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Fitzgerald's
4 nights, R/T air from Minn, 5/1-5/22, from.....$290

Westward Ho
3 nights, R/T air from Minn, now-4/22, from.....$300

Imperial Palace
3/4 nights, R/T air from Milw, 4/13-5/16, from.....$380

MGM Grand
3 nights - 3rd Night Free! R/T air from Milw, 4/13-5/16, from.....$460

Treasure Island
3 nights - 3rd Night Free! R/T air from Milw, 4/14-4/29, from.....$440

The Mirage
4 nights, R/T air from Minn, 5/1, 5/15, from.....$550
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Air Passenger Numbers to Top One Billion in Next Decade
Air traffic numbers should return to pre-2001 levels this year, with growth expected to continue at a rate of 3.4 percent annually for the next 12 years, according to a new government report. That means that by 2015, the number of air passengers should top one billion. Regional and/or commuter airlines, that is, those operating aircraft with 70 seats or fewer, are expected to see the greatest growth. Larger domestic airlines are expected to grow as well, although not at as fast a pace. Air travel to and from the U.S. is also expected to increase, with Latin American routes projected to show the greatest growth. (Source: Federal Aviation Administration’s Aerospace Forecasts Fiscal Years 2005-2015).

Rising Fuel Costs Mean Fewer Seats
Big airlines have complained over the last few years that the industry was awash in seats. But despite deep financial losses, none of them wanted to reduce capacity, given the heavy demand for travel. Now, rising fuel prices are forcing airlines to act, even though planes are as full as ever. Along with raising fares, the big airlines are beginning to retire less efficient planes and reduce domestic service. As a result, passengers are paying both in higher fares and fewer seats, as the airlines rethink service on routes that are especially unprofitable. (Source: The New York Times)

Southwest Carries The Most Passengers
In another sign of the ascendancy of low-cost carriers, Southwest Airlines carried 81.1 million passengers in 2004, the most passengers of any domestic airline, according to government statistics. Air travel numbers were up overall in 2004. U.S. airlines carried 7.2 percent more domestic passengers last year than 2003 and flew 3.3 percent more domestic flights than in 2003. (Source: U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics).

New Service to Japan
American Airlines and United Airlines have added service to Japan. American has begun a daily nonstop between Dallas Fort Worth and Nagoya. United has introduced daily nonstops between San Francisco and Nagoya. (Source: BizTravelLife).

Possible Air Traffic Controller Shortage Looms
The United States is running into a shortage of air-traffic controllers that could slow travel in the next few years, perhaps as early as this summer. The FAA is attempting to fix that with an ambitious plan to hire 12,500 controllers over the next decade, but the agency has a long way to go. Already, overall air travel is back above 2001 levels at some airports, and delays and congestion are increasing. (Source: The Wall Street Journal).

2004 Safest Year for Air Travel
Airlines recorded their safest year in 2004, with 428 persons killed out of the 1.8 billion passengers who flew, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The number of accidents rose to 103 from 99 in 2003--but global traffic increased 15 percent. IATA’s goal is to reduce the accident rate by 25 percent by 2006. The number of fatalities has been declining steadily from a peak of 1,418 deaths in 1996. The previous safest year was 2003, when 663 persons were killed out of 1.6 billion passengers flown. In 2002, 974 passengers were killed out of 1.6 billion passengers flown. (Source: IATA press release).

American Rushes to Add First Class Seats
American Airlines is working quickly to add two first-class seats in its workhorse Super 80 jets. The move is attributed to a drop in business and first-class fares that has spiked a demand for first-class seats. American's Super 80s will increase first-class seats to 16 from 14 by removing a storage closet. (Source: Dallas Morning News.com)

Hotels Add Automated Self-Check-in Kiosks
Taking a page from airlines, hotels are adding or upgrading automated check-in kiosks. Embassy Suites is installing self-service Embassy Direct self-service kiosks that guests can use to check in, pick a room, obtain room keys and check out. They will be in 75 percent of Embassy Suites by year’s end, and in all of them by June 2006. Hilton Hotels Corp, which already has such kiosks in its full-service hotels, is testing them at its Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton properties. Holiday Inn is testing kiosks that let guests check in, change their reservations, check out and access airline systems to print boarding passes on the spot. Guests can still opt for checking in at the hotel desk as well. Embassy Suites found that 10-12 percent of guests use the kiosks. (Source: hotel press releases).

Security Update
Screening Machines Planned for 150 Airports
Passengers at dozens of airports soon will be directed through screening machines that sniff for explosives and avoid the need for pat-down searches. The phone-booth-size portals, which cost $100,000 each, will be installed at about 150 commercial airports in the United States over the next year, the Transportation Security Administration said. The TSA said it will be the first widespread effort to screen passengers electronically for explosives. (Source: USA Today)

Low-cost carriers ranked first and second in the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Airline Satisfaction Index Study. JetBlue Airways ranked highest in overall airline customer satisfaction among major U.S. carriers, Southwest Airlines came second, Delta Air Lines ranked third. The study is based on responses from more than 2,600 passengers who flew on a major U.S. airline between May and October 2004. Passengers rate carriers in five categories: check-in/boarding/deplaning process, flight reservation/scheduling process, aircraft interior, in-flight amenities and flight crew.

JetBlue outperformed all others across all five categories, earning an overall satisfaction index score of 783 out of a possible 1,000. It did particularly well for aircraft interiors and in-flight amenities. Southwest received high marks for flight reservation, scheduling and flight crew. The study found that, overall, the airlines are better at satisfying customers at the front end of the travel experience than they are when the doors have been closed and the passengers are seated. While passengers give high satisfaction scores for making reservations and checking in baggage, scores are lowest when it comes to comfort and roominess of the passenger seats, the lack of amenities offered and the lack of availability of overhead storage.

The study also found that passengers checking in at self-check-in kiosks wait about half as long for their boarding passes as those who check in with an airline representative—7.2 minutes, as opposed to 14.2 minutes at the ticket counter and 9.4 minutes for curbside check-in.

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