Welcome to the September 2007 issue of Travology™ Today

In addition to providing travel services to our clients, Directravel is also viewed as an educational resource. Many of our clients turn to us to provide insight into things which can sometimes be overlooked. With 35-40% of our business being booked on international flights, one of the questions we often answer is about tipping practices overseas.

A tip is a way of saying thank you for providing good service, so the actual amount of the tip is up to you. In some countries, a service charge is already added to the hotel or restaurant bill, so no additional tips are necessary. In others, a tip or the wrong kind of tip can be seen as an insult.

As a general rule of thumb a tip of 10-15% is acceptable, but when it doubt, you can ask the hotel concierge.

A comprehensive guide to the tipping practices for restaurants, porters and taxis in 70 different countries can be found by clicking here.

If there are any questions that you would like to see featured in our newsletter, please contact us at newsletter@dt.com.

Flying from the United States to China will be more convenient, thanks to new direct routes from Atlanta and San Francisco announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. The Secretary also announced proposed awards for service from Chicago, Newark, Detroit and Philadelphia.

“By bringing China and the U.S. one step closer, we increase our ability to compete, boost our success in the global marketplace, and make international travel for all passengers easier and more affordable,” Secretary Peters said.

Secretary Peters announced that Delta Airlines had been awarded a new direct route from Atlanta to Shanghai, making them the first airline to fly that route. The Secretary also announced that United Airlines was awarded a direct route from San Francisco to Guangzhou, to begin flying in 2008. Both the Delta and United awards represent final decisions by the Department.

Peters also proposed awards for four new daily flights to begin in 2009: American Airlines for Chicago-Beijing service, Continental Airlines for Newark-Shanghai service, Northwest Airlines for Detroit-Shanghai service, and US Airways for Philadelphia-Beijing service. Final decisions of these proposed awards will be made in the near future after further public comment.

Secretary Peters said the announcement is the result of an agreement signed in July with the Chinese government to open up airways between the two countries and double the number of daily flights allowed between the U.S. and China over the next five years. The agreement also allows for new cargo flights operating to and from the U.S. and China.

By increasing competition, allowing more flight options, and reducing costly stops and layovers, these new direct routes are expected to lower fares and increase convenience for both business and leisure passengers to travel to China, Secretary Peters said.

For more information, click here.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced publication of two important tools to organize and synchronize national efforts to strengthen preparedness: (1) the National Preparedness Guidelines, which establish a vision for national preparedness and provide a systematic approach for prioritizing preparedness efforts across the Nation; and (2) the Target Capabilities List, which describes the collective national capabilities required to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.

"The National Preparedness Guidelines and Target Capabilities List are the culmination of extensive efforts to define the specific plans and capabilities our nation must possess in order to address catastrophic threats," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "These documents will help focus policy, planning and investments at all levels of government and the private sector in order to strengthen our collective capabilities and better prepare for major incidents."

There are four critical elements to the National Preparedness Guidelines:

1. The national preparedness vision, which provides a concise statement of the core preparedness goal for the nation.
2. The fifteen National Planning Scenarios, which collectively depict the broad range of natural and man-made threats facing our nation and guide overall homeland security planning efforts at all levels of government and with the private sector. They form the basis for national planning, training, investments and exercises needed to prepare for emergencies of all types.
3. Universal Task List (UTL), which is a menu of some 1,600 unique tasks that can facilitate efforts to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from the major events that are represented by the National Planning Scenarios. Although no single entity will perform every task, the UTL presents a common language and vocabulary that supports all efforts to coordinate national preparedness activities.
4. Target Capabilities List (TCL), which defines 37 specific capabilities that states and communities and the private sector should collectively develop in order to respond effectively to disasters.

Developed through an extensive process that involved more than 1,500 federal, state and local officials, and more than 120 national associations, the Guidelines replace the Interim National Preparedness Goal issued on March 31, 2005. They also integrate lessons learned following Hurricane Katrina and a 2006 review of states’ and major cities’ emergency operations and evacuation plans.

For more information on the National Preparedness Guidelines, visit www.dhs.gov

The State Department has restored passport service to the standard six to eight week processing time for routine passport applications, and no more than three weeks for expedited service.

To date, over 16 million passports have been issued in fiscal year 2007, which ends on September 30, compared to 12.1 million issued in fiscal year 2006.

The Department plans to expand passport facilities and continue to hire more passport specialists in order to increase production capacity and meet rising passport demand expected in coming years, as passport requirements are extended to land and sea borders. By January 2008, hundreds of new employees will be hired, and production capacity at the National Passport Center in New Hampshire, the largest passport facility, will have doubled. Longer-term expansion plans include new passport facilities around the country.

For more information, click here.

iPass Inc., a global network provider of services for the management of business mobility, announced the most recent edition of the iPass Wi-Fi Hotspot Index. Hotspot usage by business users jumped 68 percent between the first half of 2007 and the second half of 2006, versus 44 percent in the six months previous, and airports topped the list of venues where business travelers connect. These findings reinforce the attractiveness of Wi-Fi hotspots as a primary access option for workers on-the-go.

The iPass Wi-Fi Hotspot Index summarizes session data collected by iPass across its base of users at more than 3,500 companies around the world. Based on data gathered from nearly two million sessions for the first half of 2007, the survey showed European growth outpacing the US, with Europe expanding its worldwide share of hotspot use to 36 percent, up from 31 percent in the second half of 2006. London grew its lead as the world capital of Wi-Fi and now accounts for nearly four times the sessions of the runner-up city, New York. Other cities in the top 10 include: Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Singapore, San Francisco, Munich, San Jose and Los Angeles.

The index also revealed that businesspeople are connecting over Wi-Fi for longer periods of time; average daily usage grew 25 percent to 87 minutes, up from 70 minutes in the second half of 2006.

Wi-Fi has become especially useful for workers looking to make the most of downtime at airports and hotels, which combined, accounted for more than five out of every six sessions globally.

Airports led usage with 56 percent of sessions overall. However, hotels are closing the gap, with a 123 percent increase, accounting for 30 percent of overall sessions.

The top 5 airports include:

1. O'Hare International Airport, Chicago
2. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
3. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
4. San Francisco International Airport
5. Heathrow Airport, London

The top 5 hotels include::

1. World Center Marriott, Orlando, US
2. The Airport Sun Intercontinental, Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Holiday Inn Eindhoven, Netherlands
4. San Francisco Marriott, US
5. Chang Gung Hotel, Taiyuan, Taiwan

To view the complete study, click here.

Continental Airlines, along with Ohio Mayor Frank G. Jackson and Governor Ted Strickland, announced a plan by Continental to grow its capacity at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) by 40 percent over a two-year period. Continental will initially operate 50 new flights, principally on regional jets, and add 20 new nonstop destinations by next summer…Midwest Airlines and Northwest Airlines announced they have signed an agreement to form a strategic codeshare partnership that will provide customers of both airlines a wider choice of travel destinations. The agreement formalizes a Memorandum of Understanding the two carriers signed in May and is the largest codeshare Midwest has entered into in its 23-year history…Northwest Airlines became the first airline in the world to implement its 100th interline electronic ticket (IET) agreement. This landmark agreement is part of a global movement by Northwest, its SkyTeam partners and other members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to eliminate paper tickets by June 2008. IET enables a passenger to use a single e-ticket on any airline with an agreement…The Qantas Group launched a Carbon Offset Program, backed by a pledge to offset the carbon emissions of every international and domestic Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar flight on September 19, the first day of the program's operation…United Airlines customers can continue to sip and enjoy Starbucks® coffee under a recently signed agreement between the two worldwide brands. United exclusively serves Starbucks coffee…US Airways announced plans to hire more than 350 new pilots with training dates beginning in November 2007. The airline will also move 140 pilots, who currently fly for US Airways Express carriers, back to the mainline flying seats they were furloughed from several years ago.

in July '07 increased to 69.8%, down 3.2 points vs. the running 12 month average of 73.0% but up 1.7 points from June’s 68.1%. 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 Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.