Executive Travel: A WorldTravel Affiliate

For the Week of: June 29, 2009

United now wants you to pay the cost of credit card fees –

Just when you thought they could not come up with any more ways to charge fees for flying on an airplane, United Airlines dropped a bomb on the travel industry last week when they told select travel agencies they would no longer allow them to charge airline tickets using a credit card. The net result is that the 2% to 3% cost to use a credit card will in most cases be added onto the cost of a ticket or tickets. Another alternative to avoid such a fee will be to pay for airline tickets with cash or check. Adding 3% in credit card fees to the cost of a $400 domestic ticket results in $12 that will be transferred from United to Corporations and travelers under United’s new proposal. Many hope that the public will yell “enough is enough” and quickly kill this idea. We will know sometime in July if this new idea flies or is shot down. (Top)

Easy come, easy go – Delta drops Atlanta and Salt Lake City flights in August –

The Lincoln airport suffered another major blow this week when Delta Air Lines quietly pulled their Lincoln – Atlanta and Salt Lake City flights from their schedule. The Salt Lake City flights will end on August 17 and the Atlanta flight will end on August 31. Industry observers would say that these flights where probably doomed from the start as only one flight a day does not provide adequate service for business travelers. Also the one flight to Atlanta was late in the afternoon which caused a misconnection with flights to Europe and the Caribbean. The sluggish economy was probably the fatal blow to these new flights as all airlines are making draconian cuts in service to try to keep their heads above water. The old saying “Timing is everything” is really true concerning airlines as if these new flights would have been launched during a strong economy they probably would have lasted a long, long time. (Top)

Last day to get “Fly Free to Mexico” deals –

Tuesday, June 30 is the last day to take advantage of our fantastic Fly Free to Mexico program. The program is simple. Book a hotel for seven nights and receive 2 free airline tickets. Book a hotel for 3 or more nights and receive 1 free airline ticket. Three night packages (hotel and air) from Kansas City start as low as $399 pp for an all-inclusive resort. Call our office ASAP (402-435-8888) and talk to one of our friendly travel agents to find the perfect vacation package. (Top)

“Clear” Registered traveler program goes belly up –

Early last week business travelers were shocked to find out that the Clear registered travel program had shut down. Over 200,000 business travelers paid $200 to be registered in the Clear registered travel program which allowed them to go to the front of the line at security checkpoints at 18 of the busiest U.S. Airports. We have received no word on if the program will be restarted. (Top)

Southwest Airlines starts service to the Big Apple with travelers hoping airfares will tumble –

Over the weekend Southwest Airlines began new service to New York’s LaGuardia airport. Many travelers hope the new service will bring lower airfares to New York. Southwest also added Minneapolis service to their schedule. Northwest Airlines has long dominated MSP with monopoly service and pricing. Boston is a third market that Southwest has added that will lower the high airfares. And just this last week we found out Southwest will be adding Milwaukee to their route system in November. (Top)

Delta signs go up and Northwest signs come down –

The merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines has caused a lot of confusion with travelers. We are getting reports that many airports are now seeing the merger of the counters of the two airlines into one Delta counter. The old Northwest signs will soon be coming down which should make traveling on Delta/Northwest less confusing. (Top)

Space going fast on our trip to Oberammergau in 2010 –

Our special tour of Europe featuring the Oberammergau Passion Play, May 15-24, 2010 is filling fast and has only 12 seats left. Our special tour explores the magnificent cities of Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich, as well a special Sound of Music tour on our way to attend the famous Oberammergau Passion Play. If you are interested in finding out more information about this once-in-a-lifetime tour please visit our web site. (Top)

GoGo Vacations “Hot Deals” for spring and summer travel –

To see all the great deals visit our web site www.executivetravel.com and click on the “Hot Deals” button on the right side of our home page. Better yet pick up the phone and call one of our friendly travel agents at 402-435-8888 to find the perfect getaway. Here are just a few of this week’s best vacations:
Hawaii - $872 pp– Includes RT air from Omaha and 3 nights in paradise.
Orlando - $382 pp– Includes airfare, 2 nights hotel at a Disney Resort in July. Add extra days at low rates.
Las Vegas - $236 pp - Includes RT air from Omaha and two nights midweek. Cancun - $603pp – Enjoy a quick getaway for 3 nights at an beachfront resort in July which includes air from Omaha.
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Need information on any of the above? Call our friendly agents....

Lincoln - 402-435-8888 Toll-free 800-737-0582

This fax/email is a free service of Executive Travel. If you want to be added to or removed from this service or would like more information call 402-435-8888; or fax 402-435-2735; toll-free 800-737-0582, or e-mail info@executivetravel.com.

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