PLANET TRAVEL INSIDER

Consumer Reports Offers Six Tips For Saving Money On Airfare

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Consumer Reports Offers Six Tips For Saving On Airfare

Consumer Reports has some tips that can help cut the cost of flying, plus help organize your search for the best deal. In addition to setting up alerts to track fares and searching for domestic flights three and a half months prior to booking (five and a half for international), you should also buy your ticket early—you'll pay a premium if you wait to within 14 days of travel.

Click the above link to read more.

One other point about the lunacy of checked baggage fees

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:14:00 +0000

Portfolio.com wrote a rather insightful article in 2009 about the truth in charging airline baggage fees>>>

Here's an indisputable fact: During the second quarter of the year, the nation's largest airlines collected $669.5 million worth of baggage fees from the nation's hapless passengers. That's an attention-grabbing 275 percent increase from the second quarter of 2008.
But here's an indisputable truth: The more baggage fees that the big airlines pile on their customers, the faster their overall revenue is collapsing. In fact, the only carriers that escaped a double-digit revenue decline in the second quarter were the two that still allow all passengers to check at least one bag for free.

That you heard about the indisputable fact last week from airline executives, self-important industry analysts, and the myopic general media but weren't told about the indisputable truth is an indication of exactly how badly business travelers are served these days. Not only are the big airlines flying blindly toward a fiscal precipice, their supposed watchdogs are blithely going along for the ride.

"Baggage fees are the kind of shortsighted things that are killing us," the top U.S. executive of a European airline told me recently. "The accountants we have are great at tracking the 'ancillary' revenue we generate whenever we invent something like a baggage charge. But they have absolutely no way to match that against our potential overall revenue exposure if travelers book away from us.
And no one holds them accountable for their one-way accounting. It's a scandal."

"Scandal" may be a little strong, but there's no arguing this airline executive's basic point. Ever since airlines began hiving off traditional services like in-flight meals, seat assignments, and checked baggage from the basic airfare, the carriers have carefully tracked the growth of this secondary revenue. But they never correlate it against their overall revenue picture. And U.S. legacy carriers have studiously ignored the fact that Southwest and JetBlue, which generally avoid what is now called as a la carte pricing, have gained market share, won the most customer kudos, and, not coincidentally, been the most consistently profitable.

.Consider the odd, but entirely trackable, evolution of baggage fees. For decades, most carriers on domestic routes permitted customers to check at least two bags free. That changed during the first quarter of 2008, when United Airlines introduced a $25 fee for most coach passengers checking a second bag. The other legacy carriers—American, Continental, US Airways, and the now-merged Delta and Northwest—quickly matched. By 2008’s second quarter, American Airlines announced a $15 fee for checking the first bag. That fee was quickly matched too, not only by the legacy lines, but also by smaller carriers such as Alaska Airlines and AirTran Airways. The only holdouts: Southwest Airlines, which has clung tenaciously to its two-free-bags policy, and JetBlue Airways, which still permits all passengers one gratis checked bag.

By the time the airlines had released their 2009 first-quarter results, a pattern was obvious: The carriers that had most quickly embraced checked-bag fees had suffered a massive decline in revenue, anywhere from 9 to 21 percent compared with the first quarter of 2008. As I reported contemporaneously on my own website, the airlines that didn't ding customers for bag fees had much more modest declines. The pattern was there for anyone to see

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/seat-2B/2009/09/29/baggage-fees-hurting-airlines-bottom-line/#ixzz1f9eggcvq

The Airline That Originated The Baggage Fee Files Bankruptcy

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:09:00 +0000

We have been blogging for awhile about the lunacy of airline baggage fee. By now you have read about the bankruptcy filing of American Airlines. American Airlines was the first major airline to impose a fee on the first bag checked.

We now turn to the way back machine to discover why the airlines turned to this most anti passenger nickle and dime business model.

The LA Times reported in May 2008>>>>>

Starting June 15 most American passengers must pay $15 for checking a single bag. That comes on top of the airline's decision two weeks ago to charge $25 for a second bag.
American, the largest carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, said it was compelled to take the actions in what it called an "extraordinary" environment.

Other airlines are expected to take additional steps to fight the twin curses of rising oil prices and a weak economy, increasing prospects for higher fares and crowded planes as the busy summer travel season kicks into gear with the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Already, domestic airfares for summer travel are up 20% compared with a year ago, according to Farecast.com, an online travel search service. American said rising oil prices had increased its expected annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billion since the start of the year.

"There is no sugar-coating the fact we are facing an extraordinarily difficult economic environment," Gerard Arpey, the just fired on November 29, 2011 chief executive of American's parent, AMR Corp., said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "The industry cannot continue in the current state."

The fee is the first imposed by a major airline for checking in the first bag, a service that has previously been included in the price of the ticket. The fee does not apply to "elite" level frequent-flier club members, those paying full fare and some others.

The airline began charging $25 for a second checked bag earlier this month, and has imposed even higher charges for additional luggage. The airline said it also would raise fees for services including reservation help and the handling of oversized bags.

The moves to generate new revenue came on the heels of another record-breaking day in the petroleum market and raised the prospect of another round of airline bankruptcies if oil prices continued to rise unabated.

The Elliot.org website reveals the paniful truth about airlines and their baggage fees.

For the last few years, the airline industry has made a variety of dishonest claims related to fees. First, it said it was adding a surcharge for the first checked bag to cover higher fuel costs, but when fuel prices dropped, it kept the fee. It also said that by unbundling prices, it wanted to give customers more “options” and lower fares. Problem is, they never actually lowered fares when they added fees for services that used to be included in the ticket price. They just started charging more for something that used to be included in the ticket price.

That upsets some passengers.

“It leaves such a bad taste in my mouth,” says Diane Olivier, who recently paid more than $60 to get seat assignments on a British Airways flight. “One assumes when you are paying over $1,600 for a ticket and you book early it comes with a seat of your choice.”

The second problem is the way in which these extras are revealed. Airlines routinely broadside their customers with fees, either informing them of the extras immediately after their ticket purchase or when they arrive at the airport.

When Mayer Nudell recently tried to check his bag curbside in Long Beach, Calif., for example, he was told there’d be a fee for the privilege. Had his airline, JetBlue, bothered to tell him about the surcharge? No. “I discovered it at the airport,” he says.

Of course, Nudell could have said “no” and checked his luggage at the ticket counter. But others aren’t so fortunate. They find they must either pay hundreds of dollars for their bags or abandon their personal belongings at the airport. And they feel the airline has them over a barrel.

Ansar Shrine 2012 Las Vegas Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:31:00 +0000

Click the above link to read our latest blog "Ansar Shrine 2012 Las Vegas Trip." We are putting together the final details of the trip and will post them first at this blog. More details, as well as sign up information will be available at our web site www.planetravelonline.com next week. Thanks for traveling with us.

Where is my refund?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:13:00 +0000

From CNN online:

Airlines benefiting from a unplanned federal tax holiday should save the money for the government or pass it along to the passengers, but should not pocket the money themselves, key congressional leaders said Tuesday.

Two Democratic lawmakers said the airlines' actions belied the industry's frequent lament that government taxes and fees hurt air travel.

"As we have heard from airlines for many years, these fees, all of which are passed on to the consumer, depress the demand for air travel, hurting the industry's bottom line. We are left to conclude that your previous assertions were incorrect about the impact of taxes and fees on the industry," Sens. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-West Virginia; and Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, wrote in a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson, chairman of the board of the Air Transport Association, an industry group.
Rockefeller and Cantwell urged the airlines to "put all of the profits that they are making" from the tax lapse into an escrow account so they can transfer it to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) when Congress reinstates the taxes.

"If the industry is unwilling to protect the integrity of the AATF, at a minimum, it should pass the savings onto the consumers," the senators said.

Read more by clicking on the above link.

We have added another web site to the family

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Although it was born just this week, it already has a promising future. Focusing on the many ways families looking to travel can spend more money being there rather than getting there we are tackling what can be a very large target. With the help of fellow colleagues here at Planet Travel we are building this new site slowly and surely. We plan to include some very valuable content. Watch this space as it grows.

"I actually think we annoy people who don't fly us more than we annoy people who fly us."

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:53:00 +0000

An interview with a fee happy airline CEO from the consumerist web site:

Low cost, no-frills Spirit Airlines takes heat from people annoyed with how it charges a fee for everything and for its crass and tasteless ads that capitalize on scandals and tragedies in the news. We've dished some out ourselves. But it's hard not to walk away from reading this AP interview with its CEO and business model mastermind Ben Baldanza without some new respect for the guy. For one, he turned around a money-losing airline and it's been profitable ever since. And at least this airline is upfront about how they're gonna give it to you.

Read more by clicking the above link.

Window or aisle?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 02:24:00 +0000

From the travel section of nytimes.com:

In general, there are no hard and fast rules for scoring a good seat. Because each airline has its own seating configurations and policies, a strategy that may work on one airline may not make a difference on another. Last year, for example, JetBlue began making most exit-row seats on its A320 aircraft available to passengers just after purchase. Other airlines tend to hold onto those seats for their top-tier frequent fliers or release them just before boarding. That said, there are a few basic guidelines that travelers should consider when trying to get the seat of their choice.

Read more to see how to get that coveted extra leg room seat by clicking the above link.

We have been on vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Good to be back. We have not posted an entry, obviously for several months. Distracted with day to day operations of the business I guess. However, we are back. And promise to continue the latest insider information we stumble accross on a regular basis.

New York Times Shares Tricks For Cutting Travel Costs

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:42:00 +0000

From the New York Times online:

2. BUY ON TUESDAY Most airlines begin sales on Monday evenings, and by the following day other airlines have usually matched the lowered fares on the same routes, said Anne McDermott, editor at Farecompare.com, which tracks price trends. Last month, for example, Virgin America had a sale on Dec. 13, with one-way fares as low as $79 on some routes, according to Farecompare. The next day, there were sales from AirTran, Southwest and American, with one-way fares from $59. Because sales are hard to predict, travelers looking for the best deal should start their searches three to four months in advance, when airlines begin to look closely at which routes may need a sale to fill seats.

Read more by clicking the above link.

Disney turns crowd control into a science

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 23:35:00 +0000

We are always fascinated by the behind the scenes stories of how Disney makes the magic happen at Walt Disney World. The New York Times article highlights some of their latest innovations.

From the New York Times:

“Control is Disney’s middle name, so they have always been on the cutting edge of this kind of thing,” said Bob Sehlinger, co-author of “The Unofficial Guide: Walt Disney World 2011” and a writer on Disney for Frommers.com. Mr. Sehlinger added, “The challenge is that you only have so many options once the bathtub is full.”

Read more by clicking on the above link.

Southwest Airlines turns 40

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 02:09:00 +0000

We recently bought stock in Southwest Airlines. Boy they just do things right. Avoiding baggage fees. Lower costs. And most of all its the people who work for them. Just fly with some one else and you will know what I mean. The New York Times article from last week tries it best to balance and find fault with the airline. But even the problems don't seem like they are insurmountable.

My favorite quote:

But here, too, Southwest sensed an opportunity to showcase its difference. While baggage fees generated roughly $1.7 billion for the industry in the first half of the year, Southwest drew the line. It made its “Bags Fly Free” policy a centerpiece of its advertising and marketing campaign.

“A lot of people have been trying to pickpocket and nickel-and-dime their customers,” says Kevin Krone, the company’s head of marketing. “We don’t think it’s right.”

The policy turned out to be a good business move.

Southwest’s revenue rose by $1.6 billion in the first nine months of 2010, compared with that period in 2007, even as its capacity declined by 1 percent. Part of that growth in sales, Southwest believes, came from new customers fleeing bag fees. Mr. Kelly calls his rivals’ approach “a gift.”

The policy yielded another advantage. It allowed Southwest to subtly shift the focus away from its fares. Although it still offers low fares to many destinations, Southwest doesn’t always have the lowest fares every day on every flight, says Bob McAdoo, an airline analyst at Avondale Partners.

Click the above link to read more.

Roughing it

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:58:00 +0000

From the Consumerist:

Like something from a '70s disaster movie, 3,300 passengers on board the Carnival Splendor found themselves stuck out to sea off the coast of Mexico after a fire in the engine room.
Click the above link to read more.

Sticker Shock

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:44:00 +0000

From the New York Times online:

...and others have been discovering in recent months, airfares in most of the world are on the rise as the global economy picks up and demand for air travel climbs, particularly for business trips. Airlines, meanwhile, have been reluctant to add more flights to meet that growing demand. That is increasing pressure on ticket prices and making for packed planes and longer standby lines as the year-end travel season approaches.

This has been a boon, of course, for an industry that is expected to roar back into profit this year, to the tune of $8.9 billion. That comes after airlines collectively lost nearly $26 billion during the previous two years, according to the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group. Many of the world’s leading airlines are reporting that the three-month period ended Sept. 30 was one of their most profitable quarters in years.

The degree of sticker shock varies significantly by region and by class of seat, with fares on some routes still at or below those of a year ago, despite some large increases in traffic.

Click the above link to read more.

Las Vegas Top Secret Tourist Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Looking for a free shave while in Vegas? Cheap booze? Looking for a temporary casino? A free room tour of the Bellagio? Free coupons to dozens of Vegas restaurants?

Click the above link to the stripbroadcast.com. More secrets than you care to know.

When is the cheapest time to book a flight?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:33:00 +0000

The answer is eight weeks ahead of time. In the afternoon. Science solves one life's mystery.

Click the above link to read more from Lifehacker.

Spirit Airlines: Cheap Airfare, but at What Cost?

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:06:00 +0000

From ABC News:

So to get a better idea about Spirit, I bought a ticket between New York and Myrtle Beach, S.C. and prepared for the worst. The first thing you notice when boarding are ads for timeshares, casinos and the airline's credit card plastered everywhere inside the cabin.Then there is the legroom. Or, I should say, the lack of legroom. I'm 5-foot-4 and my knees were touching the seat in front of me. And that was before the supersized gentleman one row up decided to lean back. Too bad I wasn't on one of Spirit's new jets -- the seats on those don't recline at all

Click the above link to read more.

20 Reasons to Hate the Airlines

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:35:00 +0000

From Time.com:

How much is it worth to you to cut in line at the airport? You can find out this summer, as several airlines have begun charging passengers a fee (between $10 and $30, depending on the airline) for the privilege of being first in line to board, ahead of that family of four with seven carry-ons. It's just the latest in the airlines' long campaign to boost their bottom line by quietly upping fees, cutting back on services and finding new ways of charging customers for things they used to get for free. Indeed, ever since the 1978 deregulation of the airline industry, the history of air travel has been one long, painful chronicle of nickel-and-diming the consumer to distraction. Here's a brief history, in 20 chapters.

Read more by clicking the above link>>>>>

Best Time to Shop for Airline Tickets – Tuesday 3pm Eastern

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:43:00 +0000

From Fare Compare.Com:

We recently did a comprehensive study of our database of current and historical airfares (the world’s largest) and found an interesting and useful trend that has been happening for the past few years.

Airlines typically file their airfare sales late Monday evening (at 8pm Eastern)
Usually only one or two airlines kick off a sale on any given week
During the morning hours of the next day (Tuesday) other airlines scramble to match the new lower prices on the routes of the initiating airline(s) (during domestic airfare feeds at 10am and 1pm Eastern)
So at about 3pm Eastern time is when all the matching discounted seat prices hit reservation systems for domestic travel — this is when the maximum number of cheap seats are available to consumers
Even more interestingly these airline sales tend to last for only 3 days, so late on Thursday the sale prices are yanked, so if you are shopping on the weekend your likely paying too much for a domestic airline ticket.

Additionally not all departure dates are created equal — Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday are the cheapest days to fly (Monday, Friday, Sunday the most expensive) and you should try to avoid the days where airlines are charging “peak travel surcharges” (at least on half your trip) which can save you up to $30 each way.

Read more by clicking the above link.

7 reasons to book a trip through a travel agent

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:31:00 +0000

From the St Louis Post Dispatch:

Some vacations should never be booked through anyone but a travel agent, and a honeymoon is one of them. But there are others.

A recent Forrester Research study found something of a backlash when it comes to booking travel online. It concludes 15 percent fewer travelers used the Web in 2009, compared with two years ago — a finding that comforts many travel agents who previously saw themselves on the endangered list.

Continue reading by clicking the above link.

The insanity of baggage fees

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:13:00 +0000

From the New York Times:

“The difference between Southwest and other airlines is striking,” said George Merkle, a credit counseling executive from San Antonio who flies about once a month and prefers Southwest largely because of its no-fee policy. On a Southwest flight from Baltimore to San Antonio in November, he said, he and his wife were able to store their jackets into the overhead bins because there was so much room. He cited, by contrast, a recent Frontier Airlines flight where many passengers carried on their luggage to avoid the $20 fee to check a bag. “Boarding seemed to drag on interminably,” he said. “People were dragging bags of many sizes on.”
The carry-on crunch has pitted passenger against passenger as the race for space ensues. Like many other fliers, Mr. Merkle has arrived at his seat only to find the bin space above it jammed with the bags of passengers who boarded before him and picked out bin space randomly as they headed toward the rear of the plane. To find a spot for his bag, he had to walk several rows back. “On deplaning, I had to struggle against the flow,” he said. “No one had any mercy.”

Click the above link to read more

10 things to know to keep your luggage from getting lost

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:16:00 +0000

From the Consumerist web site:

It's late night at the airport and you're the only one left standing at the baggage carousel, waiting for your luggage to arrive. The same blue duffel passes you like a broken record. Reality sinks in. Your baggage is lost. Tears form. Then, a rustling of rubber flaps. A form begins to emerge from the wall. Could it be, your lost bag? No, it is a man, a baggage handler man, covered in dust. He pats himself off and plants himself before you and begins a soliloquy. He is here to tell you you the 10 ten things you need to know to keep your bags from getting lost:

Click the above link to read more.

No surprises. Luggage limits helps you avoid expensive baggage fees.

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:49:00 +0000

From Life hacker.com

Nobody wants to get hit with a massive over-limit luggage charge when they're already stressed and rushing to catch their flight. Hit up Luggage Limits before you travel to avoid any check-in counter surprises. We don't know if you've visited the web site of a major airline lately and attempted to decode their baggage policies but a significant number of the airlines have baggage policies that are not only buried deeply in their sites but written in a less than clear fashion.
Luggage Limits catalogs the baggage policies of over 90 airlines. Plug in what airline you are traveling with, your departure and arrival airports, and the class of your ticket—no surprise that first class has a higher luggage limit—and Luggage Limits spits out a comprehensive breakdown of cost of checking bags, the size limits for both standard and overweight/oversize baggage—and the associated fees—and the size and weight allowance for your carry-on and personal items. Reading the information on Luggage Limits for Northwest Airlines was much clearer than reading it on the Northwest web site, that's for sure.
Luggage Limits is a free service and requires no registration or personal information.

Click the above link for more information

800 Passenger A380 Superjumbo debuts

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:29:00 +0000

From Time Magazine:

The A380 is the largest airliner to ever part with the pavement: it can hold as many as 800 passengers in full sardine-can configuration, although Air France has mercifully limited the crowd to 535 in first, business and coach classes. In preparation for its entry into service in 2007, airports widened runways and hardened taxiways. Its catering trucks rise two stories off the ground to reach the galleys.

France's national carrier got the debut of the Europe-built jet off with considerable élan. The flight leaving John F. Kennedy Airport was packed with partying Francophiles, journalists and airline junkies. A band on board played "C'est Magnifique" before takeoff and during the flight; birthdays were celebrated; the champagne flowed.

Air France is trying to bring back the party to the skies. There are six bars on the plane, which encourages passengers to mingle (in their own class, of course). In the front of the upper deck, in the business section, there's even an art gallery of sorts: flat-screen TVs displaying digital previews of the New York and Paris cultural scenes, a somewhat lavish use of space.

$8.5 billion CityCenter opens next week

noreply@blogger.com (Don Fuener) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:13:00 +0000

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

In the 61 months between the announcement MGM Mirage was creating an urban metropolis on the Strip called Project CityCenter and Tuesday's planned opening of its first hotel, Vdara, the $8.5 billion development seemed to be on constant life support.
Almost as soon as MGM Mirage imploded the shuttered Boardwalk casino on May 9, 2006, to clear a major portion of the CityCenter site, the project seemed to be shrouded in bad news.

.
The recession, which led to the collapse of the credit markets, and other outside financial factors nearly derailed CityCenter, which saw its budget more than double beyond the initially announced $3 billion to $4 billion.

The project came within hours of filing bankruptcy at the end of March, which would have halted construction and shelved the jobs of 8,500 construction workers. With little time to spare, MGM Mirage was given permission to make a $200 million equity payment to keep the project funded.

The demise of the high-rise condominium market forced MGM Mirage to cut prices for CityCenter's 2,400 residential units by 30 percent in order to spur sales.

Read more by clicking the above link