Airfare War!

This week's fare war kicked off with AirTran's new sale on Tuesday, which was subsequently matched by American and Delta. You can find thousands of discounted domestic and Caribbean routes in AirTran's systemwide sale, and many popular U.S. routes with American's and Delta's promotions. Continental, JetBlue, Frontier, and US Airways are also competing with unannounced low prices on many routes.

Each sale runs through May 6 for travel this spring, summer, and fall. See the Fare Details below for specific travel dates and restrictions pertaining to your desired destination.

Virgin America: Hello MCO & YYZ, So Long SNA

Virgin America has announced plans to fly from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) to both Orlando and Toronto starting later this year. Toronto will mark Virgin's first international service while Orlando will be Virgin's second foray into Florida - and a route that potentially strikes at the heart of JetBlue.

Toronto makes a lot of sense for VA - good demographics, little low-fare competition - a great extension of the brand.

Orlando, while a huge destination, isn't exactly known for high yields. It is also the heart of both JetBlue (which runs a large operation at MCO) and AirTran (which also runs a large operation and is headquartered there.)

So, how long before JetBlue announces service from SFO and LAX to Orlando? Last time, it only took a day for JetBlue to announce overlapping service from LAX and SFO to Fort Lauderdale as we discussed.

And so much for Orange County (SNA) - San Francisco (SFO) flights which we chronicled here. While Virgin did succeed in running American out of town, apparently Southwest and long-time incumbent United were too much....

Pay Now or Pay Later: A New Choice at Priceline - And the Next OTA Battleground?

Priceline.com has begun including "pay-at-checkout" inventory alongside traditional, "pay-in-advance" merchant model hotel inventory at select hotels. Priceline has developed a

Users are then given the option of paying upfront or now in the rate display when they click to select the hotel.
And this isn't a matter of simply including traditional agency inventory sourced via a Global Distribution System (GDS) such as Sabre or Travelport. This stroke of genius is actually the latest convergence of booking.com inventory with Priceline.com non-opaque (i.e. Travelweb) inventory.

Booking.com's rapidly expanding inventory base within North America now enables Priceline to offer multiple sources of inventory with multiple payment options for the same hotel. At the same time, as more hotels roll out, Priceline has removed one of the largest perceived negatives to booking with an OTA - upfront payment.

The gap between supplier.com and online travel agencies continues to close. First booking fees fall, then change and cancel penalties disappear and now this latest game-changer.

Getaroom.com Tries Print - WSJ no less

We were a bit surprised to be leafing through yesterday's Wall Street Journal and find the ad (left) for getaroom.com in Section A. No, in the Personal Journal (Section D) where most travel related advertising and leisure oriented stories end up, but actually in meaty section A.

First take is, wow, interesting audience to go after - would not expect the average WSJ reader to be drawn to any hotel in NYC that is selling for $99. Most WSJ readers are typically Four Seasons types rather than Four Points. We'll grant getaroom.com that maybe the economy and TARP may be pushing WSJ readers down-market so maybe this makes sense.

Second thought is: "Wow, haven't we seen that bell-hop before?" Like so many parts of getaroom.com (including the founders!) it is a Hotels.com do-over.

Lastly, we'd like to actually see some examples proving the "Up to 50% off other leading websites" claim - either in print or on the website. If the deals are that good, lets see some, please?

San Diego CVB: Expedia "Partner of the Year" While City Sues Expedia Over Occ Taxes

Expedia Media Solutions (the media arm of Expedia Inc.) yesterday announced that the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau had named Expedia.com "Partner of the Year." According to the press release, the San Diego CVB was recognized as "a top advertising partner and major sales channel for San Diego hotels."

The press release continues:

"'As a promotion partner, Expedia not only grew San Diego's room nights year-over-year by 26 percent, but in these tough economic times they were able to grow revenue by 11 percent – exceeding ROI estimates and generating a significant return on investment of 125 to 1,' said Joe Terzi, President and CEO of the San Diego CVB. 'Serving many different consumer segments—from families booking a summer vacation to individuals arranging a quick weekend getaway—Expedia gives us a highly effective way to share San Diego's message to a broad audience of travel shoppers and potential visitors.' "

Hmmm. Interesting that the CVB is so enthusiastic given that the City of San Diego is one of the many municipalities currently suing Expedia and the other major online travel agents. An administrative hearing has been held on the case but before any decision was rendered, the Judge in the similar Anaheim case rendered her opinion in favor of the the OTAs.

And just how does the San Diego CVB receive most of its funding? You guessed it, occupancy taxes. According to the CVB's own website, "the majority of funding is derived from San Diego Tourism District Assessment Funds." Again from the CVB's own website, the current transient occupancy tax is 10.5% in the City of San Diego. There is also an additional 2% occupancy tax levied for the San Diego Tourism Marketing District. If you enjoy reading tax code, here is the actual language from the City of San Diego's municipal code.

Anyone who has been following the ongoing saga of the tax lawsuits against the OTAs knows that the issue is if the taxes above are levied on the net or wholesale rate actually charged by the hotel to the OTA or the marked-up, retail rate sold by the OTA.

So now we have an interesting situation: The very agency (the CVB) charged with promoting San Diego (whose funding comes from the occupancy taxes in question) is holding out an OTA (Expedia) as a great partner. At at the same time the city of San Diego is suing Expedia et al for non-payment of occupancy taxes that largely fund the CVB!

So, San Diego (and other cities) which is it?

FW: Haiti Needs YOUR Help

A somber moment from our usual glib. The pictures and news reports coming from Haiti are shocking to say the least. North America's poorest country (indeed, one of the world's poorest countries) has been rocked by a brutal earthquake of epic proportions.

 

I encourage all of our readers to take a brief moment to assess their position in life and consider donating to the Red Cross in order to help the relief efforts in Haiti.

 

American Airlines has announced a mileage bonus tomorrow for all donations to the Red Cross tomorrow at AA.com. If that makes the difference, go for it.

 

I hope that all of us in the travel industry will take a moment to help. Haiti is hardly a glamorous destination of 5 star hotels and private jets - far from it. But the people of Haiti are in their darkest hour - now is our time to shine.

FW: What Are the Odds You'll Catch Swine Flu on Your Next Flight?

We just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy National Influenza Vaccination Week. To celebrate, we're letting you know about the latest findings from smarty-pants scientists. They have figured out some kind of formula to determine how exactly the H1N1 virus can spread in a plane during a transatlantic flight. Everything really depends on the length of the flight, but for the most part, two to 17 people could be infected from just one sick passenger.

 

In case you want to run your own test studies, researchers at UCLA used the Wells-Riley equation. Apparently this is the standard when it comes to figuring out the extent of outbreaks in enclosed environments. It considers the number of people exposed, respiratory rates, and the concentration of the virus over time. Interesting information, but we're probably going to leave all the calculations up to the experts.

Port-au-Prince: 7.0 Earthquake Strikes Haiti

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Haiti's capital city of Port-au-Prince today. Details are just beginning to emerge but there is no doubt this is a catastrophic event. There are reports that a hospital has collapsed and the damage is just now beginning to be assessed. The quake could be felt as far away as Cuba and is said to have lasted for over a minute.

Many news outlets are reporting that a tsunami warning has been issued, however the Tsunami Warning Center page appears to show that a Caribbean sea watch was actually recently cancelled. There is no indication that a tsunami has been generated and data suggests there is no threat of one, according to the USGS.
Some of the first photos of the devastation are now making their way online via TwitPic.

Either way, if you are traveling in Haiti, you may want to contact the embassy about the best protocol from here. Here is the link to the US embassy in Port-au-Prince.

Complete Guide To Full-Body Scanning at Airports

There's going to be a lot of talk about full-body scanners in 2010, we can tell. So in an effort to help you understand what airports will have them, what happens when you use them, and your rights, we've dedicated a week to explaining it all in Full-Body Scanners 101.

We're not even a month into the year and already it's already obvious that media will be wasting a whole lot of breath on the issue of full-body scanners in airports. Just to set all the facts out there and help you to be more informed flyers, we looked at everything from the two different types of scanner machines and their radiation levels to whether or not you really have to go through one when the TSA agent tell you.

Catch our four short lessons below on the need-to-knows behind full-body scanning, but more than anything remember one thing: don't let TSA agents or these big humming machines intimidate you.

Flight Search's Full-Body Scanning 101
· What Airports Have Them?
· The Two Types & How They Work
· How Naked Are Full-Body Scans?
· Your Rights

What do you think of full-body scanning? Will you let them see you virtually naked? Drop your thoughts and any questions in the comments!

Full-Body Scanners 101 :: Part 4 :: Your Rights (as of early 2010)

Although this is the final lesson on full-body scanners, it's always a good idea to look back at the past posts before we jump into this last look at your rights when it comes to this new security measure. Here's what we've covered so far:

· Full-Body Scanners 101: What Airports Have Them?
· Full-Body Scanners 101: The Two Types and How They Work
· Full-Body Scanners 101: How Naked is Full-Body Scan Naked?



So let's say you've arrived at one of the airports that has full-body scanners and you're waiting in line to go through security to reach your flight gate. You notice that they are sending the line through the massive machines, and you're concerned about your privacy or radiation or whatever, and you wonder: do you really have to go through a full-body scan? The quick answer is yes and no...
YES you should go through the full-body scanner.
Notice that we used the word "should" there, because going through one of the machines is not compulsory. Still, if you stay in line and don't pipe up and take your turn showing your goodies virtually to the TSA, then the lines move quicker and you get to your gate faster and (hopefully) without arousing the suspicion and alarm of security agents.
NO you shouldn't go through the full-bod scanner.
Currently—because they haven't quite nailed down whether or not to force people to go through a full-body scan where available—it is your right to decline the full-body scan. The TSA cannot make you go into the machine if you say no, and there is an argument for saying no and therefore protesting the use of these machines.
If you say no to a full-body scan, be warned that you are then submitting yourself to a physical pat-down. Usually the TSA will honor your request for a female or male agent based on your gender, but if it's busy and they're stressed and short-staffed and you look suspicious, then don't expect that courtesy. Anyone who denies a body scan is subject to advanced screening, and be warned that if the agent feels that they don't have a great handle on your pat-down, you could be one chosen to the full stripsearch treatment.