Travel agents finding new niches
Travel agents finding new niches — Agents are increasingly finding niches, like adventure, ethnic and eco-travel, to entice customers to book with them. And while nearly all agents charge fees to offset the commissions they used to receive from airlines and hotels, prices remain relatively low. (MarketWatch)
Floods create concern about early tourist season — As last week’s downpours turned into some of the worst floods in New England since the 1930s, the world was shown images from southern Maine of washed-out roads, buckled bridges and people canoeing down roads that had turned into rivers. Businesses are now scrambling to get out the word that they’ll be ready for customers by Memorial Day weekend. (AP)
Cathay Pacific voted airline of the year — Cathay Pacific was voted the airline of the year in a prestigious event in London last week. Continental Airlines was named best carrier based in North America for the third consecutive year and best business/executive class airline for the fourth year running. (AFP)
Demise of the optional gratuity — Tipping is a traveler’s last resort for getting and rewarding good treatment. But now, suppliers are toying with that sacred cow by imposing mandatory gratuities and other charges. The result? Confusion and conflicts on the front lines. (The Los Angeles Times)
Travel with teenagers: options for taking the sullen set along — Catering to the discerning and, at times, fickle teenager can be a tricky proposition. Resorts and cruise lines have recently begun to realize that they have to be a lot more sophisticated about how they reach out to teenagers (and thus their parents) especially after years of misfires in which they treated all children as equals. (The New York Times)
Family-focused websites become friendlier — Most travel-related Web sites have for years taken a one-size-fits-all approach to family vacations: offer up a few destinations or resorts featuring a few “kid friendly” activities, include some common-sense tips for traveling with children, post the latest Disney deals, and call it a day. But now some sites are beginning to fill the breach. (The New York Times)
Seems that ‘on time’ has a new definition — Airline passengers who think they’ve arrived well before takeoff find that the planes have left without them. (The Los Angeles Times)
Oil futures fall almost $1 a barrel — Crude oil prices fell nearly $1 a barrel Monday in a sell-off prompted by concerns that high oil prices are hurting demand. (AP)
Malfunction cuts gas price to 29 cents — A Marathon station in Hammond, Ind., sold a gallon of fuel for less than the price of a first-class stamp for about 90 minutes Friday before the mistake was detected and and the price corrected to $2.79. (AP)
Federal scientists predict active Atlantic hurricane season — A hectic, above-normal tropical storm season could produce between four and six major hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico this year, but conditions don’t appear ripe for a repeat of 2005’s record activity, the National Hurricane Center predicted Monday. (AP)
Anonymity of air marshals at risk — More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week. (AP)
Runners take off on Atlanta airport’s new runway — About 1,500 runners gathered early Saturday at the airport for the run that’s part of the celebrations for the opening of the $1.3 billion fifth runway. (AP)
Southwest Airlines success depends on forward thinking — Skyrocketing fuel prices, a tough, competitive market, a slew of new and revamped competitors and the ghosts of 9/11 did not keep Southwest Airlines Co. from turning a profit last year and in first quarter 2006. (Business Journal of Phoenix)
EasyJet founder says high jet fuel costs not fatal — Expensive jet fuel may drive some start-up airlines to the wall but for easyJet it is not the end of the world, the founder and non-executive director of Europe’s second-biggest budget carrier said. (Reuters)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.