Travel Analysis

I went on a mini-vacation recently, mostly to visit family and write, and stayed at one of my favorite places — the Comfort Suites in downtown Visalia, Calif. Because it’s in a agricultural/agribusiness area, the clientele always seems evenly split between business and pleasure. Aside from the free continental breakfast with waffles and breakfast burritos, they also have free...

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The September IATA Premium Traffic Monitor is out, and the news is not what I expected. Premium traffic air travel comparisons actually looked worse than in August, but what remains to be seen is whether this is an anomaly or a sign of a changing trend. Last month in my review of the August IATA report, I said “Last September is when the numbers really began to fall of a cliff, so you...

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HomeAway, an international network of Web sites to rent vacation homes, has recruited both Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo to reprise their roles as the Griswolds from the 1983 flick, “National Lampoon’s Vacation” for one of its commercials. That really isn’t the story — the real story is that the four-year-old company has around $397 million from...

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Just a couple weeks ago I wrote about how United (NASDAQ: UAUA) frequent fliers were angry at the airline’s pending upgrade policy change, and it appears they’ve listened . . . a little. United is bringing back regional upgrades for its top fliers. This combined with the airline’s decision to have reciprocal upgrades with Continental makes for a big week for the airline....

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Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. will move its headquarters from White Plains, N.Y. to Stamford, Conn. by 2012 because of $80 million in tax credits and an almost $10 million loan from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Starwood announced today. Frits van Paasschen, Starwood’s president and chief executive, said the company expected to see a...

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When it comes to wireless internet, there are two kinds of airports. One gives away internet access for free while the other charges for it. (I’m going to ignore the very small number of US airports that still have no internet at all.) Boingo is now trying to combine the two ideas in order to increase usage and, therefore, revenue. This idea isn’t a new one, but it’s new...

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Surprise! Holiday airfares are going up! OK, so it’s not a surprise. And that means that Tom Parsons from Bestfares.com is at it again, pointing out more holiday surcharges placed on airline tickets. Parsons, who’s relatively new on the scene with a Web site that supposedly finds the lowest possible airfare, has quite a publicity machine going. Every two weeks or so, Parsons sends...

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Last week, Mesa Airlines (NASDAQ: MESA) announced that United (NASDAQ: UAUA) had decided not to renew its contract to fly 26 fifty seat regional jets for the airline and speculation grew about who would fill the void. I would have thought United would have tried to stay away from adding any new 50 seaters, but I was wrong. ExpressJet (NYSE: XJT) wins the contest. I spoke with ExpressJet...

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I was doing my usual monthly perusal through the DOT’s air travel consumer report when a thought dawned on me. Atlantic Southeast (ASA) continues to run a terrible operation, yet they’re basking in the glow of a recently signed deal to start flying for United (NASDAQ: UAUA). What did United see in this airline (besides the multi-million dollar investment)? I find myself wondering...

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The owner of the Hooters Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas reported a $5.37 million loss in its third quarter and could file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The 696-room hotel’s owner, 155 East Tropicana LLC, said the economy, decreased flights to Las Vegas, declining stock values and lack of business travel contributed...

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