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Weekly UpdatesMay 10, 2009
The US Federal Aviation Administration has admitted that the nation's air traffic control systems are vulnerable to cyber attack following a top-level probe into systems security. The US transportation department's Office of Inspector General has concluded that support systems were breached in recent months allowing hackers access to personnel records and network servers, with such breaches having the potential to compromise vital operational systems that control communications, surveillance and flight information used to separate aircraft. May 8, 2009
As officials nationwide work to contain the H1N1 flu, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has asked airlines to change their practices. Blumenthal said he wants airlines to stop charging fees to passengers who feel sick and want to postpone their trip. He said those fees encourage sick people to fly and could expose others. May 4, 2009
Air Canada
Air Canada inaugurated new daily seasonal non-stop service between Toronto and Sydney, Nova Scotia. Air Canada flight AC8794 will depart Toronto at 10:35 p.m. and arrive in Sydney at 11:59 p.m. Air Canada flight AC8795 will depart Sydney at 7 a.m. and arrive in Toronto at 8:45 a.m.. Flights will be operated by Air Canada Jazz onboard 50-seat CRJ jet aircraft. This summer, Air Canada will offer up to six daily flights to/from Sydney, Nova Scotia including up to five daily flights to Halifax and one to Toronto. Air Canada has timed its Sydney-Toronto service to offer excellent connections to and from major cities across Canada, North America and Asia. www.aircanada.com. May 4, 2009
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines announced that it will inaugurate four-times-weekly service between Oakland, Calif., and Kahului, Hawaii, on the island of Maui, beginning Nov. 9, 2009, and thrice-weekly service between Oakland and Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, starting Nov. 10, 2009. www.alaskaair.com. May 7, 2009
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines announced that it will expand its Seattle-Honolulu schedule from one daily flight to two, beginning July 2, 2009, and advance the start of its Portland-Maui service to July 3, 2009, from Aug. 7, 2009. www.alaskaair.com. May 7, 2009
Alaska Airlines
In response to swine flu concerns, Alaska Airlines said it has removed all pillows and blankets from all 114 planes in its fleet. The airline, a unit of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc. said late Friday that it has Ostepped upO its efforts to sanitize its cabins in response to swine flu. In addition to removing pillows and blankets, airline staff are cleaning the aircraft overnight using a disinfectant and sanitizer that contains a Ovirucidal,O which it called a Ovirus-killingO cleaner. May 4, 2009
American Airline
Beginning May 1, American Airlines is adding a third daily nonstop flight to London from BostonOs Logan Airport, plus resuming its seasonal daily service to Paris. Until June 30, AAdvantage members who complete roundtrip travel between the United States and the U.K. on an eligible First Class or Business Class ticket will earn 50,000 bonus miles. Members traveling on select Economy Class fares will earn 25,000 bonus miles. www.aa.com/offers May 4, 2009
American Airlines
American Airlines has begun flying reconfigured Boeing 757 international aircraft on trans-Atlantic flights on international routes. American is in the process of reconfiguring 18 of its 124 Boeing 757s for use on international routes, and ThursdayOs JFK-to-Brussels flight is the first to make an international journey with the new configuration. Featuring new seats, new cabin interiors and updated inflight entertainment systems, the reconfiguration -- slated for completion by the end of this year -- will offer customers a comfortable international travel experience. www.aa.com. May 8, 2009
American Airlines
American Airlines has begun new daily nonstop service from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Madrid, Spain (MAD). American is flying the route with its 225-seat Boeing 767-300 wide-body aircraft in a two-class configuration. Dan Garton, AmericanOs executive vice president, marketing, said that American made the investment in this new route because of the belief that AmericanOs Joint Business Agreement and antitrust immunity application with British Airways and Iberia will be approved later this year. Once approved, Garton said he believes it will be the first of many other opportunities to enhance and expand connections between the United States and Europe, including DFW and North Texas. www.aa.com May 4, 2009
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport remained at the top of the high air fare heap for the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the U.S. Department of TransportationOs Air Travel Price Index. The airportOs average fare of USD 554 ran far ahead of second-place Grand Rapids, Mich., which had an average fare of USD 459 during the quarter. Others in the top five included Knoxville, Tenn.; Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.; and Minneapolis/St. Paul. The fare was down from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airportOs average of USD 597 for the third quarter. Domestic air fares fell 3.7 percent during the fourth quarter, to an average of USD 347, according to the index. Delta Air Lines, the airportOs main carrier, announced in February that it would cut its fares from Cincinnati [ETH] up to 60 percent to some locations. Those results will be reflected in the Air Travel Price Index for first-quarter 2009. May 6, 2009
Continental Airlines
On June 1, Continental Airlines will begin nonstop service from Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport to Tampa and Jacksonville. Service will begin by operating three days a week in each market. Flights are supported by Grand Casino Biloxi and IP Casino Resort. Seats, on sale now, also are available to the public. Continental will offer flights on a 50-seat plane on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday into Jacksonville and Monday, Thursday, and Saturday into Tampa. May 4, 2009
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines has begun seasonal daily non-stop service between its Cleveland hub and LondonOs Heathrow Airport, effective May 2, 2009 (eastbound). The new route replaces the previous seasonal service between Cleveland and London/Gatwick Airport. The new Heathrow service will operate from May 2 through Sept. 26 (eastbound). Flights will depart Cleveland daily at 8:25 p.m. and arrive in London at 9:15 a.m. the next morning. The return flights will depart London daily at 11:40 a.m. and arrive in Cleveland at 3:30 p.m. the same day. For more information, visit www.continental.com. May 4, 2009
Cruise West
Cruise West has introduced two three-night Alaska cruise weekend packages that include airfare from 14 West Coast cities. The OAlaska Weekend Explorers PackageO offers reduced airfare for both the three-night OGlacier Bay HighlightsO and OGlaciers of Prince William SoundO cruises. Total price of USD 1,499 includes the USD 999 cruise fare and USD 500 airfare. The USD 500 air add-on deal is available from Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Ontario, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle and Spokane. www.cruisewest.com. May 8, 2009
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines is heading north to Alaska again, beginning seasonal service from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Anchorage International Airport (ANC) on Friday, May 8, 2009 with one daily nonstop flight. To kick off the new service, Frontier is offering double miles to its EarlyReturns members who fly to Anchorage prior to June 30, 2009. As a result, members can earn approximately 5,000 miles each way between Denver and Anchorage, meaning passengers could be awarded a free round-trip ticket (given at 20,000 miles) in just two trips. May 8, 2009
Funjet Vacations
Funjet Vacations is continuing to closely monitor the status of the H1N1 influenza situation in the United States and Mexico. In order to assist customers in protecting their vacation investment, Funjet Vacations has updated its rebooking and cancellation policies with a rebook by date of May 31. The policies enable customers to rebook their Mexico vacation to another date or to one of hundreds of popular Funjet destinations, including the Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, Las Vegas, California, ski vacations and Europe. Funjet also highly recommends purchasing the Complete Coverage travel protection program to give vacationers peace of mind. www.VAXVacationAccess.com. May 4, 2009
Future Vacations, Continental Airlines
Future Vacations launched a OYour Ticket to RideO booking incentive that rewards travel agents with one roundtrip ticket aboard Continental Airlines for every four eligible air-inclusive packages booked by June 15. Eligible packages must include roundtrip air transportation and a four-night minimum hotel stay with travel taking place between May 1 and Nov. 30. Bookings to any of the more than 350 destinations featured in the Future Vacations global product line are valid. Group bookings are ineligible. Award tickets are valid for roundtrip air travel aboard Continental Airlines (excludes codeshare flights) within the continental U.S. and must be booked by Dec. 30. Travel agents are responsible for tracking their bookings with redemption forms available at www.VAXVacationAccess.com/futurevacations. Completed forms must be received by June 30. Future Vacations rewards travel agents by paying up to 15 percent commission. www.futurevacations.com. May 8, 2009
Mexico
Major North American carriers have outlined plans to cut flights to Mexico in response to the swine flu outbreak. United Airlines says in a statement that for the period 5 May to 3 June it is canceling 11 routes to Mexico, reducing frequency on three others but keeping its Los Angeles-Cancun and Los Angeles-Los Cabos services unchanged. US Airways says from 10 May to 1 July it is reducing its capacity to Mexico by 38 percent which means 12 cites in Mexico will experience a reduction in flights. It will also operate smaller aircraft to Mexico, it adds. May 4, 2009
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