Air Canada and United agree to revenue sharing joint venture

Air Canada and United Continental Holdings, Inc. announced that the airlines have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the principles for a comprehensive revenue-sharing joint venture that would provide for an enhanced partnership on United States-Canada transborder flights, and generate substantial service and pricing benefits for consumers traveling between the two countries.

Air Canada said its transborder network of 59 US cities will be bolstered by United's presence in 210 US airports. United's network of 16 Canadian cities will gain the 59 communities that Air Canada serves.
The airlines expect to launch the venture in early 2011.

Air Canada said "By managing pricing, scheduling and sales through a stronger joint venture, the carriers will be better able to serve customers by offering more travel options."

Travel Guard Insurance Unluckiest Traveler Contest

Travel Guard travel insurance company is inviting holidaymakers to share their own worst experiences as it bids to find the world’s “unluckiest traveller”.
Travelers can tell Travel Guard their stories by logging onto www.travelguard.com and uploading a video - or a series of photos - in which the traveller relates his or her travel tale.
“If you have ever experienced a one-of-a-kind travel travail, been the victim of a startling vacation mishap, or simply been an unwilling participant in a downright strange occurrence during your travels, Travel Guard wants to hear your story,”
According to the company, the contest takes a whimsical look at the very real problems travellers face daily, emphasising that preparation is the best remedy for unanticipated travel difficulties.
Consumers who share their travel tales in this special promotion will be automatically entered into a year-long contest. At the end of the year, each of the monthly winners will be posted for a final round of voting to decide the winner of the $10,000 dream vacation. EuropebyAir offers and encourages clients to buy travel insurance..You can get more information on travel insurance and great savings on your next European journey by calling 1-888-321-4737. Phones are answered promptly by a live representative.

Continuing its tradition of breaking the mold, Royal Caribbean International is teaming up with USA TODAY to launch the "Reporter at Sea" contest in search of a talented citizen journalist to help cover the unveiling of Oasis of the Seas. Starting today through October 9, 2009, aspiring journalists are invited to enter to win the coveted job of special field correspondent onboard Oasis of the Seas' preview sailing alongside USA TODAY'S own cruise editor, Gene Sloan. Once onboard the ship, the lucky winner will receive behind-the-scenes access to file reports that will appear at USA TODAY's Cruise Log. In addition to the United States, the "Reporter at Sea" contest is searching for journalists in Canada, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom with one winner from each country. Eager reporters-to-be can audition for the assignment of a lifetime by submitting a creative video no longer than 45 seconds at reporteratsea.usatoday.com. The video should showcase his/her best reporting skills and tout why Royal Caribbean should select him/her to serve as a citizen journalist onboard Oasis of the Seas. Videos will be judged based on creativity and quality, as well as the entrant's ability to entertain, effectively bring to life and clearly explain travel or cruising concepts, and articulate why he/she should be chosen to represent their country.

American Airlines $88 fare sale

American's latest sale offers many popular destinations, including Las Vegas, Miami, New York City, and Orlando. Fares start at $88 round-trip, and travel is valid through late January. Other carriers such as AirTran, Continental, and Spirit, are competing with or actually beating some of American's prices on key routes, so shop around.

Lufthansa buys remaining BMI stock

Lufthansa has agreed to buy the 20 percent of bmi it does not yet own from Scandinavia's SAS, boosting its holding in the British carrier to 100 percent. Germany's flagship carrier had previously said it was in talks to buy the stake and had said it aimed to come to an agreement with SAS by the end of this year. Lufthansa said on Thursday it agreed to pay about GBP19 million pounds (USD$30.6 million) for the stake, plus another GBP19 million to cancel a 1999 shareholder agreement relating to bmi. If Lufthansa decides to sell bmi, as a whole or in parts, it will pay a further unspecified sum to SAS within the next two years, Lufthansa said. It has said it is considering all options for bmi, ranging from keeping the company to a complete sale. Media reports have said that bmi has attracted the interest of 12 potential buyers. British Airways' CEO Willie Walsh confirmed in a newspaper interview this month that he would be interested in bmi if Lufthansa decided to sell the carrier.

Roy Lowey on WTMY Sunday 5PM August 30

Tune in today to WTMY 1280 Sarasota at 5pm. My guests will be Carol Margolis smartwomentravelers.com. Vijay Singh, GM Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Flight Caster co-founder Evan Konwiser. And Lisa Codianne Fowler, who appears in the photo will chat with us about her trip to the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The show also streams live on the web from WTMY

My guests this week on WTMY 1280 Sarasota. Elie Seidman CEO of Oyster Hotel Group, Lisa Simmons Director, Mass. CVB, April Merenda Pres. Gutsy Women.net, Nadir Syed, CheapOstay.com....So, get your insider info while I'm Talking Travel 5-6pm ET every Sunday

Frontier Airlines to be bought by Republic Airways

Republic. based in Indianapolis, has been one of three companies financing Frontier’s emergence from bankruptcy. A subsidiary, Republic Airlines, also is one of Frontier’s major unsecured creditors, having filed a $260 million damage claim for Frontier’s breaking an agreement with Republic to operate regional jet service after Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2008. Under terms of the deal, Frontier will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings after the company serves as the equity sponsor for Frontier’s reorganization plan and buys 100 percent of the equity in the reorganized company. The cost to Republic will be $108.75 million. Frontier filed its proposed reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York Monday. Frontier will seek court approval of the investment agreement at a July 13 hearing and then conduct a roughly month-long auction process where other companies will have the chance to outbid Republic, Frontier spokeswoman Lindsey Purves said.

'Travel Promotion Act' Introduced

The U.S. Travel Association today praised Representatives William Delahunt (D-MA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) for introducing the "Travel Promotion Act of 2009" - much-needed legislation to create thousands of new jobs and boost economic growth nationwide by attracting millions of new international travelers to the United States.

The "Travel Promotion Act" establishes a public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier international travel destination and communicate U.S. security and entry policies. The legislation specifies that travel promotion would be paid for by private sector contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers from countries that do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the United States. Nearly every developed nation in the world charges entry and exit fees and spends millions of dollars to attract visitors. Overseas visitors spend an average of $4,500 per person, per trip in the United States. However, since 9/11 international travelers have found ever-changing security policies and negative foreign press coverage to be a deterrent to visiting the United States. Oxford Economics estimates that a well executed promotion program, as outlined in the "Travel Promotion Act," would attract 1.6 million new international visitors annually, create $4 billion in new spending and drive $321 million in new federal tax revenue. An analysis by the U.S. Travel Association reveals that this program would create nearly 40,000 new American jobs.

Europe by Air Adds Low Israel fares

In a conversation with Bill Wolf, President of Europe by Air, Bill explained his unique approach to finding new low fares for his clients. "Europe by Air has been working with European tour operators to purchase excess seat capacity on their charter flights, allowing EBA the ability to offer them at an extreamly discounted rate to our clients. In these challanging times one has to think on their feet and be a bit more creative in their approach to marketing our products. For the past 12 years EuropebyAir Flight Pass has made hopping around Europe and beyond fun, cheap and easier. Adding Israel to our inventory of select fares is an exciting break through because these low one way fares are not available any where else. We were getting so many requests for Israel I have worked long and hard to obtain these exclusive contracts so they would be availble this season. EBA is pleased to welcome Israel as our new destination for hopping around Europe and beyond this summer" For more information go to NEW "INSIDER" FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL or call 1 888 321 4737

Air France Crash Sparks Black Box Debate

While search teams search the Atlantic ocean for the black boxes of Air France flight AF447 before their signals die out, aviation experts are considering satellite data streaming to collect vital flight data in future. An airliner's black box -- which is made up of a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- is designed to withstand a crash and emit a signal for about 30 days afterwards. If it is not found by then, the data is unlikely to be recovered. Many military aircraft already use data streaming, sending flight information real-time via satellite to ground stations. But the massive bandwidth and sophisticated infrastructure needed to manage and process data from tens of thousands of commercial flights per day could make it prohibitively expensive.

"Data streaming is currently technologically possible, but technologically impractical," Dan Elwell, Vice President Civil Aviation of the US-based Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) industry group, said at the Paris Air Show.

Bruce Coffey, President of the Aviation Recorders division of L-3 Communications -- the world's largest supplier of crash-survivable recording units -- said the use of data streaming in conjunction with traditional recording units could provide a "belt and suspenders" approach. However, only one of L-3's black boxes has ever been lost after a crash -- from the American Airlines flight that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11 2001.

Richard Hayden, President of Canada's Aeromechanical Services, thinks he has an answer to the question of cost. The company's automated flight information recording system compresses data, allowing it to send 10 times more from an aircraft in the same bandwidth than with a standard satellite communication, dramatically cutting the cost to the operator. Hayden said the system can be programmed to start transmitting data non-stop as soon as there's a problem on board, and that this could have sent crucial information about the June 1 Air France crash that killed all 228 people on board. "Today we have a situation where there's a possibility, if not a probability, that the FDR won't be recovered. All we have left is a very small set of messages," Hayden said, referring to the automated maintenance messages the A330-200 sent in its final moments, charting problems in all onboard systems. Data streaming may be able to supplement black boxes, but not replace them, L-3's Coffey said. "If you're not able to recover the black boxes, there are going to be a lot of questions that remain unanswered, that should be answered." But industry specialists want guarantees that the highly sensitive data -- in particular the cockpit conversations -- will be properly protected, and pilots' privacy preserved. "There is a huge sensitivity among pilots at the thought of every utterance being recorded and transmitted to some faraway place

British Airways Asks Staff To Work For Nothing

British Airways, which reported a record annual loss last month, said on Tuesday it had asked its staff to work for nothing as part of the company's battle for "survival" in tough market conditions. The appeal to its British-based employees, which featured in the company's staff magazine, asks workers to volunteer for between a week and a month in unpaid leave or in unpaid work. Chief executive Willie Walsh, who along with the chief financial officer Keith Williams has promised to work for nothing in July, said the idea was part of BA's across the board cost-cutting measures. "Many of you from across the airline are stepping up to help the company," Walsh said. "I am looking for every single part of the company to take part in some way in this cash-effective way of helping the company's survival plan. It really counts."

Alaska Airlines board to buy back millions in stock

A plan to repurchase $50 million worth of Alaska Air Group stock was approved by the airline holding group’s board, the company announced Friday. Alaska Air Group is the SeaTac-based holding company for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. The repurchases will come from cash on hand. Bill Ayer, the airline’s chairman, said the program will reward stockholders without threatening the airline’s cash situation. Stock buyback programs are designed to enhance stock prices by reducing the number of public shares outstanding

400 Years of History on Lake Champlain

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s first visit to the lake that now bears his name. The celebration will include exploration tours of over 300 shipwrecks at the bottom of the lake, a 13-day international waterfront festival, Heritage Days to celebrate French ancestry and much more. For more information on Summer-Fall Events Celebrate 400 Years of Culture, Beauty And History on Lake Champlain http://www.champlain400.com/

Freddie Awards

This year's winners will be announced at the Freddie Awards ceremony on April 23, 2009 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport in conjunction with the FTMA 2009 Spring Conference.

Richard Branson launches new airline V Australia

A new airline started by flamboyant British billionaire Richard Branson inaugurated service between Los Angeles and Australia on Friday, is the latest volley in a transpacific fare war that has already cut the price of a round-trip ticket by half.

The first flight of V Australia, carrying about 300 passengers from Sydney, landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday morning, greeted on the tarmac by firetrucks with water guns and then at the gate by Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Goofy.

Branson, in a telephone interview after a welcome ceremony at LAX, said he was confident that his new airline could weather the economic turbulence."There are plenty of people who've still got to fly, and the market across the Pacific is still very big," Branson said. "I wouldn't necessarily say every airline in the Pacific will survive, but if you make sure you've got the best carrier flying, the chances are you'll do well." The new airline can "afford to be price competitive," Branson said, because it flies newer planes that are more fuel-efficient and less expensive to maintain than those flown by competitors. The planes also have amenities that include two bars, a restroom for women only and mood lighting.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Just back from Grand Cayman...will have an update on the island and the airline tomorrow...stay tuned ...

FLORIDA HUDDLE 2009

Roy Lowey will broadcast live from the Florida Huddle trade show in Orlando 01-03 Feb. reporting on the latest news and happenings with-in the travel industry. Florida Huddle is one of the premier travel trade shows where industry professionals meet to discuss new product and innovations for the coming year...Host hotel is the Caribe Royale....I will be posting info and broadcast updates prior to the show.... so tune in each week and check the blog for the latest.