Spot On discovers that Chicago hotels have better security than New York airports.
Silly arguments against a silly policy
I’m as opposed to Northwest’s new fees for booking with a telephone agent as the next person. But there are just some silly claims being made in the debate.John Frenaye writes Last time you walked into a bank to deposit your paycheck, were you charged extra because you dealt with a person instead of an ATM? … No, of course not. In fact, it is quite common for banks to offer “self service” checking accounts where no fees are charged for ATM banking but use of a teller at a branch incurs a service fee. It’s frightening because there are millions of people out there without Internet access or credit cards. These folks are now going to be penalized for doing business with Northwest since they will be forced to deal with a travel agency…
Free Desktop PC
So my I’ve been playing with my free iPod for a couple weeks, and my free Flat Screen TV has been sent to the vendor for shipping. The next freebie opportunity has arrived: an opportunity for a free Desktop PC. Like the previous deals, you need to complete one of their offers (such as a free trial, which you can cancel free of charge) and get friends to complete offers as well. Then they ship you a computer.
Airtran Relaxes Business Class Upgrade Policy
Airtran is now offering space available upgrades to business class from any fare. Upgrades at checkin cost $35 per flight segment, except for flights to and from Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas which cost $50.Airtran elite members continue to get confirmed upgrades to business class at booking on full fare tickets, and purchased upgrades remain available the day before travel on all other fares.
Another Northwest Bonus Promo
Mile-Zilla, “A Monster Promotion,” earns miles for a combination of activities such as buying tickets, checking in online, and crediting hotel and car rental points to a Worldperks account. Qualifying activities can begin September 7th and points can be accrued for activity through January 31st. Registration is required by December 31st. Up to 100,000 miles can be earned.
A Monument is Acquired by Monument, Closes
The Watergate hotel is closing. Monument Realty has completed its purchase of the historic Watergate Hotel. Monument says it will change the name of the hotel to the Belle Rives and plans to transform the Watergate into 133 residences by 2006. Monument says they will range in price from $700,000 to more than $3 million for a three-bedroom penthouse.
Sundays in New York
From 9am to 9pm Eastern time tomorrow, August 26th, the W New York can be booked for Sunday nights between September 5 and November 21, 2004 for $98. The W Times Square is available for $145 on those days. This can be booked online or by calling 877-WHOTELS and mentioning rate plan WSUNDAY. That’s better than Priceline.
United Adding Award Booking Fees
Beginning October 15th United will charge $15 for booking awards via telephone reservations or at the airport. The fee will not apply to on-line bookings. They’re also increasing the change fee on award bookings from $75 to $100. This is especially egregious because the United website is so poor for booking awards. It will not allow awards on partner airlines, which means all Star Alliance or even USAirways awards will incur a fee. It will not allow open jaw awards, only simple roundtrips, so those will incur a fee. To add insult to injury, in my experience the website is incapable of booking an award in multiple classes of service. If I wanted to fly in business class to Tokyo, and there was availability on the transpacific flight but not on my domestic connection, the…
Northwest Imposes Fees for Offline Bookings
Northwest announced new booking fees yesterday. While revenue and award tickets booked on their website will not incur a charge, tickets booked over the phone will cost an extra $5 and tickets booked at the airport will cost an extra $10. Travel agents will also have to pay $7.50 for booking domestic flights through a Global Distribution System rather than through Northwest’s proprietary system (though Orbitz and its “supplier link” is specifically exempt).Of course, it remains to be seen whether the fee will stick or not, but it begins August 27th (September 1 for travel agents).While Northwest has an excellent website compared to many of its competitors, the website is inadequate for many bookings. In the case of searching for award bookings, live agents are still superior. The recommendation, then, is to call up Northwest…
May I See Your Papers, Please?
John Gilmore’s fight against airline ID requirements is gaining momentum. He has been joined by the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center in challenging the requirement that passengers identify themselves with government documents before being permitted to travel. Though his case is a long shot, it raises some important questions. Gilmore is claiming that the airlines’ often contradictory demands for ID before they let you fly—connected to federal mandates that are so secret the Justice Department’s lawyer wouldn’t even tell them to the judge in Gilmore’s original suit—constitute a violation of his right to travel, peaceably assemble, and be free from unwarranted searches and seizures. He further argues, among other things, that the secret directive violates due process and is inherently void due to vagueness.…
