Welcome to the April 2008 Issue of Travology Today

Rising fuel costs have shown their strong impact on the travel industry. According to Platts, a leading energy information provider, the price of jet fuel has increased 72.7% versus one year ago. This has forced the airlines to develop “creative” pricing strategies to make the most of incremental revenue opportunities. These include:

• 3-5% fare increases so far this year
• Increases on domestic, international and same day change fees for non-refundable tickets, adding up to $50 per change on top of the already imposed fees
• Increasing fuel surcharges
• Additional fees of $25 ($50 round trip) for a second checked bag
• Additional charges of $25-$35 (each way) for live “customer service” support
• Select window, aisle and the first few rows of Coach seats for an additional $5 premium

In addition, there has been the cessation of services of 4 airlines in 1 month (EOS, SKYBUS, Aloha Airlines and ATA) as well as the proposed consolidation of two legacy carriers, Delta and Northwest.

While this would seem a rather bleak outlook, let’s all be optimistic. This environment fosters and hones our skills in maximizing savings opportunities and focusing on expense curtailment. Globally, the picture is better and our economy will eventually have the benefit of positive residual effects. When the economy turns, as it will as these things are cyclical, we will all be in a better position for future growth from the efficiencies that were built during this current economic downturn.

The summer of 2007 was part of the worst year on record for flight disruptions. From January through December of 2007, over 1 in 4 flights (29 percent) were delayed or cancelled, affecting about 163 million passengers. These flight disruptions hit all–time highs over the summer, with all delayed flights up by 15 percent over the summer of 2006. Further, flight cancellations increased by 28 percent over the summer of 2006, affecting nearly 3.2 million passengers.

Earlier this month, the Inspector General testified on initiatives underway to address delays and improve airline customer service before the House Subcommittee on Aviation. The testimony was in response to the Chairman’s request for an “after–action” analysis of (1) contributing factors to last summer’s record–breaking flight delays; (2) the status of ongoing efforts by DOT, the airlines, and airports to improve airline customer service in response to record delays and recommendations last September; and (3) actions needed to mitigate congestion and delays.

The Inspector General outlined several near–term actions that are needed to reduce congestion and delays in the summer of 2008 and beyond. For the Department, these actions include negotiating a plan with the Department of Defense to utilize special–use airspace as additional lanes of traffic at specific chokepoints. Actions needed from FAA include expanding the number of Airspace Flow Program locations and establishing procedures to keep capacity benchmarks for the major airports current. The Inspector General also recommended that the Bureau of Transportation Statistics use airlines’ delay and cancellation data to analyze locations of initial delays, underlying causes of system–wide effects, and the role of airports as net generators or absorbers of delays. This would provide the Congress, DOT, FAA, and other stakeholders with a better understanding of the causes of delays and the solution sets needed to address them.

The complete Status Report on Actions Underway to Address Flight Delays and Improve Airline Customer Service is available here.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced improvements aimed at strengthening aviation security while decreasing the hassle factor for travelers. Among the key improvements, DHS is providing airlines more flexibility to allow passengers to check in remotely who have been unable to do so because they have a name similar to someone on a watch list. The department also unveiled the Checkpoint Evolution prototype, which begins full operation at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI).

Each airline will now be able to create a system to verify and securely store a passenger’s date of birth to clear up watch list misidentifications. By voluntarily providing this limited biographical data to an airline and verifying that information once at the ticket counter, travelers that were previously inconvenienced on every trip will now be able to check-in online or at remote kiosks.

Additionally, DHS is providing greater clarity on the types of identification that will be accepted at checkpoints in the U.S. Beginning May 26, 2008, federal or state-issued photo ID will be accepted if it contains: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature. Standardizing the list of accepted documents better aligns TSA with other DHS components and REAL ID benchmarks. More information on acceptable documents is available at www.tsa.gov.

These innovations, along with the new Checkpoint Evolution prototype, are part of a broader effort to calm the checkpoint. The BWI prototype includes Millimeter Wave technology used in random continuous use, multi-view X-ray and liquid bottle scanners. These technologies, in conjunction with changes to the checkpoint environment and processes, will be evaluated for operational efficiency over the coming months.

For more information, click here.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters launched Fast Lane, the Department of Transportation’s new blog. Accessible at http://fastlane.dot.gov, Fast Lane will be an on-line community for all those interested in the nation’s transportation system and its future.

Fast Lane contributors will include Secretary Peters, Deputy Secretary Thomas Barrett, Administrators from the Department’s operating agencies, and other senior officials. In addition, the site will welcome guest bloggers from government, industry, and the transportation community. The Department will also use the blog to break news and make announcements.

“Fast Lane will allow me and others here at the Department to speak directly with interested citizens, members of the transportation community and the blogosphere to engage in an earnest conversation about our nation’s transportation future,” Secretary Peters said. “I have made 21st century solutions a priority for our transportation system, and now I’m thrilled to be using a 21st century communications tool to reach Americans in a whole new way.”

Fast Lane is an open forum, and visitors are encouraged to submit comments, contribute ideas, and bring to the Department’s attention innovative and exciting transportation activities in their communities. All comments will be reviewed before inclusion, and a representative sample will be posted to the site.

For more information, click here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the selection of 18 additional airports that will be part of the Model Ports Initiative. This joint venture between federal agencies, the travel industry, airlines and airport authorities was designed to improve our processes for clearing and welcoming travelers into the United States.

“The Model Ports Initiative represents an important partnership between government and the travel industry. We will work together at each of these 20 gateway airports to strengthen the international passenger arrivals process and environment,” said Paul M. Morris, executive director of CBP admissibility and passenger programs.

The Model Ports Initiative is part of The Rice-Chertoff Initiative established in 2006 to enhance border security with the use of the best new technologies, while streamlining security processes and facilitating travel for legitimate visitors.

The keystone of these efforts is a new video, currently available in Spanish, French, German and English, that assists travelers through the customs and immigration process, a “Welcome to the U.S.” brochure and a variety of new bi-lingual directional signage. In the coming months, travelers arriving at these airports will see several improvements, including an increased number of video monitors, a welcome message and information on the entry process. In addition, working groups from the private and public sectors will be established in these cities to create a better overall passenger experience.

The 18 airports were selected based on the locations with the largest number of foreign visitors arriving annually. International airports in the following cities have been selected: New York (JFK), Miami, Los Angeles, Newark, Chicago (O’Hare), Honolulu, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Orlando, Detroit, Boston, Las Vegas, Sanford (Fla.), Seattle, Philadelphia, San Juan and Ft. Lauderdale.

The Model Ports Initiative has been operational since April 2007 with George Bush Intercontinental in Houston and Washington Dulles International airports serving as the first two sites.

On an average day, CBP welcomes 1.13 million travelers into the U.S., including more than 251,000 air passengers. CBP staffs 327 ports of entry nationwide, while enforcing over 400 U.S. laws.

For more information, click here.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has transitioned to a new telecommunications network that will increase network reliability and save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade.

“While completing this work has been seamless to the flying public, it is important because it means travelers can have a greater level of confidence in our networks,” said Robert A. Sturgell, FAA Acting Administrator.

The FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) network replaces the legacy telecommunications network known as the Leased Interfacility National Airspace System Communications (LINCS). More than 3,800 facilities were upgraded with 20,000 telecommunications services.

“Moving to FTI is a key milestone to support a secure, high capacity network backbone for the Next Generation Air Transportation System,” said Administrator Sturgell.

Instead of managing and operating separate legacy networks, the FAA is moving toward an integrated, modern and cost-effective telecommunications infrastructure. The successful transition of the legacy LINCS system to the FTI network brings the FAA closer to a single, more reliable network for transmitting voice, data and radar information to the nation’s air traffic controllers. It also offers a range of enhanced security services, including firewalls, intrusion detection, and encryption, and reduces the agency’s operating costs for telecommunications services.

For more information, click here.

American Airlines has launched “Miles for the Cure,” a special fundraising campaign that rewards donors by giving them five AAdvantage® miles for every dollar they contribute to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®… BAA and British Airways announced that the planned move of the airline's long haul services from Terminal Four at Heathrow to Terminal Five will be deferred until June…Continental Airlines released a message to its employees stating “We want you to know that our Board of Directors met today and has unanimously supported management's recommendation that, in the current industry environment, the best course for Continental is to not merge with another airline at this time.”…In recognition of Earth Day 2008, Delta Air Lines will donate the 2007 proceeds of its comprehensive onboard recycling program totaling $80,000 to completely fund the construction of an EarthCraft-style house for community partner Habitat for Humanity…US Airways has freshened up its Envoy (trans-Atlantic business class service) experience to meet the expectations of today's discerning travelers. In addition to the focus on more personalized service, improvements were also made to Envoy meals.

in February '08 decreased to 68.6%, down 4.9 points vs. the running 12 month average of 73.5% and down 3.8 points from January’s 72.4%. 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, Haiti, Iran, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.