airlines Drops Magazines
June 1, 200 5 -- In yet another effort to cut its
non-labor costs, Northwest Airlines Corp. stopped
carrying Newsweek, Glamour and other magazines on
its planes and in its passenger club lounges on Wednesday.
MORE
Low-Cost
Airlines Serving Eastern Europe
June 1, 2005 -- Slovakia - Queuing in front of the
SkyEurope Airlines check-in desk, Maria Knisova tried
quell the fear of her first flying experience by concentrating
on the fact that she would soon see her son in Paris.
MORE
Alaska
Airlines Mileage Plan Members Can Earn 5,000 Miles
With Capital One Auto Finance
June 1, 2005 -- Members of Alaska Airlines' Mileage
Plan now can drive home a great deal by earning 5,000
Bonus Miles when receiving an auto loan from Capital
One Auto Finance. Capital One, America's largest online
vehicle lender, provides auto loans to customers directly
via the Internet.
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CAR/RAIL |
HOTELS |
| Panel
Favors Signs, Taxing Car Rentals
A city committee voted to tax car rentals for money
to promote tourism, and then agreed to spend more
than $600,000 on entrance signs to greet the visitors
when they come.
The Minot City Council's finance and improvements
committee backed a proposal from the Minot Convention
and Visitors Bureau to impose a 1 percent sales tax
on short-term car rentals, beginning Aug. 1. The 2005
Legislature passed a bill allowing cities to levy
up to a 1 percent car-rental tax to promote tourism.
MORE
$75
Savings For New Yorkers on Long-Term Avis Rentals
May 31, 2005 -- Take the stress out of your summer
travels by locking in a long-term Avis Mini-Lease
and have a great car at your disposal for the entire
summer. Now, New York / Tri-State area renters will
receive even greater savings with $75 off long-term
rentals of convertibles or roadsters for thirty days
or longer. MORE
Car
Renters Come Across Steeper Rates
Car-rental prices are rising, the result of growing
demand from a rebound in travel and a tight supply
of vehicles. MORE
Forget
tech: Biz travelers want clean cars, cheap gas
Car rental companies are ramping up perks aimed at
satisfying business travelers, equipping cars with
GPS locator systems and satellite radio, and rental
locations with wireless Internet access.
But those high-tech options aren't high on the priority
list for most business travelers. MORE
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June
And July Hotel Rates To Jump In Key Cities
May 26, 2005 -- Hotel rates in seven U.S. gateway
cities are projected to increase an average of 10.8
percent in June and 6.4 percent in July, compared
to the same months in 2004, according to projections
made today by JP Morgan Chase. The data is the latest
evidence that buyers can expect stiff rate negotiations
for 2006 in the markets where they are likely to have
the greatest volume. MORE
Find
a Way Around Paying a Fortune for Holiday Weekend
Hotels
June 1, 2005 -- If you aren't planning on staying
with friends or family over Independence or Labor
Day weekends, you'll be faced with finding accommodations
during peak travel times. While holidays are known
for high hotel prices and increased tourism, we've
found ways to save. MORE
Marriott
Sees Healthy RevPAR, Expansion Through 2008
June 2, 2005 -- Marriott International plans to tell
analysts and investors at a conference today in Miami
Beach that it expects revenue per available room to
grow between 8 percent and 10 percent this year. Marriott
said the momentum would wane slightly but keep an
upward pace between next year and 2008, a time during
which the chain estimates RevPAR will grow at rates
between 4 percent and 8 percent. MORE
Hotel
business bouncing back
June 2, 2005 -- This year, business travelers are
waking up in a new hotel market, Gannett News Service
reports. After several years of flat or falling rates
and depressed occupancy rates, hotels have been boosting
rates and selling out. MORE
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| OTHER
INDUSTRY RELATED NEWS & ARTICLES |
| IATA
DG Bisignani blasts governments at AGM
June 1, 2005 -- IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani
continued to hammer the message that governments need
to stop treating the airline industry as a cash cow.Speaking
at the 61st IATA AGM in Tokyo Monday, Bisignani claimed
that "in the US, taxes on a $200 ticket average
26%. This is a $15 billion ripoff." On top of
this, he said, the industry "pays $5.6 billion
a year for its own security, while our rail competitors
are subsidized by $50 billion a year." MORE
FAA
Prepares for Airlines’ Busy Summer Strategy
U.S. airlines plan to fly planes full this summer
and wait out delays caused by weather and congestion
rather than cancel flights. MORE
Investors
See Gold in Tarnished Airline Industry
June 2, 2005 -- Maybe Ed Shapiro is crazy for investing
more money in the troubled, money-losing airline industry.
But the partner with Boston equity fund PAR Capital
Management has "great confidence" in the
$100 million he devoted to the merger of US Airways
and America West Airlines. MORE
Canada
Unhappy With US Passenger List Proposal
June 2, 2005 -- Canada is "very worried"
by a US proposal that its airlines provide passenger
lists for planes flying through American airspace
rather than actually landing in the United States,
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre said. MORE
EU
Commission Opposes Airline Tax
June 1, 2005 -- The European Commission opposes a
voluntary tax on air travel to fund extra development
aid for Africa and will defy a request by EU finance
ministers to make such a proposal, a Commission source
said on Wednesday. MORE
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Costs,
Delays Harm Air Traffic Upgrade
June 1, 2005 -- Sharp cost increases and delays in
implementation are harming efforts to modernize the
U.S. air traffic control system, the Department of
Transportation's Office of Inspector General (IG)
said in a report released Tuesday. MORE
Customs
Agent Advises Travelers to be Prepared
May 24, 2005 -- Thousands of passengers are expected
to travel through Phoenix Sky Harbor International
Airport this summer, headed to and from a variety
of international destinations. MORE
Dollar
Reclaims More Ground Against Euro
June 1, 2005 -- The dollar rose to the highest level
in more than eight months against the euro Wednesday
as concern about political instability and weak economic
growth in Europe weighed on the multi-country currency.
MORE
Boeing
Signs China Supply Contracts
June 2, 2005 -- US aircraft manufacturer Boeing said
on Thursday it had signed contracts worth an estimated
USD$600 million with Chinese companies to supply parts
until 2021. MORE
US
to test airline anti-missile defense system
May 29, 2005 -- The US Department of Homeland Security
is paying for tests on defensive laser systems designed
to thwart attacks from shoulder-fired missiles on
passenger airliners, the New York Times reported Sunday.
MORE
U.S.
Considering Wireless Passport Protection
The U.S. government is 'taking a very serious look'
at improving privacy protection for the new wireless-readable
passports, according to an official quoted in a great
article by Kim Zetter at Wired News. MORE
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