Welcome to the October 2007 Issue of Travology Today

Directravel Chairman and CEO, Vincent E. Vitti, recently offered the following strategy for easing travel delays to local congressmen and appropriate lobbyists for the travel industry.

As a member of the travel industry for more than 25 years and a frequent traveler, I have experienced the after-effects of [travel] delays both first hand and through my clients, friends, family and associates. That's why Directravel is developing a unique approach to address the problem. By applying a “Flight Performance Algorithm™” to the database of flight records we are compiling a more accurate predictor of future delays.

In addition, the following is a multi-pronged approach intended to reduce delays:

STEP 1. Redefine “ON TIME.” Currently, flights are graded on a Pass/Fail basis. If there is less than a 15 minute arrival delay, the flight is considered on time; if there is more than 15 minutes, it is late. This provides no incentive for the airlines to avoid lengthy delays. Once a flight gets past 15 minutes, they would seem to be motivated to “forget” that flight and try to keep others from receiving a fail grade.

What is needed is a multi-level approach to measuring performance that is weighted to ensure continuing concern after flights miss their departure time.

An overall average grade by airline or route will give the traveler a much better awareness about actual airline performance. A variant of the model could factor in flight length, airport difficulty and seasonal weather outlook.

STEP 2. Mandate that on-time performance statistics be made available to consumers at the point of purchase so that it can become a point of selection during the trip planning process. This would require that flight performance ratings be shown on consumer internet sites not just on the travel agent displays, as is currently required for “on-time %”. All travel documents, itineraries and e-tickets would have to include this information.

STEP 3. Hold airlines accountable for maintaining acceptable performance levels. Rather than assessing a surcharge for flying during peak hours, penalize them for poor execution. If they are unable to meet an acceptable performance (and the determination of what is acceptable is something that carriers can help establish), they should risk losing flight slots. Conversely, airlines running smoother operations should be allowed a greater number of prime time slots.

STEP 4. Encourage airlines to move flights to regional airports by reducing peak hour slots at congested facilities. In the New York area, this would be a shift towards Stewart/Newburgh and McArthur/Islip. Similar opportunities exist throughout the country. This will improve airline performance without increasing ticket prices.

What this essentially boils down to is allowing airlines to react in the interest of their bottom line without penalizing travelers. It will put the focus back on customer service and force carriers to endeavor to do a better job. By allowing consumers to make an up-front, educated decision with the aid of historic delay patterns for a particular routing and carrier, they will have the power to choose a flight not solely based on ticket price but on performance.

Sure, advanced GPS for aircraft and improvements in flight control computer systems are needed but they are expensive and a distant solution that will not alleviate the current crisis. Taken together they are no substitute for innovative management with thoughtful government oversight to protect the traveling public.

To read the complete statement, click here.

Effective November 23, 2007, Japan’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act will put into place new entry procedures for all foreign nationals. The revised law contains new provisions for the establishment of a framework for preventative measures against acts of terrorism.

In the event that any foreign national, who is required by the new law to be fingerprinted and photographed, refuses to submit to these new provisions, that person will not be permitted to enter Japan, and will be required to leave the country.

The new procedure is outlined as follows:

• A person wishing to enter Japan must submit his/her passport to the immigration control officer.
• Once the immigration control officer has explained the procedures that are to be followed, the person wishing to enter Japan will be asked to place the index fingers of both hands on a digital fingerprint reader. The fingerprint information will be read and stored electromagnetically.
• A facial photograph will then be taken, using the camera located at the top of the digital fingerprint reader.
• The immigration control officer will then conduct a short interview.
• On completion of the above procedures, the person wishing to enter Japan will receive his/her passport from the immigration control officer.

For more information as well as answers to frequently asked questions, click here.

The Singapore Airlines A380 entered commercial service on October 25th with it’s inaugural flight from Singapore to Sydney Australia. The flight took almost seven and a half hours.

The majority of the seats on the two legs were sold on eBay, with all proceeds donated to charities.

Passengers on the flight represented 35 different nationalities, with the largest group being Australians (28%), then Singaporeans (14%), Britons (11%) and Americans (8%).

The auction raised approximately US$1.26 million for three charities: Singapore’s Community Chest, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Ranwick and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, both in Sydney and one third to Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders.

The airliner offers three classes of service, the new Singapore Airlines Suites, a class beyond first, business and economy, for a total seating capacity of 471.

For more information, click here.

The number of fatal general aviation accidents declined by 5 percent this year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced this month. The FAA’s goal was to have no more than 331 fatal general aviation accidents during the 12 months ending Sept. 30. The actual number was 314. Fatalities in general aviation accidents also declined significantly, from 676 in fiscal 2006 to 564 in fiscal 2007. For these calculations, “general aviation” includes not only privately flown planes but also non-scheduled air taxi flights.

In October 2006, the FAA ushered in a new effort to help aircraft owners, pilots and aviation maintenance technicians avoid mistakes that lead to accidents. Called the FAA Safety Team, the program is devoted to decreasing aircraft accidents by promoting a cultural change in the aviation community toward a higher level of safety. The program features data mining and analysis, teamwork, instruction in the use of safety management systems and risk management tools, and development and distribution of educational materials.

For more information, click here.

A broad coalition of organizations representing airlines, passenger advocates, business and tourism groups today joined The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in opposing the Federal Aviation Administration’s planned flight caps at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The FAA has proposed a cut in the maximum number of flights at the airport to 80 an hour – equivalent to the cap at JFK in the late 1960s. Under the restriction, JFK would handle fewer flight operations per day than LaGuardia Airport, despite JFK having approximately 44,000 total feet of runway space compared to LaGuardia’s 14,000.

The Port Authority made 17 delay-reduction recommendations to the FAA that the agency and 14 of the largest carriers at the airports agreed would be effective and could be implemented quickly. The highlights include:

• Installing components of new radar technologies now, rather than waiting for the five years it is expected to take for full implementation;
• Installing advanced ground surveillance systems to better manage aircraft on the ground;
• Adding a westbound departure route to the existing airspace to alleviate air traffic on one of the most congested routes in the metropolitan area;
• Adding taxiways to handle more aircraft, a measure to which the PA already has committed. This would allow the airports to handle more aircraft simultaneously and reduce wait times; and
• Improving surveillance and navigation systems to reduce spacing between aircraft in flight, allowing simultaneous arrivals and departures from all four airports in poor weather conditions. Weather accounts for 62.3 percent of the delay minutes in the metropolitan area.

For further details of the Port Authority’s recommendations, click here.

Clear®, the leading provider of airport security fast lanes, announced that it has been chosen in a competitive bidding process to operate Clear lanes at Denver International Airport. Denver area enrollment stations will open in the next month in cooperation with Hyatt Hotels and Clear’s express security lanes will launch this winter. All airlines operating from the airport, and their passengers, will be able to use Clear’s fast pass lanes. Members of Clear will be able to use their cards roundtrip between Denver and nearly all airports in the Clear network including San Francisco, San José, New York’s JFK, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Little Rock and Orlando.

With 11 million passengers going through security each year, Denver’s security lanes are the second busiest of any airport to deploy Clear.

Clear provides members with access to a separate, faster line through airport security checkpoints by using an identity card containing their encrypted fingerprint or iris images. The annual fee of $99.95 is charged once applicants are approved by the government. Applicants start their enrollment at flyclear.com and complete the process at an enrollment location where their fingerprints and iris images are captured and their identification is validated.

Clear cards are currently accepted at:

• Albany
• Cincinnati
• Indianapolis
• Jacksonville
• Little Rock
• New York JFK
• Newark
• Orlando
• Reno
• San Francisco
• San José
• Westchester County (NY)

Clear lanes will soon open at:

• New York LaGuardia
• Denver

For more information, click here.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it will begin testing millimeter wave passenger imaging technology at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (PHX) as a voluntary alternative to a pat-down during secondary screening. In a matter of seconds, this technology can detect weapons, explosives and other threat items concealed under layers of clothing without physical contact.

"We are committed to testing technologies that improve security while protecting passenger privacy," said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley. "Privacy is ensured through the anonymity of the image: it will never be stored, transmitted or printed, and it will be deleted immediately once viewed."

A transportation security officer will guide passengers through the process, which involves stepping into the machine and remaining still for a matter of seconds, in two different positions, while the technology creates a three-dimensional image of the passenger from two antennas that simultaneously rotate around the body. Once complete, the passenger will step through the opposite side of the millimeter wave portal.

To ensure privacy, security officers view images from a remote location where they cannot ascertain the identity of the passenger, either visually or otherwise, but can communicate with a fellow officer at the checkpoint if the passenger presents a potential threat. A security algorithm will be applied to the image to mask the face of each passenger, further protecting privacy.

Millimeter wave uses electromagnetic waves to generate an image based on the energy reflected from the body. Active millimeter wave technology passes harmless electromagnetic waves over the human body to create an image that looks much like a fuzzy photo negative. It is safe and the energy emitted by millimeter wave technology is 10,000 times less than a cell phone.

TSA plans to test these technologies further at New York's JFK and LAX in Los Angeles in the coming months.

For more information, click here.

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) recently released its preliminary 2008 U.S. Business Travel Overview & Cost Forecast report. The report is based primarily on data from a survey of 215 NBTA member travel buyers.

Key findings of the report are as follows:

• Business travel will continue growing in 2008, though the rate of growth will level off somewhat.
• Published airfares will increase 6-10 percent over 2007.
• Published hotel rates will increase 5-7 percent.
• Published car rental spend will increase 5-7 percent.
• Overall travel costs will increase 6-8 percent.
• Fewer travel managers than one year ago are projecting an increase of more than 10 percent in travel spend.
• More travel managers are projecting travel spend to remain flat.
• 73 percent of respondents expect travel spend to increase 5-10 percent.
• The percentage of travel buyers reducing non-essential travel in 2008 will remain level (just under 8 percent), while the percentage restricting business class air bookings will increase from 7 percent to 16 percent.

For more information, click here.

Continental Airlines announced that interline eTicket capabilities have been implemented with DragonAir, its 100th eTicket partner, and that it is nearing its target to have all interline agreements eTicketable by the end of the year…The first modified Boeing 737-800 aircraft took flight this month for transcontinental customers traveling on Delta Air Lines – complete with the next generation of more comfortable Coach Class seating and Delta on Demand, the airline’s digital entertainment system available at every passenger’s seat…Northwest Airlines in September set a new company record for operational reliability with the completion of 12 days without a cancellation. This performance, which doubled the previous monthly record of “perfect days” set in May 2003, also increases the number of 100 percent completion factor days recorded by Northwest in 2007 to 17, equaling the company’s record annual total which has also stood since 2003. For the month, Northwest completed 99.7 percent of all mainline passenger flights…United Airlines launched services from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and from Washington Dulles to Rio de Janeiro, strengthening its international network and providing additional options for customers to travel the world…USAirways announced it would reduce service from Pittsburgh in January from 31 to 22 daily flights; regional flying to smaller cities is expected to be reduced from 76 to 44 daily flights.

in August '07 increased to 71.7%, down 1 point vs. the running 12 month average of 72.7% but up 1.9 points from June’s 69.8%. 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 Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.