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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

July 7, 2004

Delta, American On The Brink
Financial results at American Airlines' parent, AMR Corp., have fallen nearly $1 billion short of turnaround projections over the past year, raising the possibility that existing labor concessions may not be enough to sustain profitability. Fort Worth-based AMR had presented the forecast to its unions last year, when it was faced with the prospect of bankruptcy. Labor groups contributed $1.62 billion in annual wage and benefit concessions to keep the company solvent. The largest share, $660 million a year, came from its pilots. Even with the lower-cost contracts in place since last May, the airline's results have fallen $1 billion behind its turnaround plan, according to John Darrah, president of the Allied Pilots Association. High fuel prices may increase the shortfall to $1.8 billion by year's end, he said in a farewell note to 12,000 pilots last week. Houston Chronicle | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Newsday: Delta Air Lines looks for more concessions
-- Morning News: No additional concessions at AA

• These struggles are painful but necessary. The major airlines continue to operate inefficient businesses - and they have to get their costs down if they want to survive. We can thank higher fuel prices for pushing the process along. Send us your comments.

Hotel Prices Are On The Rise
Business travelers are back, and hotels are greeting them with higher rates. After several years of hunkering down in the home office, many executives are stepping up the sales calls and spending some overdue face time with key clients. That's giving hoteliers some pricing power that is affecting not only business travelers but vacationers as well. The business-travel boom is biggest in New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston - helping to explain the $299-a-night price for a room at the Sheraton Boston last week. At the Four Seasons in New York, the smallest and least expensive type of room goes for $545 a night. The comeback began late last year and has picked up speed since then. The Wall Street Journal | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Poll: Online Bookers Are 'Satisfied'
Two-thirds of consumers now use the Internet to make travel arrangements, and those who do are very satisfied, the Conference Board reports in a quarterly survey with TNS NFO. Among Americans who do use the Net to plan travel, 88 percent said they were "extremely" or "somewhat" satisfied with their travel arrangements. "That satisfaction is somewhat tempered by study data showing that consumers are using the Internet for researching more than actually booking their travel online," the Conference Board said. "Concern about the security of credit card information is the primary reason for not making arrangements online." Business Journal | Posted 7 a.m.

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• And finally ... maybe I should go into politics? Yesterday's blog named Kerry's VP choice hours in advance of the Associated Press, which is widely credited with "breaking" the story. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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