Welcome to the March 2007 issue of Travology™ Today

Directravel is a multifaceted company that caters to the varying needs of our clients, including offering the services of our Leisure and Meetings and Incentive Travel divisions.

For those of you who have worked with us on your group movements, you know how focused we are on ensuring the success of these programs. With our strong history of corporate event management and volume buying power, you can count on our dedicated team to take your meeting or event from concept to completion with personalized attention, on time and on budget.

Our Meeting and Incentive Travel department has recently undergone a reorganization. Alyson Sweetser has accepted the role of Director of Group Travel, effective April 2. A Regional Account Manager for the past 4 years, Alyson has 8 years of previous experience in the Group Department as both an air agent and meeting planner, specializing in large group movements and incentive programs. Alyson can be reached at 201-847-2276.

In addition, Gary Senor has accepted the role of Assistant Director of Group Travel. Gary originally started his time with Directravel in the Group department as the Manager of Group Air. Gary can be reached at 201-847-2230.

The U.S. travel industry recently asked officials at the State Department to seek emergency assistance to address surging demand for processing passports.

Anticipating a rise in passport demand due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), State sought and received new resources, including several hundred new staff positions. Until recently, they had been able to meet passport demand within three to four weeks, but the combination of spring travel and newly imposed document requirements under WHTI has driven up wait times to unacceptable levels – currently 10 weeks and growing.

“We acknowledge the State Department for its work to get ahead of rising demand and successfully securing additional staff and other resources to issue millions more passports,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association. “Despite all their good efforts, the industry believes it is now necessary for the State Department to seek assistance to meet passport demand and ensure that business and leisure travelers can make their trips on time,” said Dow.

One potential solution in the short-term is to provide more opportunities for private passport companies to service this increased demand with expedited services, which save the State Department time and resources on the front end by preparing passport documentation for the adjudication process by State.

For more information, click here.

On March 19, two brand new Airbus A380s flew into two US destinations allowing both the East and West Coast to simultaneously welcome the world’s largest commercial airliner, which is also the technically most advanced and environmentally friendliest civil aircraft in the skies.

A380 development aircraft MSN7 flew 500 passengers to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, and simultaneously, A380 test aircraft MSN1 landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as part of an airport compatibility trial. The A380 is the first true double-decker passenger airliner for the long-range market. Its double-decker passenger cabins are wider than the largest airliner in service today, offering the possibility for wider seats and aisles, along with more open spaces and access to optional passenger amenities such as business centers and rest areas below the main deck.

The A380’s built-in cabin arrangement flexibility will allow airlines to differentiate their products and develop solutions for all potential market mixes. Some operators might, for example, choose to seat their First and Business class passengers on the upper deck –providing a corporate jet-like environment for these clients – while configuring the A380’s main deck for an all-Economy layout.

Despite its ability to carry 35 per cent more passengers than its competitor, the A380 burns 12 per cent less fuel per seat – reducing operating costs and minimizing its effects on the environment at the same time through fewer emissions. The A380 burns fuel per passenger at a rate comparable to that of an economical family car.

For more information, click here.

Inspired by the changing landscape of contemporary, multi-tasking business travelers, Global Hyatt Corporation unveiled Hyatt Place™, an innovative hotel concept with a strong appeal to a newly identified target audience who has successfully adapted to today’s “24/7 lifestyle.” This group of travelers shares a mindset and way of life that revolves around seamlessly merging personal and professional activities.

Hyatt Place offers travelers a balanced mix of comfortable and functional guestroom amenities such as: 42-inch high-definition televisions with next generation entertainment content; free Wi-Fi access; a comfortable, eight-foot sectional sofa-sleeper, all within an oversized, suite-like room with 20 percent more space than the average hotel room.

This new brand integrates information from extensive consumer research that shows more than 90 percent of traveling respondents do not separate their lives into personal or professional silos because their work and leisure time overlap. However, while this audience has adapted to an integrated life by combining their personal and professional lives into one, only 10 percent of study respondents were able to find a hotel that gives them what they want.

Hyatt Place already has hotels open in and around Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Louisville and Nashville. 120 hotels will be up and running by December 2007. Those locations include: Dallas, Phoenix, Tampa, Miami, Orlando and Detroit, in addition to other key business and leisure markets throughout the country.

For more information, click here.

Starting in the first quarter of 2007, Avis customers will be able to rent an Autonet Mobile Service unit, the first "always-on broadband mobile network," which provides a portable mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that works virtually anywhere. The new technology will initially be available in 10 U.S. markets, for an additional fee of $10.95 per day.

Autonet Mobile Service takes the guesswork out of on-the-road broadband connectivity for business travelers and vacationers alike by turning any hotel room, lobby or coffee shop into a Wi-Fi hotspot. It also provides travelers with a convenient portable way to obtain all of the information and services available through the Internet, including weather conditions, local news, entertainment/dining options, downloadable music and movies, and even traffic updates.

Avis customers that utilize the Autonet Mobile Service do not need cellular data cards or special software loads to connect to wireless Internet devices: Simply turn on, logon, and surf. Autonet Mobile Service is compatible with all Wi-Fi enabled devices, including laptops, MacBooks, Ultra-Mobile PC handhelds, and PDAs.

For more information, click here.

A new way of handling air traffic in and around New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia will help reduce delays and will make air travel more reliable, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced this month.

After extensive analysis and public hearings in five states — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Connecticut — the FAA has identified its preferred airspace redesign alternative for the New York area. That plan would combine high-altitude and low-altitude airspace to create more efficient arrival and departure routes. The preferred alternative is one of four proposals being studied.

The plan, known as the Integrated Airspace Alternative, would reduce the complexity of the current air traffic system operation in the New York area and Philadelphia by more efficiently directing aircraft to and from major airports in the two metropolitan areas.

The preferred alternative would save an estimated 12 million minutes of delay annually for the four major metropolitan airports — Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark and Philadelphia.

To see additional project information, click here.

Continental Airlines applauded the approval of an open skies agreement between the U.S. and the European Union which will provide the airline with flight access to London's Heathrow Airport for the first time…Effective this June, Delta Air Lines will launch new routes: Los Angeles to Portland, Ore.; New York-JFK to St. Louis, Mo.; New York-LaGuardia to Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Salt Lake City to Birmingham, Ala.; Salt Lake City to San Luis Obispo, CA; and New York-JFK to Nantucket, MA…Following months of intense competition for the new route between the U.S. and China, United Airlines flew the first-ever, non-stop service between Washington, D.C., and Beijing on March 28… Beginning this June, US Airways customers will be able to enjoy seamless travel between the United States, the island of Singapore and exciting southeast Asia destinations, thanks to a codeshare cooperation between Singapore Airlines and US Airways subject to both United States and foreign government approval.

in January '07 decreased to 73.1%, down 1.8 points vs. the running 12 month average of 74.9% but up 2.3 points from December’s 70.8%. To view the USDOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Air Travel Consumer Report, click here.

The United States Government has posted recent travel advisories and warnings for Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Liberia and Nigeria.