Business Travel Tips

A new consumer group, Association for Airline Passenger Rights, or AAPR, aims to introduce a federal ‘Passenger Bill of Rights’.

The AAPR’s website reads: “The Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR) flew onto the national stage aiming to change the nature of domestic air travel by improving customer service and pursuing a federal Passenger Bill of Rights in the United States Congress”.

AAPR executive director Brandon M. Macsata says: “Air travelers in the United States are completely fed-up with almost every aspect of the airline industry today […] Passengers are tired of all the new surcharges; they are tired of sitting on the tarmac for hours without any explanation; they are tired of the canceled flights; and they are tired of the poor customer service.”

Of the top 20 busiest airports in the United States, just five offer free Wi-Fi.

(photo by cogdogblog - CC license)

It’s what Rick Seaney, leading expert on airfare, writes on ABC News. The busiest U.S. airports offering free Wi-Fi include Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Charlotte and Orlando. Two others, Philadelphia and Seattle-Tacoma, support limited free Wi-Fi; at New York JFK’s Terminal 5 JetBlue provides Wi-Fi for free.

In the other major airports in the U.S. you have to pay for your Internet connection.

Delta Air Lines has launched a sale on Business Class seats for flights to some European destinations.

To take advantage of this Delta’s Business Class promotion you must book either 50 days or 30 days in advance (see table below); also a minimum stay of seven days is required (with maximum stay of 30 days). Tickets are valid for travel in the Delta’s BusinessElite cabin.

Below a few examples of what Delta is offering (fares are one-way based on a round-trip purchase).

Massachusetts Port Authority — Massport — that runs the Boston’s Logan International Airport plans to cut 4.5 percent of its budget as it projects fewer travelers will fly through the Boston’s airport during the first half of 2009, The Boston Globe reports.

The newspaper quoted Massport’s chief executive Thomas J. Kinton Jr. as saying that last year, Logan served over 26.1 million passengers, down 7.1 percent from its record of 28.1 million passengers in 2007.

Massachusetts Port Authority’s officials expect monthly passenger traffic at the airport will be down of about 5 to 6 percent during the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2008.

The authority which had already cut its budget by 3.4% in September, is considering everything from layoffs to reductions in some of its transportation services to and from the airport to offset a possible drop in food, retail, and parking revenues.

Marriott International opened its fifth hotel in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel.

Located adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport, easily accessible to some of Hong Kong’s most appealing shopping districts, Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel is just 28-minute express train ride from Hong Kong’s Central district. It is connected via a covered footbridge to the exhibition center and convention cente AsiaWorld-Expo.

This 11 floors hotel comprises 658 guest rooms, including 32 suites and 119 executive rooms. All rooms are equipped with the latest in-room technology.

The hotel offers Marriott spa experience — the Quan Spa, as well as extensively equipped health club, including an impressive 27-meter indoor pool, sauna, steam rooms, jacuzzi and a 24-hour gym.