Travel Log: April 2004 Archives

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NYC Underground Comedy Fest, October

Last month, we reported on New York City Mayor Bloomberg's press conference about a new New York Comedy Festival. At the time, Andras noted that he wasn't able to find a web site for the event. In a new comment on that entry, George Sarris says, "The reason you haven't found a website for The NY Comedy Festival is because it doesn't exist ... lol."

Sarris, meanwhile, is eager to point out that his event, The NYC Underground Comedy Festival, is not only "the original" such festival, but it does have a web site, a very good one, I might add. Look for it this October.

Rest assured, BizNetTravel will be happy to arrange package tours for out-of-town visitors for both festivals, and we'll laugh all the way to the bank. (Ba-da...da!)

Rick Bruner | April 7, 2004 | Upcoming Events | Permanent link | Comments (3)

JetBlue, Other Startups, Win Kudos From Airline Researchers

The news about how much low-cost airlines are kicking butt on the big brands just keeps coming. Wichita State University and Wichita State Aviation Institute have conducted the Airline Quality Ratings report for the last 13 years, using based on reports from the U.S. Department of Transportation about criteria such as on-time arrival and departure, baggage handling, staff courtesy and customer complaints.

This year, JetBlue won the top honor out of 14 airlines, followed, in order, by Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines and America West Airlines. In all, low-fare airlines won three quarters of the top positions, with large carries taking up mostly the bottom positions, such as United Airlines (ninth place), American Airlines (11th) and Delta Air Lines (12th). SF Gate has details.

Rick Bruner | April 6, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

NPR Reports on Philly Discount Wars and Why Its Benefits May Not Reach You

National Public Radio's All Things Considered had a piece today that explores the increasing popularity of low-fare airlines, such as JetBlue and Southwest. The piece says that presently more than one in four flights in the U.S. are now on these upstart airlines, which industry experts predict will rise to 40% of all flights by the end of this decade.

The piece notes, as we have noted here earlier, that the fight between Southwest and U.S. Airways for dominance of Philadelphia, is a key contest for control of the low-cost market. The piece brings up another important point about low-cost airlines: most smaller cities are never going to see their benefits. The airlines make their profit by cherry-picking locations for only the most profitable cities where competition is manageable.

Rick Bruner | April 6, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Chairman of Troubled Alitalia Denies Quote of Airline's Impending Doom

Giuseppe Bonomi

On Monday, Italy's Ansa new agency quoted Giuseppe Bonomi, the chairman of Italy's state-controlled airline Alitalia, as saying the airline "does not have more than a month of life" unless the government were to intervene. An hour later, the chairman told rival Italian news agency Agi that he had said no such thing: "I was simply restating that we have set ourselves a limit of a month to reach a reshaping of the industrial plan, which has to be accompanied by the start of administrative and legislative procedures aimed at helping not Alitalia but the entire air transport sector," Agi quoted Bonomi as saying.

The controversy occurs as Alitalia posted its 10th annual loss in 11 years. Of course, were Alitalia to declare bankruptcy, that certainly does not mean its days of serving customers, as bankrupt-yet-flying airlines United Airlines, US Airways, Swissair, Belgium's Sabena and Hawaiian Airlines can attest. Details on Airwise.com.

Meanwhile, Alitalia is suggesting it would like to be folded into Air France's planned acquisition of the Dutch KLM, which would already form the world's largest airline. Air France and KLM seem interested, but they want to complete their own merger first. UPI reports.

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (2)

Lose While You Cruise

Newsday's travel writer Marjorie Robins is an inspiration to the rest of us. She did the seemingly impossible: she gained no weight, in fact, she lost a pound, while on a Norwegian Dawn cruise vacation. Her secret? I won't lie: constant deprivation, lots of self pity in the face of other passengers gorging themselves at the ship's non-stop food fests, and, perhaps most importantly, constant vigilance on the part of her buff 22-year-old daughter. Honestly, I don't know whether she had as much fun as the other passengers, but she clearly felt better about herself when they returned home to New York. I gotta tell you, though, reading about all the things she didn't consume -- greasy sausages, Chinese buffet, barbecued ribs, roasted lamb, cheese risotto, crepe souffles, ice cream, chocolate mousse, and "the 2-foot-high strawberry margaritas" -- I'm getting hungry just blogging this!

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Marriott Rolls Out Wi-Fi to 1,200 Hotels

Marriott announced last week it will provide high-speed wireless Internet access in 1,200 of its hotels worldwide. According to its press release, this is the largest deployment of wireless high-speed internet access in the hotel industry. The WiFi roll-out will include most of the hotel chains brands, including Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites hotels. WiFi access will be available in hotel lobbies, meeting rooms and public spaces.

"Wireless high-speed internet access is the next major technology initiative for the hotel industry. The number of travelers who carry laptops with wireless capabilities is expected to continue to increase as wireless technology becomes more widely available,” said Lou Paladeau, Marriott’s vice president, technology business development.

Marriott presently offers wired in-room high-speed internet access at 1,700 hotels, which should exceed 2,000 hotels by year-end. That includes the hotel's "Wired for Business" service in some 200 hotels, which includes in-room high-speed internet access and unlimited local and long-distance phone calls within the U.S. for $9.95 per day. Marriott also offers free in-room high-speed internet access at more than 1,200 participating Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites hotels. Fairfield Inn expects to provide free high-speed internet access at approximately 500 hotels by the middle of 2004.

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

'Private and Official Time For Sensuous People': Salon's Pilot Reviews Japan's Narita Airport

I like to check in on Salon's Patrick Smith, who writes the "Ask the Pilot" column for that online publication. This week, he has an amusing review of Japan's Narita airport, which he tells us is the 11th busiest outside of North America and the most expensive for airlines to operate out of: it costs airlines $9,000 everytime they touch down with a 747. Aside from that, it sounds very clean but perhaps a bit too beauracratic for my taste (his description of the lengths he has to go to break a large Yen note he got from an ATM is amusing).

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | Featured Destinations | Permanent link | Comments (0)

U.S. Airways Launches MidAtlantic, Based in Pittsburg and Philly

US Airways officially launched MidAtlantic Airways on Sunday, its new regional jet division with operations based in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Initial include from Pittsburgh to Albany, Atlanta, Boston, Nashville, Newark, N.J. and Syracuse, as well as Philadelphia to Kansas City and Syracuse. By June, MidAtlantic aims to have 24 routes.

As we reported last week, Southwest is giving US Airways a serious run for its money in a Philadelphia-based showdown for low-cost carrier service.

Last May, US Airways bought 85 planes for MidAtlantic from Brazil's Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, 72-seat Embraer 170 regional jets. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Dulles Set to Become Hub for Low-Cost Independence Air

Atlantic Coast has just reached an agreement to end its service agreement with United providing United Express service between D.C.'s Dulles and Chicago's O'Hare. As a result, Atlantic Air is set to reinvent itself as Independence Air, a low-fare carrier offering more than 300 daily departures using Dulles as its home hub. Travel Weekly has details.

Rick Bruner | April 5, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)