Super Values on Asian Travel

30 Days of Unlimited Travel to 16 - Asian Cities for only $999

Take advantage of the extreme value in Asian travel with this air bargain! The fare is valid from Los Angeles and includes travel to Thailand, Bali, Malaysia, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong or even Sri Lanka. Low add-ons are offered to Vietnam, India or China. A business class upgrade is only $1,300. A First Class upgrade is only $2,300. Travel must be completed by December 15, 1998. Please contact us for more details.

Delta/United Programs

Effective September 1, United and Delta will become participants in each other's frequent flyer programs. You can decide which program to credit when you fly domestically, so please notify us if you want to combine your earning to just one of the carriers. Mutual redemption is the next phase that will be announced.

Airline Alliance Views

The new alliances of Continental/Northwest and American/USAir and the proposed alliance of United/Delta will only lessen competition in business travel. Pursuant to Consumer Reports April and July 1998 issues, the result will be higher fares, less frequent flyer seat availability, and less consumer choice. The big benefit the carriers cite is frequent flier reciprocity. Per Consumer Reports, "mileage programs are intensely anti-competitive: They reduce the incentive for airlines to compete on price and quality of service and they tend to stifle innovations that would benefit consumers." After all is said and done, one of the carriers could decide to eliminate their frequent flyer program or reduce their benefits and if history holds true, the rest would follow suit.

New Security Scanners Damage Film

The new airport security scanners damage film checked in baggage. The new scanners are currently in 10 international and six domestic airports. Eventually the scanners will be in all airports. Due to safety reasons, the names of airports at which they are currently in use is not being disclosed.

Travel Tid-Bits & Area Briefs

United Airlines has begun substituting its Spokane/Denver 737 service with an 88 passenger British Aerospace 146 on some of its flights. The substituting aircraft does not have a first class cabin.

Some air carriers now allow cell phone users to use their telephones during boarding and deplaning as long as the external main cabin door is open.

Delta is offering a double miles promotion in their First and Business Class programs worldwide. Travelers would receive double the miles plus the service class bonus. Therefore, instead of earning 9,658 miles to Athens round-trip you would earn 37,250, or instead of earning 9,658 to Tokyo you would earn 21,730. The offer expires for travel after September 1, 1998.

Don't assume all hotels that are guaranteed late arrival must be cancelled by 6PM day of arrival. Resort hotels in major cities have implemented 72-hour advance notice restraints.

TMI is not issuing E-tickets on Northwest for travel from August 29 through the date the Northwest pilots' issues are resolved.

Delta Airlines notified agencies that their goal was to now charge change fees and other additional collections are airports whenever possible.

On nonrefundable air tickets, if you want to standby on a different return flight on the same day that you were confirmed, the air carriers normally won't charge the change fee.

U.S. flag carriers are lagging behind foreign flag carriers in both services and seating comfort. The top carriers for seat pitch, width, comfort and overall services included Aerolineas Argentina, Air New Zealand, Qantas, Lan Chile and then British Air, Air France and Lufthansa.

When flying between the U.S. and Canada a passport is the desired form of identification.

If you fly children to visit relatives alone, please note that the air carriers have doubled the cost of their unaccompanied minor fees. Some carriers now charge as much as $120 per child per round-trip ticket--in addition to the cost of the air ticket.

Renaissance and Ritz Carlton Hotels are also now a part of the Marriott Rewards Program. This means you use one membership number for Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn and most Ritz Carlton Hotel stays. If you have not already become a member of this club, do so-it is a great deal. You earn points for each dollar spent at these properties.

If you travel on three international trips or more a year, you can now sign up for INS Pass by calling 310 215 2101, ext. 141. The INS Pass program is the new customs program that offers accelerated entry into the U.S. via hand scanning.

The average cost of a three-day domestic business trip is $1,037. This was released by Runzheimer International after their 1998 survey.

Seattle continues to make the hippest lists!

Seattle's Belltown district was voted one of the trendiest spots in America. Seattle's Hotel Monaco made Conde Nast's listing of the world's hottest hotels. The only other U.S. mainland hotels to fit the bill were the Four Seasons (Carlsbad, CA), the Tides (Miami), and Trump International Hotel & Tower (New York City.) The Hotel Monaco is also one of TMI's preferred, discounted rate hotels. Another reason to visit Seattle is the Bumpershoot Festival, held September 4 through 7. The event features 17 stages with numerous performers, musicians, comedians, filmakers, artists, etc. See more at www.bumpershoot.com.

The value of your vacation time

Assume you are on a two-week trip to Europe (12 full days there), with airfare at $600 and other expenses totaling $1800, and that there are 12 useful hours in the day. Just the cost of being on vacation is $17 per hour. How often do you find yourself in the tropics or Europe?-don't cut yourself short. Undervaluing vacation time is one of the most serious unnoticed mistakes travelers can make. Your travel and vacation hours can be expensive and they are irreplaceable; use them wisely. Some travelers will trek across town for an improvement on a rate of exchange, or rent a car to be able to drive to and from the beach each day to save $25 per night on hotel costs.

Value or free mileage?

The average frequent flyer's mileage is valued between 1.5 and 2 cents per mile if they use it to redeem mileage on a transcontinental free mileage ticket. Their mileage is worth between 1.5 and 3 cents per mile if they redeem it for first-class upgrades. The next time you receive an offer of 500 bonus miles, you are essentially receiving between $7.50 and $15.00 worth of mileage.

Creative Concierges

Beyond local restaurant reservations and theatre tickets, the hotel's concierge will happily get you into local popular places. This includes private clubs and local high-brow fundraisers. If you enjoy golf, the concierge will arrange for you to play the favorite course-including partners. Concierges also have the "ins" to provide you with a private museum tour or candlelit dinner on the most secluded beach. Those who go out of their way should receive $20 or more.

Whoops!

If an air carrier accepts a passenger on board without proper entry documentation, they are fined up to $3,000 per passenger.

Observation

Long haul domestic travelers flying east to west pick up two to three hours, and may still have a productive day. This is rarely the case for those of us traveling west to east.

What's your degree of fear?

The Institute of Psychology of the Fear of Air Travel actually has a Cosmopolitan Magazine style survey on its web site. You can find out if your fear is negligible, moderate, intense on up to phobic. You can visit their site at www.inspsyairt@aol.com.

Last-Minute Airfares Reflect Value

Yield management in air travel is a hot topic. Some people believe that selling the same seat at different prices is unethical and discriminatory. Air carriers ascertain that an airplane seat purchased weeks in advance is not the same product as a seat bought at the last minute when airplanes are full and demand for availability is high. Air carriers play the game of trying to hold back just enough seats to accommodate the non-price-conscious business traveler. If they overestimate, they lose the opportunity to sell the seats to price-sensitive leisure travelers who book in advance. By paying higher rates to have these seats, the last minute traveler is assuming part of the risk through paying the higher price to have it available. Your best bet is to always book in advance.

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