soaring Gas Prices fuel Travel Concerns
As the nation heads into the peak summer travel season, the travel industry is abuzz about fuel prices: $41 for a barrel of crude, $2 for a gallon of regular unleaded and $1 for a gallon of jet fuel. Such record high prices could get in the way of recovery, but the gathering consensus so far is that consumers want to travel and appear willing to pay the price.

The big questions are: For how long will they be willing to do so and for how long will travel companies withstand their rising energy costs?

Among travel suppliers, the most vulnerable to fuel price increases are the airlines, which burn 18 billion gallons of jet fuel a year, at a cost that now exceeds $1 a gallon, according to the Air Transport Association (ATA). By the ATA's reckoning, last week's $40 price for a barrel of crude marks an increase of about $12 over the last 12 months. And each dollar increase in the price of crude means an additional $425 million in fuel costs for the U.S. airline industry.

Airlines learned a lot during previous oil shocks about the importance of using fuel-efficient aircraft, reducing unnecessary weight in galleys and elsewhere, conserving fuel during taxiing and in flight, hedging on prices with futures contracts and other money-saving tactics. They learned so much that there's not a lot more they can do on the conservation front. And with demand rising, cutting back on capacity is not an attractive option. Airlines, therefore, are struggling to control other costs and raise fares where and when they can. For competitive reasons, however, the increases don't always stick. In the latest action, Continental boosted one-way fares $10 in markets for flights under 1,000 miles and $20 for longer hauls. A day later the Wings Club in New York, United CEO Glenn Tilton said United will match CO's fare hike in some markets if those markets will bear it. " We have to find a way to pass on the cost of fuel to consumers," he said.

Other major carriers also were matching. That could be good news for Continental. Just two weeks earlier, American with-drew a similar boost when major competitors declined to match. Continental said the increase will offset only 15% to 20% of its added fuel costs, which could amount to $700 million for 2004, enough to put the carrier into the red for what was to have been a break-even year.

The ATA, meanwhile, has turned its attention to government policies regarding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The government has been buying crude oil and increasing the stockpile, but the ATA said that when prices are high, as they are now, the government should stop buying and allow the oil to reach the marketplace, where it could add to the available supply and reduce prices by up to 10%. So far, however, the Bush administration is still buying.

Northwest Airlines Announces New Jet Service Between Memphis and Gainesville, Fla.
Two Daily Flights Begin Sept. 20; Memphis-Pittsburgh Service Resumes Aug. 16

Northwest Announces Start of New Airbus A330-200 Service Between Tokyo and u.s. west coast, within Asia
Northwest Airlines announced the starting dates of service operated by the Airbus A330-200, its newest aircraft type, on trans-Pacific flights to Tokyo from San Francisco, Portland and Seattle and on intra-Asia flights between Tokyo and Seoul, Beijing, Bangkok and Singapore. The start of service from the airline's Tokyo hub is timed in conjunction with the delivery of seven new A330-200s this summer. Northwest will offer A330-200 service on the following routes and effective dates: Click Here to continue.
 

Northwest Airlines Announces Service to Kona, Hawaii
Northwest Airlines will begin daily service between Seattle and Kona, Hawaii, beginning July 15, 2004. Northwest's current service between Seattle/Tacoma and Kahului, Maui, will be extended to include Kona, Hawaii, enabling customers to reach the Big Island with just one stop. The Kona-Seattle return flight will operate as nonstop service. The flights will be operated using Boeing 757-300 aircraft seating 224 customers, 24 in First Class and 200 in Coach Class. The Kona flights will operate as follows:

Northwest Airlines Unaccompanied Minor Policy Update
Effective May 14, 2004, Northwest Airlines will modify the fees for the Unaccompanied Minor (UMNR) Service Program. The fee for unaccompanied minors traveling on nonstop flights will increase to $45USD ($62 CAD) one way. The unaccompanied minor fee for connecting flights will remain unchanged at $75USD ($116 CAD) one way. The increase applies for travel in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Northwest and KLM offer the following service tips for UMNR travel:

AMERICAN AIRLINES ANNOUNCES NEW DIRECT SERVICE FROM MIAMI TO MANCHESTER
American Airlines will inaugurate new, daily nonstop service between Miami and Manchester, United Kingdom, on Nov. 1, 2004. Manchester will become the fourth European destination served by American from the Miami hub. The first eastbound flight departs Miami on Nov. 1, and the first westbound flight departs Manchester on Nov. 2. This seasonal service will operate through April 30, 2005. The route will be served with a Boeing 767 aircraft with capacity for 29 Business-Class and 178 Coach-Class passengers.

New York Hotels offer relief from taxi rate Hike
Big apple hotels are trying to soften the blow from a recent taxi rate hike. Earlier this month, the base rate for a taxi ride rose to $2.50, a 50-cent hike. The price for traveling a fifth of a mile rose from 30 cents to 40 cents, and a $1 surcharge was added for rides between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

• Apple Core Hotels, which operates five properties in Manhattan, is offering customers two free one-day, unlimited-ride MetroCards for city buses and subways as part of its Big Apple Unlimited package. Package rates, valid through July 31, range from $119 to $209, double.
• The Jolly Hotel Madison Towers will reimburse guests up to $20 a day when they present their same-day taxi receipts. The Taxi Rate promotion will be in effect through Sept. 6 and is based on a minimum two-night stay. Rates at the hotel start at $189 a night, single or double.
• The Clarion Fifth Avenue Hotel will deduct 10 cents from the rack rate for every mile guests travel from their homes to the hotel through Aug. 31. The maximum discount is $50.
• The Washington Jefferson Hotel will take $10.00 off the total hotel bill when customers present their taxi receipts when checking out. The promotion applies to guests who stay Sundays through Thursdays until the end of June.

Are you practicing Safe Wi-Fi?
The Internet can be a dangerous place, with viruses, worms and spyware lurking behind every URL and waiting to pounce on your PC every time you check e-mail.

But that's nothing compared to what can happen with a wireless hookup. Connecting to the Web through Wi-Fi can make your laptop even more vulnerable to hackers and pernicious code.

Just ask Peter Shankman, who recently returned from a business trip to Europe. On a stopover at the KLM lounge in Amsterdam, he opened his laptop and tapped into the wireless connection. Big mistake. "By the time I got to Berlin, the machine was totally and completely dead," says the New York communications consultant. "My computer had gotten infected. My file trees were completely shredded."

When it comes to wireless networks, safety is a top concern among business owners. Nine out of 10 executives in a 2003 Jupiter Research survey cited security as the biggest factor influencing their decisions about the deployment of wireless networks. However, more than half of all businesses take only basic precautions — or none at all — to protect their wireless networks.

How do you make your Wi-Fi experience safer? Here are four new and existing security protocols and the level of security they offer. Click Here to continue.
 

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