Please note: We have added many new email addresses to our Corporate Travel Newsletter distribution list. We strive to keep you informed with travel news and hope you find this newsletter useful and informative. If you would prefer to not receive this newsletter please email tanya@aitvl.com and  you will  be removed from the distribution list.

  Greetings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Happy New Year! This has been and exciting year for A & I Travel and we want to thank you all for making this a very successful year for us.

Highlighting a few of our accomplishments:

  • A & I Travel was name one of the Top 10 Women of Women Owned Businesses by Memphis Women Magazine and Memphis Business Journal.
  • Sonya Barham was named one of the Top 50 Women In Memphis by Memphis Women Magazine.
  • A & I Travel received our certification as a Women Business Enterprise.
  • Introduced Booking Builder.
  • Introduced a Spanish Speaking Travel Department.
  • Boosted your hotel savings by installing an automated hotel program.
  • Introduced airport parking Frequent Parking Program in conjunction with Airport Fast Park.
  • Introduced Infotriever.
  • Created a new Sales & Service Department
  • Introduced ResX
  • Introduced Ticket Tracker
  • Introduced QCX

We have many more exciting things in store for the new year and would appreciate your input in what we can do to better service you. I f you have any suggestions, or comments regarding our service please call me at 901.291.1407 or email at sonya@aitvl.com. Thank you again from everyone at A & I Travel and we wish you all continued success with a prosperous 2006.

Sincerely,

Vicki Rush, CEO – Rebecca Martin, President – Sonya Barham, Vice President – Keith Stevens, CFO – Rhonda McDowell, Partner
   Airline News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
NWA to drop flights January 2006
 Northwest Airlines will cancel two direct flights from Memphis to cities in the West Coast and eliminate one flight to Amsterdam, according to Memphis International Airport. The direct flights from Memphis to San Francisco and from Memphis to Seattle will not take off during January and February and are expected to resume in the spring, said Larry Cox, president and CEO of Memphis - Shelby County Airport Authority. Both flights will cease on January 4th, 2005 and will resume on April 3, 2005. The Monday direct flight to Amsterdam will be canceled for six weeks, from January 17, 2006 through March 5, 2006. The remaining six  Amsterdam flights, will continue to take off daily Tuesday and Sunday. Starting January 4, 2006, Northwest will no longer offer non-stop flights to Orange County, Calif., or Salt Lake City.

Delta Crown Room Club Membership Expansion
 Delta’s Crown Room Club members can now visit Continental’s Presidents Club® and Northwest’s WorldClubs®, even when they are flying Delta or any other airline. This new benefit provides the Crown Room Member with access to over 90 lounge locations across the globe. For more information, please visit www.delta.com/crownroom for more details.

American Airlines Offers Customers Shorter Flights for Fewer AAdvantage Miles
 American Airlines is making it easier for customers to take to the skies when booking their next award trip. With short-hop MileSAAver awards, customers can fly round-trip on nonstop routes under 750 air miles one way within the continental United States and Canada for a reduced number of AAdvantage miles when booking award travel on the AA.com Web site. Available for travel through Feb. 28, 2006, economy Class round-trip awards are available for just 15,000 miles, a 10,000-mile savings. First or Business Class round-trip awards require only 30,000 miles, a savings of 15,000 miles. Click Here to continue.


 AMERICAN AND AMERICAN EAGLE WILL LAUNCH LOVE FIELD SERVICE ON MARCH 2 WITH 16 FLIGHTS A DAY
 American Airlines announced today that it and its regional affiliate, American Eagle, will begin service at Dallas Love Field on March 2, 2006, with a total of 16 flights a day. American will operate four flights a day between Love Field and St. Louis, and three flights daily on the Love Field-Kansas City route, with 136-seat MD80 jets featuring first-class as well as coach service. American Eagle will fly four times a day between Love Field and San Antonio, Tex., and five times a day between Love and Austin, Tex., using 50-seat Embraer 145 Regional-Jet aircraft. Click Here to continue.

QANTAS AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES EXTRA FLIGHTS FROM LOS ANGELES TO SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
 Qantas Airways has announced that it will add extra non-stop flights between Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia, on Fridays beginning March 31, 2006. This increased schedule also provides U.S.
travelers with an opportunity to experience more than 50 domestic cities in Australia, as well as convenient onward connections to Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia; Mumbai, India; and Johannesburg, South Africa. For detailed flight schedules and availability  please call your A & I Travel agent.
 
   Hotel News

Worlds largest hotel chain
 Hilton Hotels Corp. agreed to buy the lodging unit of Hilton Group PLC for $5.71 billion (pounds3.3 billion) to reunite the businesses and expand outside the United States for the first time in 40 years.

Hilton will become the world's largest hotel company by properties with 2,800 hotels in 80 countries. Watford, England-based Hilton Group will become Ladbrokes PLC and run the world's biggest chain of betting shops. The deal may close in the first quarter of 2006, Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Hilton said Thursday in a statement. Click Here to continue.

 
   Car Rental News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
What are the advantages of joining a Rental Car Company’s Premium Club?
  • If you plan on renting often, the membership fees will seem small considering the time saved. A & I has negotiated fee waived applications for AVIS and Hertz for our contracted corporate accounts. Call Dori Dearen at 901-291-1421 to see if your company qualifies.
  • These Premium Clubs can help you skip lines all together and are the quickest way to get on the road.
  • These clubs will sometime offer special rates, discounts or upgrades to their members only.
  • Sometimes extra fees, such as those for certain additional drivers, are waived for members of Premium Clubs.
  • These Clubs often reserve the newest and nicest cars in the rental fleet.
  • Some Clubs will reward points that can be exchanged for free rental days, upgrades or even gifts.
  • If it looks like the company has overbooked and will have to break reservations, they usually will take care of their Premium Club members first and break the reservations of regular customers.
  Exceptional Customer Service

Ashley Henry

 

 

People are Talking about a & i travel

Dear Rhonda,

Thank you very much. I was very impressed with the service with regards to the DM of the certificates. When I asked for some modifications, Ashley made them and go me the revised certificates the same day!

Thanks again, it's been a pleasure.

Mark Hill
Autozone

Send your exceptional service experiences to ashley@aitvl.com, we would love to hear from you.
  Did you know

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earn the Most Miles on Every Trip with MileMaven.com
 MileMaven.com is a free new tool created to help you earn the most miles on every trip. MileMaven can search for mile bonus offers by route. Just enter the origin and destination cities, and all relevant  double, triple and other bonus miles promotions will be presented. You can also click on any frequent flyer program to find out all its airline partners, or click on any airline and find out in which programs it participates, including links to the mile-accrual rules. Here are some typical queries that are easily answered by MileMaven: Click Here to continue.

International Travel Tip
Upon your arrival in a foreign country, be sure  to register with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate immediately . Your registration provides them with the necessary information for a consular officer to contact you in case of an emergency. During a disaster overseas, an American consular officer can assist in your evacuation. Click Here for a complete list of Embassies and Consulates.

take steps to find a human
 Check-out the IVR cheat sheet, a delightful bit of business placed on the Internet by Paul English, a fellow who researched the telephone voice response menus of dozens of big companies, including some airlines. The cheat sheet tells you how to short-circuit those tiresome interactive voice response systems and get directly to a live operator. For Northwest’s toll-free line, for example, you press the star key followed by two zeros after the initial greeting. At US Airways, it’s the number 4, followed by a pause, and the number 1.

The cheat sheet contains the secret formula for dozens of merchants from Amazon to Western Union. Download your copy at http://paulenglish.com/ivr.
   Meeting & Incentive Management


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You only get one shot at making a good impression!

Meetings & Incentives are time-consuming and require endless attention to detail from site selection to contract negotiations to logistics. One small oversight can sabotage the success of your event.

From Conception to Realization, our professionals will ensure your event makes a lasting positive impression.

For your complimentary consultation please contact:
Karen Young, CTC
Meetings and Incentives Manager
Impressions Corporate Meetings & Incentives (a division of A & I Travel)
901-291-1440 or 800-467-1182
 karen@aitvl.com
  Travel & Leisure

 

 

 

 


Walk In The Footsteps of the Masters
Scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Cezanne's death, A & I Travel is offering an exclusive 10-day journey through Aix-en-Provence and Barcelona that offers unparalleled exploration and discovery following the footsteps of two great masters; Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso. You will enjoy an incomparable cultural experience. Click here for details.


Cruise Your Way to the 2006 Ryder Cup in Ireland
Premier Golf - the official travel company for the PGA since 1988. A & I Travel is offering a tremendous opportunity for golf aficionados. Exclusive Packages to the 2006 Ryder Cup in Ireland! Call an A & I Travel agent today and to check availability.

Call an A & I Travel leisure specialists to make your reservations ASAP as space is limited. Ask for Joan, Joye, Lourdes or Rhonda @
901-291-1400 or 1-800-467-1182
vacation@aitvl.com

LINKS TO PAST ISSUES

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June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 Feb. 2005 Dec. 2004

A & I Travel Service | 5124 Poplar Ave., Suite 101  | Memphis, TN 38117  |  901-291-1400

Feb. 2005