Welcome to the March 2008 Issue of Travology Today

All companies are looking to better maximize their travel programs, especially now when airlines are including additional fuel surcharges and hotel capacity is at a peak. We’d like to offer the following checklist that you can use to ensure you are taking advantage of as many cost saving opportunities as possible:

1. Review your corporate travel policy. Make necessary adjustments. Redistribute the policy to all travelers to refresh their memories.
2. Consolidate the number of hotels you currently have contracts with. By leveraging your spend, you can often negotiate better deals.
3. Take advantage of the over 300 standard reports that Directravel offers. The Unused e-Ticket report is an effective place to start.
4. Be sure to meet with your National Account Manager on a quarterly basis to review the status of your current spend and see how it compares to the Directravel benchmarks.

For more information on managing your travel budget, please contact your National Account Manager.

Airlines serving Newark Liberty Airport have agreed to temporarily cap and spread flights for two years at a level that will allow 30 more flights per day than last summer while helping to reduce chronic delays, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced this month. The cap, which will apply to both domestic and international flights, will allow an average of 83 flights per hour during peak periods and will go into effect in early May.

“We have an obligation to travelers to do everything in our power to prevent a repeat of the horrors they experienced last summer,” Secretary Peters said. “Delays in New York are a regional problem, not just a single-airport problem.”

Secretary Peters said the U.S. Department of Transportation also would introduce market-based mechanisms at Newark to allow the airport to accommodate growth while helping to reduce congestion and delays. As capacity at Newark grows, the Department will auction slots at the airport, an approach that encourages competition, allows new entrants and responds to customer demand, the Secretary said.

Secretary Peters also announced that the Department would move key elements of NextGen – the new satellite-based aviation system designed to enhance efficiency and minimize delays across the nation – from design to delivery this year. She said Florida will begin serving as the test-bed for the new system this summer, with the introduction of NextGen at Daytona Beach and the use of a new descent technique in Miami that saves fuel, and reduces noise and emissions. In addition, ADB-S technology will help increase the capacity of airspace along Florida’s Gulf Coast by allowing planes to fly more closely together without compromising safety.

For more information, click here.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the expansion of its popular Black Diamond Self-Select Lanes to Boston-Logan, Orlando and Spokane International airports.

Salt Lake City and Denver International airports instituted the self-select lane process in February. Both pilots have resulted in an overall increase in throughput and greatly increased customer satisfaction. The term "Black Diamond" comes from the signs used in skiing to denote skill level suggested for specific runs.

The self-select pilots are comprised of a series of lanes designated by signage that directs passengers based on their travel needs and knowledge – Expert, for the business traveler who flies several times a month; Casual, for passengers that travel less frequently, but are familiar with the security process; and Family/Special Assistance, for passengers traveling with small children or strollers, elderly passengers and passengers who may need special assistance.

Salt Lake City and Denver have both experienced a reduction in wait times for expert travelers in the black diamond lanes. By giving families more time to prepare for screening in the "green" lanes, officers are discovering many fewer prohibited items during the screening process. At least an additional three airports are expected to begin the program by the end of April.

For more information, click here.

New research has estimated that over 2.6 billion mobile tickets will be delivered to just over 208 million mobile phone users by 2011. This is one of the key statistics from a recent study by Juniper Research. The report found clear evidence that the sector is gearing up for major launches over the next few years. Early trials, mainly led by mobile network operators, are now migrating into commercial services that are controlled by the ticketing issuers themselves.

Benefits for the ticketing issuers include reduced cost, better security to help the fight against fraud and improved environmental footprint by reducing paper. Early use of mobile barcode technology will be gradually complemented by the emergence of NFC (Near Field Communications), in particular for the transportation ticketing sector where there are already commercial deployments in the Far East and important trials in Western Europe and North America.

Key findings from the report include:

• Savings for the airline industry of $500 million each year by migrating to mobile boarding passes
• A total of almost $87 billion worth of mobile ticketing transactions by 2011
• NFC will start to create traction from 2009 onwards.

The report summarized that 2007 had been an important and groundbreaking year for the sector with trials and commercial deployments expected to continue throughout 2008 and beyond.

For more information, click here.

To gauge where the pain is deepest, U.S. News has crunched government figures to develop an Airport Misery Index: a ranking that shows which airports have the best and worst combination of delayed flights and crowded planes. Of the nation’s 47 busiest airports, the Top 10 are:

Which airport was least painful? SJC, San Jose, CA.

For the complete list and methodology, click here.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced a new canine program to enhance explosives detection capabilities in air cargo facilities nationwide. The launch of this program marks the first time that TSA is training its own employees to be explosives detection canine handlers.

The agency will train and certify more than 400 explosives detection canine teams, composed of one dog and one handler, during the next two years. Eighty-five of these teams will be TSA employee-led and will primarily search cargo bound for passenger-carrying aircraft. The first TSA teams began training in January and graduated this month after a 10-week training course at Lackland AFB, San Antonio. The teams are expected to be fully operational this summer.

TSA handlers will be non-law enforcement employees and will complement the 496 TSA-certified state and local law enforcement teams currently deployed to 70 airports and 14 mass transit systems. The new teams will enhance flexibility in the air cargo environment and allow TSA to surge resources when there is a heightened threat in any transportation system.

"Canine teams are one of the quickest, most efficient means of detecting explosives," said TSA Administrator Kip Hawley. "TSA teams provide flexibility in searching air cargo and the ability to surge resources when necessary."

The TSA teams will be deployed to airports with the greatest volume of cargo on passenger-carrying aircraft. The 12 teams graduating this month will be deployed to: Dulles International, John F. Kennedy International, Los Angeles International and Miami International Airports.

For more information about the TSA National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program, visit the TSA Web site at www.tsa.gov.

Beginning February 1, 2008, the Department of State has instituted a new fee schedule for passport services. At this time, applicants will also have the option of pre-ordering a new Passport Card, a low cost, limited use (land and sea only) alternative to the Passport Book designed for those living along the border. In addition, the age for which both parents must appear and sign a passport application on behalf of a child will increase from 14 to 16 years old.

Fees are being adjusted to cover the cost of providing efficient and secure passport services including infrastructure, technology and staff. The Passport Execution fee collected by passport acceptance centers and U.S. consular sections abroad is being reduced from $30 to $25.

To protect children from abduction, and to address concerns regarding runaway children, beginning February 1, both parents will be required to personally appear at a passport acceptance facility, passport agency or U.S. consular section abroad with minor applicants under the age of 16 (up from age 14) and sign the application.

New application forms and updated information on applying for a Passport and Passport Card are available at http://travel.state.gov/passport.

The American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum is celebrating its 15 th anniversary in style, with a fresh new look, expanded exhibits and a dramatic wall-size mural that can be seen from Highway 360 and even from the air by some passengers landing at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport…Continental Airlines announced that it was again rated the top airline on FORTUNE magazine's annual airline industry list of World's Most Admired Companies…Delta Air Lines customers and employees rallied to raise $500,000 through donations and pink product sales for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation…Effective March 1, each Eos flight can earn Club 48 members up to 11,250 points on qualifying fares. Club 48 points will now accrue towards three different bonus levels…Northwest Airlines has presented the Nature Conservancy with a gift of $333,000 as part of the $1 million dollar pledge to its founding EarthCares partner… Beginning November 10, Qatar Airways will launch three flights a week non-stop to Houston using its brand new Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft. Frequency will rise to daily a few weeks later in December 2008.

in January '08 increased to 72.4%, down 1.0 point vs. the running 12 month average of 73.4% but up 8.1 points from December’s 64.3%. 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, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’lvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.