Travel Industry Archive

Carnival offers refund to swine flu-sickened passengers — Carnival Corp. reported it will reimburse passengers cruising in Australia after 53 passengers on the Pacific Dawn tested positive for swine flu. The cruise operator will offer each passenger 75 percent of their fare and the last 25 percent will be paid in credit on a future cruise. The swine flu outbreak has doubled...

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You probably saw something about this: The founder of the recently deceased SkyBus airlines has launched a new venture: JetAmerica. And where SkyBus tried to make a name for itself with tickets as low as $10, Jet America is going to do that one better, with tickets as low as $9. The new venture plans to launch in July, connecting Toldeo, Ohio, with Newark, N.J., Lansing, Mich., South Bend,...

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Air New Zealand’s latest ad campaign features many employees, including CEO Rob Fyfe, without any clothes on. So are all the indecency folks up in arms over such a stunt? Nope. In fact, I’ve heard nearly universal praise for the ad, which has really taken off online with more than 1.5 million views on YouTube. I had the chance to talk to Rob about the campaign, and he had plenty...

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Bank of America’s first hotel, an 18-story Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, N.C., is slated to open in October. According to a few reports, the hotel will also be built green — it’s planned to be gold-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It’s also Charlotte’s first five-star hotel and built just across...

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In my last post, I wrote about what United wants for its employees. In this post, let’s talk about what United wants for itself. As with the employees, there are three things that United wants for the company. A competitive cost structure in a difficult economic and industry environment Enhanced productivity Flexibility to adapt to rapid changes in the marketplace, evolving customer...

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United is in the unfortunate position of having all of its union labor contracts become amendable (airline labor contracts never “expire” thanks to the Railway Labor Act) at the beginning of 2010. That is not an enviable position, especially when most unions have already ratcheted up the rhetoric about regaining what they’ve lost over the last few years. At least United is...

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Anaheim votes to extend $76.3 million tax break to Disney hotel developer — The Anaheim City Council voted Tuesday to extend a $76.3-million tax break to a developer building two Disney-operated luxury hotels, despite strong opposition. The council voted to make up to 15 years of  assistance payments to GardenWalk Hotel I, LLC, the developer wanting to build the two 12-story hotels for...

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How much do you know about your online reputation? More and more often, companies are paying closer attention to their online reps because of the impact it can have on business. A company’s online reputation can have a significant impact on the ability to convert shoppers into buyers on their own website. It doesn’t cost much to maintain, but it does require some effort....

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With passenger numbers in a free-fall, some notable global carriers — like Qantas — are cutting back on their first-class seating options. Premium seating on an Emirates 777. But today’s New York Times also reports that some airlines are upgrading seating, particularly in premium sections, as they try to hang on to some of the most-valuable passengers they’ve got. The...

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If you listen to talk radio, or to certain oil-state Republicans, or even other bloggers here on BNet.com, you’ll hear that the carbon cap-and-trade program that cleared a House Energy and Commerce Committee vote Tuesday is bad for America, bad for our economy, and certainly bad for business. So it’s a little surprising that a top executive of one of the nation’s leading...

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