Luxury air travel not taking off

by Tom Johansmeyer on

While other areas in the travel industry are talking about a recovery, luxury travel remains in rough shape. In fact, it’s only on long-haul flights that the big spenders are even asking for upgrades, let alone chartering flights or firing up their own planes. According to Peter Yesawich, CEO of travel marketing firm Ypartnership, “Luxury air travel has essentially been grounded.”

Meanwhile, the airlines are struggling for ways to restore the revenue they used to be able to pull in from its top passengers. Notes Yesawich, “It’s said that real profit in any flight is front of plane. The rest covers the overhead.”

While Delta and British Airways are playing with in-flight amenities for first class passengers, such as showers, it doesn’t compare to the relatively blissful conditions offered on the likes of Eos, which no longer exists. People with private jets are buying airline tickets more often, it seems, though fractional jet ownership remains fairly popular among those with means to access it.

Despite the shift in conditions, one thing remains true, according to Mike Weingart of Travel Leaders: “The super rich fly anyway they want.”

Airline law ends long Tarmac delays, fine threat improves performance

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The world didn’t end. No logistical disasters emerged. In fact, everything got a hell of a lot better.

Several months ago, the prospect of a maximum three-hour tarmac delay had the airline industry proclaiming the arrival of the four horsemen. They claimed that it would severely disrupt the industry to have to give passengers the option of getting off the plane would lead to chaos. People would be furious by a lone passenger wanting to bring the plane back to the gate, and crews would be forced to operate within the constraints of customer demands (you know … like other businesses).

Well, the airline industry doesn’t appear to be any worse off than it was. In fact, it looks like the new three-hour rule is having a positive effect. Three-hour tarmac delays have effectively disappeared, and on-time arrivals have improved overall. Everything seems to be running better than it was before the airlines faced fines of up to $27,500 per passenger.

How big a different did it make?Well, only four planes sat on the tarmac for more than three hours in April. In March, 25 hit that mark, and April 2009 had an astounding 81 planes on the tarmac for that long.

So, you’re probably wondering if the airlines stacked the deck, canceling flights to protect their stats and mitigate the risk of having to yank planes back to the gate or shell out big bucks fines. Year over year, the DOT reports that cancelations fell approximately 50 percent, with only 3,637 of 529,330 flights getting chopped.

Overall, on-time performance for the 18 airlines that report to the U.S. Department of Transportation climbed to 85.3 percent in April – up from 79.1 percent in April 2009 (and better than March’s 80 percent. Most of the late arrivals were caused by aviation system delays (e.g., bad weather or heavy traffic).

Efficient use of New York airspace and generally calm weather contributed to the improvement. LaGuardia‘s on-time rate surged to 87.4 percent from 67.4 percent. JFK showed a similar improvement – from 67.3 percent to 83.5 percent.

U.S. Airways led the pack in on-time performance among major airlines and followed Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines in the total market. American Airlines was the bottom of the barrel for the large carriers, with its sister carrier, American Eagle, sucking most among all airlines.

Let’s do the math on this. Holding airlines accountable and offering up the threat of hefty fines for mistreating passengers didn’t jeopardize their ability to operate. If anything, it led to improved results. For once, it seems, the government got it right. If that sounds weird, think of an airline that takes off and lands on time. Weird, right?

Swimsuit Tips: How to care for your swimwear

by Amy Chen on

Finding the perfect swimsuit for the summer is just the beginning. Once you’ve settled on a design, you can keep buying a new swimsuit every year, or you can invest in some quality pieces to get you from season to season. Whatever your style or budget, here are some easy ways to make your swimsuit last longer.

I consulted Jennifer Hinton, co-founder and Creative Director of Carve Designs, for her top swimwear tips. Hinton started the Mill Valley, Calif.-based company with her friend Thayer Sylvester not long after returning from a surf trip to Mexico. So much for beach bumming.

What inspired you to launch a swimwear company?
We were in Sayulita, Mexico, in 2003 when it wasn’t built-up or Americanized at all. No one was at the beach when we went, and we were just waiting for the waves to come up. We started talking about doing a line of surf shorts and swimwear that was cute, sexy, and fit women. We were tired of Billabong, Roxy, and O’Neill branded all over our butts. So here we are seven years later with 105 items in the line when we started with eight.

What are the common mistakes that people make when washing their swimsuits?
People think that bikinis are made of steel, which for such a small suit is a lot to ask. That said, if you care for your bikini, it can last for quite a long time if it’s made with good material.

Obviously hand washing and hang drying your suit is optimal, but we know that people don’t do that. If you can, wash it in cold water in the washing machine and hang dry. The color will hold as will the fabric. Putting your bikini in the dryer is a total no-no.

Ocean water is better for suits than pools. Chlorine breaks down the integrity of the suit, but we know that not everyone swims in the ocean. Our suits can last up to four years if you treat it right.

How much time does it take for a suit to properly air-dry so you don’t have to resort to popping it in the dryer?
It depends on where you are. If you are in a dry spot, it can dry in 10 minutes, but if you are in a hot, humid spot, it can take a while — about an hour.

Are there any materials that dry faster than others?
Microfiber, which our board shorts are made of, dries a lot faster than most other fabrics. That’s why we use it for the shorts.

Any packing tips?
Reversible suits are best because they are two swimsuits (one sexy and one sporty) in one. When you bring a total of two suits, you can mix and match. That’s how we design the swim line, too. Everything kind of goes with each other. Our Bondi reversible top ($46) and bottom ($42) are among the best-sellers in the line.

What do you wear on the plane so you won’t freeze but can hit the beach as soon as you get off the plane?
I just got back from Bermuda, and on the plane I had a long T-shirt over leggings. I just slipped the leggings off when we got to the hot temperatures. I also like to travel with a nice cashmere wrap as you might need it at night time wherever you are.

Any other clever shortcuts so you can easily go from the plane to the beach?
We wear our swimsuits as bras. The Cardiff ($40) is as supportive as a bra, so we wear it on the plane. The fabric is comfy, and if you need to hit the beach fast, you’re already halfway there.

[Image Credit: Carve Designs]

Recession reveals Baby Boomer travel limits

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When I was back in the corporate strategy world, all the talk was about the Baby Boomers. That generation had the bucks – and the inclination – to do whatever it wanted. And, it was ready to follow through … to the point where consumer product manufacturers and hospitality companies were ready to cater to this large generation’s every whim. Well, the latest research from travel industry-watcher PhoCusWright suggests that the recession beat the Boomers down in 2009.

Nobody thought 2009 would be a great year for the travel industry … according to PhoCusWright (and everyone else). Leisure travel feel 11 percent year over year, which wasn’t exactly shocking. What is interesting is that the Baby Boomers backed off a little earlier than other generations, due largely to the fact that they are on the brink of retirement. Every dollar, of course, needs to be considered against the “rest of life” standard.

The Boomers, described as age 55 to 64, stand in stark contrast to the prior decade, which spent more time on the road in 2009. Young people, on the other hand (age 18 to 24) posted a 15 percent decline in travel. Broke kids with disposable income, it seems, don’t have as much disposable income as they used to … or they can’t sponge off their parents as much when they’re in a bind.

Foreign travelers to U.S. dropped more than $30bn in first quarter

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Travel spending bounced higher March, even though the bar was set pretty low. Foreign visitors spent an estimated $10.8 billion on travel to and tourism-related activities in the United States that month. That’s an increase of nearly $1.1 billion – or 11 percent – over March 2010. So, travel exports grew for the second month in a row, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Foreign visitors to the United States generated $2.4 billion in passenger fare receipts (the cash paid to get to or from the United States) and $8.4 billion in travel receipts (everything else) in March. Travel receipts were up 13 percent, with passenger fare receipts gaining 6 percent year over year.

For the first quarter of 2010, international visitors dropped almost $31.8 billion on travel and tourism – up 4 percent. Americans spent $25.5 billion abroad during the same period.