Travel Industry Archive

Here in the US, the thought of building brand new airports all around the country is a pipe dream that will never happen. Simply getting a new runway at an existing airport takes decades, and the only way you’ll see a new airport is if it’s way, way out of town. Apparently, the latter is the strategy being used in Korea, but it’s failing miserably. It’s not that Korea...

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The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium may build a hotel to capitalize on its tourism, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The zoo, which boasts more than a million visitors each year, expects increased visitation from outside of Ohio. Officials are considering whether or not to build an on-site hotel or resort with the Hotel & Leisure Advisors of Cleveland heading up a study about the project. The...

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WestJet put out a curious press release yesterday entitled, “WestJet and Southwest delay code-share implementation.” The timing, source, and content of the announcement were quite odd. The announcement came on Memorial Day here in the US, possibly timed so that the US media would miss the announcement? It was put out by WestJet, so it wasn’t a holiday for them in Canada, but...

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Long Beach Airport Director Mario Rodriguez has been saying all the right things lately regarding the pending terminal and garage improvements, but talk is cheap. Now comes the hard part. Last week, at the Airport Advisory Commission meeting, Mario detailed plans for the parking garage and clarified his vision for the terminal improvements. Things are looking good. Let’s start with the...

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Canada’s airlines must provide a free seat to disabled or morbidly obese passengers — Canada’s two largest airlines must provide disabled and morbidly obese passengers an extra free seat on domestic flights. Canada’s Supreme Court upheld the federal decision after it refused to consider further appeals, thus ending a six-year legal wrangle by disabled...

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Las Vegas Sands Corp. opens Bethlehem, Pa. casino — Las Vegas Sands Corp. opens its 124-acre Sands Bethlehem casino in Bethlehem, Pa. today, hoping its profits will help turn around its various misfortunes. Earlier this year, Las Vegas Sands pulled the plug on several developments, including condominiums on the Las Vegas Strip and projects in Macao. Lately the casino operator has been...

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Alaska Airlines filed a forward-looking investor update with the government this week, and all is not rosy. Though April didn’t look bad at all with a 0.5 percent increase in unit revenue on a 2 point increase in load factor, there are concerns looking forward. The May loads appear to be deteriorating. May is currently booking 1.5 points behind last year. In their words, “May...

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Southwest’s entry into Milwaukee sets up a steel cage match with AirTran, an airline that has been trying to solidify its growing position as the big guy in town. So will AirTran run away screaming? Not likely. AirTran has worked hard to make Milwaukee its own after its effort to buy Midwest Airlines failed, and they won’t be happy to see Southwest move in. But can they compete?...

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Two more companies are joining JetBlue and Norwegian Cruise Line in the race to capture market share in the travel and hospitality industry. Langham Hotels International is waiving penalty fees for canceled group events, and Sandals Resorts is offering a full cash refund for clients who lose their jobs. While not offering a full refund the way JetBlue and Norwegian do, Langham is offering to...

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Carnival Cruise Lines is slated to return its ships to Mexico as early as next week now that the U.S. government has lifted its travel advisory to Mexico because of the country’s swine flu outbreak. The Center for Disease Control previously recommended Americans avoid nonessential travel to the country to avoid the H1N1 flu. So far, Carnival is the first major cruise line returning to...

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