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Survey Augers Business-Travel Slowdown
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A survey of Fortune 1000 companies suggests that the world's growing economic turmoil has significantly impacted the ability of corporate America to maintain the current pace of business travel. The survey, conducted October 5-8 by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the nation's largest association dedicated to issues of business travel, concludes that companies are "moving to strategically employ the management of business travel as a means to balance the impact of international exposure."

In other words, they're cutting back on business trips. In fact, of the 450 companies surveyed, over 69% report that in direct response to the economic downturn, corporate travel programs have been "strategically realigned" within the last 30 days.

"Corporate America is bracing for tougher times and one of the most strategic operational safeguards is the effective management of corporate travel, which accounts for the third largest controllable expense within any corporation," stated Mark A. Johnson, president, National Business Travel Association, in releasing the survey results. "The survey clearly indicates that effective management of business travel has the potential to balance a company's financial position and prevent the spread of red ink."

The National Business Travel Association represents over 1,200 corporate travel managers. NBTA members manage and direct more than $50 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry. The survey includes responses from 450 corporate travel managers representing the nation's Fortune 1000 companies.

What does all this mean to us business travelers?

(1) Fewer trips. Probably a welcome change for most.
(2) Fewer frequent flyer miles. An unfortunate byproduct of (1).
(3) Fewer first- and business-class trips. If you weren't riding in the back already.
(4) Fewer frequent flyer miles. An unfortunate byproduct of (3).

So, another of life's mixed blessings: more time at home, less comfort on the road, and fewer frequent flyer miles.

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Delta Miles Get Reprieve
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Good news for members of Delta Air Lines' frequent-flyer plan: Delta will extend the expiration of many frequent-flyer miles that would otherwise have expired at the end of this year.

You may recall that when Delta introduced SkyMiles, the initial plans were to start expiring miles at the end of this year for travelers who had not used Delta in three years or more. But the airline decided to postpone this cancellation until December 31, 1999. After December 31, 1999, miles will expire at the end of the third calendar year after the flight that earned the miles. Just one flight on Delta, however, will automatically extend all accumulated miles for three more years.

As reported here recently, United Airlines too has extended deadlines for many of its frequent-flyer miles.

As United and Delta go, so (usually) goes American. Hopefully, American will match or better these mileage reprieves by their competitors.

Isn't it great when the free-market economy actually seems to work in favor of the consumer?

>> More <<
Delta
United

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Companion Discount, Bonus Miles for Online Bookings
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Northwest customers purchasing tickets online via the company's website or the Microsoft Expedia site can take a companion on their next trip for only $99.

The $99 companion fare offer is valid for online purchases made through November 5, 1998. To take advantage of the offer, customers can go to the WorldWeb Reservations page at www.nwa.com and purchase Northwest tickets for travel. Upon purchase, customers will receive an e-mail with a special promotional code to be used with the customer's next purchase on Northwest to allow the purchase of a companion ticket for just $99.

In addition, customers who purchase online between October 16 and December 31 will earn 1,000 WorldPerks Bonus Miles. And, customers traveling on a Northwest e-ticket can check in at a Northwest Electronic Service Center between now and December 31, 1998, and receive an additional 1,000 WorldPerks Bonus Miles.

>> More <<
o Northwest
o Expedia

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Northwest Expands E-ticket Availability
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Northwest Airlines is expanding e-ticket (electronic ticketing) service to new international destinations in Asia, Mexico and the Caribbean.

According to Northwest, e-tickets are currently used by over 40 percent of their domestic passengers. The new Northwest e-ticket destinations are Mexico City, Cancun, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Saint Maarten, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.

E-ticket sales for destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean begin immediately for travel beginning November 16 (Saint Maarten service begins December 19). Asian destinations will be available for sale November 16 for travel beginning December 14.

Customers using e-tickets to these new international destinations for travel through March 15, 1999 will receive 1,000 bonus WorldPerks miles.

>> More <<
Northwest's website

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Drink Up, Children
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In last week's Crier, we reported on yet another labor-management conflict at Northwest, this latest regarding the flight attendants' complaint that Northwest's free drink-coupon giveaway would lead to excessive imbibing and, ultimately, to a surge in inflight drunkenness.

>> On a Serious Note <<
My own sense (based on anecdotal evidence rather than DOT stats, to be sure) is that the skies ARE getting less friendly for flight attendants. The stresses of travel (full flights, delays, cancellations, skimpy service, irrational pricing) make us travelers a crabby bunch. And alcohol can only make matters worse. When that crabbiness erupts into aggressive or abusive acting out, it's likely to be a flight attendant who takes the brunt. Had to say that...

>> On a Less Serious Note <<
A Crier reader (thanks, Stephen) sent along the following--

   Northwest sent two free-drink coupons to each of my children, too.
   Since their birthdates are a part of their FF record, one
   might conclude that Northwest is encouraging under-age drinking.

This does seem to give new meaning to "Belly up to the bar, baby."

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Budget Joins AAdvantage
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Budget Rent a Car has joined the American Airlines AAdvantage program effective immediately. Budget is offering 50 AAdvantage miles per day on all rentals, except complimentary and travel industry rate rentals.

Budget is the world's third largest car and truck rental system, operating more than 3,200 rental locations in 120 countries. Budget's new express rental service, Fastbreak Choice, is available at more than 80 U.S. airport locations.

For AAdvantage members, Budget represents the seventh major car rental company offering miles-for-rentals.

>> More <<
Budget online

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Bonus AAdvantage Miles for Inflight Shopping
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American Airlines Publishing and Genesis Direct today launched a new co-branded quarterly catalog -- The American Voyager's Collection. The first issue is now aboard American Airlines flights, in time for the start of the holiday shopping season.

The American Voyager's Collection features name brands -- like Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Joe Boxer -- plus unique travel merchandise and an assortment of best-selling products from Genesis Direct's diverse portfolio of brands. Ultimately, the catalog will feature unique AA-licensed merchandise, too. In addition to seat-back distribution of The American Voyager's Collection catalog, plans call for direct mail offerings to the airline's top customers, and for pursuing e-commerce opportunities in conjunction with AA.com -- American's website.

Customers will get double AAdvantage miles with purchases of $100 or more.

The joint venture taps each partner's expertise. Genesis Direct will perform merchandising, order fulfillment, customer service and delivery. AA Publishing will direct catalog design and marketing, and will coordinate distribution aboard all approximately 2,200 daily American Airlines flights.

>> More <<
American's website

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More Labor Unrest at America West
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No sooner did America West get squared away with its mechanics than we begin hearing rumors of impending CHAOS by the AFA, the airline's flight attendant union.

CHAOS (a rather unhappy acronym for Creating Havoc Around Our System) utilizes random, unannounced work stoppages and could also involve a mass walk-out. AFA gives no advanced warning that a strike action will take place, leaving the company scrambling to quell the concerns of stranded passengers.

Flight attendants at America West Airlines will receive strike authorization ballots this week asking for permission to implement CHAOS strike activities at America West should negotiations collapse. Strike ballots will be counted in Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 2.

If sufficient progress isn't made in negotiating sessions being held in October and November, the Flight Attendants could ask to be released from mediation. Once released, a 30-day cooling-off period will begin. At the end of the 30-day period, parties are free to engage in self-help. For Flight Attendants, that means CHAOS.

If you'll forgive a bad analogy, these labor-management disputes feel like boxing matches where the audience takes the blows. I'm beginning to think that in addition to the traditional two sides at the bargaining table, there should be a third: a representative of the traveling public, whose vote would be a tie-breaker.

>> More <<
o AFA's website
o America West's website

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Carry-On... Not
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Looks like they mean business this time.

Led by United, U.S. airlines next month will, finally, begin enforcing published limits on carry-on bags.

Actually, in a kind of neat side step, the airlines themselves won't be the enforcers, the security personnel will. This is an interesting solution to a thorny problem. Most airlines have positioned a bag checker (a no-bigger-than-this box) at every gate, with signs warning that any bags that didn't fit would have to be checked. This was routinely ignored, both by flyers and by airline personnel. Now the airlines are delegating the dirty job of enforcing the carry-on rules to the security workers.

The new size-screening procedure, which United has tested at La Guardia, is performed at the security checkpoint, where bags and passengers are checked for contraband. The x-ray machines used to screen bags will be fitted with plexiglass openings, 9-by-14 inches, through which bags must fit. If it can't squeeze through the template, the bag can't be carried on, and the passenger will have to check it.

As much as I'm in favor of enforcement, I am also (together with most business travelers) concerned about the airlines' ability to do their part. The bargain should be that, in exchange for travelers' cooperation, the airlines will process the bags faster and more reliably. More likely, we'll see further disintegration in baggage service as the airlines are overwhelmed by the extra volume... followed by public outrage... followed, finally, by the attainment of some satisfactory service levels.

Which brings us full circle. If we'd had good service to begin with, we wouldn't be going through this painful process of weaning ourselves away from the carry-it-all-on tactics we've been forced to adopt in response to the poor baggage handling.

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Continental Upgrades Website
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Continental Airlines is upgrading its website to give users added convenience and control in making their travel plans online.

Some of the improvements include additional features that ensure compatibility with other tools such as Windows CE and WebTV, as well as the latest in Internet security and privacy protection for users.

The site also now allows users fast access to real-time schedules and flight information right from the home page, and the ability to purchase CO.O.L. Travel Specials over the Internet. These last-minute getaways to domestic destinations offer deeply discounted prices only available online.

Another enhancement includes expansion to Canada, allowing Canada-based users to book and purchase tickets online. Canadian customers are also eligible to receive up to 1,000 OnePass bonus miles being offered for a limited time to all users for each flown ticket purchased online with Continental.

>> More <<
Continental's website

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Weekly Record for Online Travel Sales
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The SABRE Group announced that weekly sales for its consumer-direct online travel planning sites, including Travelocity, reached an industry high of $7 million for the week ending September 20, representing a week of gross bookings at an average rate of $1 million per day. Travelocity also registered its 4 millionth member in September. Just two months ago, Travelocity was the first online travel site to achieve daily sales of $1 million, in the same week the company reported weekly sales of $6 million.

Other sales and membership milestones for the company include:

    2.5 million tickets sold -- September 1998
    $1 million in daily sales and $6 million in weekly sales -- July 1998
    $5 million in weekly sales -- May 1998
    $4 million in weekly sales -- February 1998
    $3 million in weekly sales -- November 1997

>> More <<
Travelocity

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Spain, Roundtrip, $299
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Spanair is offering a $299 round-trip air fare to seven cities in Spain -- Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Santiago, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and Mahon -- to mark the first anniversary of its flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and Madrid.

It costs me almost that much to fly roundtrip between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The anniversary fare, which is $369 to the Canary Islands, is effective for travel between October 15 and December 14. It is a nonrefundable fare and requires a Saturday night stayover. No stopovers or changes are permitted and tickets must be purchased within 72 hours of making a reservation.

Spanair began operating the only nonstop service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Madrid's Barajas Airport on November 20, 1997. For its inaugural, the airline gave away a free ticket to Madrid for the first 266 passengers who came to Spanair's ticket counter dressed in a costume that depicted something from Spain's history or culture. Spanair offered an introductory round-trip fare of $299. It's with the same spirit of enthusiasm that Spanair relaunches its $299 anniversary fare.

More than 27,000 passengers have flown Spanair during the first year of its U.S. operation.

>> More <<
Spanair

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London, Paris, Bonus Miles
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As if anyone needed another reason to visit London or Paris, American Airlines Vacations is making it even more attractive by offering 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles on some of its packages.

The special bonus miles are available on selected packages booked and purchased now through January 31, 1999, for travel between December 1, 1998, and February 28, 1999. The offer is valid on new bookings only, and a six-night minimum stay is required to receive AAdvantage miles.

Each package includes breakfast daily and round-trip airport transfers. Participating hotels in London are the Comfort Inn Kensington, White House, Stakis St. Ermins and Brown's Hotel. In Paris, the participating hotels are the Concorde St. Lazare, Hotel Ambassador, Le Grand Intercontinental, and Hotel Lutetia.

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Awards for Online Travel Sites
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TheTrip.com, an online travel service for business travelers, announced the winners of its First Annual BOOT Awards, celebrating the Best Of Online Travel.

    BEST USE OF THE ONLINE MEDIUM -- AIR
    American Airlines

    BEST USE OF THE ONLINE MEDIUM -- HOTEL
    Hilton

    BEST HIGH-TECH FRIENDLY HOTEL
    Hilton

    BEST USE OF THE ONLINE MEDIUM -- CAR
    Hertz
    
    BEST HIGH-TECH FRIENDLY AIRPORT
    Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport

    BEST TRAVELER'S TOOL
    Yahoo!

    BEST TRAVEL GADGET
    3Com PalmPilot III

    BEST ONLINE VISITOR'S CENTER
    New York City

Results are based on votes cast by visitors to TheTrip.com site.

>> More <<
TheTrip.com

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KAL Reprimanded for Safety Lapses
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In an unusually stern gesture, practically and symbolically, the South Korean government relieved Korean Air of some of its most lucrative domestic routes to penalize the airline for a series of safety-related incidents.

KAL will forfeit 138 flights a week on 10 domestic routes for a six-month period beginning on October 25. Cost to the airline is estimated at $30 million.

Another $5 million will be lost from mandated frequency reductions in flights between Seoul and Tokyo, from 28 weekly flights to 26 next year.

KAL's safety record has been tarnished by a series of relatively minor incidents recently, including a Tokyo-Seoul flight that slipped off the runway upon landing. The most recent fatalities were in 1997, when a KAL flight crashed in Guam.

Acting quickly to address the government's censure, and to salvage customer confidence, Korean Air issued a news release announcing it is spending more than $100 million during the next two years on safety initiatives and reforms focusing on pilot training and maintenance operations.

The Korean flag carrier already has placed sizeable investments in retaining safety inspections conducted by the Flight Safety Foundation of Alexandria, Va., and hiring its alliance partner, Delta Airlines, to review Korean Air's programs and offer recommendations for improvements. Korean Air specifically has retained Delta to recommend safety reforms that bring the airline's standards to that of other leading international airlines. Long-term safety initiatives based on recommendations by these two advisors are being implemented.

>> More <<
KAL

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At PAL--One Step Forward, One Step Back
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We've been reporting on the near-death experience and resurrection of Asia's oldest carrier, Philippine Airlines. Reports of a full recovery were premature.

In something of a setback, PAL on Monday indefinitely suspended plans to resume international flights, initially set for this week, apparently at the request of potential investors.

Debt-strapped PAL reopened Wednesday with domestic flights after a 13-day shutdown caused by disagreements with its largest labor union over a management recovery plan. The flag-carrier was scheduled to resume flights to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles and San Francisco on Thursday and gradually add flights to seven other destinations in Asia and the Middle East.

Two of PAL's four 747-400 Boeing planes, used on international flights, have been seized by authorities in Hong Kong and Los Angeles recently on demand of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which financed them. There was speculation that the airline may have suspended resumption of international flights for fear that its other leased planes could be garnished by authorities in foreign airports as well.

In connection with the setback, it was further reported that there are at least three investors in talks with PAL--Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways, Northwest Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

>> More <<
PAL online