Tag Archives: Southwest Air

This week in Travel and Tourism — 5/21/2012

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DOMESTIC

Colorado and Florida have cheapest domestic fares, says ARC

Travelers departing from Colorado and Florida are the most likely to find the lowest airfares, according to ARC statistics. ARC said that based on an examination of average fares for 12 months ending April 30, 2012, Colorado was the least expensive state for a roundtrip domestic flight. Looking at a six-year period, ARC found that from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2011, the least expensive airfares were in Florida.

AIRLINE

Southwest looks beyond U.S. borders to Mexico, Caribbean

Southwest is becoming an international airline as it begins taking over AirTran Airways’ routes to Mexico and the Caribbean after the airlines’ merger. Southwest recently signed a deal for a new reservations system capable of handling international bookings and is seeking approval to build a new international terminal in Houston to add as many as 25 flights a day. “We have always wanted to get to a point where we added international capabilities,” said Southwest Chief Commercial Officer Bob Jordan.

AA ramps up personalization in selling and tailoring services

AA is making efforts to “personalize” air travel by offering tailored, relevant fares and services based on such customer attributes as previous itinerary searches, a traveler’s flight history and frequent-flyer status.

United Airlines withdraws preboarding privileges for families

United Airlines has dropped its policy allowing families with small children to board ahead of other passengers. Fliers with children not holding first- or business-class tickets must now board with their assigned boarding groups.

CRUISE

Royal Caribbean announces plans to upgrade reservations system

Royal Caribbean will undertake a five-year program to upgrade its reservations system, the company has announced. Through the $100 million initiative, the cruise line seeks to “help travel agents sell cruises more easily and service their clients more effectively by leveraging the latest technologies,” it says.

OTA

USTOA launches Facebook promotion

The U.S. Tour Operators Association has launched a travel sweepstakes through Facebook that is aimed at increasing consumer awareness of and participation in the packaged-travel industry. Four USTOA members — Pacific Delight Tours, Go Ahead Tours, Collette Vacations and Globus — have provided travel product worth $40,000 for Around The World With USTOA Sweepstakes, which will take place from May 29 through June 25, with one of four prizes awarded each week.

ETC.

Report: “Disney” is top keyword in searches for vacation destinations

An analysis by AdGooroo of keyword-search frequencies on the Internet has concluded that “Disney” is the most-searched travel destination from January through February 2012, at 7.3%. Las Vegas came in second at 6.3%, followed by Florida at 5.7% and the Caribbean at 3.2%. The study also showed a significant interest in deals, with 13.3% of keywords searched related to discounts.

Apple launches fitness vacation packages

Apple Vacations launched Fitcations, a fitness vacation program that kicks off with a weeklong Zumba party at the Now Amber Puerto Vallarta on June 16. The program is run in conjunction with Fit Bodies, an agency that places fitness, yoga and sport professionals at resort facilities for a teaching vacation.

This Week in Travel and Tourism – 4/16/2012

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INTERNATIONAL

MGM eyes Toronto for sprawling integrated resort and casino

MGM Resorts International has begun reaching out to Toronto officials to put forward a possible resort-casino project in the city. The potential $2 billion to $6 billion project could include hotels, convention space and restaurants. “It’s an amazing market, it’s an amazing city. We’d be prepared to invest an awful lot in the development of the concept,” said Alan Feldman, a senior vice president at MGM.

AIRLINE

Southwest’s AirTran to Keep Fees Three Years After Merger

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), the only major U.S. carrier without bag-check and rebooking fees, will keep those charges at its AirTran Airways unit into 2014, three years after the two combined. That’s the target date to fully integrate AirTran into its Dallas-based parent, and the fees will stay in place until then, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said today in an interview.

AirTran to launch Orange County’s first Mexico service

AirTran will launch once-daily service from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., to Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City on June 3. It is the airport’s first Mexico service.

CRUISE

Cruise lines and tour operators eat costs of higher fuel

As gas prices flirt with the $4-per-gallon mark for the first time since 2008, the travel industry is anxiously bracing for signs of what impact higher fuel costs will have on summer travel. While airlines have been steadily increasing fuel surcharges for transatlantic flights and raising domestic airfares to cover costs, tour operators and cruise lines interviewed for this report said they are still absorbing the additional costs. None were yet willing to say they planned to implement fuel surcharges this year.

Norwegian Getaway to sail from Miami year-round

Norwegian Cruise Line will base the 4,000-passenger Norwegian Getaway year-round in Miami when the ship enters service in the spring of 2014.
Theme Cruising Gains Popularity

Travel agents should seize on the growing popularity of theme cruises, which offer an opportunity for agents to attract first-time cruisers and increase their client base, travel sellers say. Suppliers are joining the trend with special-interest voyages, featuring a wide range of themes, including bowling and classical music.

ETC.

Airlines lose fewer bags, arrive on time more often in February

The nation’s largest airlines set new records in February for the best on-time arrival rates and the lowest lost luggage rates. The airlines had some help in providing such improved service: February’s weather was unusually mild across the country, and airline industry experts say airlines are losing fewer bags because passengers are packing less luggage to avoid bag-check fees. In February, 86.2% of the flights flown by the nation’s airlines arrived on time, up from 74.5% in February 2011 and 83.7% in January of this year, according to Department of Transportation data released Thursday.