Travel&Vacation

New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez recently wrote a letter to the heads of all major U.S. airlines in which he implored them to reduce fuel surcharges in light of declining oil prices. In it, Menendez points out a fact many of us, myself included, have noted over the past few months, saying, “If the price of jet fuel, which reached $4.34 per gallon in July, prompted fare increases and schedule reductions, then it should also spur a roll back of surcharges and fees, as the price per gallon dropped to $2.34 last week.” “American families are struggling,” Menendez wrote, “dealing with job losses, falling home values, and a financial market that is erasing their retirement savings. It is crucial that you pass on the savings seen from falling fuel prices as quickly as possible. Now is not the
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The airline's latest operating statistics show it carried 1.8 per cent fewer passengers in August than a year earlier, but since its June 30 balance date, group yields were up 7.3 per cent. Short haul yields were up 6 per cent and long haul up 11 per cent. Air NZ said in August that it would break even for the year to June 2009 if the average price of fuel was no higher than US$140 a barrel. That compares with a $218 million profit last year. Goldman Sachs JBWere aviation analyst Marcus Curley said while profits were materially down on last year, jet fuel costs had been lower at about US$137 a barrel and yields were stronger in the early months, putting the airline ahead. "They are tracking slightly ahead of making no money", in line with market consensus, he said. But
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“Make lots of money selling travel!” “Travel like a travel agent!” With travel costs constantly escalating, travelers are looking just about everywhere they can to find lower prices or better ways to arrange their trips. That’s why some of them fall victim to “card mill” promotions that promise some combination of added income and lower travel prices. A reader recently asked me about why one specific organization had been called a “card mill,” and I suspect quite a few of you might be interested in the concept. The distinction between a card mill and a legitimate outside travel sales operation is sometimes difficult to see. In both cases, an umbrella organization appoints part-timers as representatives. The representatives are supposed to sell a full spectrum of travel
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Today we’re in news bite mode, considering three topics related to the current state of the airline industry. While not all the news is bad, the overall trend is a negative one. First, the bad news. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revised its projection for the airline industry’s financial performance. Based on the current price of fuel, IATA expects the industry to lose $2.3 billion during 2008. And it could get worse. According to Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General: “Despite the consensus of experts on the oil price, today’s oil prices make the $2.3 billion loss look optimistic. For every dollar that the oil price increases, we add $1.6 billion to costs. If we see $135 oil for the rest of the year, losses could be $6.1 billion.” As the losses increase, so
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Low-cost carriers — AirTran, Jet Blue and Southwest — took the top three spots in a national survey of airline quality, while the industry overall fared poorly amid rising fuel prices and increasingly fed-up consumers. At the bottom of the list released Monday were Comair, American Eagle and in last place: Atlantic Southeast Airlines. The past year "was the worst year ever for the U.S. airlines," said Brent Bowen, a study co-author and professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Aviation Institute. "Overall operational performance and quality declined once again to the lowest level that it’s ever been." The annual Airline Quality Rating survey found that more bags were lost, more passengers were bumped, more consumers complained and fewer
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WASHINGTON — If airlines don’t improve on record flight delays, the federal government will impose its own solutions, the outgoing Federal Aviation Administration administrator warned Tuesday. "Passengers are growing weary of schedules that aren’t worth the electrons they’re printed on," Marion C. Blakey told a group of aviation executives at the Aero Club. "Airline schedules have got to stop being the fodder for late-night monologues. And if the airlines don’t address this voluntarily, don’t be surprised when the government steps in." A spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents commercial airlines, said the trade group is willing to talk about ways to reduce congestion — to a point. "No carrier is going to be willing to reduce its
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LONDON, England — Tougher security measures introduced at UK airports are failing to protect passengers, an industry watchdog said as it criticized the country’s busiest airport for delays that could harm the country’s economy. In a report on half-year air traffic results, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticized the UK’s "unique screening policies," which it said "inconvenience passengers with no improvement in security." The report comes after UK ministers said tougher airport security measures were creating longer lines that could become new targets for terrorists. London’s Heathrow Airport has also been criticized for suffering from excessive delays and an ineffective setup. The IATA praised a U.S.-EU agreement on harmonized security
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