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

July 12, 2004

It's Official: The Skies Are Crowded
The expected rebound in air travel this summer has jumped from forecast to fact, combining with schedule-disrupting warm-weather storms to make even routine trips a potential challenge. Executive Travel SkyGuide, which publishes flight information, earlier had forecast that demand would boost by 3.8 percent the number of weekly domestic U.S. flights in June, July and August, compared with the same period last year. Confirmation comes from a measurement taken by OAG, also a flight schedule publisher, covering the last week of May and reflecting a trend that has continued. It found a notable increase in passenger volume, with some airports handling a much bigger jump than others. Reuters | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Airlines predict record summer (USA Today)
• Southwest cuts fares, bucking trend (Channel 5)

One thing the news reports seem to be overlooking is that as air traffic increases, the travel industry is likely to seize the opportunity to jack up prices. Has it forgotten why it's here?

Discount Carrier Bans Check-In Bags
No frills will soon mean no suitcase for Europe's biggest budget airline. Ryanair has announced that it will ban checked-in luggage and allow passengers only one piece of hand baggage - to store in the cabin overhead lockers. Customers who insist on taking a suitcase will have to pay a fee of £50 - more money than most of Ryanair's ticket prices. The airline says that by doing away with luggage stowed in cargo holds, it will save £33 million from its annual airport costs of £100 million. It wants to abolish all its check-in desks, eliminating the need for counter staff, conveyor belt systems to carry the suitcases, handlers who load the luggage into holds and all the vehicles they need. Straits Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.

'Southwest Effect' Lifts Philly Traffic
Philadelphia International Airport is on track to set a record for passenger travel this year, buoyed by the arrival of discount airlines Southwest and Frontier. Some travelers scared off by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may also be returning to the skies, officials said. "I think we have a shot at 26 million passengers, which would be quite an achievement," city Aviation Director Charles J. Isdell said. "We've never had more than 25 million a year." He believes the final tally will be about 25.8 million passengers, based on figures from June 2003 through May, the most recent month available. Southwest began its operations in Philadelphia on May 9, leading US Airways and others to cut their fares in an effort to attract more customers. That boost in overall passenger traffic is known in the airline industry as "the Southwest effect." AP | Posted 7 a.m.

Canadians Stay Home This Summer - More than half of Canadians have picked their home country as their vacation destination this summer, a new poll indicates. The Leger Marketing survey suggested 58% of Canadians will travel within Canada, including 38% who will take a vacation in their home province. The June 2-8 poll of 1,500 Canadians indicated 20% of respondents will visit another province this summer. CP | Posted 7 a.m.

Cruise Lines Try To Win Over Teens - Winning over a teen, the cruise industry believes, means winning over a customer for life. In the last five years, it has been aggressively courting teens and their parents. What was once a staid and sober vacation for the blue rinse and blue blazer set has reinvented itself. ABC | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Indian Defense Minister Strip-Searched - Twice - Former defense minister George Fernandes was strip-searched twice in Dulles Airport in the US capital area when he was defense minister, once while on an official visit to Washington and another time while en route to Brazil, according to former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. In his new book 'Engaging India - Diplomacy, Democracy and the Bomb,' Talbott says he was told this angrily by Fernandes himself when he had visited India in February this year as part of a delegation assembled by the Confederation of Indian Industry. Rediff | Posted 7 a.m.

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