Struggling airlines close airport lounges

by Grant Martin on

Scrambling to cut costs at every corner, airlines have now turned to their airport lounges as possible ways to save money.

If you’ve ever been walking through the airport and saw a business person on a Blackberry weaving through the crowd only to duck into a room labeled “Red Carpet Club” or “Admiral’s Club”, you know what I’m talking about. Airport lounges were created as a way to award elite and first class passengers for their business, make a little money on memberships and provide haven from the oft busy airport terminals that we deal with on a daily basis. For me, they’re a lifesaver, while others only view them as an extravagance.

Unfortunately, some of them just were not making enough money to justify their existence, so many airlines are closing their underutilized or overstaffed lounges. Delta just announced that it’s closing nine of its Crown Room Clubs, while United similarly is closing four. You can check out the UA lounges being closed here, while you can find the CRC’s that are still active here.

At the very worst, those who hold memberships to either clubs that are closing may be able to use partner clubs — holders of Crown Room Club cards should be able to get into other Skyteam lounges while United members can use Star Alliance lounges.

And if those aren’t an option? Try a magazine.

[Thanks to Moody75 for the link]

Talking travel with SkyTeam ’round-the-world’ exec

by Jerry Guo on

With the summer season in high swing, backpackers are zipping off for around-the-world trips. Here to shed some insider’s tips on the process of planning your next around-the-world journey is Bobby Spann, Director of International Development for Delta’s alliance program (the SkyTeam alliance consists of 14 airlines around the globe).

When might travelers pick a round-the-world (RTW) cruise rather than travel by plane?

While we all may dream of cruising around the world, traveling by plane is actually quite attainable given that a RTW cruise can range anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000 a person! A RTW airline fare package is actually the most cost effective way to travel around the world – if you bought tickets individually from city to city, it would cost you a lot more.

What are some of your favorite RTW trip itineraries?

It all depends on the destinations that you want to go to. SkyTeam offers four programs that offer you total travel freedom. With a 39,000 mile RTW program for example, you could fly from New York across the Atlantic to see historic European cities like Paris, Rome, Madrid, Prague, Moscow and Amsterdam, travel to some of the most popular Asian destinations, including Bangkok, Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, and tour through the Americas to take in the sights of Los Angeles, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires and Atlanta, before heading back to New York.

I’ve heard that SkyTeam is relatively weak for itineraries through South America, the Middle East, India, Australia, and the South Pacific. Is this true?

SkyTeam has a very strong and expanding global network. We have major hubs in numerous popular destinations around the world, including Guangzhou, Seoul, Mexico City and Moscow, which help link people to the places they want to go. We offer strong service in South America – from Quito, Ecuador to Buenos Aires, Argentina – and in India, from Mumbai and Delhi to Bangalore. Our online route map can give you a glimpse of all the destinations served by SkyTeam.

What should travelers do if they want to backtrack? Is a RTW trip still appropriate?

Absolutely! With SkyTeam’s RTW product, you don’t have to keep traveling in the same direction – you can always backtrack within the same region. For example, a RTW passenger originating from Beijing, China who visited Osaka, Japan can backtrack west to Seoul, South Korea before traveling to a new region. SkyTeam’s RTW fare also permits surface sectors – meaning that travelers can drive or take the train between destinations as part of their trip.

What if a trip is not quite around the world? (If you focus on two or three continents, for instance) Is this type of ticket still possible?

Yes – however, your RTW itinerary must include one transatlantic flight and one transpacific flight. It also has to start and end in the same country, but not necessarily in the same city.

A perk to traveling with us is that your RTW fare can be used in conjunction with a SkyTeam Europe Pass, America Pass or Asia Pass ticket. Depending on your itinerary, using a SkyTeam fare pass not only provides you with an opportunity to explore and totally enjoy each region you visit, but could result in significant cost savings.

Is the recent emergence of RTW tickets on low-cost carriers a threat to SkyTeam and other traditional carriers?

No. Low-cost carriers provide point-to-point travel options, but the alliance offers an extensive global hub network – providing customers with flexibility and greater control of their travel schedule, access to more destinations and consistent customer service standards. Additionally, one of the greatest benefits to passengers traveling RTW with SkyTeam is the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on all alliance member flights – a passenger can earn quite a few miles traveling RTW.

Are there any ideal times/seasons for RTW travel?

Traveling in the fall is best. This way, you avoid the heavy peak vacation season.

What are three mistakes first-time travelers may make when booking/planning such a trip?

  • Not allotting enough time to research, plan and book a RTW trip. You should start researching and planning at least six months in advance of your intended RTW trip. Keep in mind that with SkyTeam’s RTW fare, you are only required to book the first flight of your itinerary. The remainder of your trip can be left “open” for you to book dates whenever you wish.
  • Not taking care of passport and visa requirements for each destination well in advance. It’s
    always good to take care of all necessary requirements well before your departure date.
  • A RTW trip should not be rushed. Remember to take your time to fully experience each destination. SkyTeam offers four flexible RTW fare packages that leave the length of your trip to you. Depending on the time you have, you can return in 10 days, 6 months or even 1 year.

Any more tips for planning a RTW trip?

Try traveling East Bound – traveling in this direction makes it a lot easier on your body’s time clock!

Latino heartthrob kicked off Delta flight

by Abha Malpani on

You’d think famous people can get away with a bit of attitude, not on a Delta flight though.

18-year old Latino music heart throb Carlos Olivero recently got kicked off a Delta flight in Atlanta for not stowing his iPod. He was asked to switch it off and stow it for take-off; he obediently turned the device off, but refused to stow it. Next thing you know, a security team was called on board and he was escorted off the plane with his mother.

A bit far fetched I know: what’s the big deal, he switched it off as told; not stowing it shouldn’t have been made an issue. But, that’s what you get for messing with flight attendants on Delta!

Part of Latin pop band Menudo, a group that both Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony used to be in, this little disobedience act with a Delta flight attendant may break or make his career. Will the girls love him for being a bad boy? Or will they demand a replacement?

See, your travel behavior can have life-changing consequences.

Beginning today: Boarding pass advertisements

by Grant Martin on

Six of the legacy carriers carriers announced today that they’re participating in a new program to implement advertisements into their boarding passes. So now when you try to save time by checking in online you’ll be bombarded with a Carnivial Cruise ad that you have to print out and carry around with you while you’re at the airport.

Anything to make money, right? I’m kind of surprised that we don’t have ad space on the inside of aircraft — on the ceiling, walls and seat backs — US Airways already tried putting advertisements on the air sickness bags.

Today, Delta will be the first carrier to test drive the service, called Sojern, on its routes into Vegas, but the ads will quickly multiply around that route. Bacteria reproducing in a host body is a good way to think about that.

What I’m most curious about is whether the 3rd party ads will be custom tailored to the specific passenger. Will I, a young male be getting ads for Lane Bryant? Or will Sojern work with the airline to study my travel behavior, look at my past trips and send me a coupon for happy hour in New York?

Either way, you can kiss your old print-at-home boarding passes goodbye. Which is fine with me, as long as they don’t raise ticket prices.

How to rent three cars and get a free plane ticket on Delta

by Grant Martin on

Got some free time over the next three weeks? Delta just launched a promo offering 9,999 miles for each rental with one of their auto partners Avis or Budget. Each qualifying rental gets you the miles, regardless of how long you keep the vehicle, as long as you book with Delta’s Car Search tool. You have until the end of the month to rent and you need to sign up to become a SkyMiles member first.

Sure, you may not be traveling three times in the next month, but do you need to? If you can get three car rentals cheap enough, the time and money invested in getting a car at the airport for 24 hours can easily be less than a domestic ticket that you could book with miles.

Rental car fees vary wildly across geographical boundaries, but almost every airport in the country has either an Avis or a Budget rental car location. And many of those rural locations have plenty of inventory (at damn good prices) available for the rest of July.

Here in Detroit, a car rental over a weekend night on Budget is about 55$. Times three is 165$ for 29,997 miles or an award ticket. In Kalamazoo, a more rural airport near where my parents live, it’s 24$. That’s 72$ for a flight.

Sure, you have to factor in what you’re going to DO with the car and what you’re going to do with YOUR car while you have the rental. You could always just take it home or to a parking lot and park it. Or park it on the lawn of the rental company.

But it’s not a bad way to rack up a few frequent flyer miles to use for future adventure on Delta Airlines.

What could you do with 25k miles or a domestic award ticket? You could fly from your freezing hometown in New Hampshire down to Phoenix next January to get some sun and play some golf while your coworkers freeze. You could fly to Colorado to get some kick ass skiing in next May. You could pay for your girlfriend to come visit you next time you’re in San Diego on business.

Sound like a good use for your 74$ invested this month?