United Customers Can Have it All in One with a Free* Palm Treo 650 smartphone
September 6, 2005 -- United, Palm and Cingular Wireless are helping to keep customers connected when they travel. Customers will receive a free Palm® TreoTM 650 smartphone when they book a paid, qualifying roundtrip or one-way flight of $500 or more on United®, United Express® or TedSM, and activate a qualifying Cingular Wireless service plan. MORE

Delta To Sell Planes, Cut Jobs As Bankruptcy Looms
September 7, 2005 -- Delta Air Lines will fire 1,000 employees as part of service cuts in Cincinnati, its second-largest hub, and sell 11 wide-body jets in what the carrier said on Wednesday was a bid to restructure faster. MORE

Delta Air Lines Strengthens Domestic Hubs, Offers Customers More International Choices with Winter Schedule
Sept. 7, 2005 – Delta Air Lines will accelerate the pace of its transformation through changes to its winter schedule that realign service at domestic hubs to be more efficient, shift capacity from domestic routes to meet growing international demand, and reduce fleet complexity by accelerating plans to retire inefficient aircraft. MORE

Northwest To Suspend Its Nonstop New York-Tokyo Service
September 7, 2005– Northwest will indefinitely suspend its daily nonstop service from New York’s JFK Airport to Tokyo’s Narita Airport due to the record-high cost of jet fuel. MORE

Northwest Matches United Frequent Flyer Mileage Bonus Offer
August 31, 2005– Northwest has fully matched a United Airlines offer that awards travelers with double the normal amount of miles accrued for flights and double the normal amount of miles that are counted toward achieving “Elite” status in Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent flyer program. MORE

Northwest said to face FAA probe
Federal aviation regulators are investigating possible maintenance problems at Northwest Airlines since mechanics went on strike Aug. 20, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. MORE

US Airways to Improve Cash Position Through Bankruptcy Court Approval of Airline Sale/Leaseback Transaction
September 2, 2005 -- The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered an order that will allow US Airways Group, Inc. to close on its previously announced plans to sell certain Embraer regional jet aircraft and slot assets to Republic Airways Holdings. MORE

Strike not expected to hurt Boeing
September 6, 2005 -- A strike by Boeing machinists may not dent the U.S. jetmaker's recent lead in orders over European rival Airbus if the walkout is resolved soon. MORE

Several Foreign Carriers Simplify Fares
September 6, 2005 -- Lan Airlines announced a revamped pricing structure that sorts all fares into seven categories. The Latin American carrier's announcement was the latest in a series of recent simplified pricing developments at foreign airlines, including Air New Zealand, Qantas and SAS. MORE

BA Increases Fuel Surcharge Effective September 12, 2005
As a result of the continuing rise in oil prices, British Airways will increase its fuel surcharge on tickets sold and issued in the USA and UK effective Monday, September 12, 2005. MORE

Singapore Air To Increase Fuel Surcharge
September 8, 2005 -- Singapore Airlines will raise its fuel surcharge to USD$50 from USD$45 per ticket on most of its flights to offset the rising price of kerosene, it said on Thursday. MORE

New biz airline to fly trans-Atlantic
A new airline will soon be plying the fiercely contested trans-Atlantic route, with a finely tuned product focused on the business traveler.
MORE

US DOT Says Ticket Tax Reduction Unlikely
September 8, 2005 -- Some US airlines have sought a partial rollback of ticket taxes paid by passengers to cover part of the staggering losses due to soaring fuel costs but transportation regulators said late on Wednesday it was an unlikely option. MORE

EU aid tax may hit airline profits
September 2, 2005 -- A mandatory European Union levy on airline tickets to boost aid to Africa could curb demand for air travel and significantly hit airline profitability, a study by the European Commission showed on Thursday. MORE

Car / Rail / Cruise News

Amtrak Service to and from the Gulf Coast to be in Effect Until Further Notice
Direct passenger rail service to and from the Gulf Coast and New Orleans cannot be fully restored at this time due to severe infrastructure damage from Hurricane Katrina, but Amtrak does plan to extend two services that had been previously truncated.

Amtrak is offering full refunds and waiving all penalties for passengers who had made reservations traveling to or from New Orleans or other areas served by the affected trains. MORE

Cruise lines pay more for fuel after Katrina, but demand steady
September 7, 2005 -- Even-higher fuel costs caused by Hurricane Katrina are expected to cut into cruise lines' profits, but industry officials said they haven't noticed a drop in passengers because of the deadly and disruptive hurricane season. MORE

Hotel News

Marriott struggles to reopen hotels in New Orleans
September 7, 2005 -- Hotel operator Marriott International said Wednesday it is slowly restoring power to some of its 15 hotels in the New Orleans area, but that it expects the long recovery could disrupt convention and other hotel bookings in the city until next spring. MORE

Wi-Fi Failing to Attract Business Travellers
September 7, 2005 -- Despite the hype and interest in Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), less than a quarter of business travellers are using the technology, survey reveals. MORE

Privacy protection in today's industry.
September 6, 2005 -- Hoteliers can now access cutting-edge privacy practices compiled by top experts, on behalf of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). "Principles of Privacy" provides a clear, current overview of what's required to protect privacy in today's hospitality industry. MORE

Priority Club Offers Double Points or Double Mile
Offer is valid between September 12–December 16, 2005 in any InterContinental®, Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo®, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites or Candlewood Suites hotel worldwide. MORE

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