India’s largest private airline, Jet Airways, has undergone top-level changes with its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wolfgang Prock-Schauer quitting the airline to join British Midland Plc (BMI) airline as its CEO.
Prock-Schauer who led Jet for nearly six years and helped in making it an international airline will be leaving the airline on October 15. Naresh Goyal, Jet’s chairman has appointed his old friend, advisor and Jet’s former CEO Nikos K Kardassis (52) as the acting CEO.
“We need to bring financial stability to the airline. In the coming months we will restructure the debt and increase the capital base by raising more funds. We have a good product and I need to continue what ever has been done in the past months,” Kardassis told Hindustan Times.
Kardassis was the airline’s CEO during its infancy, between 1994 and 1999. He had then left the organisation to be with his family. Kardassis, formerly with Merrill Lynch and General Electric joined back Jet 18 months ago and has been heading the Americas operations of the airline as senior vice-president. In addition, he has been advising Goyal on finance and strategy.
Kardassis takes over at a time when the 16-year-old airline is passing through a severe financial crisis amid a price war, a demand slump and a pilots’ unrest.
A confident Kardassis said that his immediate priority would be to bring financial stability and maintain continuity.
Ref: http://www.hindustantimes.com/
Friday, October 9, 2009
AI in talks with PSU banks for working capital loans
National carrier Air India is understood be in negotiations with state-run banks to avail working capital loans at low interests, Air India sources said.
"We are talking to some banks to avail working capital loans in the range of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore," airline sources said in Mumbai today
Negotiations are on with public sector banks like the Syndicate Bank, the sources said, adding, the loans are being sought to carry out day-to-day operations of the carrier.
The cash-strapped carrier already has over Rs 16,000 crore working capital borrowings on its balance sheet, coupled with around Rs 7,200 crore expected losses for this year.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, the airline has been in talks with the banks to convert its high-cost debt into low-cost ones.
Meanwhile, Air India has released productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and flying allowances of its 31,000-staff including pilots for July.
The airline management in June had requested its senior officials over the rank of General Managers to forego their July salary, PLI and flying allowances in view of the financial crisis facing the company.
Besides it also proposed up to 50 per cent cut in PLI, flying allowances for its senior management, including executive pilots and engineers.
This move was aimed at saving around Rs 750 crore annually out of its total wage bill of over Rs 3,100 crore as part of the cost-cutting measures.
However, after the unions opposed the move and the executive pilots resorting to a five-day agitation, the management succumbed to their demands and kept the proposal in abeyance till a sub-committee of its board took a final call on the issue.
The pilots ended their stir, which lead to over Rs 100 crore loss to the airline, after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel assured them that their PLI dues would be paid by October 7.
Ref: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/
"We are talking to some banks to avail working capital loans in the range of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore," airline sources said in Mumbai today
Negotiations are on with public sector banks like the Syndicate Bank, the sources said, adding, the loans are being sought to carry out day-to-day operations of the carrier.
The cash-strapped carrier already has over Rs 16,000 crore working capital borrowings on its balance sheet, coupled with around Rs 7,200 crore expected losses for this year.
As part of its cost-cutting measures, the airline has been in talks with the banks to convert its high-cost debt into low-cost ones.
Meanwhile, Air India has released productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and flying allowances of its 31,000-staff including pilots for July.
The airline management in June had requested its senior officials over the rank of General Managers to forego their July salary, PLI and flying allowances in view of the financial crisis facing the company.
Besides it also proposed up to 50 per cent cut in PLI, flying allowances for its senior management, including executive pilots and engineers.
This move was aimed at saving around Rs 750 crore annually out of its total wage bill of over Rs 3,100 crore as part of the cost-cutting measures.
However, after the unions opposed the move and the executive pilots resorting to a five-day agitation, the management succumbed to their demands and kept the proposal in abeyance till a sub-committee of its board took a final call on the issue.
The pilots ended their stir, which lead to over Rs 100 crore loss to the airline, after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel assured them that their PLI dues would be paid by October 7.
Ref: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/
British Airways offers $40 round-trip US-India fare by mistake, cancels tickets
Regulars on the US-India flight route erupted in joy last week when British Airways offered, erroneously as it turned out, a $40 round-trip fare (plus taxes, fees and surcharge) from any city in the US to any destination in India.
Scores of eager beaver flyers snagged the tickets in the two-hour window on October 2, before BA realized its error and shut down the offer, even as word about the Gandhi Jayanti gift sped through the desi bush telegraph.
Now BA says it cannot honor the tickets because it was a systems' glitch. The airline claims it was actually filing for a $40 increase in fares between US and India and somewhere down the line the plus sign got knocked off.
"As these fares were so clearly below the normal fare levels, British Airways is unable to honor these bookings," the airline said in an e-mail to travel agents. "We have cancelled all affected bookings made during this two-hour window, and will make a full refund for any paid for and issued ticket."
Not so fast, say furious customers. Many of them say they have made other onward bookings and plans. Some dumped other airlines and tickets, incurring a cancellation fee, to pile on the BA bonanza.
Besides, say some customers, the $40 fare tag is misleading. "What they're leaving out is that taxes and fees amount to $530+. So sure it is a good deal, but not a give-away by any means," one buyer wrote to the LA Times travel blog, which first broke the story. Others said they paid between $600 to $700 including taxes, fees, and surcharge, and insist BA should honor the deal.
On Friday, BA budged just a bit, offering a $ 300 discount on a future BA fare to India in addition to the full refund. In its e-mail to travel agents, the airline apologized for the error and said refunded customers could get an additional $300 off "any published retail World Traveller fare from the US to India when booked between now and Nov. 12, 2009." It said the offer was valid for travel through Sept. 30, 2010.
It remains to be seen if buyers are pacified.
The public relations fiasco underlines the steady decline of European airlines and against emerging Gulf and eastern carriers for the US-India market, even as state-owned Air India is flailing around.
For the longest time, European carriers such as BA, KLM, Air France and Lufthansa have had a run of the US-India route, especially from the East Coast, with transit through European hubs. But now gulf carriers such as Qatar Airways and Emirates are muscling into the market, enticing Indian flyers to fly through the Doha and Dubai, instead of through London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt etc.
Commencing Sunday, Qatar Airways will begin a direct service four times a week from its Doha base to Amritsar, allowing a wide base of Sikhs/Punjabi diaspora in North America (where it flies direct to Washington DC, Houston/Dallas among other cities), Europe, Africa and the Gulf/West Asia region to make their Golden Temple pilgrimage expeditiously.
The airline, which already flies from Doha to eight other cities in India, will also begin a Doha-Goa service on October 25, making it one of the "best spread" foreign airlines in India. Qatar flies directly non-stops from Doha to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode. A Doha-Bangalore flight is next in line.
Likewise, its Gulf rival Emirates (over which Qatar brags a five-star rating) offers a several connections into Indian cities for Indian expats flying in from U.S. Many flyers from the US prefer a 13-hour first leg to Gulf hubs (allowing eight hours of sleep) which brings them within 3-4 hours to India, rather than the approximately 7 hour-9 hour split while flying from US to India via Europe.
Not surprisingly, all six airlines which have a Skytrax five-star rating (Qatar, Kingfisher, Cathay Pacific, Asiana, Singapore and Malaysia) are Asian, with no European or American airline making the grade.
Crisis ridden Air India meanwhile is trying to retrieve the situation in a U.S market where it has poor ratings. Starting December 1, India's sarkari airline is going to meet a long standing demand from passengers in the Washington DC region to connect directly to New Delhi.
"Direct" but not non-stop, since the flight will be a Washington DC--New York--New Delhi-Kolkata shuttle. The current New York-Delhi non-stop is just getting an extension at both ends. Still, it's the first step in directly linking the two capitals with the same aircraft. There are already Washington DC-Tokyo and Washington DC-Beijing direct non-stops.
Ref: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/
Scores of eager beaver flyers snagged the tickets in the two-hour window on October 2, before BA realized its error and shut down the offer, even as word about the Gandhi Jayanti gift sped through the desi bush telegraph.
Now BA says it cannot honor the tickets because it was a systems' glitch. The airline claims it was actually filing for a $40 increase in fares between US and India and somewhere down the line the plus sign got knocked off.
"As these fares were so clearly below the normal fare levels, British Airways is unable to honor these bookings," the airline said in an e-mail to travel agents. "We have cancelled all affected bookings made during this two-hour window, and will make a full refund for any paid for and issued ticket."
Not so fast, say furious customers. Many of them say they have made other onward bookings and plans. Some dumped other airlines and tickets, incurring a cancellation fee, to pile on the BA bonanza.
Besides, say some customers, the $40 fare tag is misleading. "What they're leaving out is that taxes and fees amount to $530+. So sure it is a good deal, but not a give-away by any means," one buyer wrote to the LA Times travel blog, which first broke the story. Others said they paid between $600 to $700 including taxes, fees, and surcharge, and insist BA should honor the deal.
On Friday, BA budged just a bit, offering a $ 300 discount on a future BA fare to India in addition to the full refund. In its e-mail to travel agents, the airline apologized for the error and said refunded customers could get an additional $300 off "any published retail World Traveller fare from the US to India when booked between now and Nov. 12, 2009." It said the offer was valid for travel through Sept. 30, 2010.
It remains to be seen if buyers are pacified.
The public relations fiasco underlines the steady decline of European airlines and against emerging Gulf and eastern carriers for the US-India market, even as state-owned Air India is flailing around.
For the longest time, European carriers such as BA, KLM, Air France and Lufthansa have had a run of the US-India route, especially from the East Coast, with transit through European hubs. But now gulf carriers such as Qatar Airways and Emirates are muscling into the market, enticing Indian flyers to fly through the Doha and Dubai, instead of through London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt etc.
Commencing Sunday, Qatar Airways will begin a direct service four times a week from its Doha base to Amritsar, allowing a wide base of Sikhs/Punjabi diaspora in North America (where it flies direct to Washington DC, Houston/Dallas among other cities), Europe, Africa and the Gulf/West Asia region to make their Golden Temple pilgrimage expeditiously.
The airline, which already flies from Doha to eight other cities in India, will also begin a Doha-Goa service on October 25, making it one of the "best spread" foreign airlines in India. Qatar flies directly non-stops from Doha to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode. A Doha-Bangalore flight is next in line.
Likewise, its Gulf rival Emirates (over which Qatar brags a five-star rating) offers a several connections into Indian cities for Indian expats flying in from U.S. Many flyers from the US prefer a 13-hour first leg to Gulf hubs (allowing eight hours of sleep) which brings them within 3-4 hours to India, rather than the approximately 7 hour-9 hour split while flying from US to India via Europe.
Not surprisingly, all six airlines which have a Skytrax five-star rating (Qatar, Kingfisher, Cathay Pacific, Asiana, Singapore and Malaysia) are Asian, with no European or American airline making the grade.
Crisis ridden Air India meanwhile is trying to retrieve the situation in a U.S market where it has poor ratings. Starting December 1, India's sarkari airline is going to meet a long standing demand from passengers in the Washington DC region to connect directly to New Delhi.
"Direct" but not non-stop, since the flight will be a Washington DC--New York--New Delhi-Kolkata shuttle. The current New York-Delhi non-stop is just getting an extension at both ends. Still, it's the first step in directly linking the two capitals with the same aircraft. There are already Washington DC-Tokyo and Washington DC-Beijing direct non-stops.
Ref: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/
French travel company buying Gandhi home
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Oct. 9 (UPI) --
A French travel firm has agreed to buy a house in suburban Johannesburg, South Africa, where Mahatma Gandhi spent three years as a young lawyer, its owners say.
Jarrod and Nancy Ball told The Guardian they selected Voyageurs du Monde's offer because the company plans to maintain the heritage of the house, called The Kraal, where the Indian political and spiritual leader lived for three years. The company said it would convert the house into a museum on Gandhi "in line with its philosophy of investing in heritage properties worldwide."
Mohandas Gandhi, not yet known as Mahatma or "Great Soul," spent 21 years in South Africa as a lawyer and political activist, developing his concept of non-violent resistance there. Considered the father of India, the Hindu spiritual leader was assassinated in 1948 at age 78.
The Balls' decision to sell the house to Voyageurs du Monde has angered many Indian officials.
"I know India has responded not too happily but we think it went to the right people and we're delighted," Nancy Ball said. "One of our end-use conditions was that something be done to protect the heritage."
Nancy Ball said the house had been on the market for a year before a South African newspaper reported on its history. That sparked a bidding war with at least four offers, including one from Voyageurs du Monde for a reported $500,000.
Ref: http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/
A French travel firm has agreed to buy a house in suburban Johannesburg, South Africa, where Mahatma Gandhi spent three years as a young lawyer, its owners say.
Jarrod and Nancy Ball told The Guardian they selected Voyageurs du Monde's offer because the company plans to maintain the heritage of the house, called The Kraal, where the Indian political and spiritual leader lived for three years. The company said it would convert the house into a museum on Gandhi "in line with its philosophy of investing in heritage properties worldwide."
Mohandas Gandhi, not yet known as Mahatma or "Great Soul," spent 21 years in South Africa as a lawyer and political activist, developing his concept of non-violent resistance there. Considered the father of India, the Hindu spiritual leader was assassinated in 1948 at age 78.
The Balls' decision to sell the house to Voyageurs du Monde has angered many Indian officials.
"I know India has responded not too happily but we think it went to the right people and we're delighted," Nancy Ball said. "One of our end-use conditions was that something be done to protect the heritage."
Nancy Ball said the house had been on the market for a year before a South African newspaper reported on its history. That sparked a bidding war with at least four offers, including one from Voyageurs du Monde for a reported $500,000.
Ref: http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/
Agents cheat foreigners by selling safari in Sept
JAIPUR: A safari in Ranthambhore National Park in September officially is absolutely impossible. But tour operators know how to work their way
around and hoodwink the foreign travellers. But beyond that a lot of travel agents in Delhi create an impression of being associated with "Incredible India", the ministry of tourism's campaign by putting up "Incredible India" signboards outside their offices.
So when Goncalo Silva, a PhD student from Portugal, wanted an adventure holiday in India with his wife Gisela Dionmsio, a Delhi-based travel agency suggested a holiday and tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park. "We thought that the national park was closed until October 1, although visiting Incredible India travel agency in Delhi, they told us that the park would be opened exclusively for some hotels. The package would include two nights in the Ankur Resort and a jeep safari. I thought that was normal and a nice strategy to maintain tourism all year around," wrote Goncalo.
Based on that, they flew down for a holiday from September 10-12, 2009. They were taken around the Kundal Range' of Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary, the area that is open to visitors year round with a Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) post there as anti-encroachment measure. "We went on a jeep safari in the morning of September 11 with a driver, a guide and a park ranger. We didn't enter the park through the main entrance next to the fort, but through the rear side. At the entrance there were several park rangers, some of them armed. Since we didn't know where the main entrance was, we thought that everything was normal, said Goncalo.
Though they did not spot tigers, the gypsy took them around the Park for about two hours where they crossed 3 or 4 gypsies with Indian tourists. During the safari, they found it very strange when the driver stopped the jeep and they got down and walked around.
"We know that it is not allowed to walk in natural parks, especially where big cats live. The guide told us that we went to a restricted area and nobody could go there. We thought it very strange. During the trip, the guide also went out of the jeep and got very close to an antelope. That was not a good ethic procedure and something was wrong with that safari. Later talking to people they were given to understand that there is a scheme to get tourists inside the parks even when it is supposed to be closed," said Goncalo.
Their suspicion was further aggravated when they requested to go again for the safari, and the hotel said only the agent would be able to do it. Two days later they flew back not very sure if they had not been cheated by the agent.
But Tiger Watch, the NGO swung into action when Goncalo wrote to them about the entire situation and threatened to, "Denounce this situation to Lonelyplanet, Roughguide, Le Guide du Routard and American Express guides, avoiding tourists to fall on these kinds of pitfalls. We also want to bring it to the notice of the Portuguese Embassy in Delhi," the mail to Dharmendra Khandal Tiger Watch read.
"The tourists certainly were cheated and wrong information was given by individual operators i.e. the lodge, the driver and the agent who calls himself Incredible India'." "I will definitely take this up on the google toft group and encourage everyone to use that portal with these types of situations," Abhishek Behl, director, Travel Operators for Tigers TOFT. Further TOFT is contemplating taking this issue forward with the secretary tourism, GoI.
Ref: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
around and hoodwink the foreign travellers. But beyond that a lot of travel agents in Delhi create an impression of being associated with "Incredible India", the ministry of tourism's campaign by putting up "Incredible India" signboards outside their offices.
So when Goncalo Silva, a PhD student from Portugal, wanted an adventure holiday in India with his wife Gisela Dionmsio, a Delhi-based travel agency suggested a holiday and tiger safari in Ranthambhore National Park. "We thought that the national park was closed until October 1, although visiting Incredible India travel agency in Delhi, they told us that the park would be opened exclusively for some hotels. The package would include two nights in the Ankur Resort and a jeep safari. I thought that was normal and a nice strategy to maintain tourism all year around," wrote Goncalo.
Based on that, they flew down for a holiday from September 10-12, 2009. They were taken around the Kundal Range' of Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary, the area that is open to visitors year round with a Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) post there as anti-encroachment measure. "We went on a jeep safari in the morning of September 11 with a driver, a guide and a park ranger. We didn't enter the park through the main entrance next to the fort, but through the rear side. At the entrance there were several park rangers, some of them armed. Since we didn't know where the main entrance was, we thought that everything was normal, said Goncalo.
Though they did not spot tigers, the gypsy took them around the Park for about two hours where they crossed 3 or 4 gypsies with Indian tourists. During the safari, they found it very strange when the driver stopped the jeep and they got down and walked around.
"We know that it is not allowed to walk in natural parks, especially where big cats live. The guide told us that we went to a restricted area and nobody could go there. We thought it very strange. During the trip, the guide also went out of the jeep and got very close to an antelope. That was not a good ethic procedure and something was wrong with that safari. Later talking to people they were given to understand that there is a scheme to get tourists inside the parks even when it is supposed to be closed," said Goncalo.
Their suspicion was further aggravated when they requested to go again for the safari, and the hotel said only the agent would be able to do it. Two days later they flew back not very sure if they had not been cheated by the agent.
But Tiger Watch, the NGO swung into action when Goncalo wrote to them about the entire situation and threatened to, "Denounce this situation to Lonelyplanet, Roughguide, Le Guide du Routard and American Express guides, avoiding tourists to fall on these kinds of pitfalls. We also want to bring it to the notice of the Portuguese Embassy in Delhi," the mail to Dharmendra Khandal Tiger Watch read.
"The tourists certainly were cheated and wrong information was given by individual operators i.e. the lodge, the driver and the agent who calls himself Incredible India'." "I will definitely take this up on the google toft group and encourage everyone to use that portal with these types of situations," Abhishek Behl, director, Travel Operators for Tigers TOFT. Further TOFT is contemplating taking this issue forward with the secretary tourism, GoI.
Ref: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
Air travel: Why it will get worse
A new Brookings Institution study looks at the cause of flight delays and why they’re going to get worse
“If you think flying is a miserable experience now,” said Aaron Smith in CNNMoney.com, “just wait until 2010.” According to a report from the Brookings Institution (read the report), flight delays are actually down from recent levels, a “silver lining” of the recession-linked drop in air travel. But air travel will pick back up again next year—“the result: more delays.”
Even if arrival times are “above par” now, they’re still “far from stellar,” said Alex Altman in Time. Ten percent of flights are delayed two hours or more, with the average delay at 57 minutes in June. But flying has turned “from a luxury into an egalitarian necessity,” so we have to do something. The Brookings report has some “sensible suggestions,” including using high-speed rail as an alternative to short flights, privatizing airports, and runway congestion pricing.
“The last one probably won’t fly,” said Scott Jagow in Marketplace. The airlines hate the idea of higher rates for prime-time runway slots, “and besides, you know who will end up paying for it.”
American business will pay if we don’t “ease congestion,” said Charisse Jones in USA Today. The worst delays are at some of our most important business centers—New York (the worst), Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco. So while none of us like sitting idle on the runway, it takes "a particularly heavy toll on business travelers and potentially the economy.”
Ref: http://www.theweek.com/article/
“If you think flying is a miserable experience now,” said Aaron Smith in CNNMoney.com, “just wait until 2010.” According to a report from the Brookings Institution (read the report), flight delays are actually down from recent levels, a “silver lining” of the recession-linked drop in air travel. But air travel will pick back up again next year—“the result: more delays.”
Even if arrival times are “above par” now, they’re still “far from stellar,” said Alex Altman in Time. Ten percent of flights are delayed two hours or more, with the average delay at 57 minutes in June. But flying has turned “from a luxury into an egalitarian necessity,” so we have to do something. The Brookings report has some “sensible suggestions,” including using high-speed rail as an alternative to short flights, privatizing airports, and runway congestion pricing.
“The last one probably won’t fly,” said Scott Jagow in Marketplace. The airlines hate the idea of higher rates for prime-time runway slots, “and besides, you know who will end up paying for it.”
American business will pay if we don’t “ease congestion,” said Charisse Jones in USA Today. The worst delays are at some of our most important business centers—New York (the worst), Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and San Francisco. So while none of us like sitting idle on the runway, it takes "a particularly heavy toll on business travelers and potentially the economy.”
Ref: http://www.theweek.com/article/
Adventure travel swings into scarred Sierra Leone
"Their tourism infrastructure is shot to pieces but I really enjoyed my time. I thought: they've had a war and could probably do with a leg up."
President Ernest Bai Koroma has vowed to boost tourism.
The sector attracts around 4,000 people a year and accounts for only 1 percent of the fragile $1.7 billion economy, according to the National Tourist Board.
The World Travel and Tourism Council says the average in Africa is closer to 10 percent.
"It's a crime for Sierra Leone to be poor," said Bala Amarasekaran, who started the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in 1995, soon after which missiles whistled overhead and repeatedly landed near the reserve.
Now the setting for $120-a-night eco-lodges built into the forest with hammocks overlooking mist-covered mountains, Tacugama is the type of attraction Sierra Leoneans hope will revive the tourism industry.
Ref: http://in.reuters.com/article/
President Ernest Bai Koroma has vowed to boost tourism.
The sector attracts around 4,000 people a year and accounts for only 1 percent of the fragile $1.7 billion economy, according to the National Tourist Board.
The World Travel and Tourism Council says the average in Africa is closer to 10 percent.
"It's a crime for Sierra Leone to be poor," said Bala Amarasekaran, who started the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in 1995, soon after which missiles whistled overhead and repeatedly landed near the reserve.
Now the setting for $120-a-night eco-lodges built into the forest with hammocks overlooking mist-covered mountains, Tacugama is the type of attraction Sierra Leoneans hope will revive the tourism industry.
Ref: http://in.reuters.com/article/
U.S. airlines expand peak-travel day fee
NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A number of U.S. airlines said flying on peak travel days during the holidays would cost extra and tagged 13 days to add a fee of $10 per ticket.
The policy began in September with American Airlines announcing a surcharge for most domestic flights for three days during Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, USA Today reported Thursday.
Soon the rout was on. American, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental, and US Airways are among the carriers that have added peak travel day fees with the number of applicable days growing from three to thirteen.
Airlines have added surcharges to flights before or after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and busy days in March, April and May, the newspaper said.
"Never heard of such a surcharge," said Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of FareCompare.com.
Seemingly in disagreement, American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said, it was "very common to charge more for fares on peak demand days."
Carol Powell of Sylvania, Ohio, said, "airlines have lost all respect for their customers."
"The new peak-travel surcharge certainly does not communicate 'happy holidays' to me," said Judy Bowers of Houston.
Ref: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/
The policy began in September with American Airlines announcing a surcharge for most domestic flights for three days during Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, USA Today reported Thursday.
Soon the rout was on. American, Delta, Northwest, United, Continental, and US Airways are among the carriers that have added peak travel day fees with the number of applicable days growing from three to thirteen.
Airlines have added surcharges to flights before or after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and busy days in March, April and May, the newspaper said.
"Never heard of such a surcharge," said Rick Seaney, chief executive officer of FareCompare.com.
Seemingly in disagreement, American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said, it was "very common to charge more for fares on peak demand days."
Carol Powell of Sylvania, Ohio, said, "airlines have lost all respect for their customers."
"The new peak-travel surcharge certainly does not communicate 'happy holidays' to me," said Judy Bowers of Houston.
Ref: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/
Best and Worst Travel Cities
The holiday travel season is just around the corner and a new survey shows more flight delays could be on the horizon.
The holiday travel season is just around the corner and a new survey shows more flight delays could be on the horizon.
A new report out Thursday from the Brookings Institution ranks the best and worst metro areas for air travel performance.
They found that pretty consistently across the board air travel is concentrated at about 26 metropolitan hubs.
"Now, of those many of them experience worse delays and it's many of the places most people travel New york, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, these places experience worse than national average delays when it comes to arrivals and departures," says Adie Tomer, Brookings Institution.
Officials from Brookings also said they were surprised to see one of the best places was metropolitan Los Angeles.
They say this is partly due to the great weather and distant connections from some of its geographic partners on the west coast and it actually does great with on-time performance.
Ref : http://www.wbko.com/news/
The holiday travel season is just around the corner and a new survey shows more flight delays could be on the horizon.
A new report out Thursday from the Brookings Institution ranks the best and worst metro areas for air travel performance.
They found that pretty consistently across the board air travel is concentrated at about 26 metropolitan hubs.
"Now, of those many of them experience worse delays and it's many of the places most people travel New york, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, these places experience worse than national average delays when it comes to arrivals and departures," says Adie Tomer, Brookings Institution.
Officials from Brookings also said they were surprised to see one of the best places was metropolitan Los Angeles.
They say this is partly due to the great weather and distant connections from some of its geographic partners on the west coast and it actually does great with on-time performance.
Ref : http://www.wbko.com/news/
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