In  This  Issue

 Articles Of Interest

Canceled Flights At 10-Year High Amid Blizzard-To-Irene Upheaval

Is The DOT’s New Airline Fee Disclosure Rule Any Good?

Road Warriors' Fall Revamp Guide

Comparing Airline Club Lounges: Price And Accessibility

Southwest To Transform AirTran Hub Into ‘Megacity’

United Airlines Eyes Big-Spending Frequent Fliers

6 Trends Changing The Hotel Industry

New Hertz Service Being Rolled Out – Gold Choice

Egypt Visa Change: September 14, 2011

Futuristic Pods Whisk Travelers Around Heathrow Airport

4 Most Common Reasons Airlines Lose Luggage

 

 

Canceled Flights At 10-Year High Amid Blizzard-To-Irene Upheaval
 By Mary Jane Credeur - Sep 30, 2011
U.S. airlines are canceling flights at the fastest clip in a decade as storms from blizzards to hurricanes wallop the busiest hubs, and full planes are making it harder for stranded travelers to rebook trips. Click Here to continue.

Is The DOT’s New Airline Fee Disclosure Rule Any Good?
Source: The Washington Post
 Search for a flight between Washington and Los Angeles on United.com and you’ll find a notice posted high above the fares saying, “Additional baggage charges may apply.”
Click Here to continue.

Road Warriors' Fall Revamp Guide
 The fourth quarter can be a great time for business travelers—a chance to take stock of the gadgets and tech we carry, boost air miles, and maybe even get a holiday deal on business class airfare to Europe. Click Here to continue.

Comparing Airline Club Lounges: Price And Accessibility
 Source: MSNBC
 Whether you’re looking for a quiet place to relax at the airport or somewhere to get business done in between flights, airline clubs can be the closest thing to an oasis of calm at the airport. Here is a sample of what you can expect to pay at the major airline’s lounges — and what you can expect to get for the money (elite-level members of an airline’s frequent flyer program often can take advantage of a reduced club membership fee; rates listed).
Click Here to continue.
 
Airline News

Southwest To Transform AirTran Hub Into ‘Megacity’
 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
 When Southwest Airlines fully takes over the operations of AirTran Airways in Atlanta, it will transform AirTran’s hub into what Southwest calls a “megacity” operation. Click Here to continue.

United Airlines Eyes Big-Spending Frequent Fliers
 Source: AP
 United Airlines took another step to combine its frequent flier program with Continental's. It's boosting rewards for the most expensive tickets and adding an expiration date, which will be new for Continental fliers. Click Here to continue.
Hotel News

6 Trends Changing The Hotel Industry
From new fees to disappearing tubs to pump dispensers
Source: AP
 Pump bottle on the shower wall or individual shampoos and lotions you can take home? Luxurious tub for a self-indulgent bath or no tub at all? A friendly greeting from a well-informed local or a code transmitted electronically that will open your hotel room door with no human interaction at check-in whatsoever? Click Here to continue.
 
Car News

New Hertz Service Being Rolled Out – Gold Choice
 Source: Hertz
 Gold Choice service allows Gold Customers to select the vehicle they drive. Gold Customers will still have their cars assigned, but will have the option to select another car in the Gold Choice area at no extra charge. Higher class or Prestige cars will also be available for clearly marked upgrade prices. Click Here to continue.
Did You Know?

Egypt Visa Change: September 14, 2011
 Source: BCD Travel
 Effective immediately, the Embassy of Egypt is now requiring that U.S. Citizens must obtain a visa from the Embassy/Consulate of Egypt prior to departure from the U.S.  Prior to this announcement, U.S. citizens could secure a visa upon arrival in Egypt, which is no longer valid. 

Futuristic Pods Whisk Travelers Around Heathrow Airport
System reduces time it takes to move passengers from terminal to car park by 60 percent Source: Reuters
 Laser-guided travel pods that work without drivers or timetables were officially unveiled at London's Heathrow airport on Friday.

The system, which was featured in an exhibition on the future of transport at London's Science Museum in 2009, has become a reality, reducing the time it takes business passengers to move from terminal to car park by 60 percent. Click Here to continue.

4 Most Common Reasons Airlines Lose Luggage
Tens of thousands of air travelers each year lose their luggage forever
Source: Budget Travel
 As frequent globe-trotters and travel writers, we have no shortage of nightmarish lost-luggage tales — and neither, it seems, do our readers. Take Geri Mitchell of Seattle, for example, whose bag went missing for the entirety of her four-day stay in Hawaii for a wedding. The day she arrived back home, a Maui airport employee called to inform her that her belongings had been sitting in the lost-luggage office there for a week. Click Here to continue.

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