Travel News June 2005.

Airlines expect packed planes over July Fourth holiday. Travelers should expect a busy Fourth of July weekend, with some planes more than 80% full, The Wall Street Journal reports. About 200 million passengers will fly this summer, according to the Air Transport Association. However, some airlines still have specials available on their Web sites for seats that have not yet sold. Jun 30, 2005

For disabled, speedy technology an inconvenience. Technology has sped up the reservation and airport check-in process for most travelers. However, travelers with mobility, visual and hearing impairments continue to face long lines at airports and hotels because they are unable to use kiosks, The New York Times reported. Jun 28, 2005

Packed planes, weather delays expected this summer. Travelers should prepare to face lengthy flight delays this summer, The Dallas Morning News reported. Planes are expected to be packed with travelers, and summer thunderstorms could interrupt operations. Each day in June, July and August, 1.7 million passengers board a plane. That's about 300,000 more travelers than the average for other months in the year, according to the Air Transport Association. Jun 27, 2005

Record number of travelers expected over July Fourth weekend. A record number of Americans, 40.3 million, will travel more than 50 miles from home July Fourth weekend, AAA announced in its holiday travel forecast. That number would top Thanksgiving travel and represents a 2.8% increase over last year's Independence Day weekend, a AAA official said. Jun 24, 2005

Markets see airline fares increase. Airlines have increased airfares in many markets, but most large carriers raised round-trip fares by only $10, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Airlines hope it will help compensate for higher fuel prices. The Air Transport Association reported fares slightly increased in May, the first increase in nine months. Jun 24, 2005

Airline travelers say dressing up isn't worth the effort. Some airline travelers hope dressing down will help them speed through airport security, The New York Times reported. Travelers are leaving their belts, jackets and heavy jewelry at home and are wearing easily removable footwear like loafers and flip-flops. Jun 23, 2005

Survey: Most Web shoppers start travel search with agency sites. Nielsen/NetRatings' Quarterly Travel Benchmarking Survey found 54% of online travel buyers begin their search at a travel agency Web site, but when it comes time to book flights, buyers are evenly divided between agency and airline sites. Airline sites were better able to convert shoppers to buyers, but the broader selection offered by agency sites drew more would-be travelers to those sites to do their preliminary research. Jun 23, 2005

Four largest American carriers increase fares. The four largest U.S. carriers boosted fares Wednesday, according to media reports. United Airlines, the only carrier that increased prices 3% across the board, said the higher fares will help offset soaring fuel prices. Jun 23, 2005

Airline passengers rally against lifting cell phone ban. Airline passengers say lifting the in-flight ban on cell phone use would lower their quality of life, writes The Washington Post's Robert MacMillan. One airline passenger wrote that cell phone use would increase tension among travelers and add to flight attendants' responsibilities. Many of the comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission were written by airline employees. Jun 22, 2005

Business travelers want separate security line. Frustrated with long waits, some business travelers want separate airport security lines, the Washington Business Journal reported. Security lines vary from airport to airport, and travelers often don't know what kind of wait they will face, said Kevin Mitchell, president of the Business Travel Coalition. Jun 21, 2005

Aviation visionaries imagine air taxis connecting small cities. Microjets with two engines could one day connect 5,400 U.S. airports with no scheduled service, The New York Times reported. Visionaries say "air taxis" could be safe and reliable. Improved technology, including satellites, would handle air traffic and provide navigation support. Jun 20, 2005

Trusted traveler program should proceed with caution. Congress should make sure the "trusted traveler" program does not create new ways for terrorists to breach security, writes the Cincinnati Inquirer editorial board. Also, lawmakers should support requiring biometric markers on passports used by participants in the trusted traveler program. Jun 17, 2005

Airline passengers, workers against lifting cell phone ban. Many airline passengers and employees hope the Federal Communications Commission does not lift the rule banning passengers from using cell phones during flights, the Boston Globe reported. The FCC found the public is fervently against changing the rule as it reviewed comments and interviewed passengers. Cingular, the nation's largest wireless carrier, also thinks the ban should continue, USA Today reported. The FCC does not know when it will make a decision, a spokeswoman said. Jun 16, 2005

Airlines offer insurance against canceled trips. Three airlines are selling insurance to protect travelers against trip cancellations, writes the Wall Street Journal's Scott McCartney. With the "Ticket Protector" program, a traveler pays 4% more for the ticket. If the traveler cancels for a "covered reason," the program refunds the price of the ticket. Jun 14, 2005

Airlines flirt with Wi-Fi service, but progress may be slow, report says. Airlines are slowly experimenting with offering high-speed Internet access on flights, USA TODAY reported. Financial and technical roadblocks may prevent it from becoming a standard feature. Still, in-flight Wi-Fi could eventually become a big business for airlines. Nearly 40% of business travelers said they would use the service for a flat fee. Jun 14, 2005

Fliers to pay more for rebooking insolvent carriers' tickets. The Transportation Department will allow airlines to charge travelers up to $50 when honoring the ticket of an insolvent airline, Travel Weekly reports. The new fee is double the current cap. Jun 14, 2005

Airlines expect to continue packing planes this summer. Airline ticket sales remain strong ahead of the busy summer travel season, USA TODAY reports. Carriers have lifted prices several times this year, but travelers are willing to pay more for their tickets. In May, the top carriers filled nearly 80% of their seats, up from the previous May record of 76.3% set in 2004. Jun 13, 2005

Few bargain airfares are left for summer travel to Europe. Many American travelers have already booked trips to Europe, leaving few bargains for latecomers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Nearly 13 million Americans will visit Europe this year, according to the European Travel Commission. Jun 7, 2005

Thunderstorms stall travel in Northeast, airlines cancel flights. Severe thunderstorms delayed flights at almost every Northeastern airport Monday night, USA TODAY reported. Delays of up to six hours are hampering travelers in Philadelphia. Many airlines canceled flights. Jun 7, 2005

Water may not be one of the most exciting subjects to discuss in a business travel publication but in the 21st century it is an expensive but necessary part of the airport scene the costs of which have to be passed on to the customer. Nottingham East Midlands airport should therefore be complimented on getting together with British company Enviro-Fresh to install its Sani-Sleeve product in rest rooms. It seems that each individual urinal was using 28,200 litters of water per month. This has now been reduced dramatically to 800 litters per month. They would also block up on a regular basis. It's now not happening and regular complaints about smell have also disappeared. http://www.enviro-fresh.com Jun 3, 2005

Airfares in the Washington, D.C., area are at their lowest point in 15 years, the Washington Post reports. An increase in the number of discount airlines has pushed one-way fares down nearly 40% since 1990. Experts say it can be difficult to find the cheapest fares offered, especially during peak travel times. Jun 1, 2005

September finish expected for wireless upgrade at Atlanta airport. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's wireless Internet connection is expected to go live in September, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The airport has spent about $11 million on the wireless service. The airport, the busiest in the U.S., is arriving relatively late to establish the service, a trend about 100 airports already offer. Jun 29, 2005

Boeing unit could start selling cell service next year. Boeing's Connexion unit could start selling cell phone services to commercial airlines next year, the company said. Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are reviewing a ban on cell phone use aboard commercial jets, and most passengers oppose lifting the ban. Connexion president Laurette Koellner said she expects a solution, such as mandated quiet zones or times aboard flights. Jun 17, 2005

Some fares down, but most on the rise, experts say. A Travel Analytics study found fares at five of the six U.S. network carriers increased at least $15 one-way since the beginning of 2005 -- an increase that came despite Delta Air Lines' groundbreaking move to simplify published prices earlier in the year. Separately, American Express Business Travel reported business travelers paid 4% more on average for international fares in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2004. Jun 22, 2005

Airlines change policies on kids who fly unaccompanied. Airlines are moving their policies about unaccompanied children to prominent parts of their Web sites so parents won't be caught unaware, particularly after recent changes to the State Department's rules for children's passports. United Airlines pilots have started a program in which they pay special attention to minors flying solo, and unaccompanied children's tickets on Delta Air Lines now carry a $50 service charge regardless of whether they have connecting flights. Jun 1, 2005

Heathrow Connect has quietly commenced its stopping services from Paddington to the central area via Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall and Hayes. The trains run every half hour with the Paddington fare $18 / [pounds sterling]9.50 (as against [pounds sterling]14 for the Heathrow Express) with discounts available for Senior, Young Persons & Family Railcards. For the intermediate stations the fares are scaled down with typically Hayes [pounds sterling]6. First train out of Paddington is 0442 with a journey time of 50 minutes. http://www.heathrowconnect.com Jun 17, 2005

Iberia is to join the ever-increasing number of airlines offering an in-flight communication service. It has contracted OnAir to provide an email and web chat services to business class passengers on long haul routes from mid-June as part of a major fleet upgrade. Using their own laptops clients can use a free preview of email inboxes, then access them for a fee of $9.95 per flight including the real time web chat. http://www.onair.aero Jun 10, 2005

Airlines offer entertainment systems as they trim other perks. Airlines are investing in in-flight entertainment systems as they cut other services, the Boston Globe reports. Passengers on Delta Air Lines' Song airline may pay $5 to watch a movie. Installing monitors is a one-time cost that carriers can recover by offering travelers movies, games or music. Jun 1, 2005

Expedia Corporate Travel, Southwest form partnership. Expedia Corporate Travel's corporate customers will now have the ability to access Southwest Airlines' Swabiz corporate portal, BTNonline.com reported. ECT licensees will now be able to link to Swabiz from their ECT desktop. Jun 14, 2005

Star Alliance to seek alternatives to expensive GDS contracts. The Star Alliance will seek alternatives to global distribution systems, Air Transport World reports. The members now pay $2 billion in GDS fees. The alliance will try to cut costs by doing business with new GDS entrants, such as ITA Software and G2 Switchworks. Jun 3, 2005

T-Mobile expands Wi-Fi network to 40 airports. T-Mobile will add 40 airports to its Wi-Fi hotspot network in one of the largest expansions of its service to date, the Boston Globe reports. It will also add the service to more than 100,000 hotel rooms. The airport additions include New York's three major airports and Chicago's two biggest airports.

Jun 13, 2005

United to announce approval of Wi-Fi service: United Airlines has received approval to install wireless Internet networks on its jetliners, The New York Times reports. The airline is expected to announce plans for the service today. It will not launch the service, which will allow travelers to check e-mail and surf the Web, for at least a year. Jun 6, 2005

XM Satellite, Raytheon partner for security communication system. XM Satellite Radio has partnered with Raytheon and built a communication system that could transmit information to soldiers and emergency responders in a crisis, The Associated Press reported. The partnership began when Raytheon was looking for a system to help emergency workers coordinate their actions with soldiers in the event of a terrorist strike. Jun 27, 2005