Lastminute moves from a ‘finder’ to a ‘grinder’

This is according to a report today in the Guardian, which states that Stephen Gleadle, former Finance Director of IT firm, Synstar, is to take over from David Howell who has resigned from the online travel agent.

Howell apparently presided over a dramatic acquisitions spree which saw Lastminute.com buy 14 companies across Europe including Holiday Autos, Med Hotels, First Option and Gemstone Travel. In contrast, explains the Guardian, Gleadle is seen as a safe pair of hands while Lastminute.com integrates those businesses and concentrates on lowering costs.

A spokesman for Lastminute aptly summed up the new appointment as ‘a move from a finder to a grinder’.

Evidently, Synstar was bought by Hewlett-Packard in August last year and Gleadle quit after the merger went through in October. He had overseen the restructuring of the business, helping it to return to profitability.

"Gleadle’s experience of corporate change and strong financial leadership will be a great asset to Chief Executive, Brent Hoberman, and his team as they continue to integrate the recently acquired businesses," the Guardian quoted Lastminute.com's Chairman, Brian Collie, as commenting.

Brazil's Gol Airline, Holder to Sell $270 Million in Shares

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA, Brazil's No. 3 airline, said it will sell shares valued at 738.5 million reais ($270 million).

Gol and BSSF Air Holdings LLC, an affiliate of AIG Capital Partners, will each sell about sell 10.2 million preferred shares, the Sao Paulo-based airline said in a statement distributed by Business Wire.
Gol, a low-fare airline, also will make available as much as another 3.06 million shares for sale if there's demand, the airline said. Gol's preferred shares closed at 36.2 reais on Thursday on the Sao Paulo stock exchange.
Morgan Stanley will lead the sale in international markets, and Merrill Lynch & Co., Raymond James Inc. and Banco Santander Central Hispano SA will act as joint lead managers, Gol said. The Brazilian units of Santander and Morgan Stanley and Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA, Brazil's biggest bank by market value, will lead the Brazilian portion of the sale, Gol said.

Gol had 78.1 million preferred shares outstanding at the end of September, according to Bloomberg data. The airline raised $281 million in an initial public offering in June.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/

Three airlines hike fees

AN INCREASE in the price of airfares from April 1 has been announced by three of the major air carriers operating in Bulgaria, British Airways (BA), Lufthansa and Alitalia.
The three companies’ trade offices in Bulgaria will start charging a service fee of between 20 euro and 60 euro for issuing air tickets. The fee will be added to the price of the ticket itself, when the ticket is bought at the offices of the companies or through their websites.

Travel agents will be free to decide whether they will charge a fee and what size the fee will be, representatives of the three carriers told a news conference in Sofia on March 17.
The fee charged by BA will be 20 euro, and the charge will be uniform for European and intercontinental flights. It will apply only to sales of paper tickets, given that the company considers website purchases as self-service, BA country sales manager Emil Delibashev said. “We are just following the model that was introduced in the US and has already been applied all over the world,” Delibashev said.
BA’s reasons for charging the fee are that the company has been seriously hit by the recession in the flight industry after September 11, and a number of other political and conflict situations globally. They are also facing constantly increasing competition from low-fare carriers, and rising fuel prices, according to Delibashev.
For flights to Europe and North Africa, Alitalia will charge 25 euro for an e-ticket and 35 euro for a paper one, and for intercontinental flights, 35 euro and 45 euro respectively. The reasons for the introduction of the fees arise from Alitalia’s development programme for the period 2005-2007, said the airline’s general manager for Bulgaria, Marcelo Valle. The programme’s main direction is towards cutting distribution costs, which include the sales of tickets.

Lufthansa’s fee will be 25 euro for Europe and 50 euro for flights to destinations further away. A further 10 euro will be charged by the German carrier if a customer buys a paper ticket from it, said Dieter Grosse, Lufthansa’s manager for Bulgaria and Macedonia. He also cited the pressure that the flight industry had been experiencing in the past few years as the reason for charging the fee.
Alitalia and Lufthansa are cutting the commissions granted to travel agents for selling their tickets from the current seven to just one per cent. BA would not say what their decrease would be, but Delibashev said the cut was in the company’s plans. Travel agents will be free to charge whatever size service fee they want in regard to the number of services they offer to each customer, all three of the managers said.

Source: http://www.sofiaecho.com/

Over 2,000 illegal travel agencies exist

More than two thousand travel agencies are working in the country without any registration or government approval, The Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (Atab) said.

The government did not take any action although a list of over 200 such agencies was submitted to the government, leaders of the association said at a press conference yesterday.

Atab President M A Mohaimen Saleh addressed the conference while General Secretary Ghulam Mostafa and other leaders responded to questions from the newsmen.

Illegal travel agents and intelligence agencies working at Zia International Airport might be involved in human trafficking but none of the genuine travel agencies were involved in such malpractice, they said.

The Atab leaders demanded making Atab membership mandatory for all travel agents, which would help in taking legal action against illegal activities by any agents and bringing transparency in the sector.

Out of 1667 agents registered with the government, only 850 are Atab members, they said.

Most of the illegal travel agencies are located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet districts, Atab leaders said, adding that in Sylhet, the travel agency business has reached to the upazila level.

Many of them do not have any trade licence, let alone travel agency licence, they said, adding that issuing licences without considering the educational and business background of the persons concerned is responsible for the mushrooming of travel agencies in the country.

Atab President Mohaimen said although a high powered meeting chaired by the civil aviation minister decided to make the Atab membership mandatory for all travel agents, it was suspended by another meeting chaired by the secretary of the same ministry.

Following the Mediterranean and Mauritania tragedies, indiscriminate police actions have created panic among the genuine travel agents, said Atab General Secretary Ghulam Mustafa.

He demanded an end to such action.

Atab's 15-point demands to the government include closing down all the illegal travel agents, regular monitoring of activities of genuine travel agents, considering educational background while issuing new licences, ending harassment of passengers at the airports and ending police harassment of the genuine agents.

Source: The Daily Star

Airlines toss pillows and other frills

Cost-cutting Ryanair, the European budget airline, is eliminating headrest covers, seat pockets and window blinds. Window blinds? American travelers could almost worry that U.S. airlines might be cutting out the glass from the windows.

Pressed by soaring fuel costs, economic uncertainties, fierce competition and tectonic shifts in travel since Sept. 11, 2001, airlines are dumping "frills" to meet the harsh new realities. This is besides ticket-price hikes announced in recent days.

Although few domestic carriers match the European cuts (removing reclining seats, fewer toilets, etc.), once-common amenities are being jettisoned port and starboard while once-free items are being sold, when they are even available at all.

The days of luxury liner service in the skies are a thing of the past. For better or worse, air travel can be more like riding a bus than sailing the QE2.

American Airlines and Delta are cutting out pillows, upon which weary heads have long rested. Northwest has ended free meals and even meals for sale, selling a $3 snack box instead. Several carriers are boasting about the quality of their snacks - a sleight of hand to divert from the fact that normal food has vanished.

For an industry reduced to distributing peanuts, the cuts are not peanuts at all. Food is a $2 billion item in the airline world budget. American hopes to save $675,000 by eliminating the pillows - savings in cleaning and replacement costs and time spent tidying up the cabin. Northwest is reportedly eyeing the American and Delta pillow fight, too.

The reason that, increasingly, the frill is gone is simple enough: The airlines are losing their shirts. Some - US Airways, United, Aloha - are already in bankruptcy protection; others are flying in that direction. Delta has recently expressed concern whether it will have enough cash to do business.

In an industry that has lost $33 billion in the past three years and sees little but more red ink ahead, cuts are inevitable. Charges are being levied for what was once free, and "old" prices are being raised.

In favor of snacks, Delta is eliminating most of its food for sale (it eliminated free meals in 2001) and is raising the tab for alcoholic beverages to $5. United is considering $5 snack boxes on flights of more than 2 1/2 hours. American, which offers complimentary granola bars and pretzels, last month began selling, instead of meals, a $3 snack box and $5 sandwiches and wraps on its flights of three hours or more.

America West is looking into charging $5 for checking bags and $1 for sodas. The carrier has delayed implementation of such practices until it can find an economical way to carry them out.

Excess baggage levies, usually ignored before, are being applied with expensive regularity: Northwest, for example, charges domestic-coach passengers at least $80 for more than two checked bags. Overweight bags cost at least $25 extra. Already, it can cost you $10 or more extra to order a ticket over the phone or in person and $20 or more for a paper ticket.

The budget lines such as Southwest and Independence have always kept frills to a minimum while offering low prices. The challenge to the others is that if they lose the frills but the prices stay high, there is even less reason not to fly on the budgets. It will take careful balancing.

"Dissatisfaction with a lack of amenities is an area the industry needs to keep a close eye on," Linda Hirneise, executive director of travel industry research at J.D. Power and Associates, says in releasing a major consumer study on air passenger attitudes.

The study shows, among other things, that dissatisfaction with amenities ranks second among things passengers are most concerned about, after tight space in seats and aisles.

"A lot of it is relative to expectations, though," she says. "It's very important for the companies to communicate with their customers. Travelers bring certain expectations, and if they're met or not abused, things will go well. Our study shows that JetBlue has the highest ranking for amenities. But JetBlue really doesn't have many amenities beyond electronics. It's just that the customer gets what he or she expects."

The impact of the cuts on the consumer is uncertain so far, although some observers believe the traveling public is pretty realistic.

Amy Ziff, editor-at-large for the giant travel search engine Travelocity, sees passengers needing to adjust to the new reality.

``As the major airlines transform themselves to be more like low-fare carriers with consis- tent deals, passengers should expect some trade-offs,'' she says.

``Low fares come at a cost, and as the major airlines strive to achieve the ultimate makeover, they must look different.

"Frequent travelers may want to create a travel pack that they toss into their carry-on. At a minimum, it should contain a wrap or a sweatshirt, inflatable pillow or neck rest, earphones, a few snacks and a bottle of water."

There's no charge to bring that on a plane.

Source: Denis Horgan The Hartford Courant

Malaysia Airlines to increase seat capacity to 8000

Malaysia Airlines, the national air career of Malaysia and one of the leading airlines in the far east sector, is set to enhance its seat capacity to around 8,000 per week from 2,000 seats per week at present, eyeing to register a four-fold growth in its passengers to and from India.

The airline is planning to introduce new flights to at least four new destinations apart from increasing the frequency in selected sectors.

The airline at present operates from select destinations in India namely Chennai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad. The airline has also started flying from Ahmedabad and Kolkata recently.

Among its new destinations, the airline is planning to launch its return direct flights from Amritsar to Kaula Lumpur, followed by Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Trichi among others. Source: http://www.business-standard.com

“We are having a major expansion plan for India, and the new route is a part of our expansion plan in India and demonstrates our commitment to an emerging economic giant like India. By the end of next year we will be flying at least over 10 destinations in India. We are already operational in seven Indian cities. After Kolkata, we are planning to launch our services in Amritsar followed by few south Indian cities, which has a major potential for the far east sector,” said Zinal Abidin Sulaiman, area manager, Malaysia Airlines, on Friday.

Sulaiman was here on Friday evening to address a seminar on international travel organised by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Airline will operate the Airbus 330-300 series aircraft, with a total of 290 seats per flight, comprising 42 business class seats and 248 economy class passenger seats.

Globally, the airline has a fleet of nearly 100 aircraft connecting more than 100 destinations. The airline has started its operations in India in 1972 from Chennai.

Each flights from India have a capacity to carry cargo of 10 tonne, which will enhance its cargo business from the Indian market.

The airline may also introduce its freighter aircraft, MASkargo, the cargo subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines with the increasing demand for cargo services as the cargo business is expected to grow in the Indian market by 12 per cent to 15 per cent in the coming years.

Apart from the introduction of new routes, the airline has already planned to operate 86 additional flights from India, 17 flights out of Bangalore, 18 out of Hyderabad, and 51 out of Mumbai

The Island May Be Paradise, But the Resort Isn't, Always

For the past decade, a 45-acre enclave hugging the ocean near Nassau has served double duty as a faux lost underwater empire. It holds the grandest casino in the Bahamas (and the rest of the Caribbean), a garden of lush tropical fauna and exotic sealife, and a water park with thrills at every corner.

When the Atlantis resort and casino opened in 1994 on Paradise Island, across the harbor from the Bahamian capital, it instantly became one of the splashiest destinations in the islands. But 10 years is a lifetime in the travel world, where changing tastes can be the death knell for the Next Big Thing.

As a traveler who knows a thing or two about deluxe resorts, I was curious about how this AAA four-diamond property -- where the cheapest winter rate is $360 a night -- has fared. And, more important, how does it compare with other top-ranked island destinations?

Did it offer the hop-to-it service of Jamaica's Half Moon, where a personal butler and cook stood at my ready? Would its amenities match the Bose compact disc player and orchid-infused lotions in my room at Barbados' Sandy Lane? Would it rock with the kind of theme parties staged nightly at Moon Palace in Cancun?

A three-day stay in early February gave me a chance to find out.

Atlantis got an easy "A" in the looks test. Even the most jaded travelers are awed by the coral facade of turrets, spires and columns that towers like a Brobdingnagian sandbox over tiny Paradise Island.

The 70-foot domed gilded rotunda, sculpted pillars and marble floors made the lobby of the Royal Towers, the most popular of the three main buildings, one of the most dazzling hotel foyers I've seen. Small wonder this is a favorite getaway for stars like Oprah Winfrey.

My room, alas, was less impressive. It was spacious enough, with a king-size bed, 36-inch television and sea-foam green carpeting. But the special touches that transform a place to sleep into an experience -- highthread-count sheets, top-drawer bath amenities, designer furniture, top-quality mattresses -were more three-star standard than five-star premier.

But the view! My 16th-floor double overlooked an alluring sweep of palms, lagoons, swimming pools and, beyond, the ocean. To behold that scene in the orange dawn or blue light of early evening made the $550 cost of an ocean view room worth it.

After a day on-site, I had the sensation that I was on a gargantuan landlocked cruise ship. Like most ships, the Atlantis provides a daily schedule listing activity options, from nature walks and Ping-Pong tournaments to tennis clinics and poolside escapades. Off-site excursions include walking tours of downtown Nassau and catamaran trips, all for additional fees.

There's also a shiplike range of dining options, including 35 restaurants, bars and cafes. Entertainment venues include a comedy club and a posh nightclub.

Unlike a Carnival cruise, however, this getaway charges extra for almost everything, save for access to the beach, pools, cinema and aquariums. Buffet breakfast in the Marketplace came to $24, including mandatory tip. The health club costs $15 a day, and a 50-minute massage at the Mandara spa was $109. A martini in Plato's, the lobby bar, went for $8.05. Parking a little one at the Discovery Channel Camp, which arranges activities, runs $79 a day.

And yet, on a weekday earlier this month, the 2,300-room resort was booked solid. Young families with a toddler or two were everywhere. But there were others -couples in search of a romantic escape, business execs and a few solo travelers.

The crowds probably explain why the hotel's staff, while cordial, was rarely personable. Jeremie Debomy, down from Miami with his wife for a few days, didn't mask his disappointment.

"The service was not really what I expected. . . . The staff seemed so nonchalant," he said. "It was OK, but I doubt I'll be back."

Others differed. Ellen Elson, a Pittsburgh business executive, was pleased.

"Having a place with so many things to do is perfect," she said. "We can drop the 4-year-old off at the Discovery Camp for the day. Our teenager can glide down as many slides as he wants. And we can hang at the pool."

Pool? I counted eight, including an oversize option for families, a lap pool for serious swimmers and a more intimate spot for couples. I couldn't resist the Leap of Faith, a 60-foot vertical jump down the Mayan Temple, a faux ruin constructed around a lagoon. Listening at once to the roar of the crowd and my heartbeat, I shot down through a shark-filled body of water (walled off from swimmers with plastic) into a refreshing pool.

The centerpiece of the waterworks is the Dig, a maze of passageways decorated with faux relics -- oversize tablets covered with hieroglyphics, "ancient" coral-covered pillars and so on -centered on an aquarium. The pools and lagoons are such a thrill, though, it's easy to forget that the ocean is just a few yards away, behind the dunes rimming the property.

That would be a mistake: The two beaches here rank with the best in the Caribbean.

Cove Beach, a quiet haven covered with white sand and protected by palms, is geared toward those seeking a romantic escape. During my visit, a lone couple was there, complacently lounging on beach chairs.

"I've traveled all over the Caribbean, and this is the softest sand I have found anywhere," said Delores, a young blonde taking a walk.

The buzz was at nearby Atlantis Beach, which stretches along the resort's edge.

Still, dozens of sunbathers were sprawled on chairs and towels. The mood was festive and more welcoming than similar scenes I'd seen in Jamaica or other islands.

Dinner at Villa D'Este, a whitetablecloth restaurant specializing in northern Italian cuisine, was less memorable. A white bean soup lacked the rich flavor the dish has in almost any Tuscan restaurant, while the grilled lamb chops with mushrooms were spectacular.

That mixed report, it turned out, was par for the resort's eating experiences. Whether it was breakfast at Murray's deli, a buffet meal at Marketplace or a splurge at the upscale Five Twins, all featured a melange of superb dishes . . . and standard hotel fare.

The exception was Dune, a beachfront restaurant serving up various specialties of celeb chef Jean-George Vongerichten; every bite was tasty.

Source: By GARY LEE The Washington Post

Ski resorts take a leap in business

Utah ski resorts should beat last year's sales of lift tickets by 5 percent to 8 percent and perhaps more before the season winds down in mid-April, an industry group says.

"I would say we're going to do 3.5 million or 3.6 million skier visits this year," said Kip Pitou, president of Ski Utah.
"We're going to be up in all categories."

The number of out-of-state visitors to Utah's slopes is expected to show a jump because of poorer snow conditions over the winter in Washington state, Idaho and Montana.

The boost comes on top of last season's performance, and suggests Utah is reaping a boost from publicity of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Utah logged 3.38 million skier days last winter, which was up 7 percent from 3.14 million the year before.

"We're coming off a pretty strong season last year, our best year ever. Because of that, people tend to book vacations and locals tend to buy season passes," Pitou said.

Ski Utah collects confidential figures from the 13 independently operated resorts in Utah, releasing only the industrywide totals.

Snowbird resort is on track to top last year's skier traffic by at least 15 percent and "it would take a shocking turn of events for us not to have an all-time record," Snowbird spokesman Dave Fields said.

Utah resorts were blessed by early and heavy snowfall last November and record skier turnouts over the Christmas holidays, Presidents Day weekend and this Easter weekend, when the World Freestyle Championships was moved to Park City from Bogus Basin near Boise, Idaho, which didn't have enough snow.

Utah's lodging industry also is doing well. In Park City, home of The Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain resorts, lodging is on pace for a third-straight record year. Numbers so far are up almost 7 percent from last season, said Mark Bennett of the Park City Chamber/Bureau.

"This is the perfect storm in terms of ski attendance with the combination of snow, increased marketing efforts and the possibility that low snow in other parts of country helped us out," Ski Utah spokesman Nathan Rafferty said.

Alta ski area on Saturday was reporting an almost-unheard snow base of 183 inches -- more than 15 feet of packed snow under skiers' feet.

That compared to a 61-inch base at Vail and about the same at Aspen Mountain in Colorado. Some of California's Sierra range resorts had as much or more seasonal snowfall than Utah, but winter storms largely bypassed Washington state and Idaho, turning some slopes there brown.

Utah's Solitude ski area, which started counting its snowfall early last October, reported Saturday it had received 604 inches for the season -- more than 50 feet.

That's more snow than the Wasatch Mountains have seen since 1994-95, when Alta reported a season total of 745 inches. These and other Cottonwood Canyons resorts average about 500 inches a winter.

Source: This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1
Paul Foy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Asia flights brighten sky for airlines Carriers vie for passengers as airport opens in Japan

The dogfight for dominance in the high-flying Asia Pacific market heated up Saturday when United Airlines' maiden flight 831 touched down at this industrial city's new $7.3 billion airport en route from San Francisco.

International air traffic is proving increasingly important to traditional U.S. carriers such as United and Northwest Airlines, which have been hard-pressed at home by the growth of low-cost carriers that have kept ticket prices down and gobbled up 25 percent of the domestic U.S. market.

Foreign routes are especially important to bankrupt United, which draws 31 percent of its total revenue from international travel -- 16 percent from Asia alone -- and looks to continued growth in foreign travel as a key to its eventual exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

But United doesn't have a clear flight path across the Pacific. United rival Northwest Airlines is also increasing its long-established transpacific service, and premier Asian airlines such as Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways are also in the thick of the competition.

And no wonder: Asian economies continue to expand, led by China's sizzling 9.5 percent growth in gross domestic product last year. Japan has shown strong signs of recovering from its 1990s slump, putting more money in the pockets of millions of affluent Japanese consumers.

Passenger traffic to and around the Asia Pacific region soared 20.6 percent last year from its 2003 level, well ahead of the world average 15.3 percent, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Asia Pacific countries accounted for $4 billion in revenue to U.S. carriers in 2003, an otherwise down year described as SARS-depleted by John Heimlich, chief economist of the Air Transport Association of America, an industry trade group. "I imagine it has doubled or more than doubled by now,'' Heimlich said. "There is a very strong post-SARS and post-war recovery.''

U.S. airlines such as United and Northwest are in an enviable position to grow in this region because they are the chief beneficiaries of governmental bilateral aviation treaties that allow them to add flights on these prized routes while restricting the number of competitors, Heimlich noted.

"We are shifting more and more of our fleet to the international market, '' United's Japan sales manager Barry Bergmann said in Tokyo recently. United has flown to Japan, which accounts for 40 percent of its Asia Pacific revenue, since the 1980s, calling on Tokyo's Narita airport and Osaka's Kansai airport.

Now, United, the dominant carrier at San Francisco International Airport, has started daily flights from SFO to Nagoya, a city of 2.2 million people in Japan's industrial heartland, near the headquarters of Toyota, Honda and Suzuki. The airline is focused on luring business travelers onto the new flight because they typically pay higher fares than do vacationers. "They are high-yield passengers,'' Bergmann noted. United is charging $6,443 for a round- trip business class ticket between SFO and Nagoya, though the airline also offered introductory round-trip coach fares as low as $298.

United originally planned to begin its service to Nagoya from SFO, which handles more than 90 percent of the Bay Area's international flights, in June. But it was moved up to Saturday, Bergmann said, in hopes of snaring traffic to World Expo 2005, a world's fair near Nagoya that opened Friday with pavilions from 120 nations, including the United States.

United also recently reached agreements with All Nippon Airways, allowing passengers to transfer to eight or nine secondary Japanese cities from United flights originating in the United States, Bergman said.

United's new Nagoya service takes passengers to gleaming Centrair airport, which opened last month on a man-made island serviced by trains, expressways and high-speed ferries. It comes just months after the Chicago carrier began daily nonstop service between SFO and Beijing in June and began flying daily between SFO and Ho Chi Minh City in December.

United's ambitious Asian expansion is hardly going unchallenged, however.

Northwest, which has flown between the United States and Asia since 1947 and operates 11 daily international and domestic flights from SFO, is striving to attract passengers -- especially free-spending executives -- by upgrading its business class, implementing a futuristic in-flight entertainment system and introducing a new generation of aircraft.

"International for Northwest is a large and very important part of our network,'' said Laura Liu, Northwest's vice president of international marketing and revenue. Northwest, she said, operates a busy hub at Tokyo Narita airport which allows the Minnesota carrier to offer quick transfers to passengers heading to China and throughout Japan.

"Our history and our experience gives us a leg up in the market,'' Liu said of Asia. Northwest also flies to the new Centrair airport, offering daily service between the automotive centers of Detroit and Nagoya.

Nagoya's new Centrair is just the latest of half a dozen major international airports that have opened in Asia in recent years, a contributing factor in the rise of commercial aviation in the region. It follows the opening of built-from-scratch airports in Shanghai; Guangzhou, China; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Seoul/Inchon; and Hong Kong.

The airlines are adding the latest touches in comfort to coddle customers on flights between Asia and the United States, which can easily top 10 hours.

Northwest recently introduced flatbed seats in business class with 60 inches between rows, installed 10-inch video screens at each business class seat, and rolled out an in-flight entertainment system that offers TV shows, music, games and movies on demand. The same entertainment system is available on 6-inch seatback screens in economy class, she said.

Northwest also introduced Airbus A330-200 aircraft on its SFO-Tokyo flight in October. The planes are said to be quieter than the DC10-30s they replaced and some 30 percent more fuel efficient.

"Out of SFO, we are very competitive,'' said Liu, who said Northwest has flown to Asia from San Francisco since 1969.

"We are still focused on Japan,'' she said, but added that Northwest is eying opportunities in China, too. "Our whole industry is very excited about China. It's a growth opportunity that's out there,'' she said.

Recent liberalization of the U.S.-China aviation treaty has allowed American Airlines and Continental Airlines to plan limited service to China this year and next. American, which has a reciprocal agreement with Japan Airlines to sell tickets on each other's flights, is also a high-profile corporate sponsor of the U.S. pavilion at World Expo 2005.

But Northwest and United remain far ahead among U.S. airlines serving Asia, especially China and Japan -- lucrative markets also coveted by leading Asian carriers.

Asian airlines such as Singapore Air are known for attentive service as well as light touches and technical innovations designed to please the picky passenger. Japan Airlines, which has flown between San Francisco and Tokyo since 1954, also has flatbed seats in business and first class, and Cathay Pacific has pioneered the use of in-flight e-mail systems.

Anything that can give an airline an edge is likely to come into play. To localize its new Nagoya service, United has added Japanese comfort food to the airborne menu, serving morsels such as grilled shrimp over rice.

The growth in passenger business in the Asia Pacific region has been paralleled by a growth spurt in air cargo. While most trade goods cross the Pacific by ship, fast air cargo is becoming more important in the age of just- in-time delivery, said Heimlich of the Air Transport Association.

Indeed, Nagoya's new Centrair was built nearly as much to handle cargo as to move human beings, said Tetsuya Takahashi, senior manager in the airport's sales and marketing division.

"We are in the manufacturing center of the country,'' Takahashi said. "The big companies here wanted an airport with greater capacity than Nagoya's old one. And they wanted a facility that could operate 24 hours a day,'' he said, as big jets rolled down the runway outside the airport conference room.

A senior executive from Toyota, Japan's largest carmaker, directed the four-year construction of the airport -- built with half government money and half corporate funding -- and brought it in under budget.

Centrair makes a big difference to air cargo shippers such as FedEx, which previously had to fly shipments bound for the industrial heartland to Tokyo or Osaka, both several hours distant, then move them to Nagoya by expensive trucks or railroads, FedEx spokesman Ed Coleman said.

FedEx has started five new weekly flights between SFO and Centrair to handle anticipated new business, Coleman said.

One FedEx customer using the new flights is Building Material Distributors, a company based in Galt (Sacramento County) that has been doing business in Japan for a dozen years and specializes in exporting windows, doors, cabinets and other items for upscale, Western-style houses.

"There was a condo builder in Nagoya that got the wrong windows,'' recalled Alan MacDougall, Building Material Distributors' international sales manager. "He had $500-an-hour siding guys standing around, waiting.''

Now, with the new direct service, such situations shouldn't be a problem, as air cargo can be shipped directly, without costly and time-consuming transfers from other cities, MacDougall said.

Building Material Distributors does 80 percent of its business with high- end clients in Japan, but it is beginning to edge into China as well, he said. The company is selling materials to builders of a new development of Western- style mansions in Beijing, called Napa Valley.

"I think the Pacific Rim is poised for another quantum leap,'' MacDougall said.

Source: David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer

US renews travel warning to Pakistan

The US has renewed its travel warning to Pakistan urging Americans not to undertake nonessential travel in that country in view of the "ongoing security concerns" about possible terror attacks."This Travel Warning is being reissued to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns in Pakistan...

Due to on-going concerns about the possibility of terrorist activity directed against American citizens and interests, the Department of State continues to warn U.S. Citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan," a Department advisory yesterday said."The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and the Consulates in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar continue to operate at reduced staffing levels. Family members of official Americans assigned to the Embassy in Islamabad and to the three consulates in Pakistan were ordered to leave the country in March 2002 and have not been allowed to return," the advisory noted.It said Al-Qaida and Taliban elements "continue to operate" inside Pakistan, particularly along the porous Afghan border region."Their presence, coupled with that of indigenous sectarian and militant groups in Pakistan, continues to pose potential danger to American citizens. Continuing tensions in the Middle East also increase the possibility of violence against Westerners in Pakistan." As security has tightened at official U.S. Facilities, terrorists and their sympathizers have demonstrated their willingness and capability to attack more vulnerable targets, including facilities where Americans are generally known to congregate or visit, such as hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, or outdoor recreation events, it said. PTI

Source: http://www.newkerala.com/

Air Arabia starts flights to Mumbai

SHARJAH - Air Arabia, made its inaugural flight to Mumbai from Sharjah International Airport on Saturday, expanding the airline's reach to 12 countries and 16 destinations within the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent.

Airline sources stated that a total of 140 passengers boarded flight G9401 with an official delegation led by Air Arabia's Chairman Shaikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, CEO Adel Ali and other officials. They were later met by dignitaries, the Press, airport and governmental authorities in Mumbai.

Shaikh Abdullah, in a statement, commented: “India is a key market for us and was part of Air Arabia's initial business plan when our operations commenced; we are extremely pleased to start operations to Mumbai today. We are committed to offering our passengers the best value and the highest quality of service and look forward to increasing trade and tourism between our two countries. Our thanks go to the Indian government and civil aviation authorities for their role in facilitating the start of operations to Mumbai.”

Replying to a question regarding the start of operations of Air India Express, the low-cost service of Air India on April 28, and the launch of daily flights to Mumbai from Sharjah by Indian Airlines today, Air Arabia's CEO Adel Ali, said that the airline is pleased that it was able to encourage and influence other airlines to adopt strategies that will ultimately be beneficial to travellers. “It only proves one thing - that we've been doing the right thing in the past months. The market is big, and Air Arabia is able to stimulate people to travel. The market size will increase.”

Mr Ali disclosed that he had made a number of trips to Kerala where he has met aviation authorities as Air Arabia intends to operate to a number of destinations in that sector. Another destination that the airline is eyeing is Pakistan, he added.

He said that India is an important route for Air Arabia as by connecting India to its existing routes, it can offer Indian nationals in the region the opportunity to travel more often at lower fares to India for business or leisure.

Flights will depart Sharjah airport daily at 4.40pm and arrive Mumbai at 9pm local time. From Mumbai, flights will depart everyday at 9.45pm and arrive in Sharjah at 11.25pm local time.

A one-way ticket from Sharjah to Mumbai starts from Dhs249, excluding government and surcharges. On top of the starting fare of Dhs249 to Mumbai, taxes are Dhs100. From Mumbai to Sharjah International Airport, taxes are Dhs90. The lowest return fare would amount to Dhs688 - inclusive of government taxes and surcharges.

INDIAN EXPATS ECSTATIC

SHARJAH - Indian expatriates who took the first Air Arabia flight to Mumbai from Sharjah International Airport were ecstatic when they checked in the airport counter, and were too happy to get the lowest possible fares in the market.

The launch of new service had been well-received that with the announcement the start date for flights to India and simultaneously loading the flight schedule into the system, 2,800 passengers were booked in the first 24 hours last week.

Binu Fernandez, a sales and marketing officer of a trading company in Dubai, told Khaleej Times that a one-way ticket would normally cost Dh600, and the cost of his one-way ticket on Air Arabia was only Dh450. “My former colleagues are expected to book their tickets with Air Arabia next month. The low fares will definitely encourage more people to fly more frequently,” he said.

Damyati N. Kumar, a housewife residing in Sharjah, said that she booked two days ago, and her return ticket cost her Dh750, inclusive of tickets. “Tickets used to cost between Dhs1,200 to Dhs1,500. Air Arabia's fares are pretty good that I plan to travel to India twice a year,” she enthused.

Chadha Revjot Singh, a Dubai-based businessman, said: “The fares are out of this world. I travel at least once a month to India and I wanted to trey the new service offered by Air Arabia. It will greatly benefit Indian expatriates here in the UAE. The fares are out of this world.”

Source: Khaleej Times Online

How much will a spring break really cost you?

Britain is about to experience its biggest Easter exodus. For many passengers, the surcharges can total more than the actual fare. So what are these levies? Simon Calder examines the high price of travel

2005

As holidaymakers prepare to leave the country in record numbers, budget airlines and traditional carriers have begun yet another bout of bickering - this time over how airlines massage fares to make them look more enticing than they are. Most scheduled flights from the UK are now booked online, where the headline fare is invariably subject to a range of extra charges.

An Air Transport Users' Council (AUC) report criticised the airlines for passing off normal operating expenses as taxes: "The passenger is faced with, at a late stage in the booking process, a total that bears little resemblance to the figures quoted previously."

This weekend, more travellers are expected to leave the country than at any previous Easter: 2.2 million, of whom 1.6 million are flying. With strong demand, prices for immediate departure by air are high - but when the Easter holidays end, off-peak fares will revert to the very low levels where the "taxes, fees and charges" can often exceed the basic fare.

The only true tax levied on passengers flying from UK airports within Europe is £5 air passenger duty. But travellers may be paying many times more in "taxes, fees and charges". On a return flight between Gatwick and Amsterdam, for example, easyJet adds £10 to its basic fare. But British Airways will levy £45 in "taxes, fees and charges" for bookings made from Monday. Of this, £12 is BA's newly increased fuel surcharge, described by the airline as "regrettably unavoidable".

The no-frills airline Ryanair hit out at BA by offering 10,000 seats with the slogan "Fly for one-tenth of the price of BA's fuel surcharge - 60p." In practice, the real fare is around 20 times higher once a range of non-negotiable extras is added. Besides air passenger duty, customers are expected to pay for a wide range of commercial costs: passenger services, insurance and a "wheelchair surcharge" (35p, the amount Ryanair says it needs to lay on wheelchair assistance). Most passengers even incur a fee for paying Ryanair, which imposes a debit card surcharge of 80p.

Michael Cawley, the chief operating officer, defended Ryanair's policy of adding costs to the basic fare. He blamed "the ridiculous level of airport charges and government taxes".

Ryanair's main rival, easyJet, replied to the AUC report by claiming it would become "the first airline to introduce all-inclusive pricing". Within a few months, the fares shown on the easyJet website should reflect how much customers pay - subject to a £4 charge if a credit card is used. The airline accused its rivals - notably BA - of using the taxes and charges element of the fare as a "dumping ground for all sorts of charges". The intention was "to mislead consumers into believing that they offer fares low enough to compete with airlines such as easyJet".

BA rejected the criticism. A spokeswoman said: "When you make an online booking with BA, you are told at the outset how much the taxes, fees and charges will be."

The easyJet claim of being the first carrier to quote accurate fares is disingenuous: the move merely marks a return to the era when fares on every airline included all charges. A decade ago, the Conservative Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, imposed the £5 air passenger duty for flights within Europe. "It sought to impose a fair burden on those who use aeroplanes," said Mr Clarke. Once passengers were accustomed to the idea of a tax on air travel, airlines started adding other charges - with BA at the forefront.

In 1999, BA announced unilaterally that it would "separate out" one of its commercial costs - the passenger service charge paid to airports in return for handling customers - and levy it separately. Other airlines soon followed suit.

Airline adverts are required to show inclusive fares, but in their online publicity the carriers have long flouted the spirit of that rule. In a case last month, a court in Essex decided it was acceptable for Ryanair to continue to separate out charges. The ruling appears to give carte blanche for yet more spurious taxes.

The next levy is likely to be for "air navigation charges", the sums paid by airlines to air-traffic control services and overflying rights. In the case of BA, a pensions surcharge looks the most appropriate new extra: on average, every traveller pays £14 on a round-trip ticket into BA's generous pension fund. The corresponding figure on easyJet is 36p.

Why this destination?

Rome

Easter in St Peter's Square will once again attract thousands of pilgrims, despite the frailty of the Pope. Away from the Vatican, the Italian capital becomes increasingly popular as the days lengthen and the temperature rises. For some existential angst along with the Coliseum and a capuccino, visit the Complesso del Vittoriano which is hosting an exhibition of works by Edvard Munch

Paris

Springtime in the UK's favourite foreign capital sees the start of the Paris Film Festival, which begins on Monday at the Cinema Gaumont Marignan on the Champs-Elysées The Paris Dance School presents its annual performance at the Opera Bastille, featuring the work of George Balanchine, Jose Martinez and a number of French composers. And the extra hour of daylight makes Paris even more alluring

Dublin

This weekend is your last chance to catch the the Irish Museum of Modern Art's Land of the Young exhibition which features works by Irish artists from the museum's collection. It's also the last weekend of the Winter Literary Pub Crawl following in the meandering footsteps of Joyce, Behan, Beckett, Shaw, Kavanagh and other Irish literary greats via (smoke-free) pubs with literary connections

New York

The Directors/New Films Festival is dedicated to discovering emerging and overlooked artists. The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts an exhibition on the Renaissance artist Fra Carnevale and there's also the Annual Mad Hatter's Easter Bonnet Contest and Tea Party at the Tavern on the Green, Central Park West. Plus the opportunity to revitalise your wardrobe at bargain prices, thanks to the weak dollar

Barcelona

The core of the Catalan capital is enjoying a resurgence, with new hotels opening on and off the Ramblas and El Raval - the red light district, just to the west - rapidly gentrifying. To the east, La Ribera boasts some superb Catalan restaurants. Barcelona is the only major European city with a beach on its doorstep. And Gaudi's influence remains the signature of the city.

Edinburgh

The Athens of the North is at its best in spring and summer. Take a ghost tour of the Old Town, explore the Georgian grandeur of the New Town, then follow it up with some retail therapy at Jenners and Harvey Nichols. Meanwhile, at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, there's an exhibition of Andy Warhol self-portraits - the only UK showing.

Source: http://travel.independent.co.uk/

Go Tell it on the Mountain: Ski Resorts Shed Their Skin for Summer

When the snow melts and the snowboarders jump on skateboards and hot chocolate is replaced by iced tea, the winter wonderlands don't become any less wondrous. No, the ski resorts shift gears and become summer havens for adventure travelers, health conscious fitness lovers, hikers, white rapid rafters, fisherman, and golf and tennis nuts who power walk and spring up the slopes with the same smile as skiers fly down them.

Vail Mountain in Colorado is one of the premiere summer resorts in the country. With activities ranging from rafting, horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, rock-climbing, biking, Vail is complete summer activity destination for the outdoor-oriented traveler. Add world-class spas, high-style fashion houses and five-star dining, then take away the jet-set skiing types, and summer Vail becomes a mellow alternative to its winter hot-spot. For a complete look at the complete offerings of summer Vail including dining, shopping and transportation information, check out www.vailalways.com.

The site also has an excellent reservation engine that allows you to choose your dates before giving you a choice of hotels and prices relating to your travel requirements. For a three-day trip in June, we found accommodations at the Vail Racquet Club Town homes and Condominiums for just $135 per night for double occupancy. Tucked away in the Vail woods, the hotel and condominium facility has a large outdoor pool, a work-out room, 14 outdoor tennis courts, fitness and Yoga classes, an on-premise bar/lounge/restaurant as well as a long list of in-room facilities and comforts. Several other hotel options are available.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is an incredibly quaint and beautiful ski town at the base of Grand Teton National Park. Summers in Jackson are relaxing and fun-filled as the Tetons become a Mecca for hikers and rock climbers looking for incredible climbs and beautiful local vistas. With many hotels to choose from, remember that Jackson Hole is so coveted by outdoor enthusiasts the summer rates can often exceed the ski season rates. One hotel to check out is the Cowboy Village Resort (tel. 800/329-9205; www.jacksonhole.net/properties/downtown/cowboyvillage.htm). Just four blocks from downtown and a fifteen minute drive from the base of the Tetons, the Cowboy Village is a series of 82 log cabins that sleep from one to four people. With outdoor barbecues, two outdoor hot tubs, and several public transportation bus stops on the property, the Cowboy Village is popular lodge for first-time and repeat visitors to the Jackson area. Summer rates start at $75 per night and increase to $190. Don't forget, Jackson Hole sits about an hour's drive north to Yellowstone National Park where you can see Old Faithful spout.

Further east, in the Vermont mountains, the village of Stowe is a growing summer vacation getaway for New England-savvy travelers. Centered with a colonial church with a high steeple, Stowe's main attraction is a main road leading to the mountain filled with shops, hotels, restaurants and bars. Surrounded by bike trails, mountain bike areas, swimming holes and a well known "recreation trail" where joggers and walkers exercise daily, Stowe is known for its clean air and good living.

For a traditional Vermont summer retreat, the Stowe Inn (tel. 802/253-4030; www.stoweinn.com) has affordable summer rate specials and plenty of country history. Just a quick walk under a covered bridge to the village of Stowe, the Stowe Inn is on the list of National Registered Historic Places. Furnished in 19th century period pieces, the Inn is a nice break from the hectic pace of today's city life. Its restaurant is known for hearty New England cuisine. Summer rates, which work from June 12 to September 15, 2005, start at $99 for a midweek stay increasing to a starting cost of $129 on the weekends.

These are just a few of the summer offerings from winter ski resorts. Check your favorite mountain area for summer deals

Source: Jason Sheftell http://www.frommers.com/

Mesaba Airlines wins FAA Diamond Award

Mesaba Airlines, a subsidiary company of MAIR Holdings, Inc., received the Federal Aviation Administration's Diamond Award for 100% participation by Mesaba's aviation maintenance technicians in FAA-accepted training programs.
It was the fifth consecutive year that Mesaba (NASDAQ: MAIR) has received the Diamond Award, which requires at least 25% participation from eligible mechanics. Three times in the past four years, Mesaba has achieved 100% participation status.

The Diamond Award recognizes training for aircraft maintenance professionals throughout the airline industry.

During 2004, more than 250 Mesaba mechanics participated in training programs, including aircraft systems training, regulatory training and FAA rules orientation.

Mesaba Aviation, Inc., (d.b.a. Mesaba Airlines) operates as a Northwest Jet Airlink and Northwest Airlink partner under service agreements with Northwest Airlines. Currently, Mesaba Aviation serves 109 cities in 29 states and Canada from Northwest's and Mesaba Aviation's three major hubs: Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis. Mesaba Aviation operates an advanced fleet of 98 regional jet and jet-prop aircraft, consisting of the 69-passenger Avro RJ85 and the 30- 34-passenger Saab SF340.

Mesaba operates about 58 daily flights from Memphis, primarily to Jackson, Miss.; Fayetteville/Bentonville, Ark.; Huntsville, Ala.; Panama City, Fla.; and Baton Rouge, La.

Source: American City Business Journals Inc.

THE HISTORY MAN: Time travel —Ihsan Aslam

Following on from the partition of Bengal in 1905 two critical events took place in 1906. A large delegation of Muslim leaders — the Simla Deputation — had a meeting with Lord Minto in October. They got what they had demanded: separate electorates to safeguard their interests. And, secondly, the All-India Muslim League was founded in Dacca on December 30

You know you’re becoming history when trips to the hospital begin in earnest. Old age doesn’t forgive anyone. The machinery sooner or later gets an “Out of Order” label stuck on it. It is then difficult to maintain that “everything is fine, really”. There is no way out but to visit the body repair yard, the doctor’s surgery or the hospital.

The happy hospital chap operating the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan wasn’t sure how to describe the experience of being bombarded with magnetic and radio waves other than to say, “It’s noisy”. I was injected with a dye — thankfully, I haven’t turned bright green or been sucked into the space-age machine or — as it seemed to me then — time machine.

Subjected to radio waves up to 30,000 times greater than the earth’s magnetic field, I was soon adrift in white space as the machine took images of my head. Lying isolated inside the machine I remembered this was the week when Pakistan Day, March 23, is commemorated. I imagined I drifted over Lahore and landed near Minar-i-Pakistan. The year was 1940. I could see a huge crowd all around me and I could hear Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah explaining the Muslim demand for independence.

I soon drifted up into space, however. I remembered, too, an old Cambridge colleague, who had phoned a couple of days earlier to remind me of another anniversary. “Do you realise,” he had said, “this year is the centenary of the partition of Bengal?” To be frank, I hadn’t! Well, undergoing the MRI scan now, I was transported to Dacca (Dhaka) and back to 1906. The city looked in awful shape, the people backward.

The partition of the Bengal — the precursor to The Partition of 1947 — had become effective the year before. Viceroy Lord Curzon was behind the move to re-organise the large and unwieldy Bengal presidency. The creation, in October 16,1905, of the Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam had certainly helped the Muslims and aided their journey to independence.

However, there was immense Hindu agitation against the partition. The Hindu reaction was as anti-British as it was anti-Muslim. Historian Khalid B Sayeed has noted that Hindu revivalist movements such as the Swadeshi movement, “took a clear anti-Muslim turn and was run and organised on Hindu lines… It was well-known that partition would benefit Muslims of East Bengal”.

I had travelled back to October 24, 1906 to witness a huge, pro-partition Muslim rally in Dacca. The crowd welcomed the partition and resented the Hindu agitation. A resolution was passed at the meeting that as a result of the division of the Bengal Muslims “would be spared many oppressions which they had hitherto had to endure from the Hindus”.

Commenting on the Hindu reaction against the partition, IH Qureshi, the renowned historian, has written, “The net result was that the Hindu agitation definitely estranged the Muslims from the Congress” and convinced them “of the futility of expecting justice and fairplay from the Hindu majority”. This was a crucial development in the struggle for Pakistan.

Following on from the partition of Bengal in 1905 (it was annulled in 1911), two critical events took place in 1906. A large delegation of Muslim leaders — the Simla Deputation — had a meeting with Lord Minto at the Viceroy’s house in Simla in October. They got what they had demanded: separate electorates to safeguard their interests. And, secondly, the All-India Muslim League was founded in Dacca on December 30.

However, the present beckoned as I landed back with a thud. Time travel: that’s how I’d describe the experience of undergoing an MRI scan.

Ihsan Aslam is exploring public history at Ruskin College, Oxford. He can be contacted at: timeshistoryman@yahoo.co.uk or visited at: http://www.pakistanhistory.com

Roads and Airports Busy as Easter Get-Away Begins

Tens of thousands of motorists brought travel problems to parts of the UK today as the Easter get-away began in earnest.

Conditions on Britain’s major routes were more like a busy Friday while the first of a record 2.2 million people travelling abroad this weekend flew out of the country.
The RAC predicted that tomorrow morning would also be busy with more people either heading off on their holidays or to the nearest garden centre or retail park.

The organisation said as many as 17 million vehicles would be on the move over the Easter weekend.

An RAC spokeswoman said: “Down in the Devon area at the end of the M5 we saw traffic problems today and in the south east especially around the M20.

“Different parts of the country have seen schools breaking up at different times so we’ve seen a steady flow of traffic.

“But the traffic today was like a busy Friday evening than a Thursday.”

She predicted tomorrow would also be very busy as holiday traffic mingled with people heading for shops and DIY or garden centres.”

Forecasters predicted the best of the weather would be tomorrow when temperatures could reach as high as 18C (64F) in southern England.

Although Saturday is likely to be dry and sunny in places, cooler and showery weather was expected on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Sporting events over the weekend include the Boat Race on Sunday, England’s World Cup qualifying match on Saturday with Northern Ireland in Manchester and the the clash in Cardiff between Wales and Austria.

Among the most popular foreign destinations were New York, Dublin, Paris, Tenerife and southern Spain.

The Association of British Travel Agents said many ski resorts were sold out and that north Africa was proving a popular Easter destination for Britons.

The VisitBritain organisation said research showed that 21% of British adults were planning a trip in the UK in the next two weeks.

The RAC spokesperson said: “On Monday many people who have travelled further afield will be returning from their breaks, with motorways, major roads and those surrounding airports and ferry ports being the busiest.”

The Highways Agency has suspended a number of roadworks on major routes in England, but some remain in place, including those on the western section of the M25 near Heathrow airport – the busiest stretch of the country’s busiest motorway.

Roadworks at junction 6 on the M6 in Birmingham will also stay over the weekend.

On the railways, there will be widespread engineering works, with many trains being replaced by buses over the holiday period

Source: Tony Jones, PA. http://news.scotsman.com/

U.S. warns against travel to Philippines

The U.S. State Department has warned Americans considering travel to the Philippines that terrorist groups are thought to be planning attacks there. It urged that non-essential travel to the Philippines be avoided.

The advisory, issued Wednesday, said terrorist groups including Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Sayyaf and parts of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are "planning multiple attacks throughout the Philippines" and said that Philippine government officials have released similar information.

Americans who choose to travel to the Philippines were urged "to observe vigilant personal security precautions; to remain aware of the continued potential for terrorist attacks against Americans, U.S. or other Western interests in the Philippines, and to register with the U.S. Embassy. The Department warns against all but essential travel throughout the country in light of a heightened threat to Westerners."

Source: Associated Press and Seattle Times travel staff

Tourists pack global power base

Prepare yourself for the Great Indian Summer. If it's nearly time for your yearly vacation, be sure there will be quite a few international tour operators training their eyes on you.

They are wooing the Indian tourist like never before with flexible tour options and personalised services.

So why is the outbound Indian such hot property this summer? Out-bound tourism in India registered a 15-20 percent growth this year compared to 8-10 percent last year, and the preferred destinations seem to be Egypt, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and South East Asia.

Says Nikhil Kumar, head (outbound tourism), Abercrombie & Kent India: "The operators' sudden interest in India has been attributed to India's growing economy and a rise in the country's per capita income. The economy is really doing well and people now have money to spend on travelling abroad.

" Agrees G Naqshband, chairman, Le Passage To India: "Indians are big spenders and tour operators are trying to cash in on that. Around 4.8 million Indian tourists travelled abroad last year and that figure will surely show an increase of 15-20 percent in the coming year."

The other thing that has changed is the spending power of Indian tourists. Prices of these tours start from the $250-300 range per person and goes up to $6,000-8,000 per person for a three-week package.

The target customers of the tour operators seem to be corporate houses, film stars, industrialists and others in the high income group in metros such as Delhi and Mumbai.

The tour operators sure realise the importance of the Indian market.

"They are aiming at sourcing 15 percent of their business from India in the next three years," says Rajeev Kohli, director, Creative Travel Ltd. "Though things are looking up for the out-bound tourism industry in India, tour operators still have a couple of grievances.

The frequency of flights has certainly improved, but there still aren't enough flights to Africa. We also hope that the visa-procuring procedure for Indians will be eased."

The high service tax is also a huge dampner. Travel and tour operators hope the government will ensure that tour prices do not skyrocket as a result of VAT.

Rabindra Seth, ITDC panel member feels: "The taxes on ATF in India are one of the highest in the world. The government should do something in this regard."

Source: By Raja Awasthi, The Economic Times, IndiaKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Spring break brings bump in tourism dollars (The Bulletin, Bend, Ore.)

The spring weather may have temporarily taken a vacation, but area ski hills, restaurants and resorts aren't complaining about a spring break filled with snowy skies.

"We got swamped last night," said Todd McGee, owner of The Powder House ski shop, in an interview Tuesday. "It was really busy yesterday. It's been an average spring break for us. It hasn't been anything bad, but it hasn't been anything fabulous."

Oregon schools are out for spring vacation this week and, McGee said, the snowstorms definitely brought an influx of people into his shop. The weekend was not particularly busy, he said, but as the vacation week progressed his business picked up.

That sentiment has been reported at many of the tourism-related businesses in town this week. Many places are finding that spring break wasn't booked up early, as it often is, but instead people made last-minute plans to visit the area.

"There is not as much calling a month in advance," said Aleta Nissen, co-owner of Wanderlust Tours. "A lot of that has to do with people waiting to see what's happening with the weather."

On Monday, she said, a family of four called in the morning asking to do one of Wanderlust's cave tours that afternoon. She expected similar last-minute reservations to continue for tours as the week continued.

At Inn of the Seventh Mountain, bookings jumped by about 8 percent in the past week, said Davis Smith, director of sales and marketing. He attributed the last-minute increase to spring break, the weather and a lack of competition from other area ski resorts.

"It's due to the fact that Mount Bachelor is one of the only resorts open in the Pacific Northwest," Smith said. "Our levels are about 5 percent over last year."

Sunriver Resort is also having a strong year, said ShanRae Hawkins, director of marketing and sales, explaining that spring break is only helping the bottom line.

"We're packed. We had 270 check-ins on Sunday. Our private homes and condos ... are over 60 percent occupied, which is fabulous for this time of year," she said. "We're pacing ahead of what we did last year."

Although the snow has been slow throughout the winter months, Nissen said Wanderlust . which offers snowshoe tours, cave tours and canoe trips at this time of year . hasn't suffered. In fact, business is up a total of 84 percent over last year for December through February, she said. And, spring break business is actually up by 29 percent over the entire Oregon spring break week of last year.

"So far, we are having a great winter and spring," Nissen said. "What I'm seeing is that there has been more snow than most people know. I think a lot of people are talking about the lack of snow ... we've been on a good couple of feet of snow all winter and spring."

The perception of an overall dearth of snow -- and the reality of it in some places -- is hurting many local businesses. Mike Cooper, general manager at Deschutes Brewery and Public House, said spring break has brought in a bigger crowd but his business is still down for the season.

"This winter, overall, has been pretty bad. There has been a lack of tourism, really," Cooper said. "Compared to last winter when we had great snow and everything, it has dropped off. But, we're staying OK."

When word gets out that snow conditions are poor, he said, people put their skis away and head to the beach. Carly Carmichael, director of marketing at Mount Bachelor, agreed saying that having other ski areas in Oregon and Washington close early doesn't necessarily help business here.

Mount Bachelor's business is down by about 10 percent to 12 percent for the year, although Carmichael said she's noticing a solid spring break week so far. When Washington schools go on spring break next week, she said, die-hard skiers shut out by early closures may head south to Mount Bachelor for a final winter ride.

"I think it helps us as much as it hurts us," she said. "The perception is that the skiing is not very good if the other hills are closed. Warm weather causes skiers to put their skis away."

Source: By Kayley Mendenhall, The Bulletin, Bend, Ore.Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

A Package of News Briefs From the Caribbean

CARIBBEAN: Foreign ministers to meet in Barbados to discuss U.N. reform

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) - Caribbean foreign ministers will meet in Barbados next week to seek a common regional position on how to reform the U.N. Security Council, an official said Thursday.

Germany, Brazil, India, Japan, and South Africa have been pushing proposals to expand the council or to have a system of rotation that will permit other countries to sit on it.

The one-day meeting in Barbados Wednesday follows a decision made at a Caribbean Community summit in Suriname last month to study the proposals before July, when Caribbean leaders meet again in St. Lucia, Guyana Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally said.

The permanent peacekeeping body of the United Nations, the Security Council is composed of five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - and 10 elected members.

HAITI: Gunfire erupts at pro-Aristide protest, killing at least one

CITE SOLEIL, Haiti (AP) - Gunfire erupted Thursday outside Haiti's capital at a protest of several thousand people calling for the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and at least one man was killed and another injured, witnesses said.

The shooting follows a spate of violence this week that saw two U.N. peacekeepers and two ex-soldiers killed in clashes, and gunmen open fire on the house of Haiti's justice minister, killing a police officer. The attacks underscored the country's shaky security climate ahead of fall elections.

Thursday's protest started peacefully in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil with marchers waving photos of Aristide, who was ousted from power last year, and chanting "Aristide forever!"

Several gunshots rang out as the demonstrators approached the local police station, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. The origin of the gunfire was not clear and police officers immediately dropped to the ground but did not open fire. No injuries were reported at that point.

DOMINICA: China funds sports stadium

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) - China signed an agreement to fund a sports stadium in Dominica, one year after the Caribbean island severed ties with Taiwan to establish diplomatic relations with the Asian economic giant, officials said.

China's Minister of Commerce Liao Xiaogi signed the US$12.3 million agreement at a ceremony Wednesday in Windsor Park, where the 8,000-seat stadium will be built in the capital, Roseau.

"China and Dominica are both developing countries and are committed to the common path of developing their national economies and improving the living standards of their people," Liao said.

This former British colony is one of the poorest in the region. It cut ties with Taiwan in March of 2004 in exchange for a six-year, Eastern Caribbean $300 million (US$112 million) Chinese assistance program.

The package includes plans to build the sports stadium and a middle school, renovate hospital wards, and upgrade a road to link the capital and the island's second largest city, Portsmouth.

PUERTO RICO: Man charged with murdering new boyfriend of ex-girlfriend

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Police charged a man with murdering the new boyfriend of his elderly ex-girlfriend in Puerto Rico, authorities said Thursday.

Luis Ramos Morales, 44, of north-coast Camuy, was charged with first-degree murder and weapons violations, police said. He could not post $1.5 million bail and Superior Court Judge Jose Diaz Espinosa ordered Ramos to remain in custody until a preliminary hearing April 11.

Ramos allegedly stabbed 23-year-old Jose Rosa Muniz 18 times on Wednesday, authorities said. Muniz was found dead on the balcony of his home.

A 62-year-old woman Ramos had been involved with for the past 23 years broke up with him about three months ago and started a relationship with the younger Rosa Muniz, police said.

Source: The Associated Press

Vacation: Overseas travel to touch new high (The Times of India)

It's that time of the year again! With summer knocking on India's doors and schools getting ready for their annual vacation, Indians are headed for the friendly neighbourhood travel agent -- with their copies of Lonely Planet in tow -- seeking newer options to beat the heat.

And if travel industry insiders are to be believed, 2005 is set to become the year when international summer travel -- which has traditionally known to be lean -- will peak to a new high. Travel bookings -- for both long-haul and short-haul destinations -- are already about 20 per cent higher year-on-year. And by the looks of it, total overseas travel is expected to witness a 50 per cent surge by the end of summer vacations.

The entry of new international airlines -- ranging from the homegrown Jet Airways and Air Sahara to some global newcomers like Etihad Air and Myanmar Airlines -- coupled with competition-induced discount fare offers of existing biggies are enabling factors that are now helping thousands of Indians realise their long-cherished dream of a phirang holiday.

"International air fares from India are already at a record low with some airlines offering return tickets at rates that are cheaper than the one-way fare on some domestic routes. This will see several Indians moving away from domestic locations and opt for foreign holidays this summer," says Kapil Kaul of Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation.

But a look at the fare chart, first. South and South East Asia are leading the fare war to win away India's large base of domestic travellers. Myanmar Airlines is offering return tickets to Bangkok for as low at Rs 7,999 -- which is nearly as much as the one-way fare on the Delhi-Mumbai route. Besides, Air Sahara has launched Rs 10,000 return fares to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Singapore Airlines is offering return tickets to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for Rs 13,100, while Sri Lankan Airlines has cut by half the fares from India to London, Paris, Zurich, Singapore, Bang-kok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Male.

On the Europe front, most airlines -- led by both European carriers and even Gulf-based airlines -- are offering return tickets for as low as Rs 20,000. The US fare has also been cut to a low of Rs 38,000 by Emirates. And the tags, insiders point out, are only poised to cruise to a lower altitude in the coming months.

What's hot, what's not Europe, travel industry insiders say, continues to be the hot favourite among group travellers from India, but it's the Asian destinations -- encompassing the beaches of Phuket and the shopping malls of Dubai -- that are emerging the most sought after among first-time overseas travellers.

"Europe continues to rule the roost with almost 85 per cent of group travellers already booking for multiple destination packages to the continent," says Thomas Cook India MD Ashwini Kakkar. "Group travellers have traditionally been early bookers for summer vacations. But we are expecting higher demand to flow in for short-haul Asian nations towards the end of April. And given the volatility on the fare front in Asian countries, a lot of first-timers are expected to push this growth."

The regular overseas traveller, insiders say, prefers to beat the summer heat by heading for the hills. And that explains the rush for Western destinations, particularly to Switzerland. But this year is also seeing the emergence of smaller eastern European cities in the travel plans.

As for the Asian hot-spots, Male and Vietnam are emerging as the preferred holiday destinations among travelling Indians this summer. "Even in South East Asia, regular travellers are now visiting smaller cities like Chiang Mai and Hanoi rather than heading for traditional hot-spots like Bangkok," says Ankur Bhatia, MD of airline reservation system provider Amadeus India.

While holidayers from north India, he adds, traditionally pick up cooler locations for their summer vacations, people from west India plan to spend some time on the beaches of Phuket and Mauritius.

The abundant supply of budget rooms are an added advantage with most Asian destinations. "These are value-packaged holiday spots for the travelling Indian," says Manav Kapur of Onkar International Travels. "The overall improvement in the economy has also pushed higher spend on travel and entertainment among Indians."

No wonder then that international traffic to and from India is increasing at the rate of nearly 17 per cent a year. The industry's positive growth momentum is now becoming clearer, says a ministry of tourism official. "Earlier in the year, it was difficult to benchmark the progress accurately due to the low comparison base of early 2003. But now, we are comparing performance against previous records and still surpassing them," the official adds.

Have money, will spend While airlines are already working overtime to win holidayers -- and shore up bottomlines -- tourist promotion organisations are also fast getting their act together. For them, the budget traveller is only a collateral target as it's the high-spending regular overseas vacationer who's more important.

According to traveller data prepared by most tourism promotion boards, Indians rank among the highest spenders the world over. "Barring travellers from the US or UK, who spend close to a month in Australia, Indians are the biggest spenders," says Maggie White, regional manager for Tourism Australia. "An Indian tourist spends around A$3,000 per trip and the average stay varies from 10 to 14 days. Isn't that reason enough for us to target them?"

Switzerland -- among the costliest holiday destinations -- has for long been a summer favourite with the Japanese and Americans. But a recent survey by Swiss tourism reveals that Indians have emerged as the second biggest spenders in the land of the Alps, after the Japanese.

"Even the middle class is splurging on travel and wants to visit newer destinations. Countries are waking up to this fact and are increasingly focusing on indulging them," says Bhatia of Amadeus.

In fact, when Dubai's Burj Al Arab opened its $750-a-night doors to the world, the owners had expected only the likes of Bill Gates to be their regular patrons. But the actual booking pattern took the management by surprise as a chunk of their regular bookings for these ultra-luxurious suites came from India.

Statistics reveal that of the $150 an Indian spends daily in Malaysia, a major chunk is spent in malls and night clubs, so much so that their daily spend is far higher than tourists from the US and Japan.

Rush hour in the skies These fast changing travel habits are also prompting several international airlines to up their capacity on the India route this summer. To name a few, Singapore authorities have already sought the Indian government's permission to mount 210 weekly flights to India. The Air France-KLM combine have also announced plans to start an additional daily flight to Mumbai and launch a daily service to Chennai.

Add to this, the daily Singapore and Kuala Lumpur flights being mounted by both Jet Airways and Air Sahara, Air Arabia's debut and the expansion plans being chalked out by state-owned Air-India and Indian Airlines, and the skies seem to be headed for rush-hour traffic.

Source: By Byas Anand, The Times of IndiaKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News

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