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

March 2, 2004

Another Fare Hike? Never Mind
Continental Airlines and other major carriers rescinded a $10 fare increase on round trips Monday after spoiler Northwest Airlines wouldn't go along. However, the real culprits keeping fares down may be low-fare airlines because they have grabbed so much market share in recent years. "What is happening now is the low-fare carriers are in control of pricing," Terry Trippler of CheapSeats.com said Monday. "The six we have always looked at are no longer in control." Houston-based Continental, the nation's fifth-largest carrier, announced Friday it was increasing round-trip fares by $10. Some other major competitors quickly matched Continental. Other airlines, including American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, also retreated Monday. Houston Chronicle | Posted 6 a.m.
-- Star-Telegram: It's "a different" world for fares
-- Morning News: Passengers refuse to pay more

• Is anyone surprised that the latest effort to raise fares didn't stick? The legacy carriers have tried to raise fares three times in the last two months, and customers (and their feisty low-cost competitors) just refuse to go along with it. But we shouldn't expect the world from the airlines, either. Send us your comments.

Norwegian Has Hawaii 'Monopoly'
Norwegian Cruise Line's Hawaii operations is a monopoly, according to a federal agency in a report released Monday. The exemption the cruise line received to operate foreign-built ships in Hawaii as U.S.-flagged vessels will give it an unfair advantage and make it difficult for potential competitors to enter the market, said a report by the U.S. General Accounting Office. Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, asked the agency to look into the exemption, its potential impact on competition and the effects of granting other cruise lines similar exemptions. Pacific Business News | Posted 6:20 a.m.
<-- AP: Rule requires Norwegian to hire U.S. crews

Small Airlines Oppose Ted 'Subsidy'
Alarmed at United Airlines' attempt to enter the low-fare market, an organization representing low-fare airlines said yesterday that it planned to fight United's effort to win $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees, which would be the centerpiece of its restructuring plan. Their vow is the first sign of public opposition within the industry to the revised bid by United, which filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2002, only days after its first application for a loan guarantee worth $1.8 billion was turned down. New York Times | Posted 6:30 a.m.
<-- AP: At Northwest, labor costs continue to soar

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• And finally ... are airline check-in kiosks a luxury? Well, that's what American Airlines claimed when it installed a second terminal in Fort Myers, Fla., recently. A columnist for the News-Press and I had a good laugh about that one. Posted 6:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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