Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell September 26, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

International News

Luggage Club offers door-to-door service

The Luggage Club gives travelers an alternative to airline fees for checked baggage by offering door-to-door baggage and goods delivery, including business equipment and sporting equipment such as skis, golf clubs and surfboards. 

Travelers can schedule Luggage Club service online or via phone. An agent then picks up the baggage at the customer’s location, transports it and delivers it to their final destination. There are no limits on size, weight or number of pieces that can be shipped and services are available throughout 220 countries and territories worldwide. 

When shipping through a service like the Luggage Club, the cost per bag decreases as bags are added to the order, unlike airline policies that levy more fees as bags are added.


Airline News

Airlines cut 60 million seats for Christmas travel 

Booking flights for Christmas travel will not be so merry this season. The UK newspaper The Telegraph reports that airlines across the world will cut 60 million seats for the holiday. The US will be hit the hardest, losing 20 million, and Europe will lose 5.5 million.

Expect airfares to rise significantly as 275 airports across the globe reduce routes. The Official Airline Guide (OAG) reports that the reduction, averaging one in every 14 seats, will come due to high fuel costs. European airlines British Airways and Ryanair have already announced their planned reductions in flight capacity and OAG experts predict further reductions will follow throughout the industry in 2009.

Virgin Galactic rolls out space mothership “Eve”

Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan have pulled back the hangar doors on the new WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft. It is designed to ferry SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts and science packages on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic suborbital space experience. 

The rollout represents another major milestone in Virgin Galactic’s quest to launch the world’s first private, environmentally benign, space access system for people, payload and science. 

Christened “Eve” in honor of Sir Richard’s mother, who performed the official naming ceremony on July 29, WK2 represents groundbreaking aerospace technology. It is the world’s largest all-carbon-composite aircraft and many of its component parts have been built using composite materials for the very first time. At 140 feet, the wing spar is the longest single carbon-composite aviation component ever manufactured.

Free trips/upgrades on American Airlines to require higher fees and miles 

American Airlines announced that it would raise fees and miles needed for customers to receive upgrades and free trips on its AAdvantage program that began 25 years ago.

Beginning October 1, upgrades from an economy/coach seat will cost US$50 on a one-way domestic flight in addition to the required 15,000 miles. An upgrade from an economy/coach seat on a roundtrip flight will be US$100 plus 30,000 miles.

Upgrades fees were also raised for international flights. Fees for an economy/coach upgrade on a one-way flight from the US to Europe, China, Japan, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile or Uruguay will rise from US$300 to $350, plus the required 25,000 miles. An upgrade for a one-way flight to India will cost US$400 plus 40,000 miles.

Sources: Mexican Tourism News, Travel Agent Daily, Travel Pulse Daily, Travel Agent Central, MSNBC, Associated Press

Judy Newell, a writer and travel industry executive, heads the custom tour company Perfect Journeys that specializes in luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at JudyNewell_03@msn.com or go to her website www.PerfectJourneys.net.  



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