Resort cities offer free fuel as latest tourist attraction

As prices rise, gasoline giveaways becoming common

PORTLAND, MAINE - Resort towns worried that high gas prices will keep visitors away are offering an incentive: a free tank of gas.

Towns are tapping into motorists' angst over high gas prices during the summer tourism season to offer encouragement to drive a little farther. For some, the promotions have been so successful that they're becoming a summer tradition.

California's Big Bear Lake recently extended its spring promotion — a $25 gas voucher — for the entire summer because it was so successful.

"It's a good incentive, especially considering gas prices in southern California," said Dan Dunning, who lives in Irvine, Calif., 90 miles away.

Such gas giveaways have become an increasingly popular marketing tool as gas prices continue to rise, said Justin McNaull of the American Automobile Association.

Gas prices surged an average of 8 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, with the average for all three grades hitting $2.24 a gallon Friday, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations.

"Gas prices are certainly something that people talk about. Even if high gas prices play a comparatively small part of your overall travel costs, some people perceive them as a much larger factor than they actually are," McNaull said.

Gas giveaways are an effective outreach tool because they show that the tourism industry empathizes with cost-conscious travelers, said Cathy Keefe, spokeswoman for the Travel Industry Association of America in Washington.

In spite of the gas expense, AAA has forecast the July 4th weekend will be the most highly traveled holiday weekend ever, with 40.3 million people traveling more than 50 miles away from home, 84 percent of them by car.

The Travel Industry Association first identified the trend toward free gas cards in 2001, when gas prices were high and the economy was stagnant. Some resorts kept the promotions in place, while others bring them back whenever gas prices spike.

In Bethel, Maine, a "Tanks for the Memories" promotion gives travelers $20 cash for gas for staying with participating innkeepers. In Colorado, Aspen is giving visitors $50 in gas vouchers. In West Virginia, people who booked a visit to Snowshoe Mountain by June 22 were rewarded with $25 in their "Fill Up Your Summer With Fun" promotion.

Bethel, Snowshoe, Aspen and Big Bear Lake are all home to ski resorts, but they'd like to get people to visit in the summer, as well.

Robin Zinchuk of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce said there's more to the town than Maine's Sunday River ski resort. There's also golfing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and plenty of hiking in the mountains of western Maine.

The gas promotion was designed to grab the attention of travelers headed to Maine's rocky coast and give them a nudge to drive inland, she said.

Resorts aren't the only ones getting into the act. Others include some auto rental chains, hotels.com and BedandBreakfast.com.

Source: DAVID SHARP - Associated Press

Saudia Announces New Regulations

Saudi Arabian Airlines will begin issuing boarding passes 15 days before the travel date at all its offices in the Kingdom. This applies to first and business class seats going to Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El-Sheikh, Beirut and Europe, except Istanbul, starting from July 1 and continuing until August 20. This is to offer better services to the large numbers of passengers on waiting lists. The new regulation is the result of many travelers not showing up for their flight even after confirming their reservations. The problem becomes particularly acute during the summer. Based on the new regulation, all reservations that have not been confirmed at Saudia offices seven days before the travel date by 6 pm will be automatically canceled. Travelers are also instructed to confirm their return flights at Saudia offices 72 hours before their travel back to the Kingdom. They should also leave a contact number with Saudia offices.

Allow private airlines to operate in Kerala-Gulf sector

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: NORKA-Roots Chairman and former Minister M. M. Hassan has urged the Centre to allow private airlines to operate services in the Kerala-Gulf sector.

Hassan told reporters here on Monday that the entry of private airlines in the sector would force the Air-India to reduce the tariff and provide more facilities to passengers.

He said that despite a high tariff, there were widespread complaints about the facilities being provided by the Air-India. There were several instances of flight cancellation by the Air-India owing to technical reasons and of passengers getting off-loaded in the last minute.

He said that the Air-India should operate more flights during the peak season. A memorandum in this regard had been submitted to the authorities, he said. ‘‘Unless the Air-India initiated measures to resolve these issues, the growing resentment among the passengers towards the national career will explode,’’ he said.

Source: newindpress.com

UAE outbound travel survey

Dubai based Market Vision released the first comprehensive report on the UAE outbound travel market today: 64% of UAE travellers travel abroad at least once a year, the majority of them travelling for leisure and visiting friends and family. Over two-thirds travel with family, and one-half stay in four and five star hotels or furnished apartments. On an average they spend 24 nights abroad per trip with an average expenditure per trip of $1,700, higher than the European average of $1,200.

Source: AME Info FZ LLC

online travel shoppers 50% buy from travel agencies, 50% - from airline Web sites

Nielsen//NetRatings reported that while the majority, or 54%, of online travel shoppers begin travel research with an online travel agency, consumers are evenly split between travel agencies and airline Web sites when it comes to the actual purchase of online travel. As far as researching goes, 37% of online travel shoppers begin research at a travel supplier Web site, and 9% begin with a travel meta-search provider.

With nearly 50% of airline ticket sales and reservations conducted exclusively online in the first half of 2005, online airline suppliers have a stronger foothold in conversion. Agencies fared better in drawing visitors to the site for price comparison shopping, destination searches and multi-trip bookings.

Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Delta ranked as the three most visited airline Web sites during April 2005. Southwest led with 8.1 mln unique Web surfers, compared to 5.7 mln and 4.9 mln that visited American and Delta, respectively. Southwest converted the most lookers into bookers with a 14% visitor conversion rate, followed by Delta and American with 10 and 9%.

Source: ZDNet

New ferry cruises are launched on canal

A new boat will ferry scores of passengers along the Forth and Clyde canal this summer.
Voyager will carry up to 55 passengers along the canal - recently repened as part of the £84.5million Millennium Link project.
It took Glasgow-based Heritage Engineering about a year to build and is the largest new passenger canal boat to be launched on the canal for 100 years.
An official naming ceremony was performed by East Dunbartonshire MP and Evening Times columnist Jo Swinson.
The ceremony also formed part of the Forth & Clyde Canal

Society's 25th anniversary celebrations.
Guthrie Hutton, of the society, said: "We are thrilled to have revived the type of craft that had virtually disappeared in Scotland.
"It will be an enormous factor in helping to keep the tradition of canal passenger boats alive."

Source: Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited

Boeing delivers China Eastern's First 737-700s with High-Altitude Package

China Eastern Airlines (Yunnan) has taken delivery of its first two Next-Generation Boeing 737-700s modified for operations in some of the most remote, high-altitude regions.

The modifications include one hour of additional emergency oxygen supply and enhancements to the cabin pressure control system that allows operations at airports located at up to 14,500 feet. These airplanes can use the high-elevation airports in Western China such as Lhasa and Bangda.

"The high-altitude and extensive oxygen package will provide additional capability for China's carriers as they support the country's initiative to improve access and service to western China," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes Vice President, China Sales Rob Laird

Souce: ASIA Travel Tips .com

Emirates invests over US$38 million to build Luxury Conservation Resort in Australia

Emirates is to invest Dhs 142 million (approx. US$38.8 million) to build a luxury conservation resort in Australia's Blue Mountains - its first such hospitality development outside of the U.A.E.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates, and the Hon. Sandra Nori MP, New South Wales' Minister for Tourism, today announced the resort's development plans at a media conference in Sydney.

Using the same philosophy as Emirates' acclaimed Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa reserve in Dubai, the new conservation project plans to be one of Australia's most environmentally sympathetic developments, and will provide world-leading hospitality facilities and services to guests.

The project is located in the Wolgan Valley of the Blue Mountains, where 3,600 acres of freehold land will be incorporated into a conservancy reserve. The site is currently farmland that borders the Gardens of Stone National Park, in an area where there are many threats to wildlife and conservation. Guest facilities will occupy less than two per cent of the total land.
Sheikh Ahmed said, "We want to take this beautiful, but sadly distressed rural farming site and turn it into a sanctuary to further showcase Australia to the world."

He added, "Emirates' plan is to protect this site and enhance its environmental values, starting with the removal of invasive plants and feral fauna that has placed pressure on indigenous wildlife. Working closely with environmental and government agencies, we even hope to reintroduce some threatened species to this conservancy. We want this project to gain the same recognition for Australia that we have received for Al Maha and the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve in Dubai."

The resort is expected to have all final government approvals in place in the next few months with opening planned for 2007.
NSW Minister for Tourism Ms Nori said the Blue Mountains resort would be a welcome addition to nature-based tourism and a major draw card for international visitors.
She said, "Few global cities can boast a pristine, World-Heritage listed attraction like the Blue Mountains, on their door-step, just over an hour from the centre of Sydney. This conservation resort will show there's no place in the world like Sydney.

She added, "The resort will also generate jobs - from environmental guides to hotel staff. And of course, local businesses in the region also stand to benefit."

Emirates has already engaged in hundreds of hours of consultations with government and community organisations in Australia to ensure the project will meet and exceed standards for environment protection and quality hospitality. It will also become a corporate member of The Australian Wildlife Conservancy, whose expertise is well known in the conservation area. Along with National Parks & Wildlife Service and local conservation groups, their knowledge and experience will be invaluable during the creation of the Wolgan Valley project.
Local Wolgan Valley species already identified as under pressure that will be encouraged to expand within the sanctuary include koalas, spotted-tailed quolls, yellow-bellied gliders and brush-tailed rock wallabies.

Emirates is not new to the hospitality industry. It owns, manages and operates the Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, a conservation-based resort set in a 225 square kilometre nature reserve.
In May this year, Emirates announced that it will build a new 5-star, Dhs 800 million (US $218 million) luxury hotel in Dubai. The 70-storey, 350 metres high building will be among the world's five tallest hotels, and also one of the largest in the U.A.E.

Emirates also owns the 218-room Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort, situated on a superb stretch of the private Al Aqah Beach, in the picturesque emirate of Fujairah.

Source: ASIA Travel Tips .com

Jumeirah International Rebrands

Jumeirah International, the Dubai based luxury hospitality group, has rebranded with the company being known from today as ‘Jumeirah’.

The group also unveiled a new corporate identity, and announced that it will rebrand its existing portfolio of luxury before year end in an aim to create a single, memorable identity for the company. The new brand was unveiled during a press conference held at The Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah’s first hotel which opened in November 1997.

The aim of the rebranding is to create a strong brand platform for local, regional and international expansion, and to strengthen Jumeirah’s position as one of the world’s leading luxury hospitality groups.

The group’s existing portfolio of hotels will be renamed, with the brand ‘Jumeirah’ to be incorporated with the experience name – for example, Emirates Towers Hotel will be rebranded Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and its logo will change to reflect the new corporate identity of the brand.

Burj Al Arab will however retain its existing identity, reflecting its position as the icon of Dubai in addition to being one of the world’s most luxurious hotels. The hotel will continue to be presented as the flagship of Jumeirah.

Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Jumeirah Bill Walshe said, “Today’s brand launch is the first step in a journey that will see us rebrand our hotels over the coming few months. To promote our new brand, we will then launch a multi-million dirham international advertising campaign in the 4th quarter of this year”.

At today’s launch, the group also unveiled the corporate identity of Jumeirah Hospitality & Leisure, a Dubai Holding entity and the parent brand of Jumeirah.

Gerald Lawless, CEO of Jumeirah commented, “The rebranding of the company is a reflection of our commitment to become the world’s leading luxury hospitality operator. Since becoming part of Dubai Holding, Jumeirah is enjoying strong synergistic relationships with other member entities which will help to achieve the expansion strategy of the group. We have accelerated our growth plans both in the region and internationally and today’s launch of ‘Jumeirah’ as our hotel and resort brand will enable us to enhance our profile around the world”.

Source: ASIA Travel Tips .com

Airline offers discounts on accommodation, services - Bahrain

Air Arabia yesterday announced a tie-up with discount accommodation broker OctopusTravel.com.

The airline Website, airarabia.com, signed the deal with the broker Website, benefitting thousands of passengers this summer, the airline's Bahrain and Eastern Province general manager, Mohammed Jaffer Mahmood, said.
"Hotels are available immediately offering Air Arabia customers the opportunity to book discount accommodation and services including, villas, apartments, sightseeing and private transfers."

He said OctopusTravel provides links to a co-branded Website with special rates and promotions for the carrier which offers a portfolio of over 20,000 hotels discounted by up to 70 per cent off rack rates in more than 3,300 cities in 112 countries, from budget to five-star deluxe with a detailed, independent report on every one."

Mahmood said travellers can also choose from 3,000 apartments and villas with real-time availability, instant confirmation and a printable voucher and location map.

The site also features a facility to search and book all kinds of hotel rooms and multiple bookings in one transaction. "Private transfers and tailor-made private sightseeing bookings are available in more than 2,000 sightseeing tours and excursions."

He said Air Arabia now offers a complete holiday product for the benefit of leisure and business travellers in the region.

"We decided to partner with Octopus Travel because of its industry-leading technical platform which can present information in over 20 languages including Arabic, its vast selection of accommodation, its competitive prices and its strong focus on customer service," he said.

Source:

Kiwi tourists boost total travel spend

Kiwis taking time out to explore the highways and byways of their own backyard helped push up tourist spending to $17 billion last year.

Though growth in international spending dropped 2.4 per cent to $7.4 billion in the year to March 2004, spending by domestic tourists rose 2.6 per cent to $9.8 billion compared to the previous year.

Overall, spending from both groups rose a slim 0.4 per cent to $17.2 billion, but visitor numbers were up 4.9 per cent to 2.16 million, according to the latest Tourism Satellite Account.

The biggest jump in visitor numbers was from Oceania, including Australia, which rose 14 per cent during the period.

Visitor arrivals from Asian countries dropped 10 per cent in the 12 months to March last year. The biggest fall was in numbers from the price-conscious Chinese and Japanese markets, put off by the high Kiwi dollar.

According to the satellite account, the $7.4 billion spent by overseas tourists meant tourism overtook dairy at $5.7 billion, meat at $4.3 billion and forestry at $3 billion as an export earner.

The satellite account takes in both international and domestic tourist spending and money spent on airfares, and is the most comprehensive record of tourism spending each year.

AdvertisementAdvertisementTourism Ministry research manager Bruce Bassett sounded a note of warning about the figures, saying they pre-dated the cheap trans-Tasman airfares to some extent and anecdotal evidence was that domestic tourist spending could soften as more New Zealanders head offshore.

According to the satellite account, tourism contributed $6.2 billion, or 9.4 per cent, of New Zealand's gross domestic product in the year to March 2004. A further $5.8 billion was spent in flow-on sectors such as transport, accommodation and restaurant meals. It is estimated that tourism directly employs almost 103,000 people.

Spending on accommodation rose 5 per cent to $1.5 billion, food and drink was up by 1.4 per cent and transport rose 3.7 per cent, but growth in all areas slowed.

The worst-hit sector was airfares, which dropped almost 4 per cent to $3.2 billion.

Tourism Minister Mark Burton said the figures showed the importance of the tourism industry to New Zealand.

Last year, the Government's marketing arm Tourism New Zealand spent about $25 million on advertising New Zealand offshore through its 100% Pure New Zealand campaign.

Source: SUE ALLEN - http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Airlines try to nudge up airfares

The four biggest U.S. airlines are testing higher fares as a way to offset increasingly costly jet fuel.

United raised fares 3 percent on all flights, Northwest hiked U.S. fares 3 percent and American and Delta boosted fares $5 each way, USA Today reported Thursday.

With oil continuing to trade at historically high levels, all industries must act responsibly to offset rising costs, said United marketing chief John Tague.

Although crude oil prices fell 81 cents to $58.09 per barrel Wednesday, the futures contract flirted with $60 a barrel Monday, closing at a nominal record of $59.37.

Source: Big News Network

Emirates, Etihad airlines to get new Boeing aircrafts

Aviation giant, Boeing will deliver 11-15, 777-300ER aircrafts to the Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways in the next five months, said a top company executive.

"The Emirates Airlines will receive 6-10 aircraft with a list price of $1.5 billion, while five aircraft will be delivered to Etihad Airways having a list price of $1.2 billion", said Lee Monson, vice president of Boeing airplane sales, Middle East and Africa.

He added that Etihad Airways will receive the first delivery in October followed by two other deliveries in November and December.

The Emirates Airlines which already received two aircrafts in March wants to increase its fleet through lease and direct purchases by late 2007, making it one of the world's largest 777 operators.

Monson also said that Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will also get its first 777-200LR Worldliner in January 2006.

"To-date, four airlines have ordered or announced commitments for the Worldliner — PIA, EVA Airways, Air Canada and Air India. Orders and commitments for the 777-200LR have more than tripled since the airplane was unveiled in February 2005", he said.

He said that the 777-200LR will enable airlines to launch new non-stop flights. "Non-stop travel is set to grow over the next couple of decades and Boeing’s product strategy, which includes the Worldliner, will help airlines leverage this trend. "

Source: aljazeera.com

Plane traveling from Chicago makes emergency landing in Colorado

A United Airlines plane en route to Las Vegas from Chicago declared an emergency and made an unscheduled landing at Pueblo Memorial Airport Wednesday after its crew initially reported smoke in the cockpit, an airport official said.
None of the 156 people aboard Flight 1525 were injured, airport manager Jerry Brienza said. Passengers waited at least four hours for another airplane to arrive.

Find the latest airline industry news in our Flights section.

United did not immediately return a phone message.

Karen Byrd, of the Federal Aviation Administration, said the crew reported a vibration in the cabin. Brienza said the crew reported smelling smoke but later said it was a problem with some avionics equipment in the cockpit.

The incident happened around 6:30 p.m.

Source: The Associated Press

Safety tips for solo travel

Street smarts and safety precautions can be as key to travel plans as tickets and reservations.

Here are some quick safety suggestions for solo travelers this summer from the Women's Travel Club. More are available at www.womenstravelclub.com.

• Hotels: Choose one on a busy, well-trafficked street. Ask for a room on a top floor away from the emergency exit, which someone could pry open.

• Rental cars: If another car hits yours, don't stop until you reach a busy, well-lighted area.

• On the street: Study maps ahead of time so you can stay alert on the street. Dress down, but avoid the sloppy-tourist look, too. Remember to take off name tags after a meeting or conference.

Source: KRT News Service

Travel agencies say Hawaii is hot this summer

Travel agents say Hawaii remains one of the top five U.S. travel destinations this summer, AAA reports.

Travel agency managers cited Hawaii as having one of the most attractive discounts or values for summer travel this year, along with Orlando, Seattle, Las Vegas, and California generally. Hawaii did not make the top five last summer; New York did.

"Despite generally higher prices for gasoline, hotels and other vacation costs, Americans continue to hit the road, rails, skies and sea," said Sandra Hughes, AAA Travel vice president. "Our travel agents expect international travel to remain strong this summer as Americans find ways to go where they want to, when they want to."

Internationally they said the top summer destinations were London, Cancun, Rome, the Caribbean generally, and Montego Bay. Last year the top five were London, Rome, Paris, Vancouver and Ireland.

The survey finds that 69 percent of travel agents are seeing increases in overall summer travel bookings compared to last year despite higher fuel costs, rising hotel rates, and a weak U.S. dollar.

Source: American City Business Journals Inc

Online Travel Shoppers Split Between Airlines, Agency Websites

While more than half of online travel shoppers begin their search with a travel agency, they're evenly split between those sites and ones from airlines when it comes time to book flights, a research firm said Tuesday.
Fully, 54 percent of travel shoppers begin their research at an online travel agency, compared to 37 percent that start with airlines, and 9 percent with a travel meta-search provider, according to Nielsen/NetRatings in its Quarterly Travel Benchmarking Survey.

"The wide selection of travel suppliers drive the majority of travel shoppers to begin their research with agencies and meta-search providers before directly visiting a supplier," Heather Dougherty, senior Internet analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings, said in statement. "At that point, suppliers are in a strong position to capture a potential sale as consumers visit their sites to confirm pricing and frequent flyer benefits before making the final purchase.

"Additionally, the growth of travel meta-search players, such as Kayak and SideStep, provide suppliers with sales opportunities through side-by-side price comparisons with agencies."

With nearly half of all airline ticket sales and reservations conducted online during the last six months, airlines had a stronger record for converting shoppers to buyers, while agencies fared better in drawing visitors to the site for comparison shopping, destination searches and multi-trip bookings.

Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Delta ranked as the three most visited airline websites during April 2005. Southwest led with 8.1 million unique Web surfers, compared to 5.7 million and 4.9 million that visited American and Delta, respectively, the research firm said. Southwest converted the most "lookers into bookers" with a 14 percent visitor conversion rate, followed by Delta and American with 10 and 9 percent.

Online travel agencies attracted up to twice the number of visitors as airlines during April 2005. Expedia drew 16.3 million unique visitors to its site, with Travelocity and Orbitz ranking as the second and third most popular online travel agency with nearly 12 million each, Nielsen/NetRatings said. Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity secured conversion rates of nearly 5 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Source: InternetWeek

Travel warning for Malaysia

AUSTRALIANS are being warned to avoid travelling to the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah amid reports terrorists are planning to kidnap foreigners.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued updated travel advice tonight warning travellers of reports that terrorists were planning kidnapping attacks on foreign tourist resorts.

"Australians are advised to avoid all travel to coastal resorts, islands and dive sites off the east coast of Sabah," DFAT said on its travel advisory website.

"We have received credible reports that terrorists are planning kidnapping attacks targeting resorts frequented by foreigners."

Terrorists in the past have kidnapped foreigners from the eastern part of mainland Sabah, and from islands and sea off its east coast, the department said.

"Kidnapping attacks in other parts of coast and offshore Sabah cannot be ruled out."

Sabah is on the island of Borneo.

Source: theaustralian.news.com.au/

Air India expands operation in Bangladesh

India's state airlines Air India on Saturday launched a new route, flying from New Delhi to Dhaka, then to Kolkata and London.

It will operate six flights on the Delhi-London route every week, Air India officials in Dhaka said.

This is the third long haul flight of the international flag carrier launched from Delhi in the past three months. The other two were Delhi-Frankfurt-Los Angeles and Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto.

Currently, Bangladesh airlines Biman operates two weekly flights to New Delhi, while Biman and Indian Airlines operate several flights between Dhaka and Kolkata daily.

European jetmaker Airbus took the lion's share of a record $50 billion in plane deals announced at the Paris Air Show as it added last-minute transactions worth $3.6 billion on Friday.

Airbus has outsold Boeing Co. by a margin of more than two to one at the world's biggest aviation jamboree, held at Le Bourget this week.

Yet Boeing is beating Airbus in sales this year in the key market for mid-sized planes, and many industry analysts expect it to wrest leadership in overall orders from Airbus in 2005.

In a surprise turnaround, Airbus sales chief John Leahy suggested Airbus would retain its lead in new orders over Boeing, despite forecasts to the contrary from Airbus parent company EADS as well as from Boeing and analysts.

The two rivals reported a record $48.7 billion in air show deals, with Airbus accounting for $33.5 billion and Boeing $15.2 billion, company data and Reuters calculations based on list prices showed.

Smaller companies added to the overall tally, with Brazilian plane-maker Embraer among those landing deals.

The volley of announcements fuelled upbeat forecasts for an industry clambering its way out of a post-2001 recession, with the help of emerging aviation powers including a string of commitments from airlines in India.

Industry analysts said they were impressed with the pace of the turnaround while touring the "chalets" at Le Bourget -- a purpose-built bazaar where executives wine, dine, do business and talk shop every two years.

The Paris show in 2003 was overshadowed by travel fears due to the war in Iraq, a boycott by U.S. military top brass due to tensions with France and an industry downturn.

Commercial aviation pulled out of its steep dive in 2004, but it is only since the dollar also perked up earlier this year that aircraft makers and their suppliers have sounded confident.

"Orders are strong, and dollar pressure has eased somewhat," French bank Exane BNP Paribas said in a note to clients on the air show, adding that high oil prices remained a worry.

Airbus said its deals on Friday included one for 40 of its single-aisle A320 family of planes by an unidentified airline, which would make an announcement soon.

It also sold 18 A319 jets worth $55 million each to low-cost airline germanwings.

An unnamed Saudi buyer snapped up a long-range, four-engine A340-600 jet for private use. It seats 380 passengers, and its $215 million price tag excludes specially fitted interiors.

Chalet War

"Considering all the PR and the statements from the Boeing chalet that they would dominate the market this year, we wanted to point out that we outsold them in every year since 2000 and intend to do so this year," Airbus's Leahy told reporters.

"We maintain our position that our goal is approximately 50 percent of the market."

Leahy hit out at Boeing but was clearly frustrated after EADS Chief Financial Officer Hans Peter Ring suggested early this month that Airbus would lag Boeing in orders in 2005.

Boeing does not forecast orders but has said it expects to be ahead for the first time since 2000.

Boeing effectively conceded the Paris show to Airbus earlier in the week by letting it be known there would be no "blockbuster" deals. Airbus's critics say it deliberately groups together orders to grab a concentrated dose of publicity and point out that many Airbus announcements remain provisional.

The U.S. planemaker announced deals for about 150 planes, of which 88 were firm orders.

That compares with firm orders for 10 Airbus planes out of the 280 planes in deals it announced. Analysts note, however, that the vast majority of tentative commitments do turn into firm orders, usually within six months.

Analysts said Airbus had recovered faster than expected from a months-long onslaught from Boeing in the new and expanding market for mid-sized long-range jets.

Boeing has a strong lead in the lucrative segment, with 266 commitments for its 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus hit back this week with 95 for its planned A350, which it hopes to get board backing to start building later this year.

It expects a board decision on the 4.5 billion euro ($5.5 billion) programme in September, a delay which Airbus Chief Executive Noel Forgeard said this week was prompted in part by a desire to cool a major international trade row over aircraft subsidies with Boeing.

Three flights a week will cater for the growing numbers of Sikhs and Punjabis travelling to their ancestral homes from North America and the UK.

The first 10 flights from Raja Sansi airport are sold out, officials say.

The service is expected to boost religious tourism around the Sikhs' holiest shrine, the Golden Temple.

Airport makeover

Sunday's inaugural flight was flagged off by the federal civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, and Punjab's chief minister, Capt Amarinder Singh.

The Punjabi community has long demanded a direct air connection between their home state and Western countries where a large number of them are settled.

To handle the increased air traffic, the airport at Amritsar is being given a $15m makeover which includes a new terminal building and modern landing aids.

Air India's Regional Director for India, Capt PP Singh, told the BBC that "the response has been huge".

As well as the first 10 flights already selling out, "there are heavy bookings for subsequent days".

'Prosperity'

One woman visiting Punjab from her home in New York, Rubina Boparai, said: "All this is most exciting. I am now waiting for the day when I will be able to fly directly to New York from Amritsar and be spared the harassment of a day-long drive to Delhi."

Kirpal Singh Duggal, a frequent traveller to the UK, said: "It is like flying directly from one home to another."

Mr Patel said the new flight would initiate a phase of growth and prosperity in Punjab.

He said the Amritsar-Toronto service would soon be upgraded to a daily one and in the coming months, both Air India and the state's domestic carrier, Indian Airlines, would start other passenger and cargo services from the city.

Services will also be extended to include new, budget Air India Express flights from Amritsar to the Gulf countries and other Western destinations.

Air India currently caters approximately 44 destinations throughought the world. It also has code-sharing agreements with many international airlines to expand coverage. The airline ferried 3.39 million passengers during the financial year ending March 2003 and achieved a load factor of 71.6 per cent, substantially higher than the 66 per cent load factor recorded in the preceding year. The airline strives to achieve the best in-flight standards and receives a 4 star rating for cabin safety procedures from skytrax airline quality review.

Three classes of seats are offered - First class, Executive class and Economy class. Flat bed seats are offered for first class passengers. The airline also offers a frequent flyer programme alone and in collaboration with many of its alliances. The airline also offers luxury lounges in its ground terminals for its First and Executive class travellers in select destinations within India.

Air-India has duty free sale on board its flights effective June 1, 2003 named 'sky bazaar', meaning Market in the sky. Air India has recently placed a order for 50 Boeing Dreamliner Aircrafts . The contract is worth more than 6 billion US $ and will make Air India one of the largest air carriers in Asia .

Cargo Operations

In 1954, Air-India commenced its freighter operations with a DC3 Dakota aircraft, giving Air-India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate freighters. Currently, the airline operates regular Cargo flights to many destinations of the world. The airline also has ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.

An active member of IATA, Air-India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and IATA Live Animals Regulations, respectively.

At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed an indigenous system of inventory management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire management of cargo, supports Electronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs, Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.

As it symbolises movement and speed, the Centaur, a stylised version of Sagittarius, was selected as Air-India's logo.

Air India's mascot, the Maharaja, is a turban clad king with over-sized moustache and a royal dress. "He may look like royalty, but he isn't royal" - these are the words of Bobby Kooka, the man who conceived the Maharajah. This figure first made his appearance in Air-India way back in 1946, when Bobby Kooka as Air-India's Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, an artist with J.Walter Thompson Ltd., Mumbai, together created the Maharajah.

Fleet

As of May 2005 the airline has the following fleet:

· BOEING B777-200 - 3

· BOEING B747-400 - 12

· BOEING B747-200 - 2

· BOEING B747-300 - 2

· AIRBUS A310-300 - 19 (+3 to be delivered June-July 2005)

· BOEING B737-800 - 3

Future Plans

Air-India has registered a profit of Rs 133.85 crores (Approx USD 30 Millions) in the financial year ending March 31, 2003, after taking into account the deferred tax benefit. In the year 2002, it recorded a net profit of Rs 15.44 crores. Air-India earned a total revenue of Rs 5658 crores (Approx USD 1.26 Billions) in 2002-03 as against Rs 5017 crores (Approx USD 1.1 Billions) in the previous year. The airline has ambitious plans to expand its network and acquire new aircraft. The newly elected Government of India has appointed Mr.Praful Patel, as the Minister for Civil Aviation who plans to make the airline "A Maharaja of the Skies ". It is planning to buy 50 Long range planes in the time frame of next 10 years. Boeing, with its Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 are in the cards. As of December 2004, Air India has leased 3 Boeing 777s from United Airlines. The first of the three is on its way to India, which will be put in Mumbai-London operations. Air India has started a new operation linking Toronto , Amritsar and New Delhi .

History

Air India traces its roots back to October 15, 1932 when its founder, J. R. D. Tata flew a single engined De Havilland Puss Moth registed VT-ADN carrying air mail from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by a Royal Air Force pilot named Neville Vincent.

That same year, the airline was formally established as Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group), the large Indian industrial house. Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines was converted into a public company under the name Air India in 1946.

1948 was a very significant year in the history of the airline as 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India, with an option to purchase an additional 2% at any time. In return, the airline was granted status to operate international services from India as the designated flag carrier under the name Air India International.

On June 8, 1948 a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess and registered VT-CQP took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first longhaul international flight, soon followed by service to Nairobi via Aden.

In 1953, the Government of India chose to exercise its option to purchase a majority stake in the carrier and Air India International Limited was born as one of the fruit of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry.

In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Air India International entered the jet age in 1960 as its first Boeing 707 named Nandadevi and registered VT-DJJ was delivered. Jet service to New York via London was inaugurated that same year. On June 8, 1962 the airline's name was officially truncated to its current form of Air India. On June 11, 1962 Air India became the world's first all-jet airline.

In 1970, Air India moved its offices into its own custom built skyscraper in downtown Bombay. The next year, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200 named Emperor Ashoka and registered VT-EBD. This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace In The Sky' livery and branding.

In 1986, Air India made the decision to supplement its fleet with Airbus A310s and began to accept delivery of these aircraft later that year. The airline would later become (and remains today) the world's largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India also took delivery of two Boeing 747-300s in mixed passenger-cargo configuration.

747-400

In 1989, to supplant its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new livery that was mostly white but had a golden sun on a red tail. However, that livery, which was applied to only about half of Air India's fleet, was never very popular, especially among Air India employees, and it lasted only four years.

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the new flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 named Konark and registered VT-ESM made history by operating the first ever nonstop flight between New York and Delhi. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at the newly renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

The 21st century has seen Air India introduce new service to Shanghai in China, as well as two new US gateways at Newark Liberty International Airport and LAX.

In March 2004, Air India started non-stop flights from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London, Heathrow, making it the 3rd station from India (after Mumbai and Delhi).

In December 2004, Air India leased three Boeing 777-222ER aircraft from United Airlines, using them on the Bombay-London route. One was delivered by December 2004, while the other two are expected to be delivered by mid-January 2005.

Source: Independent-Bangladesh.com

InterGlobe to launch low-cost airline in India

Continuing its spree of big announcements, InterGlobe Enterprises has announced its plans of launching IndiGo, an Indian low cost airline venture. InterGlobe is a diversified Indian multinational corporation with significant presence in aviation management, travel technology, travel distribution services and hospitality industries. (6/21/2005)

The venture is being jointly promoted by InterGlobe Enterprises and aviation industry professional Rakesh Gangwal, and IndiGo has committed for 100 firm A320 family aircraft with Airbus. The nation-wide low-cost airline expected to be launched late this year or early next year, has come up with largest firm order placed by a domestic airline, with deal with Airbus worth US$6billion .

Airbus said it had received a letter of intent for the purchase of 100 A320 planes from IndiGo. This announcement follows the orders placed by private Indian carriers like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and the yet-to-be-launched Paramount Airways.

As per the information available, in the first year of its operation, IndiGo plans to connect 17 cities across the country, with a target of flying two million passengers. The local media says IndiGo plans to start operations with six carriers - depending on delivery schedule by Airbus - and further enhance it to 18 over a two-year period. The airline plans to employ the full fleet of 100 carriers over eight-year period. Over the first two years of operation, InterGlobe Aviation, plans to invest up to US$91 million, with plans to break-even in 15 months.

In the recent past, InterGlobe introduced ITQ (InterGlobe Technology Quotient), which is being termed as India’s pioneering operational technology consultant and converged solutions provider for the travel industry. ITQ will evaluate current technologies capabilities, recommend solutions and implement them across travel agents, airlines, cruises, hotels, tourism bureaus, car rental companies, portals and corporations in India.

The second initiative is the launch of InterGlobe Hotels, a JV with Accor Asia Pacific to develop a series of Ibis brand economy hotels across India and South Asia.

“The new ventures (ITQ and JV with Accor) have broadened the operating boundaries of InterGlobe and we are constantly in the process of identifying new goals and horizons,” said InterGlobe.

Source: eyefortravel.com

Dubai group plans to run 40 luxury hotels

Dubai's state-owned firm Jumeirah, which boasts the world's only seven-star hotel, announced Tuesday an ambition plan to own or manage 40 luxurious hotels at home and abroad within the next five years.

"We want to run 40 hotels nationally and internationally" within five years, Jumeirah chief executive officer Gerald Lawless told a press conference during which the firm said it would run 14 hotels at home and 25 others abroad.

"We want to develop a global super-brand ... to create the world's most luxurious hotel group," said the head of the hotels firm which owns one of Dubai's main landmarks, the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab luxury hotel.

"We want to be a player on the world stage," said Jumeirah chief sales and marketing officer Bill Walshe.

Jumeirah, created in 1997, currently owns six luxury hotels in Dubai and two in London.

Lawless said planned to run hotels in Sydney, New York, Beijing, Shanghai as well as in South Africa, the Maldives and Mauritius. Jumeirah is part of the state holding firm Dubai Holding which runs mega projects aimed at turning the affluent Gulf emirate into a business and leisure hub.

Source: AFP

Local Airlines to Halt Service to Phuket

The nation¡¯s two flag carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, will suspend their operations to Phuket, Thailand, next week.

The Construction and Transportation Ministry said yesterday that the airlines applied for closures of operations to the resort island due to a decrease in the number of passengers, and the applications were admitted.

Korean Air will scrap its Seoul-Phuket route on June 29, and the Pusan-Phuket route on June 30. Asiana Airlines will also stop operating its flights between Seoul and Phuket on June 28.

The decision to stop the operations came from a decline in the number of passengers to Phuket, especially honeymooners, as people still feel reluctant to visit the island, which was hit by a deadly tsunami.

The tsunami, which struck Southeast Asian countries last December, claimed 5,400 lives, mainly those in southern Thailand including Phuket, and some 2,800 are still missing.

The two airlines began operating charter flights between Seoul and Phuket in 2002. Asiana Airlines started two regular flights per week for the route last July, while Korean Air also launch two weekly services last September.

Korean Air also provided service between Pusan and Phuket since last October.

The route had been popular, especially among newlyweds, with boarding rate on Seoul-Phuket flights reaching 98 percent in July 2004, 99 percent in August, 97 percent in September, 94 percent in October, 92 percent in November, and 76 percent last December.

But the two carriers had suspended operations since the end of last year after the giant wave from the earthquake brought catastrophe to large areas of the tourist destination.

Those planning to travel to Phuket will be able to use the flights of Orient Thai Airlines, which operates two weekly services between Seoul and Phuket. Phuket Air will also start operating two flights per week on July 16.

Korean Air plans to resume its operations on Oct. 2 and Asiana Airlines in the middle of December.

Source: Kim Rahn - koreatimes.co.kr

Microjet taxis may transform travel

If the nation's 429 commercial airports are too crowded, there is an alternative, aviation visionaries say: using a new generation of microjets, with two engines and just five or six seats, as air taxis or charters to connect the 5,400 airports scattered around the country that now have no scheduled service at all.

It may be a Buck Rogers fantasy, or it may be the early phase of a new transportation network of point-to-point travel between little-known cities like this one.

Using new or improved technology, including satellites and on-board computers, to handle air traffic at places with no control towers and to provide better navigation support than airliners receive at big airports, the new mode of transportation could be safe and reliable, say advocates for the new generation of technologies, known as the Small Aircraft Transportation System. Following the inevitable tradition of aviation, it is known by its acronym, SATS.

"The only thing small about SATS is the size of the aircraft," said Marion C. Blakey, who heads the Federal Aviation Administration. "The system itself holds enormous potential for the way we fly as a nation."

The aviation agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, half a dozen universities and a variety of private companies showed off possibilities at a three-day technology demonstration here this month. One of the more audacious was a robot air traffic controller, essentially a computer box on the ground that receives requests for permission to land from planes a few miles away. The computer system, devised by NASA, gives the planes a number in the queue.

The system is said to be able to manage 12 to 15 takeoffs and landings an hour, even in bad visibility. At the moment, many small airports are lucky to see four takeoffs or landings an hour, especially when the weather is poor.

Source: MATTHEW L. WALD - New York Times News Service

Airbus wins $6bn order from India

India's skies are filling up with new private airlines

Fledgling Indian budget airline IndiGo has ordered 100 A320 jets from Airbus, the European planemaker said.
Although Airbus did not reveal the agreed price, the catalogue value of the planes is $6bn (£3.29bn).

IndiGo is not yet flying. Airbus said the new airline has "high-quality executives" and was sure to be "a successful new player".

Airbus also received orders for 20 A320s from Brazil's TAM and a further 10 from Mexico's ABC Aerolineas.

TAM also signed a non-binding commitment for 10 of the group's A350 planes which it hopes to launch later this year.

But, Indian airlines have emerged as big buyers at this year's Paris Air Show placing orders worth roughly $12bn.

India's strong economic growth has boosted the market for internal travel - both business and leisure - and the budget airline business model is catching on rapidly there.

New battleground

Industry analysts believe the India's aviation market is poised for 20% annual growth as private airlines multiply.

Both Airbus and rival US planemaker Boeing have benefited from big Indian orders at the Paris Air Show.

Boeing won an order from Jet Airways for at least 20 planes with a catalogue value of $2.8bn, made up of 737-800s and 777s.

Kingfisher, another low-cost carrier backed by beer magnate Vijay Mallya, ordered 15 aircraft worth up to $3bn from Airbus.

IndiGo is being backed by travel company InterGlobe Enterprises, and by entrepreneur Rakesh Gangwal, who was president and chief executive of US Airways until 2001.

"IndiGo is the result of extensive analysis and planning by very experienced airline executives and we're convinced it will be a successful new player," said Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard.

BOEING v AIRBUS ORDERS
* Qatar Airways - 20 Boeing 777s worth $4.6bn
* Qatar Airways - up to 60 Airbus A350s worth $10.6bn
* ILF - 20 Boeing planes, including next generation 737, in $2.9bn deal
* Kingfisher - to buy "multiple" Airbus aircraft in a deal worth $2.5bn
* Jet Airways - 20 Boeing planes worth more than $2.8bn
* Jet Airways - 10 Airbus A330s for $1.5bn
* GECAS - 20 next generation Boeing 737s worth $1.1bn
* GECAS - 10 Airbus A350s worth $1.6bn
* ALAFCO -12 Airbus A350s worth $2.5bn
* IndiGo - 100 Airbus A320s in $6bn deal
* TAM - 20 A320s and eight A350s
* ABC Aerolineas - 10 Airbus A320s

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Airlines test water-vapor sensing system

The day may come when aircraft collect water-vapor data around the world and weather balloons become a thing of the past, Colorado researchers say.

An air sampler developed by the University Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo., plus a diode laser developed by SpectraSensors Inc., San Dimas, Calif., make up the Water Vapor Sensing System II, or WVSS II.

Water vapor sounds boring, but it's essential to almost everything that happens in the atmosphere, said retired researcher Rex Fleming, who designed the air sampler that also received U.S. federal funding.

Better water-vapor data can improve a host of weather-related forecasts -- including sudden storms that the Federal Aviation Administration estimates cost the U.S. airline industry $1 billion a year -- and long-term climate changes.

This month, 25 United Parcel Service aircraft based in Louisville, Ky., are comparing WVSS II data with that from traditional weather balloons and satellites, said the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Other U.S. airlines as well as airlines in Australia, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa will also test WVSS II.

Source: Big News Network

US extends biometric passport deadline

Washington has officially announced it will extend the deadline for visa-free EU countries to introduce biometric passports.

US officials informed a summit of G8 justice and home affairs ministers in Sheffield, UK, on Wednesday (15 June) that the deadline was to be put back.

The decision marks a significant shift in US policy, as authorities had earlier warned they would not extend the deadline for the second time.

Under the ruling, the 27 states that enjoy visa-free travel to the US will have one extra year to introduce full-scale biometric passports, according to the Financial Times.

They were orginally supposed to start issuing documents with special microchips containing genetic information about the passport holders by 26 October, or face visa obligations when entering the US.

But due to pressure from the American travel industry and the European Commission, Washington has agreed to accept passports with digital photos, as a substitute for biometric data.

It is still not clear what kind of provisions will be set for France and Italy, the only two countries still using laminated pictures for their citizens' travel documents.

Officials last night confimed that the French and Italian issue had been "addressed and resolved", while not making it clear if the two states would be granted visa-free access after October or not.

Source: euobserver.com

Luxury Marco Beach Ocean Resort Aims at 5th Diamond, Leverages The Concierge Assistant

Guest service streamlined by tapping guest histories to anticipate individual tastes, delight visitors

If you are flying to Southern Florida in your Gulfstream V executive jet and need a luxury 4-Diamond resort with an award winning chef and, by the way, a nearby airfield big enough to accommodate your plane, the Marco Beach Ocean Resort will probably be where you spend the night.

Marco Beach Ocean Resort is a 100-suite independent destination on Florida’s Marco Island built by the Gulf Bay Group of Companies to 5-Star, 5-Diamond standards. The property --with its own private Fiddler’s Creek golf club and deep-draft marina -- opened only eight months ago and already has one of the highest ratings Triple A grants and aims higher. Phillip Starling, Marco Beach Ocean Resort’s managing director, said, “We offer one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. With our entire management team experienced in operating luxury properties, our goal is to earn the AAA 5-Diamond designation soon as possible. At the top of the luxury market the differentiator is guest service; that is our focus. We stock guests’ rooms with their favorite foods and beverages, contact them before and after their stay, and track each person’s interests and activities in the property’s Concierge Assistant software system.”

“What attracted us to The Concierge Assistant was that it gives us power over our guest history information and puts that data to work in ways no property management system could,” said Starling. “The guest profiles we build in our concierge system contain all past stay information, as well as their off-property transportation requests, favorite restaurants, and travel details. We could even include a digital photo of the guest in their file to boost guest recognition. This is a tool that lets us know what guests will want before they ask, and is a key tool as we work toward earning our fifth diamond.”

Guest data is secured

The property’s guest service team contacts guests prior to their arrival to help plan their visit and ensure their itinerary of events is known by the resort. “We log each guest’s activities in The Concierge Assistant software; already knowing what they enjoy lets us offer suggestions that are tailored to their unique preferences. The system runs on the property’s networked server so all appropriate staff members can access a guest’s data at anytime; this guarantees we can answer questions from any touch point in the resort. Also, since The Concierge Assistant is property-based we do not have to worry about hackers or identity theft over the Internet.”

To provide the utmost in convenience the Marco Beach Ocean Resort contracts with a luggage transport company that picks up guests’ luggage at their homes and ships it directly to the property, relieving visitors of delays associated with airport security. “Our goal is to provide guests with a stress-free travel experience,” said Starling. “Our managers personally call each guest during their stay to judge the service they are receiving. Visitors tell us they relish being here more than at a larger flagged hotel because we make them feel important.” The resort also uses a ‘cartless’ housekeeping service and staff that operates from centralized closets to eliminate clutter in hallways, just as their guest services software eliminates clutter at the concierge desk.

One item at the top of most guest interest lists at the Marco Beach Ocean Resort is the property’s signature restaurant, Sale e Pepe. Featuring Northern Italian cuisine, its master chef, Alberto Varetto, who was featured at the James Beard Foundation, flies in ingredients directly from Italy to create a stunning dining experience. “Guests love Sale e Pepe and its 3,000-bottle wine cellar; which we just learned will be given an award in the August issue of Wine Spectator,” explained Starling. The property also offers relaxed dining at the Gator Grill at its Fiddler’s Creek golf club, as well as waterfront dining at Backwater Nick’s at the private Isle of Capri Marina. “When guests first reserve with us we create a personal profile for them in The Concierge Assistant system that tracks their dining preferences, on property and off, as well as, favorite tee times, and individual spa treatments,” Starling said. “We focus on customized service, name recognition and surpassing guest expectations. In addition to vacationing guests, we host many executive groups who value our high-tech meeting facilities and the wide variety of venues and activities we offer.”

Marco Beach Ocean Resort provides meeting space for professional and social groups of up to 100 attendees and prides itself in delivering the highest quality working environment for visiting business people. To host large parties in style for special occasions the resort features its beautiful Gulf Ballroom on the beach facing the ocean. “Many groups prefer to fly directly in to Marco Island’s large private airfield, attend meetings, and play golf, take cruises, or fish after their business is wrapped up,” said managing director Phillip Starling. “Some companies buy out one of our restaurants one evening, and then have other events offsite at Fiddler’s Creek or the marina on subsequent days. We provide limo service from our own company to maintain the highest service level and flexibility. Some luxury properties offer a ‘Club Level’ with special consideration for their highest-rated guests; we provide that level of service for all our guests.”

In a surprise move the property intentionally hired 60 percent of its line staff without previous hotel experience so the management team could train them to its own high standards for refined service and create an atmosphere of friendliness. The Concierge Assistant reinforces that care by automating most guest service activities and reporting, thus creating orderliness and accuracy throughout the concierge process, and greatly reducing report generation activity for management oversight. “We are using technology to standardize the highest quality of guest service,” concluded Starling.


At HITEC 2005 in Los Angeles be sure to visit the Gold Key Solutions team at Booth 240 to receive a complete demonstration of The Concierge Assistant.


About The Marco Beach Ocean Resort
Perfectly situated on the Gulf of Mexico, Marco Beach Ocean Resort opened in 2001 bringing world class service and exquisite dining to Southwest Florida. Rated 4-Diamonds by AAA, it is one of Florida’s most luxurious beach resorts and a member of Preferred Hotels and ResortsÒ Worldwide. The all-suite independent hotel offers 84 luxurious one-bedroom and 15 elegant two-bedroom suites on the beach. All units are equipped with high thread-count European feather bedding, rich wood furnishings, kitchens, luxurious marble showers with separate bathtubs, and floor-to-ceiling glass doors. Spacious balconies from many suites command sweeping panoramic views of the blue green water of the Gulf of Mexico. A concierge is on duty 24 hours a day, and maid service is provided twice daily with turn down service. Guests are invited to enjoy the fitness facilities, personal fitness training, sauna and steam rooms, as well as an array of massages, body therapies and facials. Formal dining at the resort is truly a transporting experience. The recently opened Sale e Pepe restaurant transports guests to the ancient hills of Tuscany and the savory regions of the Southern Italy. The enchanting Toulouse Lounge enables guests to relax with cocktails and to dream about turn-of-the century Paris, while admiring the reproductions of this great French artist. Beachside and poolside bars are never far away dispensing cool refreshments.

About Gold Key Solutions
Gold Key Solutions’ The Concierge Assistant improves guest services and staff communication by creating orderliness and accuracy throughout the entire Concierge process for hotels of all types. The Windows-based software application increases staff efficiency and reduces expenses by automating all guest services activities and reporting, allowing managers to put in place a standard of excellence that may be continually refined. The Concierge Assistant is used by over 170 full-service Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood, St. Regis, and other high-end properties. The Concierge Assistant is also employed by many residential living properties and by personal assistant and professional concierge companies to optimize services to each client.

Source: Hotel News Resource

USC Health Thought Prescription for Travel

Along with the extra socks, suntan lotion and hiking boots packed in the suitcases of travelers this summer, care should be taken to remember adequate or even extra doses of medications needed while traveling.

Kari Trotter Wall, Pharm.D., director of the USC University Park Campus Pharmacy, advises travelers on “maintenance medications” such as those to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes or birth control, to plan ahead.

“Talk with the insurance benefits office to verify if they allow multiple months' supply of medications in the event of traveling,” says Trotter Wall. “The pharmacy may also be able to help patients determine if their insurance plan will cover a multiple month supply should they not have access to a pharmacy while traveling.”

Trotter Wall advises investigating these options at least two weeks before departing for the trip, in the event of any problems.

A second option for people vacationing away from home within the United States for more than a month is to transfer prescriptions between pharmacies over the phone. This enables them to be refilled on schedule at a pharmacy nearby.

Trotter Wall also recommends seeking pre-travel advice from a traveler's clinic or physician, particularly if you will be leaving the country. “Most travelers are exposed to diseases in other countries and become ill when a little pre-travel information and proper precautions could have avoided it.”

During travel, particularly if it is by plane, Trotter Wall advises keeping all medications in a carryon bag that you can keep close at hand. She also reminds people to read the instructions on the medications for proper storage.

“Some medications warrant refrigeration, so for those items it is good to check with the flight attendants to see if they can store items that absolutely need to be refrigerated,” says Trotter Wall.

It is also important to keep prescription drugs in their original containers. “For international travel, customs agents may at times be leery of the pill box with unlabeled medications,” says Trotter Wall.

In the event of a lost medication, travelers within the U.S. can call their home pharmacies to have their prescription transferred nearby, however they may have to pay for the replacement (unless their insurance has a provision for lost medications). International travelers may need to visit a travel clinic in the region for a new prescription, if their medications are available in the countries in which they are vacationing.

“If you are traveling internationally, it is best to treat your medications like you do your passport. Guard them carefully,” says Trotter Wall. “It is always a good idea to travel with a list of your current medications' doses and your physician's name and phone number.”

source: www.usc.edu

Arab airlines plan Arabesk alliance

Sabre Airline Solutions and the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), in close coordination with six Arab airlines, are studying the creation of a new ground-breaking alliance.

Egypt Air, Gulf Air, Middle East Airlines, Oman Air, Royal Jordanian Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines are participating in the study to create "Arabesk," the first airline alliance that coordinates the schedules of six close competitors.

The goal of creating this pan-Arab alliance is to provide financial benefits that the carriers could not achieve individually. According to Sabre, the benefits of such an alliance could be achieved by providing better separation of services, reducing the duplication of capacity, linking networks and destinations, generating market demand through improved customer connectivity and maximising capacity through route sharing and rationalisation. The combined network of the six carriers totals over 5,000 departures each week reaching from North America to the Far East, giving vast potential to the alliance.

Arabesk is being created on a strong analysis base. Sabre Airline Solutions is using its AirFlite suite of advanced network analysis tools, including Schedule Manager, Profit Manager and Fleet Manager in order to optimise the schedules of the six participating carriers.

In addition, Sabre Airline Solutions is using its unique data sources, including its Global Demand Dataset ('GDD') to ensure that the forecasted benefits are achieved. 'Our tools are being used in an innovative manner to create one 'virtual schedule' that combines the networks of the participating carriers. By optimising this schedule, the most profitable network for all of the carriers can be determined. The establishment of the Middle Eastern virtual alliance further expands Sabre Airline Solutions' presence in the region following recent contract announcements with Gulf Air, Egypt Air and Oman Air.

The step comes as a preparation to face an increase in European carrier operations. Middle Eastern airlines are coming under fire for their funding, financing and business practices, and European airlines might soon be offered more flights to the Gulf region as compensation, an industry onlooker said.

Missing from the Arabesk initiative is Emirates airlines, which was expected to order 50 widebody aircraft at the Paris Air Show, which is currently underway at Le Bourget in the north of the French capital, and whose fleet expansion will intensify calls from the industry for Gulf area countries to allow more competition in their regional aviation sector and for the airlines to be privatised, he added.

Al Diar Hotels and Etihad Airways stage joint promotion

Al Diar Hotels and Etihad Airways stage joint promotion Abu Dhabi, 15 June05 (WAM) - Al Diar hotels and resorts, part of Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH), has joined forces with Etihad Airways to offer guests free round-trip tickets to any of Etihad Airways' destinations.

Guests checking in at any Al Diar hotels between June 15, and August 31, will be automatically entered into a daily raffle to win air tickets to any of the airline's 17 destinations. These include Amman, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beirut, London and Delhi. Guests will also enjoy 50 per cent off normal room rates at all Al Diar hotels and resorts during the special summer promotion.

Khalfan Al Shamsi, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Abu Dhabi National Hotels said: "Last year's joint promotion was extremely successful, so we decided to team up again with Etihad Airways to offer our guests the best possible value for this summer. To make this year's promotion extra special, we are inviting winners to choose their own destination served by Etihad - so that's yet another reason to choose Al Diar and enjoy the hospitality and service we are famous for!" The ADNH promotion runs at all eight Al Diar hotels and resorts in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah (Al Diar Sands Hotel, Mina Hotel, Regency Hotel, Palm Hotel, Gulf Hotel and resort, Capital Hotel, Dana Hotel and Siji Hotel).

Al Diar is part of the Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) group.

Manfred P. Simons, Director of Hotel Operations, Abu Dhabi National Hotels, said: "We are proud of our association with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE. Our capital is a diverse and vibrant city, it is growing rapidly as a destination for business and pleasure." Established in November 2003 as the national carrier of the UAE, Etihad is fast becoming one of the elite international airlines.

Raymond Korban, General Manager, South Gulf, Etihad Airways said: "Etihad Airways looks forward to again welcoming the winners of its summer promotional offer with Al Diar hotels and resorts.

"Etihad Airways has expanded rapidly since its launch and now serves 17 destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Our success shows that guests recognise the premium experience they receive when flying with Etihad," added Korban.

Source: WAM/MAB 19 53 CCCCQQE

MAS honoured with Skytrax five-star rating

National carrier Malaysia Airlines has been given a five-star rating by an international aviation-ranking organisation, one of four accorded this honour by Skytrax.

The Skytrax World Airlines Star Ranking programme covering 375 airlines from across the globe emphasises front-line product and service, particularly in international flight operations.

Other core areas include airport service, onboard product amenities and cabin seating comfort, onboard catering and cabin staff service.

In a statement, Skytrax marketing director Peter Miller said MAS’ marketing tagline of “Going beyond expectations” was well portrayed by its front line staff and was the defining element of the elevation to its status as a five-star airline.

“MAS cabin staff service is renowned as one of the world’s best – it has the required hallmarks of efficiency.

“But what sets it apart is a distinctive charm and character of service that is so reflective of the Malaysian culture.

“We are pleased to welcome MAS into this exclusive group that represents the very best of air travel today,” Miller said.

The other three airlines given five-star rating are Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.

Source: thestar.com.my

Row looming between Dublin Airport and airlines

A row is looming between Dublin airport and the airlines over the cost of security.

The airport authority is seeking €3m from the airlines which it says it is owed because of increased security measures since 9/11.

The airlines contend that the cost of additional checks is covered by general airport charges.

The matter is now expected to be referred to the aviation regulator who is already examining the issue of airport charges.

Source: breakingnews.ie

Gas prices may put crimp in travel plans

High prices at the gas pumps may be putting a major crimp in the vacation plans of many U.S. adults, a survey finds.

The survey, conducted by Thrifty Car Rental, found 80 percent of those surveyed say rising gas prices made an impact on their household plans this year.

The survey also found that 39 percent of drivers say gas prices have forced them to stay home more often, while 18 percent said it was the reason they changed their travel plans.

For those who canceled recent car rental plans, 64 percent said it was due to gas prices.

Thrifty recommends motorists to set aside money specifically for gasoline to avoid unexpected expenses, and mapping trips carefully to ensure taking the shortest, most direct route

Source: Big News Network

Flight delay reasons often perplexing

The Air Travel Consumer Report, a document assembled monthly by the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, offers some occasional gems of information for people who travel.

Some airlines are anxious to report the DOT findings -- especially when they show up in the top of the rankings of the various categories. Others that don't fare as well and a number of analysts who monitor the data aren't quite as enthusiastic.

Mike Boyd of the Boyd Group, an aviation consultant in Evergreen, Colo., for example, believes the report isn't worth much because the data reported by DOT are self-reported by the airlines and there are a number of gray areas involved when it comes to issues of flight delays, mishandled baggage, seat oversales and consumer complaints.

In Business' sister paper, the Las Vegas Sun, reported on some of the findings in the frequently delayed flights category.

McCarran International Airport ranked in the bottom half of the nation's 33 major airports for on-time departures and arrivals. McCarran officials cited weather as responsible for many of those delays.

Now I'm no meteorologist, but I'm sure more than one person was perplexed with flight delays being blamed on bad weather in Las Vegas, where we're usually bragging about our tans and how the sun shines most of the time.

Like many other parts of the DOT report, there are unexplained reasons for the numbers published.

Looking at the DOT stats, one would conclude that planes left McCarran on time 83.5 percent of the time in April. DOT categorizes causes of delay eight ways. On a national basis, planes left on time 83.4 percent of the time -- so McCarran is right at the national average.

The biggest reason for delays -- at 5.8 percent of the time -- resulted from a national aviation system delay. That means events not relating to weather-affected flights, such as air traffic control problems, heavy traffic volumes and airport operation issues.

That's a more likely culprit than weather at McCarran, where wind direction dictates from what direction planes land. The problem on McCarran's parallel north-south runways is that they're not far enough apart to allow planes to come in simultaneously and air traffic controllers have to space arrivals farther apart.

At most times of the day, it's not a problem, but when things get busy at McCarran, such as at night, it can result in some traffic jams.

The next most-frequent reason for a delay falls on the air carriers themselves, 4.4 percent. Those are circumstances within the control of the airlines, such as maintenance or crew problems.

Late-arriving aircraft delays are responsible for late departures 4.3 percent of the time. That affects McCarran as well when flights come in from East Coast destinations that are affected by weather.

Some delays are outright cancellations -- 1.3 percent of the time -- and other delays are attributed to flight diversions (something results in a plane making an unscheduled landing), 0.1 percent; extreme weather, 0.6 percent; and airport security delays, 0.04 percent.

One Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas that ranked third worst in the nation for being late among all operations falls in the category of "all of the above" when it comes to reasoning why it rarely pushes back on time. In April, the flight was late by 15 minutes or more 80 percent of the time.

Southwest Flight 1660, which leaves McCarran for Phoenix at around 5:15 p.m., is one of the last legs of the flight. That means the plane has to be on time everywhere else it has been before it arrives in Las Vegas to go out on time. It also comes in at a busy time of day at McCarran.

Some other nuggets from the most recent DOT report:

• The three busiest air carriers serving McCarran ranked fourth, sixth and eighth among 19 airlines in the nation on reports of mishandled baggage. United, the No. 2 carrier in the nation, but No. 3 at McCarran, was fourth in the report with 3.08 reports per 1,000 passengers. Local market leader Southwest was sixth with 3.1 reports per 1,000 and No. 2 America West was eighth with 3.39 reports per 1,000. The leader in the category: Hawaiian Airlines, with 2.9 reports per 1,000.

• In the first quarter report on denied boardings -- the DOT's category explaining how frequently airlines oversell seats on their planes -- the local big three placed fourth, eighth and 13th, with United, Southwest and America West maintaining the same order of ranking as in the mishandled baggage category. The No. 1 operator in that category: JetBlue, which has a policy of not overbooking its flights.

• In the category of consumer complaints, Las Vegas market leader Southwest was also the top carrier nationally with the fewest complaints, with 0.11 complaints per 100,000 boardings. America West was ninth with 0.81 complaints per 100,000 boardings and United was 10th with 0.83 per 100,000. At the bottom of the rankings: US Airways, which is in the midst of a merger with America West.

Source: - Richard N. Velotta / Staff Writer - In Business Las Vegas

Giant planes and contracts at Paris show

The A380 is seen as a flagship both for Airbus and for Europe

The undisputed main attraction at this year's Paris Air Show will be the first flying display to include the largest civilian aircraft ever built.

The Airbus A380 flyover, around lunchtime on Monday, should do much to divert attention from the squabbles surrounding the aircraft's maker:

• Deliveries of the A380 super-jumbo have been delayed by at least half a year and many of Airbus' customers are upset as a consequence.
• A lengthy political tug-of-war between France and Germany, the main stakeholders in Airbus' parent EADS, has caused severe delays in announcing who will become the company's new chief executive.
• A long-running trade row over state support for both Airbus and its US competitor Boeing has raised uncertainty about its future projects.

Despite all this, and although the order book for the A380 has yet to bring the project to a break-even point, Airbus is already considering it a success.

The aircraft maker, which is jointly owned by European aerospace giants EADS (80%) and BAE Systems (20%), is instead firmly focusing on its much smaller A350, a plane that is being designed to compete head-on with Boeing's new flagship - the 787 Dreamliner.

However, due to the transatlantic trade spat, the much anticipated go-ahead to start work on the aircraft is now no longer expected to be announced at Paris.

Airbus has conceded that it may not be announcing a hundred orders for the plane as had been previously hoped.

On a wider level, Airbus' problems are significant.

Some observers point out that whereas Airbus is struggling, Boeing is enjoying considerable success at the moment.

Unless Airbus gets its act together, they say, Boeing could well reclaim the top spot as the world's leading civil aircraft maker within months.

Americans return

Beyond the two giants' battle for market share in the civilian aircraft market, the defence industry is gearing up for combat as well.

This year the Americans are back in force, having stayed away from "Old Europe" when the last Paris show was held in 2003, soon after the war in Iraq.

"People above the rank of colonel are going to be there, unlike two years ago. It's going to be a lot more busy," says Bank of America Securities aerospace analyst Nick Fothergill.

Flanking the generals will be a slew of senior officials representing US defence behemoths like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

In 2003, US defence firms deemed it important to show loyalty to their government at a time of serious political tension over the war in Iraq - with the US clashing hard with France and Germany over its legitimacy.

Shrewd move

Eyeing a sharp rise in demand for their wares, the US arms manufacturers were in no doubt that their loyalty would pay off.

Aircraft and helicopter makers are getting ready to do deals

They were right. In 2003, military spending rose 6% worldwide - double the growth rate seen in 2002 - with the Pentagon accounting for three quarters of the rise, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).

Last year, the growth rate remained strong at 6%, with global military expenditure rising to more than $1 trillion, a level not seen since the Cold War.

The US, with its "war on terror" in Afghanistan and Iraq, accounts for almost half the total, observes Sipri.

"The main explanation for the current level of and trend in world military spending is the spending on military operations abroad by the US, and to a lesser extent, by its coalition partners," the think-tank says.

Joint ventures

After more than two years on the outside, European arms manufacturers are now getting ready to do deals with their American competitors, with a view to recovering lost ground.

"There's a theme of US companies teaming with European companies on aircraft or helicopters and bringing them into the US market," observes Merrill Lynch aerospace analyst Byron Callan.

A recent corruption scandal in the US - which culminated in the cancellation of a $23.5bn US Air Force leasing deal for a Boeing 767-300 refuelling tanker - has left the door ajar for Europe's EADS to get in on the act.

EADS is hoping to link up with Northrop Grumman, with the two jointly providing a replacement for the cancelled order, thus breaking into a market formerly tightly controlled by Boeing.

Such a deal would be good news for the outgoing Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard and his co-chief at EADS, Tom Enders.

The two men, Mr Enders in particular, hope to oversee a revival of EADS's defence operations.

The Paris Air Show is held at the Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital. Monday 13 June to Thursday 16 June are reserved for industry officials and journalists.

The show is open for the general public from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 June.

Source: Jorn Madslien BBC News business reporter at the Paris Air Show (bbc.co.uk)

Airlines Try Another Fare Hike

Major U.S. airlines are raising fares again, but this time some are trying to smash a fare cap Delta Air Lines (DAL:NYSE - commentary - research) put in place in January with its Simplifares initiative.

On Thursday afternoon, Northwest Airlines (NWAC:Nasdaq - commentary - research) raised fares on a significant number of its routes, the airline said in a message to employees. In markets where it goes head-to-head with low-cost carriers, it boosted ticket prices $5 to $10 each way.


But in a bolder move, Northwest raised by $50 each way fares that had been affected by Simplifares, which capped last-minute walk-up tickets at $499 each way. Analysts say Northwest was particularly hard hit by the cap, but like other airlines, it found itself forced to go along with it.

The Eagan, Minn., airline also put two-night minimum stay requirements on some fares that used to require only a one-night stay. By Friday afternoon, AMR's (AMR:NYSE - commentary - research) American Airlines, Continental Airlines (CAL:NYSE - commentary - research), Delta and US Airways (UAIRQ:OTC BB - commentary - research) had largely matched Northwest's $5 and $10 hike, representatives for the airlines confirmed.

Terry Trippler, the in-house airline expert at the travel company 1-800-CheapSeats, said UAL's (UALAQ:OTC BB - commentary - research) United Airlines had also matched the $5 and $10 hike, although an airline representative couldn't be reached.

Trippler said Continental and United also matched the larger increase breaching the $499 Simplifares cap, characterizing it as the first "real attempt" to remove it. A Continental spokeswoman confirmed the move. It remains to be seen whether the latest increases will hold, however. A separate attempt to boost fares last weekend fell apart after AMR and Northwest backed off.

Since February, the industry has successfully conducted seven rounds of increases as passenger demand has risen ahead of the peak summer travel months. The moves have boosted revenue, although not enough to offset the effect of historically high jet fuel costs.

In its message to employees, Northwest said its latest moves reflected the need to be selective in how it raises fares. "While record high fuel costs require Northwest to increase revenue through fare increases, we need to increase the fares that customers are buying and will actually raise revenue," said Tim Griffin, the airline's vice president of marketing and distribution, who was quoted in the message. "The prior increases have run their course and we need to be more targeted in our approach."

Another Northwest executive said that fares matching low-cost carriers had remained low for Northwest and offered the greatest potential revenue increase if lifted throughout the industry. At the same time, other fares had become so expensive that some consumers were choosing not to fly.

Source: Ross Snel - TheStreet.com

Emirates Airlines offers Holy Quran listening service to passengers

Emirates Airlines offers Holy Quran listening service to passengers Dubai, 10 June, 05 (WAM) - As of June first, Emirates Airlines has become the first carrier in the world to offer passengers the choice of listening to the complete recitation of the Holy Quran by the Imam of the holy Al Haram Al Makki.

The passengers can also combine listening to the holy Quran with reading the verses on the personal video installed in each seat.

Source: WAM/MAB 19 32 CCCCQQE

Along with the extra socks, suntan lotion and hiking boots packed in the suitcases of travelers this summer, care should be taken to remember adequate

Along with the extra socks, suntan lotion and hiking boots packed in the suitcases of travelers this summer, care should be taken to remember adequate or even extra doses of medications needed while traveling.

Kari Trotter Wall, Pharm.D., director of the USC University Park Campus Pharmacy, advises travelers on “maintenance medications” such as those to regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes or birth control, to plan ahead.

“Talk with the insurance benefits office to verify if they allow multiple months' supply of medications in the event of traveling,” says Trotter Wall. “The pharmacy may also be able to help patients determine if their insurance plan will cover a multiple month supply should they not have access to a pharmacy while traveling.”

Trotter Wall advises investigating these options at least two weeks before departing for the trip, in the event of any problems.

A second option for people vacationing away from home within the United States for more than a month is to transfer prescriptions between pharmacies over the phone. This enables them to be refilled on schedule at a pharmacy nearby.

Trotter Wall also recommends seeking pre-travel advice from a traveler's clinic or physician, particularly if you will be leaving the country. “Most travelers are exposed to diseases in other countries and become ill when a little pre-travel information and proper precautions could have avoided it.”

During travel, particularly if it is by plane, Trotter Wall advises keeping all medications in a carryon bag that you can keep close at hand. She also reminds people to read the instructions on the medications for proper storage.

“Some medications warrant refrigeration, so for those items it is good to check with the flight attendants to see if they can store items that absolutely need to be refrigerated,” says Trotter Wall.

It is also important to keep prescription drugs in their original containers. “For international travel, customs agents may at times be leery of the pill box with unlabeled medications,” says Trotter Wall.

In the event of a lost medication, travelers within the U.S. can call their home pharmacies to have their prescription transferred nearby, however they may have to pay for the replacement (unless their insurance has a provision for lost medications). International travelers may need to visit a travel clinic in the region for a new prescription, if their medications are available in the countries in which they are vacationing.

“If you are traveling internationally, it is best to treat your medications like you do your passport. Guard them carefully,” says Trotter Wall. “It is always a good idea to travel with a list of your current medications' doses and your physician's name and phone number.”

Source: http://www.usc.edu

Boeing, Shenzhen Airlines Celebrate Delivery of Airline’s First 737-900

Boeing and Shenzhen Airlines today celebrated delivery of the airline’s first Boeing 737-900 airplane, the newest member of the Next-Generation 737 family.
The airplane is the first of five 737-900s that Shenzhen Airlines will receive through 2005 for domestic and regional routes.

Shenzhen Airlines is the first Chinese carrier to order the 737-900 and this is the carrier’s first direct delivery from Boeing.

Boeing has received orders for 55 737-900s from six customers. Alaska Airlines received the first 737-900 in 2001. Overall, the 737 is the best- selling commercial jet airplane with more than 4,500 airplanes of all 737 models currently in service.

The Shenzhen 737-900 carries 189 passengers up to 2,745 nautical miles (5,083 kilometers), and is capable of serving such routes as Shenzhen - Beijing and Urumqi - Shenzhen. Like the other Next-Generation 737 airplanes, it incorporates a new, advanced-technology wing design that helps increase fuel capacity and efficiency, both of which increase range.

"Shenzhen Airlines exhibits a visionary perspective of the market with this important delivery," said Rob Laird, vice president, China Sales - Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The capabilities, efficiency, economics and passenger comfort of the 737-900 clearly keep Shenzhen Airlines at the forefront of the world’s airlines."

Source: boeing.com

Touches turn 2 hotels into green resorts (The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.)

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES -- Guests at the Palm Plaza Oceanfront Resort and the Beachside Motel may spot the recycling bins on the pool deck or new air filters in their rooms, but they may not realize their air-conditioners use less electricity or their faucets and showers use less water.

These environmentally-friendly measures have been noticed by state environmental officials, who announced Wednesday that this pair of Daytona Beach Shores hotels have been certified for the Florida "green lodging" program.

Under a new voluntary program run by the state Department of Environmental Protection, hotels and motels in the program take extra steps to recycle, conserve water and electricity, and make other changes that benefit Florida's environment.

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort and Boardwalk Resort, both in Lake Buena Vista, were among the first four to join the program last year.

"Voluntary programs like this can be very effective," said Vivian F. Garfein, director of the DEP's central district. "We still have our regulatory programs, but we're looking for ways for industry to go above and beyond what is required to make a difference for Florida's environment and to become leaders and stewards."

These environmental practices also benefit the businesses' bottom line by reducing utility costs and earning rave reviews from guests, said Larry Fornari, chief executive officer of the hotels that became the fifth and sixth businesses certified as "green hotels."

Since instituting the changes, Fornari said, the hotels have cut their electricity bills by 26 percent and are using 22 percent less water.

Several guests have praised the air filters, which not only improve air quality and help customers breathe easier, but also make air-conditioning systems run more efficiently.

"The long-term benefits of the program are tremendous," he said.

About 10 years ago, Fornari decided to swap out high-wattage incandescent light bulbs for lower-wattage fluorescent lighting and to use more water-efficient washing equipment. He and his managers realized that greater attention to environmental improvements could add up to even more savings.

The 98-room Palm Plaza and the 33-room Beachside Motel have recycling bins throughout the floors and public areas, use low-flow faucets and showers, and have new air conditioners that use less electricity than older models. There are top-of-the-line air filters in every room, maintained and sterilized by the Tallahassee company Rejuvinair.

The hotels also offer a linen-reuse program, in which hotel guests can choose to have sheets and towels changed every three days instead of daily.

Garfein said $1.50 is saved for every night a hotel guest makes such a request. "That doesn't seem a whole lot when you look at just that number," she said.

However, it adds up, because Florida has 35 million tourists annually, staying at 400,000 rooms at 4,700 hotels, she said.

"We could save $25 million a year, and conserve billions of gallons of water," she said.

As incentives for joining the program, Florida officials will promote the certified green hotels through a state Web site, floridagreenlodging.com, and will encourage state employees and state conventions to be held at certified hotels.

About a dozen hotels have applied to join the program, officials said.

Fornari said taking extra environmental steps is not difficult, and the return on the investment should be enough to get other hotels to go green.

"It's not a huge hurdle. All it takes is some thought and creativity," he said. "Then, the business not only reaps the savings, but is also offering a great environment for guests to stay."

Source: Ludmilla Lelis, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Colorado ski resorts post third-best season (The Denver Post)

Colorado's ski resorts posted their third- best season in 2004-05, with a total of 11.81 million skiers.

"We were up in all categories," said Rob Perlman, president and chief executive of Colorado Ski Country USA, at the industry trade group's annual meeting.

The past season brought an increase of more than 550,000 visits over the 2003-04 season, Colorado Ski Country USA said Wednesday.

Fueled by the weakened U.S. dollar, Colorado's $2.5 billion ski industry saw a 28 percent increase in international visitors. An additional 200,000 foreign skiers and snowboarders visited Colorado's 25 ski resorts compared with last year.

The United Kingdom, Colorado's largest international market, sent 31 percent more skiers.

"We've been very active in marketing to international skiers the past few years, and now we're enjoying the benefits," said David Perry, Aspen Skiing's senior vice president, noting that skier visits were up 3.3 percent at its four resorts. "And the infrastructure is in place for more growth." To capitalize on demand in the U.K., Colorado Ski Country is ramping up its marketing there, including working with a local tour operator to wrap eight London taxis in advertisements showing skiers gliding down a snowy Colorado slope.

Next season, Colorado ski resorts should see a record- breaking 12 million skier visits, Perlman predicted. The record of 11.98 million skier visits was set in 1997-98.

"We're seeing a lot of favorable trends for the state -- record traffic at DIA (Denver International Airport), the economy is doing well, the currency situation," he said. "We have tremendous momentum right now." Colorado resorts saw a 6 percent increase in destination visits, defined as out-of- state and international visitors. In-state skier visits were up 3.6 percent over the previous season, accounting for 39.2 percent of total visits, said Colorado Ski Country spokeswoman Molly Cuffe.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort said it saw a 12.3 percent increase in skier visits last season, thanks in part to an increased marketing effort targeting Front Range skiers.

"We're concentrating more on Front Range skiers because they're in our backyard, and we realized that we should," said Gina Kroft, director of marketing and sales at Crested Butte. "We certainly have a different experience to offer as we're more of a vacation destination."

Source: Julie Dunn, The Denver PostKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Criminals Taking Advantage Of People On Vacation

Identity theft continues to be a growing problem in Utah and police are noticing a new way criminals are using stolen identities to take advantage of people on vacation.

PROVO (KSL News Services) -- Identity theft continues to be a growing problem in Utah and police are noticing a new way criminals are using stolen identities to take advantage of people on vacation.

Detective Wally Perschon with the Utah County Sheriff's Office says if any type of identification is stolen from you while you’re out of town, make sure your neighbors are keeping an eye on your house.

“You need to contact those people and make them aware that there is a high potential that someone may be coming by to burglarize their place and break in to steal their valuables.”

Perschon says some criminals have many connections so they can hit your house quickly even if they steal your wallet or other forms of identification while your away from home.

“You don’t know how well the criminals are connected. They may just go to your address and knowing your on vacation and burglarize your home depending on what security measures you have set up there,” says Perschon.

Source: KSL NewsRadio 1160

State tourism officials take new approach to marketing (New Haven Register, Conn.)

Jun. 10--A three-year string of budget cuts -- including another $600,000 trimmed when the legislature passed a budget Tuesday -- has forced state tourism officials to take a new approach to marketing.

In the two-year state budget passed this week, $8.1 million is earmarked for state and regional tourism promotion, down from $8.7 million in the previous budget, said Jennifer Aniskovich, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, Thursday.

The state's tourism budget totaled $16 million in 2003, the year a $1 billion budget deficit led to massive cuts in many state programs.

"The message was pretty clear," she said. "There's got to be a new model."

So for the first time, the commission is overseeing a statewide branding campaign, with a new logo that will be used by each of the regional tourism districts, to eliminate duplicated efforts.

The logo is the word "Connecticut" in large capital letters, with the letters spelling the word "Connect" in a brighter hue than the rest. The logo conveys the idea that visitors may "connect" to family, friends and themselves by coming to Connecticut for fun and relaxation.

New television and print ads portray Connecticut as a relaxing, scenic state with a variety of activities. They target busy women aged 35 to 54 who live in the New York City metropolitan area, emphasizing that Connecticut is nearby.

New Haven advertising and marketing firm McLaughlin, DelVecchio & Casey Inc. designed the campaign.

In the campaign's kickoff event, more than 120 tourist attractions statewide will be on display Saturday for Open House Day, designed so residents may see what the state has to offer and then act as "ambassadors" by telling out-of-state family and friend.

Museums, theaters, galleries and historic properties will offer free admission and attractions during the day. A list of participating attractions and events is online at www.ctvisit.com.

The state has never before promoted and marketed its distinct tourism regions with a common logo and brand, Aniskovich said.

The regions -- consolidated from 11 to 5 in 2003 -- previously worked independently to promote their respective areas, now Greater New Haven, Fairfield County, Mystic Country, Litchfield Hills and River Valley.

"We were fairly scattered, and our budgets allowed us to be that way," Aniskovich said.

But declining state funding has forced officials to be more cost effective, said Steven Paganelli, new president and CEO of the Greater New Haven regional tourism district.

As Connecticut cuts its tourism budget, other states -- including Pennsylvania, which also targets New York and boasts a $33 million budget -- are increasing theirs, Paganelli said.

"We're being outspent by our competitors," he said.

The new television ads recently began airing and radio and print advertisements are scheduled to launch over the next several months, along with a new set of postcards.

The state's previous tourism logo, which had the slogan "We're full of surprises," has been retired after more than 10 years

Source: Cara Baruzzi, New Haven Register, Conn. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Saudi Vacationers Again Favor European Destinations

Saudis are now more inclined to visit Western destinations compared to the practice in the past three-four years when they chose to spend their vacation in the Far East. Growing market liquidity is the main reason as more and more citizens are making a bundle through the booming stock market enabling them to pick and choose their destinations. A straw survey shows that many would like to go to the West.

"I've done well trading on the Kingdom's booming stock market. I now have a new Cadillac and am planning a vacation with family to a set of European destinations," said Fahd Hassan Ahmed, a 22-year-old student at King Abdul Aziz University.

He decided six months ago to try his luck in the stock market, which has shot up around 300 percent in two years as oil prices and corporate profits have soared and local investors continued to repatriate capital following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

"The very rich to the very poor are buying and selling shares," said Abdullah Al- Ghamdi, another Saudi student. "Thanks to electronic information providers, many Saudis are scrambling for stake in the stock market," he said, adding that he has been one of the successful players and is heading the West this summer.

The flow of tourists from this part of the world to the United States has been negligible and to Western destinations minimal since the 9/11 events. Saudi families have since been visiting the Far East, aside from popular destinations in the Middle East. The flow of tourists, however, dropped following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the subsequent tsunami that hit some of the Far Eastern countries.

Even then Malaysia has remained a strong destination for Saudi families.

"But now there has been a perceptible change and Saudis have shown more inclination toward vacationing in popular European destinations," Imran Salehjee, managing director of London-based Saltours International, said. "In fact, affluent Saudi families have continued to visit Europe, though fewer in numbers," he added.

"Saudis have become more Internet savvy and so more travel savvy as travel information is readily available to them. So they are able to make their travel plans in advance and like to visit not one but a few key tourist destinations together," he said, adding that London and the rest of UK has been one of the top five choices in Europe whether for business, travel and tours, or leisure.

Salehjee was among a dozen participants from Europe, Malaysia, Turkey and Maldives at a road show organized by Unique choice, a wholesale worldwide accommodation specialist, at Crowne Plaza Hotel on Wednesday.

"We expect a 25 percent increase in the number of Saudi tourists to France compared to last year," Jean-Marc de Margerie, vice president and general manager at Hotel Concorde La Fayette Paris of Concorde Hotels, said.

"In fact, what is contributing to an increased flow of tourists from this part of the world is the 'liberalized visa procedure' adopted by some Western countries."

Spain too is catching up with the rest of Europe for Saudi vacationers. "Arabs, Saudis in particular, have now been evincing more interest in various destinations in Spain," said Bill Fontgivell, deputy director general and deputy general manager at Hotel Rey Juan Carlos 1, a business and city resort in Barcelona. "In fact, we've been getting Saudi families who spend in our five-star property from one to three weeks, especially since the 1992 Olympics," he said.

Switzerland remains one of the favorite destinations for Saudi families, said Yasser Noman of Zurich-based Kuoni Travel.

Helicopter transfers on request have been among the many attractions for Saudis across Swiss destinations.

Aside from Europe, Maldives is one other destination that is trying to attract Saudi families. The island state has villas costing as much as $5,000 a night, said Harsh Roopchand of Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili — Six Senses Luxury Hotels of Maldives.

Their features include tree houses and spa suites. Malaysia remains one of the most favored destinations of Saudis in the Far East.

"Arabs in general feel at home in Malaysia due to the availability of Arabic-speaking staff and halal food. In addition, vacations in Malaysia cost much less than in Europe or elsewhere in the world," Brendan Wong of Dorsett Regency Hotel Kuala Lumpur said.

One other growing attraction for Saudi families has been to experience the marvels of the high seas, said Najeeb Mithvani of Dubai-based Star Cruise Management Ltd.

SuperStar Virgo is the newest and largest world-class megaship in Asia-Pacific that will appeal to the vacationer with comprehensive facilities, entertainment, recreational activities and services. "Of course, the 13-deck Virgo also offers the informality, flexibility and choice of freestyle cruising coupled with hospitality which have become the hallmarks of Star Cruises," he said. The company, which offers Asia-Pacific cruises from Singapore, is introducing cruises in India soon.

Zawfir Ziard, chief operations officer and managing director at Riyadh-based Unique Choice, a wholesale worldwide accommodation specialist who organized the road show, said the organization worked through 300 agents worldwide.

Bolivian International Flights Cancelled; UK Issues Travel Warning

The Bolivian Congress has halted their attempts to find a new President since the Monday resignation of Carlos Mesa. They are engaging in political meetings away from the rioting capital of La Paz; relocating to Sucre for their emergency session.

Protestors have succeeded in cutting off the capital from food, water, and fuel. The thousands who have taken to the streets have forced repeated flight cancellations and delays, which have prompted international airlines, American Airlines, and LanChile, to cancel all flights to La Paz.

In the United Kingdom, the Foreign Office warned Britons against all but essential travel to La Paz and the Altiplano area; where oil fields have been seized. Those already in the areas were advised to take extra care and to avoid demonstrations while respecting the roadblocks put in place by protestors.

The UK joins the United States which has not only issued a travel warning, but evacuated their embassy of nonessential personnel.

The protesters are demanding that Vaca Diez, who is constitutionally the next-in-line to succeed former President Mesa, not assume power, which would force the Supreme Court call early elections.

The Commander of the Bolivian Armed Forces, Admiral Aranda, has made it clear that the government security forces will support the “constitutional and democratic system” and “will continue to safeguard this entire process."

Source: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/

More Japanese flights for Australian

Australian Airlines will operate an extra four services between Cairns and the Japanese cities of Nagoya and Sapporo from August.

Two additional flights will operate between Cairns and Nagoya from August 3 to October 28 and a a second season of non-stop flights between Sapporo and Cairns will be added between November 2 and March 25.

The Nagoya and Sapporo services will provide a further 1080 seats into Cairns each week.

"Cairns continues to be one of the most popular destinations for Japanese visitors and Australian Airlines is the only carrier to provide non-stop flights from the Japanese cities of Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo," Australian Airlines Chief Executive Andrea Staines said.

"The timing of the seasonal Nagoya services is designed to allow passengers from Korea, China and Taiwan as well as Japan to fly to Cairns for their holiday or make same day connections through to other Australian holiday destinations such as Hamilton Island and Ayers Rock."

Ms Staines said the additional flights to Nagoya and Sapporo also provided more options for Australian holidaymakers.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Scott Morrison said the services would be good news for North Queensland, where the Japanese market was critical. - Travelpress travel news

Source: http://au.travel.yahoo.com/

Keep your biometric passports' US to tell UK

Uncle Sam makes concessions as EU lags behind

The US looks set to ditch its demands that all UK citizens wishing to travel to the US must have biometric passports by this October.


According to a report in the Financial Times, US and European officials have said the plans are set to be shelved in order to prevent disruption in transatlantic travel and to prevent travellers being put off visiting the US as a result.

European justice commissioner Franco Frattini recently warned the US the mandate's deadline, which covers countries within the European Union, is unlikely to be met.

Only six EU countries - Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden - look set to be ready in October and the EU has been calling for a 12 month extension to the deadline.

Despite the legislation requiring biometric passports entering the US' statute books in 2002, the UK recently revealed it expected to be able to introduce the 'ePassport' in the first quarter of next year.

The FT also reports the US is gearing up for a policy shift that will mean countries with passports using digital photos will be allowed to enter the country without a wavier, whereas those with laminated printed photos, such as France and Italy, would have to apply for a visa to visit the country.

Source: Silicon.com

Hawaii is Americans’ No. 1 choice for vacation, poll says

Black sand beaches, warm Pacific breezes, bubbling lava and the waves of Waikiki top the list of Americans’ vacation fantasies.

If time and money are no object for vacation planning, Hawaii rules.

Only half of the people in this country say they are planning to take a vacation trip this summer, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found. But 79 percent of those surveyed said they would travel this summer if they could afford it and had the time.

When people were asked to name any place they would want to go on vacation if they had the time and the money, Hawaii was the choice of 14 percent, more than any other specific place.

The attraction of Hawaii is easy to understand for Edward Harsh, a 41-year-old car salesman from Phoenix who lived last year on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

"It’s probably one of the most secluded places on Earth," Harsh said. "You can go anywhere in your shorts and flip-flops. People go to church in their flip flops. In Hawaii, the most dangerous thing there is a rogue wave that could carry you away."

On the vacation wish list, places specifically mentioned most often in the poll:

● Hawaii

● Europe

● Italy singled out from other European locations

● Alaska

● The Caribbean

● Florida

One-fourth of those questioned named warm, sunny locations from Hawaii to Florida to The Caribbean, while slightly more mentioned some place in Europe, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos.

People with at least some college education were more likely to see Europe as the perfect vacation; those with a high school education were more likely to say Hawaii.

Sharon Manning, a mother from Eldon who works as a correctional officer, says she has only one requirement for her dream vacation. "I’ve never seen the ocean before, so it wouldn’t matter where I went to see it," she said.

Of those who plan a summer vacation trip, about two-thirds said they will go outside their state, while 22 percent said they will go outside the country. Some 13 percent of respondents said they plan to take their longest vacation trip in their home state.

But many in the United States just do not make time for vacations. "We have sort of a love-hate relationship with vacations," said Cindy Aron, a professor of history at the University of Virginia and author of a book about the history of vacations. "Americans aren’t very comfortable being away from work."

Three in 10 people surveyed said they have changed vacation plans because of gas prices. Gasoline prices are averaging almost $2.20 per gallon nationally, according to a recent analysis.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: Associated Press

Passport rules could cost Caribbean dearly

The Caribbean region could lose up to $3.2-billion a year in tourism revenue if the United States goes ahead with new passport rules at the end of the year, according to a study released by the Caribbean Hotel Association last week.

The study, prepared for the association by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), also found that close to 190,000 tourism-related jobs were at risk if the rule was put into effect.

Under new Department of Homeland Security regulations announced in April, American citizens visiting the Caribbean, Central and South America will be required to have a valid passport or another form of identification that would include biometric information, such as fingerprints or iris scan, to re-enter the United States after Dec. 31.

Now, Americans can travel to most Caribbean destinations using other forms of identification, such as a driver's licence or a birth certificate.

The WTTC study examined the percentage of American visitors to the Caribbean who do not use a passport and how the new requirement might impact the region's $25.8-billion annual tourism earnings. Only about 20 per cent of Americans have passports.

The passport rule will cause “a permanent realignment of [tourist] traffic, with spontaneous, last-minute travel significantly reduced,” according to hotel association president Berthia Parle. She said the organization wants an extension of time for the Caribbean to Jan. 1, 2008, the date when American travellers to Canada and Mexico will need a passport to re-enter the United States.

According to major tour operators, the majority of vacation bookings are now made less than 14 days before travel.

Among 23 Caribbean destinations, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas — countries that draw the largest numbers of Americans among those that will fall under the regulations — stand to lose the most money and jobs, according to the WTTC study. Jamaica could lose 114,000 tourism jobs and $1.4-billion a year in income; the Dominican Republic 48,000 jobs and $604-million; the Bahamas 13,000 jobs and $555-million.

As part of the phased-in anti-terrorism regulations, Canadians visiting the United States, or transiting the U.S. on return trips from sun destinations, will have to have a passport by the end of this year. Currently, only about 31 per cent of Canadians have passports.

“The United States' new passport requirement for the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada is likely to change the nature of regional travel and tourism and cause significant hardship for several destinations that have grown to rely on a more open movement of visitors,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the WTTC.

In April, the premiers of Ontario and Quebec took their complaints about the security plans to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in Washington, arguing that the proposals could do great economic harm to Canada's two largest provinces.

Source: www.caribbeanhotels.org/caribpassports.ppt.

Discount Airlines Taking Off in Latin America, WSJ Reports

Bloomberg -- Latin America is getting discount air travel for the first time, as companies such as Mexicana Airlines and Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA gear up to offer bargain travel to tourists and middle-income residents, the Wall Street Journal said today.

In July, Mexicana is expected to start Click, a budget airline offering domestic routes from Mexico City, the newspaper said. In December, Gol started no-frills flights to Buenos Aires from its home base of Sao Paulo, for fares starting around $167, the Journal said.

Traditionally, delays are common at Latin American airports, and government regulation kept prices high, the newspaper said. Over the past few months, aviation officials are making cross- border flights easier in countries such as Peru and Brazil, the newspaper said.

Source: Wall Street Journal Online 6-8

Malaysia Airlines to expand services in India

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) would expand its services from India by adding three more destinations and starting three additional flights between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur this winter.

"Our very next step in the expansion plan would be to launch services from Amritsar from October, followed by Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram early next year. These destinations have been allowed as part of India's liberalised open sky policy for the ASEAN nations," the airline's new Regional Manager (South Asia), Christopher Yek, told reporters here.

With the additional three flights from Delhi, the airline would mount daily services from the winter schedule.

Another official, Syed Abdillah Aziz, said the additional destinations would take the total number of Indian cities served by the airline to ten. The other destinations are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Observing that MAS could operate to a total of 18 non-metro destinations in India under the treaty with ASEAN nations, Aziz said India was one of the fastest growing markets forecasting a 15 per cent rise in passenger traffic.

This, he said, had led MAS to increase the number of flights from 18 in 2004 to 30 flights a week this year.

Source: The Hindu

Ancient Greek travel inspired sci-fi

Ancient Greek knowledge of travel inspired early forms of fantasy and science fiction writing, British researchers found. Greek literature has a long tradition of fantasy beginning with Odysseus' fantastic travels in Homer's Odyssey, according to Karen Ni-Mheallaigh, of the University of Liverpool's School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology. She is exploring fantasy in ancient literature, examining theories of modern science fiction writing and how these can be applied to texts from the ancient world. Fantasy writing in the ancient world is still relatively unexplored from a literary perspective, said Ni-Mheallaigh. What is so interesting about these fantastical journeys is that many of them are written in the form of truthful travel logs and historical texts. The Greeks had a fascination with the exotic and other worlds and some writers traveled and found cultures so different from their own that they were inspired to fantasize and speculate about even more remote and exotic worlds, according to Ni-Mheallaigh. Source: Big News Network

Eurotunnel slashes fares to compete with no-frills airlines

Eurotunnel will today launch the biggest overhaul of its passenger shuttle service since the opening of the Channel Tunnel 11 years ago by unveiling a new budget airline-style fares structure.

Passengers will be able to book low-cost return fares for as little as £50 per car if they buy their tickets early or travel at off-peak times.

There will also be much greater flexibility to change travel times once bookings have been made.

The dramatic move is designed to stop the haemorrhaging of revenues and passengers as the embattled Anglo-French company prepares for crunch negotiations with creditors over its £6.4bn debt burden. Eurotunnel says that without a deal to reschedule or cancel two-thirds of the debt it will be forced into bankruptcy by Christmas.

Last year Eurotunnel suffered a 7 per cent decline in overall shuttle revenues as the number of cars using the Channel Tunnel fell by 8 per cent to 2.1 million. The fall in coach traffic was an even steeper 12 per cent.

The introduction of the new tariff structure is aimed at preventing a further decline in traffic levels this year despite forecasts that the overall cross-Channel market will fall once again as competition from low-cost airlines bites deeper.

One effect of the move towards a "yield management" type of fares structure, whereby passengers pay more the nearer they book to the date of travel, is that Eurotunnel expects to operate 30 per cent fewer services.

At present, the company operates a shuttle service day and night with up to four trains an hour running in each direction at peak times.

During heavy periods such as the summer high season the service is full but at off-peak times load factors can be as low as 5 per cent with only three or four cars using a shuttle train that can transport up to 180 vehicles.

The fares structure, meanwhile, is similar to those used by the ferry operators whereby prices are based on the length of stay rather than the time and day of travel.

This means that passengers going on two-week holidays in high summer can pay twice the fare of those taking short breaks even though they may travel out on the same shuttle.

Jacques Gounon, Eurotunnel's new chairman, said: "The effect of the new tariff structure will be to provide low-cost travel for those who want it. We are moving from being an infrastructure company to a transport operator just like the low-cost airlines."

Mr Gounon predicted that although many fares would be significantly cheaper, Eurotunnel would protect its revenues through increased passenger numbers.

"We want the fares structure to be simplified and more attractive but we do not intend to enter a price war," he added.

The Eurotunnel chairman, who is seeking to beat off a challenge from the rebel French investor and share tipster Nicholas Miguet at the company's annual shareholders meeting in 10 days' time, also repeated his vow that any deal with creditors would not dilute the interests of existing shareholders.

Eurotunnel's creditors are pressing for a massive debt-for-equity swap, which would give them control of the tunnel in exchange for writing off up to £4bn of their loans. They have criticised M. Gounon's proposal that the debt be written off without creditors receiving anything in return as "economically illiterate".

M. Gounon insisted that a debt-for-equity swap was "definitively not" an option as it would be defeated by Eurotunnel's French shareholders who own a majority of the company.

However, a source in the creditors camp said: "If he really means that then there are only two options - bankruptcy or substitution, both of which would leave shareholders even worse off."

Source: Michael Harrison - independent.co.uk

Airport reduces fees for airlines

Pittsburgh International Airport just became cheaper for airlines.

Landing fees at the airport have dropped by about one-third, and ramp and terminal rates were lowered by more than one-fourth, the airport said.

The new rates are expected to mean a difference of $4 million to $5 million to all the airlines operating at Pittsburgh, said JoAnn Jenny, airport spokeswoman.

"We are very excited to announce this adjustment," Kent G. George, executive director of the airport, said in a prepared statement. "The airport so far this year is realizing the impact of greater regional air travel than budgeted. The airlines stand to benefit from this savings."

Starting June 1, landing fees plummeted from $3.01 per 1,000 pounds to $1.99 per 1,000 pounds, the airport said. Terminal fees dropped from $115.66 per square foot per year to $85, and ramp fees fell from $153.55 per linear foot per year to $114.

"We purposely budgeted conservatively; we were looking at our worst-case scenario," Jenny said.

Though US Airways has announced it will cut 14 more flights from Pittsburgh at the end of summer, other cuts expected by US Airways haven't materialized, Jenny said. "But it's more than just US Airways, too. It's because of all the other airlines offering more flights and increasing; some of the planes are bigger than what they were anticipated to be."

With landed weights and passenger numbers up, the airport's revenues from parking, rental car income and some of the other airport services have grown, too.

The airport isn't a money-making entity, so when unexpected expenses arise, the airlines operating from the airport help to bear the brunt of them. On the other hand, when the economic outlook is better than expected, as it was for this midyear review, the airport is in the position of returning money to the airlines.

For the airlines, the new rate drops the cost of operating at Pittsburgh from $12.84 per passenger to $11.90 per passenger, Jenny said. The number of passengers expected at the airport this year remains at more than 5 million.

US Airways had no comment on the rate change. In recent years, as US Airways moved flights and connections from Pittsburgh and smaller planes started flying, the airport had to raise its fees to cover its costs. In 2003, the projected number of passengers dropped from 9 million to 7.75 million. As a result, landing fees rose from about $1.50 per 1,000 pounds to $1.74 and terminal fees were raised from $97.34 per square foot to $103.88.

All airlines at Pittsburgh will have their fees reduced, but the most favorable rate is given to long-term lease holders: AirTran Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Chautauqua Air, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Independence Air, Mesa Airlines (Air Midwest), Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, US Airways and United Airlines.

Others operating from the airport but not holding long-term leases will pay at least 20 percent over this rate.

Sorce: Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2005

Hong Kong Disneyland Opens in 100 Days (AP)

Disney officials kicked off a 100-day countdown to their new Hong Kong theme park's opening on Sept. 12.

"We have felt the excitement growing all over Hong Kong and around the region as our grand opening approaches," said Don Robinson, Hong Kong Disneyland group managing director.

Donning gold and black Mickey Mouse hats and white gloves, hundreds of employees at the Hong Kong park celebrated the countdown on Friday.

The company said it has planned a series of promotions for the park in the next 100 days.

Built on reclaimed land on outlying Lantau Island, the park is a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and The Walt Disney Co.

Hong Kong officials say the park is a key part of the territory's plan to become a prime destination for vacationing families.

Source: Associated Press

United Airlines plans Wi-FI on its planes

United Airlines is reportedly ready to announce it's the first U.S. airline to get regulatory approval to install wireless Internet systems in its planes. But the New York Times said the airline is at least a year away from having the in-flight Wi-Fi service operational, allowing passengers to check e-mail, send instant messages and surf the Web at 30,000 feet. Similar services are now available on international flights operated by Lufthansa and Japan Airlines, among other carriers. Wi-Fi is also available either free or for a flat daily rate in airport terminals across the nation, the newspaper said. Source: Big News Network

United Airlines to Offer Wi-Fi Service on Domestic Flights

Web hosting providers will be glad to know that the Internet is yet again expanding. The New York Times reported today that United Airlines is planning on an in-flight Wi-Fi service for domestic flights by the end of 2006.

According to the Times article the airline will announce today that regulators have given approval to the plan.

While some airlines already offer Wi-Fi service on International flights there are no domestic American flights that currently offer access to the Internet in-flight. Providing airlines Internet access is yet another niche that hosting providers can worm their way into to ease the pressure from the highly competitive industry.

Source: hostsearch.com/web_hosting_news.asp

Asia Pacific travel growing healthily: Abacus

Abacus International has stated that Asia Pacific travel is growing steadily as it enters the second quarter of 2005 in its latest booking figures. (6/6/2005)

In April, total bookings on the Abacus system rose over the previous month by 7% to more than 2.9 million and posted 10% growth over the corresponding period in 2004, which in itself was the best year in a decade for the Asia Pacific travel industry.

Intra-Asia travel comprised the bulk of the bookings at more than 78%.

Abacus president and chief executive officer Don Birch said Indochina and Central Asia posted a 14% growth in FIT bookings in April, while Vietnam was up 25%. South Korea and Hong Kong exceeded the previous month’s figures by 22% and 16%, respectively.

Referring to areas like Phuket and Krabi, he said tsunami-affected areas are taking a little longer to recover than originally expected.

“Also, the April/May period is the traditional lull season for Andaman destinations. Comparing this period with last year, we are seeing a 60% to 70% drop in bookings. But we are encouraged by stronger tourist returns to the Malaysian resorts of Penang and Langkawi,” he said.

He said while Asia Pacific travel as a whole is growing healthily, a number of markets are enjoying exponential expansion. For South Asia, which is experiencing a travel boom, he said Pakistan is the market to watch out for.

For e-ticketing, Abacus said that growth as a percentage of total tickets issued was flat in April but in term of total tickets issued it was 105% up over 2004, with close to 1.4 million e-tickets issued.

Abacus is actively deploying the Internet in its solutions to enhance the business of its 11000 travel agencies. For example, it recently launched online solution, Abacus TravelNetwork, offering travel consultants with real-time access to leisure travel content with accurate pricing.

Source: eyefortravel.com

US biometric ID request raises ID concern in UK

The UK government plans to issue its ID card as a passport with biometric identifiers stored in a chip – and the US wants those chips to be compatible with its own scanners, raising the possibility that US agencies could have access to the ID Card database.

The US call for biometric standardisation exceeds currently agreed international standards for airline navigation, safety and security. In 2003, it was agreed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that the initial international biometric standard for passports would be facial mapping, although additional biometrics such as fingerprinting could be included.

Currently, for example, all foreign visitors entering the US have their two index fingers scanned, and a digital photograph taken before they are granted entry. Most visitors are also required to obtain a visa.

Nature of the US request

Michael Chertoff, US Secretary of Homeland Security, last week said this the EU and US were close to a deal on the introduction of biometrics in passports for those seeking entry to the US, and urged the EU to ensure compatibility between EU and US biometric systems.

According to press reports, Chertoff has also asked the UK to consider chip compatibility in respect of the proposed UK national identity card scheme.

He told reporters: "It would be a very bad thing if we all invested huge amounts of money in biometric systems and they didn't work with each other."

"Hopefully, we're not going to do VHS and Betamax with our chips,” he added.

Compatibility could deliver on-line data exchange

According to The Independent newspaper, this could mean that information held on UK identity cards could be accessed in the US.

The potential for this link arises because of the decisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to promote an international standard for passports. These decisions have been reinforced by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the European Community to introduce a common format passport for member states.

The decision of the UK government to link the ID cards with the passport means that the UK's ID card will be compatible with international passport standards. According to the Passport Office website, "For many UK citizens the identity card will be issued as passports come up for renewal or for first time applications." As a result, "The Home Office, the UKPS and other government departments will now work together "to start to lay the foundations for the scheme, which will establish a more secure means of proving people's identity."

As part of this process, the UKPS "will progress its major anti-fraud and secure identity initiatives including the addition of a biometric to the British passport. So if a biometric passport is linked to the ID Card in a common format which is compatible with the USA's travel requirement, then direct USA access to the ID Card/Passport database becomes an option in relation to travel to the USA."

Lack of biometrics still a problem

The US had initially set 26 October 2004 as the date by which Visa Waiver Program travellers were supposed to present a biometric passport for visa-free travel to the US, but extended it for one year when it became clear that the 27 states that are eligible for the Program – including the UK – would be unable to comply.

Unfortunately EU countries are still unable to produce the biometrically-enabled passports, and unless the US is prepared to extend its deadline again, EU visitors to the US will soon find themselves obliged to obtain a visa before they will be granted entry.

According to reports, the US and EU are now close to a deal on the timing of the biometric passport requirement.

Biometric passports and terrorism

Biometric passports have been identified by governments throughout the world as a key factor in the fight against terrorism, and their implementation is being driven by the US.

The USA-PATRIOT Act, passed by the US Congress after the events of September 2001, included the requirement that the President certify a biometric technology standard for use in identifying aliens seeking admission into the US, within two years.

The schedule for its implementation was accelerated by another piece of legislation, the little-known Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act 2002. Part of this second law included seeking international co-operation with this standard. The incentive to international co-operation was made clear:

"By October 26, 2004, in order for a country to remain eligible for participation in the visa waiver program its government must certify that it has a program to issue to its nationals machine-readable passports that are tamper-resistant and which incorporate biometric and authentication identifiers that satisfy the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)."

Citizens from those countries belonging to the Visa Waiver Program (including many EU countries, Australia, Brunei, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, and Slovenia) do not require a visa, but as from 26 October last year, have been obliged to show a machine-readable passport.

Unless a further deadline extension is reached, VWP citizens entering the US after 26 October 2005 must, if their passport is issued after 26 October 2005, use a machine-readable, biometrically-enabled passport or obtain a visa.

OUT-LAW.COM is part of international law firm Pinsent Masons.

Compensation for travel agency’s error

A Family that was deported back to India from Dubai while on a trip, for having tickets without a transit visa, will be compensated by the ticket agency of the airlines, which had sent them without the required documents.
Archana Kapoor, along with her husband and child, was to travel to Toronto from Delhi in 2000. Their travel agent Paradise Tour Company arranged for the tickets from Continental Airlines Ltd, a firm which issues tickets of different airlines. Continental Airlines arranged the tickets for the Kapoors to Toronto, on Emirate Airlines, via Dubai, London and New York. Accordingly, the Kapoors left for Dubai.

However, they were grounded by Dubai airport authorities as they did not have transit visas. The Dubai authorities deported them to India.

The enraged travellers filed a case in the consumer court, against the firm which had obtained their tickets. Paradise Tour Company said that it was Continental’s fault which, should have checked all the documents of the travellers.

The State Consumer Commission agreed with the arguement and ordered that Rs 10,000 be paid as compensation to the hapless travellers by the ticket agency.

Source: Express News Service

Smart use of exchanges can conserve travel cash

Although the dollar has stabilized since its recent dive, U.S. travelers still wince when exchanging money.
You can't control the worth of the dollar, but you can be smart when converting your currency.

Here's how:

•Make the exchange at your destination country. Changing your money in the United States can cost a small fortune.
•Avoid changing currency at your point of entry. Some of the worst exchange rates are found at airport and train-station booths.
• Change only enough money for immediate expenses: taxi fare, snacks, tips, etc.
•Be discriminating. Not every location where you can exchange money will give you the same rate or charge the same fees. The best rates can be found at banks and post offices. The worst are hotels and "tourist" exchange bureaus found on every block.
• Look for international ATM networks. You can generally get good exchange rates — sometimes even the best rates — with your credit card or debit card.

Source: HoustonChronicle.com

Travel bookings in Asia up 10 percent in April: Abacus

Travel bookings in Asia rose 10 percent in April from a year ago, signalling strong growth in the second quarter, Asia's leading air ticketing and reservations company said.

Abacus International said however that recovery of tsunami-hit tourism destinations was taking a little longer than expected, particularly for Krabi and Phuket in Thailand.

"Asia-Pacific travel is growing strongly as it enters the second quarter of 2005," Singapore-based Abacus said in a statement.

Bookings in April totalled more than 2.9 million, up 10 percent from the same month last year and 7.0 percent from the previous month. Nearly 80 percent of bookings were for travel within the region.

"As we enter the second quarter -- which is traditionally when travel picks up -- we are seeing the signs of solid growth, which barring unforeseen circumstances we expect to continue for the rest of the year," Abacus president and chief executive Don Birch said.

Vietnam, Central Asia as well as South Korea and Hong Kong were among the favourite travel destinations, while Pakistan was described as a "market to watch" in South Asia.

Birch however said that "the recovery of the tsunami-affected areas is taking a little longer than originally expected -- particularly for Krabi and Phuket."

Bookings to these places have dropped 60-70 percent from last year, he said.

"But we are encouraged by stronger tourist returns to the Malaysian resorts of Penang and Langkawi," Birch added.

Giant waves spawned by a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 26 decimated coastal communities and beach resorts bordering the Indian Ocean and left more than 200,000 people dead.

Source: http://au.rd.yahoo.com/finance/uh/

Major Players in Jet Taxi Market to Discuss 'Enabling On Demand Travel' at SATS 2005

What: SATS 2005 Panel "Enabling On Demand Travel" Where: Danville Regional Airport, Danville, Virginia When: Monday, June 6, 2005; 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. ET Who: Claude Lauzon, director of business development, Pratt & Whitney Canada; Vern Raburn, president and CEO, Eclipse Aviation; Edward Iacobucci, president and CEO, DayJet Corporation WALTHAM, Mass., June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclipse Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada and DayJet Corporation senior executives will be at the center of a panel discussion titled "Enabling on Demand Travel" Monday, June 6 at SATS 2005 at the Danville Regional Airport in Danville, Virginia from 2:45-3:30 p.m. ET.

Moderated by Dr. Bruce J. Holmes, director of strategic partnerships, planning and management at NASA Langley Research Center, the discussion will explore how the convergence of new technologies make per-seat, on-demand jet travel a reality. The panel is comprised of industry experts including:

* Vern Raburn, founder and CEO of Eclipse Aviation, which has pioneered the very light jet (VLJ) market and currently has three conforming aircraft in flight testing; * Claude Lauzon, director of strategic planning and business development of Pratt & Whitney Canada, which makes powerful new small engines for very light jets; and * Ed Iacobucci, founder and CEO of DayJet Corporation, a company that has created this industry's first real-time operations system needed to run the new per-seat, on-demand jet service made possible by the new planes.

What is SATS' role in helping make per-seat, on-demand air service possible? What technologies are converging and why now? Is there real consumer demand for on-demand jet travel? Find out the answers to these questions and more at what will be a lively and insightful discussion. To arrange interviews with executives from Pratt & Whitney Canada, Eclipse Aviation and DayJet Corporation following the panel discussion please contact Chris Stamm, or Brian DeMichele of Schwartz Communications at 781-684-0770 or e-mail DayJet@schwartz-pr.com.

SOURCE: Eclipse Aviation; Pratt & Whitney Canada; DayJet Corporation

Accor plans to add hotels in Asia despite tsunami

French hotel group Accor said on Friday the Dec. 26 tsunami had not diminished tourism prospects in the Asia-Pacific region and announced it will add 45 hotels to its network in the region.
The company, whose five-star Sofitel hotel on Khao Lak beach in southern Thailand was destroyed by the giant waves, said China would be a major area of expansion over the next couple of years as it adds to the 229 hotels under its management in the area.

"While nay-sayers might believe Asia's tourism bubble could burst, we would not be announcing so many wonderful hotels if we did not believe in the future of the region's travel and tourism sector," top executive Michael Issenberg told a news conference.

China offered the most promising business prospects for the French company in Asia, followed by India and Vietnam, said Issenberg, managing director of Accor Asia-Pacific.

The company expected to double the size of its network in China to 50 hotels by the end of 2007 from 24 now, including eight new top-tier Sofitel hotels being launched this year. He announced four new hotel projects in Thailand and two in Vietnam slated for opening in the next two years.

The group also planned to open three lower-tier Ibis brand hotels in Bangkok soon, he said. Accor already manages or is due to manage about 22 hotels in Thailand.

One of the hotels to be opened later this year is a luxury hillside resort on Phi Phi Island that was under construction but was not damaged when the tsunami hit last year.

Most of the island was devastated by the tsunami, which left about 228,000 people dead or missing around in a dozen Indian Ocean nations.

"Accor's 19 hotels opened in Thailand remained

Source: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/

U.S. Issues Travel Warning, Says Terrorist Attacks Likely in Uzbekistan

The U.S. has word of potential terrorist attacks in Uzbekistan, possibly against U.S. interests, and gave permission on Thursday for some workers at the American Embassy and family members to leave the country.

The State Department also warned U.S. citizens to put off all but essential travel to Uzbekistan.

The U.S. "has received information that terrorist groups are planning attacks, possibly against U.S. interests, in Uzbekistan in the very near future," the State Department said. The statement also suggested that Americans consider leaving the central Asian country.

Violence that the authoritarian government of President Islam Karimov blames on Muslim extremists has roiled the former Soviet republic since 2004. It came to a head this year when militants stormed a jail, released prisoners and became embroiled in battle with government security personnel.

The State Department statement named the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, al-Qaida, the Islamic Jihad Union and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement as among the groups active in the region.

"These groups have expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and may also attempt to target U.S. government or private interests in Uzbekistan," the travel warning said.

Tactics of the groups have included kidnapping, assassination and suicide bombing, the statement said.

In 2004 suicide bombers struck three times in Tashkent, once outside the U.S. Embassy.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Karimov opened military bases to U.S. troops and aircraft for use in neighboring Afghanistan against al-Qaida fighters and the ruling Taliban militia harboring them.

Source: The Associated Press

Pre-paid travel cards for foreigners

CHINA UnionPay, the country's largest company managing the payment network, plans to launch pre-paid travel cards for foreign visitors by the end of the year.

Firm representative Zhang Yashuang said on Wednesday that UnionPay was in talks with international partners about marketing the new product and boosting the company's image across the globe.

Holders of UnionPay travel cards can pay for their shopping, dining and travelling expenses in yuan renminbi.

As more merchants displayed the UnionPay logo than any other brand, holders would be able to make transactions at many different outlets, Zhang said.

Customers will be able to purchase travel cards from UnionPay's overseas partners or at domestic airports, railway stations, tourist attractions and shops.

Between 1999 and 2003, the number of foreign visitors to Beijing increased sharply at an average annual growth rate of 16.4%.

Visitors spent 171 billion yuan (RM78.4bil) in 2003, or 12,370 yuan (RM5,670) each on average.

This spending rate is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, but only 10% of the money was transferred using bank cards, far lower than the average rate of 35% elsewhere in the region.

Government departments have set an ambitious target of having more than 60% of merchants with sales volumes of at least one million yuan (RM458,000) accepting bank cards by 2008 to ensure most key business areas and streets, star restaurants, and important sightseeing areas are covered.

The new travel cards will ease security fears as transactions are carried out solely within domestic networks.

To further expand its network overseas, China UnionPay announced on Tuesday that it had signed agreements with Discover Financial Services in the United States and the Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company (SMCC) in Japan.

The new alliances mean China UnionPay card-holders will be able to use their cards in the United States and Japan.

UnionPay extended its reach into South Korea, Thailand and Singapore in December last year – the first time the firm's cards were used outside the country. – China Daily

PIA cut fares to compete with foreign airlines

Foreign airlines’ low-fare flights to the US and Europe forced Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC) to reduce its fares for the US and European destinations by 15 percent.

Sources in PIAC said that although PIAC administration claimed that the decision was part of its business strategy, it came against the backdrop of the national flag carrier’s falling profits over the last few years.

Sources said PIA was finding it difficult to compete with foreign airlines because of its poor on board service. “Foreign airlines including the Emirates, British Airways, Qatar Airways and Thai Air have drawn a large umber of passengers from Pakistan to the US, the UK and the rest of Europe over the last couple of years at comparatively cheaper rates,” sources said, adding that since PIA operated direct flights to these destinations, it did not reduce its fares.

“But this did not work to PIA’s advantage for long and passengers are now opting for good service at cheaper rates.”

Athar Awan, a PIAC spokesman in Lahore, said that now the passengers would be able to get direct flights to New York, Chicago, Houston, Amsterdam, London Manchester, Oslo, Frankfurt, Paris, Birmingham, Athens, Rome, Milan and Copenhagen at low rates and prefer PIA to foreign airlines from June 5.

Source: Mubasher Bukhari - http://www.dailytimes.com.pk

Singapore Airlines to hold talks with Airbus over A380 delay

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it will hold talks with European aircraft-maker Airbus over a delay in the delivery of the A380 super-jumbo jet, amid media reports it may seek compensation.

SIA, the launch customer for the A380, had been scheduled to receive its plane orders in mid-2006, but airline officials said the delivery has been delayed into the final quarter.

"We will have discussions with Airbus on the terms of the contract, but those discussions have not been had yet, and will be between ourselves and Airbus as the parties to the contract," SIA said in a statement.

It did not give further details, noting that both parties are bound by a confidentiality clause in their contract.

SIA's statement was issued amid reports in the local media that the flag carrier may seek compensation from Airbus for the delay.

SIA, one of the world's most profitable airlines, is scheduled to be the first carrier worldwide to fly the double-decker A380, the biggest passenger airliner ever built.

Airbus said in Paris on Wednesday it was up to six months behind schedule in delivering the A380 to airlines due to production problems.

SIA has ordered 10 A380s with an option for another 15.

Worldwide, Airbus has taken 144 orders and 10 options from 15 airlines at a catalogue price of 263-286 million dollars (213.8-232.5 million euros) each.

Source: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/

Tourism ad funds may be reallocated (Bangor Daily News, Maine)

It's not often that money dedicated to one purpose gets diverted to another with the support of those who would lose funding. That's what is happening with the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which is backing the reallocation of funds originally dedicated for tourism advertising.

Gov. John Baldacci has recommended in his latest budget proposal that the percentage of meals and lodging tax now going into tourism advertising be capped at just under $7.5 million a year. Instead, the amount over the cap, estimated at about $1 million over the state's two-year budget cycle, would be used to fund various economic development programs -- some tourism-related and some not.

"This will go for a variety of things we need to do to compete," said Jack Cashman, commissioner of the DECD. "We have had great support from the [tourism] industry on this."

Vaughn Stinson, chief executive officer of the Maine Tourism Association, said last week the tourism marketing fund is "very important" to the tourism industry. But, he said, the industry is nevertheless endorsing the proposed funding cap.

"We understand the financial difficulties facing the state," he said. "While we support the transfer, we do have concerns."

He said his group would like to see all of the funds rededicated to marketing after the two-year state budget cycle in question is over. He said the state is still "playing catch-up" as the cost of advertising continues to increase.

Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association, also endorsed the governor's plan. He said his group is particularly pleased some of the money will go to help fund a tourism research center at the University of Maine.

"Most states engage in tourism research," he said. "As the state's largest industry, it is imperative that good, actionable raw data be provided to developers and existing owners for their planning."

He said DECD has a marketing mandate, but no one has the responsibility for research. Deputy DECD Commissioner Jeff Sosnaud, the primary architect of the administration's plan, agreed on the importance of research.

"Tourism is a major part of our economy, and we see these programs as building for the future," Sosnaud said.

The proposal will create a new Center for Tourism, Education and Outreach at the University of Maine. It will develop new courses that will eventually lead to a new degree in tourism.

The university will provide at least $150,000 for the project, DECD will use $100,000 from the newly available funds for the center, and the tourism industry is expected to contribute $30,000 to $50,000 for the new program.

In addition, Sosnaud said, $75,000 each year of the state budget will go to the Maine Community College System to support tourism-related programs. He said the college system would determine which programs on which campuses would get the additional funding.

Another $75,000 per year will go to the Margaret Chase Smith School at UMaine to research how the "creative" economy can be developed in Maine, according to Sosnaud. The creative economy was the topic of a book by Richard Florida, an economics professor at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, titled "The Rise of the Creative Class."

Florida was the keynote speaker last year at a conference DECD held on the creative economy. At that event, he said Maine has potential for growing its economy based on the artists and scientists who are the foundation of the creative economy he described in his book.

"We have a number of research projects that we need to have done to see how to go about doing that," Sosnaud said.

In addition, a considerable sum will go toward business-attraction advertising. DECD is earmarking $300,000 over the two-year budget cycle that begins July 1 to bolster that ongoing effort.

The new Office of Innovation in DECD will get an additional $100,000 in the second year of the budget to bolster its activities in coordinating state policies aimed at both attracting technology-based companies to the state and assuring that the infrastructure is in place to support those companies.

But some lawmakers and state officials say the entire proposal may be jeopardized by a citizens initiative to remove a borrowing provision from that part of the state budget that the Legislature already has approved.

Senate President Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport, and House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, required state agencies last week to prepare options to present to the Legislature. The plans had to achieve an overall 5 percent cut in spending. An across-the-board cut of 5 percent is what legislative leaders and the administration estimate it would take to replace the money lost if the borrowing plan is killed by the citizens veto effort.

"I am afraid of what that will do to our economic development efforts," Sen. Lynn Bromley, D-South Portland, co-chairwoman of the Business, Research and Economic Development Committee, said last week.

Each agency's recommended cuts are to be submitted to the Legislature's Appropriations Committee by Tuesday afternoon.

Source: Mal Leary, Bangor Daily News, MaineKnight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Boeing: Ethiopian Airlines ups Dreamliner order by 5

Boeing Co. BA Tuesday evening said Ethiopian Airlines has increased its 787 Dreamliner order by five to 10 airplanes. Both Ethiopian Airlines and Boeing also said that they have completed the contract for the airline's 10 Dreamliners, valued at $1.6 billion.

Source: CBS MarketWatch.com

Holiday Weekend Equals Happy Hotels

From the outside, the Edgewater Inn in Biloxi looks pretty quiet, but don't let the calm look fool you. By the end of this Memorial Day weekend, Karen Potter is expecting the inn's 65 rooms to be filled.

"We're getting people coming in slowly and surely. We have some coming in Friday, Saturday, then we have other reservations for Saturday and Sunday. We're having a good outlook going on here," said Potter.

Down the street, the Holiday Inn Express shares the same good outlook.

That's where Vershenda Jones and 35 of her family members from Jackson, Mississippi, were checking in to have a good time for the weekend.

"Just to have fun basically. Bring the children and let them enjoy themselves," said ones.

Vershenda may not know it, but she, along with the hundreds of other out-of-town visitors, is bringing success to South Mississippi's hotel-motel industry.

"It's a tremendous business weekend. We all look forward to it. We wish it could go on like this for eternity," said Holiday Inn Express Biloxi general manager Rick Rabalais.

Well, according to Harrison County Tourism Director Steve Richer, maybe it can.

"We're no longer a summer destination, we're a year-round destination, so this is just going to be one of those really big weekends with a lot of different folks here," said Richer.

He says a lot of people are coming to the Mississippi Gulf Coast not just for the casinos, but for the beach, entertainment, and other family-oriented events.

And with options like those, he believes this Memorial Day weekend may just be the beginning of something positively big for hotels, and for all of South Mississippi.

Just so you know, AAA estimates 37 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend. That's a 2 percent increase of travelers from last year.

Source: Karla Redditte - wlox.com