Thai Airport Protests End - Flights to resume Thursday

Thailand's Bangkok passenger flights will resume Thursday December 4th and freight traffic has already resumed. Political protestors who were accusing the current Thailand government of corruption had closed the airports almost a week ago and have been camped out since then, ending the airport "sit in" today. Hundreds of thousands of travellers are still stranded and Thailand's tourist industry may suffer greatly from the actions.

XL Leisure Group in the UK has stopped operations, stranding many customers.

Check with the website, now under control of those taking over the business, for details.

The following are recommended actions as of Sept 12, from the company website:

XL Leisure Group Plc, XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, Kosmar Villa Holidays plc – All in Administration (the Companies)

On 12 September 2008, Alastair Beveridge, Nick Cropper, Simon Appell and Stuart Mackellar were appointed as Joint Administrators of the Companies by the Court.

The Companies entered into Administration having suffered as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and were unable to obtain further funding.

The Joint Administrators cannot continue trading the business and therefore all flights operated by the Companies have been immediately cancelled and the aircraft grounded. Going forward, the Joint Administrators are unlikely to be able to trade the business or operate the aircraft.

All passengers who have yet to commence their travel should make alternative arrangements as detailed below.

France and Germany

The French and German divisions of the XL Group continue to trade as usual.

Customers booked with XL Leisure Group ATOL tour operators

The following tour operators held Air Travel Organiser’s Licenses (ATOL) and customers that purchased air holidays and flights from them will be ATOL protected. Full details are on the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) ATOL website (www.atol.org.uk):

• The Really Great Holiday Company PLC - ATOL 3827
  Trading as: Cruise City, Excel Holidays, The Florida Skytrain, Transatlantic Vacations, Travel City Direct and Travel City International
• Kosmar Villa Holidays PLC - ATOL 1760
  Trading as: Kosmar Holidays
  
• Freedom Flights Limited - ATOL 5296
  Trading as: Freedom Flights
• Aspire Holidays Limited - ATOL 6536
  Trading as: Aspire Holidays

Customers currently abroad

You should be able to stay in your hotel or villa and complete your holiday. In most cases, your accommodation provider will be paid direct by the CAA so you will not incur any additional expenses. If you need to make any payments for items like hotels or transfers, you should obtain a receipt as far as possible. The CAA will be able to consider claims for refunds for these amounts.

A flight will be arranged to bring you home by the CAA. You can check with your holiday representative for information about any changes to your flight arrangements, or check on the ATOL website (www.atol.org.uk). For those customers in particular distress please contact the CAA’s help line on telephone number +44 (0) 2891 856 547.

Customers with advanced bookings but yet to travel

All passengers who have booked through a travel agent should contact that agent in the first instance who will be able to assist you in making a claim on ATOL. If you booked directly with an XL Group company than please contact ATOL directly.

ATOL may be able to provide an alternative arrangement. Further information is available on the ATOL website (www.atol.org.uk).

Customers booked with XL Airways Through XL.com or XL Call Centres

Unfortunately, customers who booked either through xl.com or xl call centres are not ATOL protected. Consequently, you will be ineligible for a refund from ATOL in respect of your flight.

Customers currently abroad

The CAA will be able to make arrangements for your return journey. As you fall into an unprotected category of customers you will be invoiced a fee on your return to the UK. Please check on the ATOL website (www.atol.org.uk) for details or go to the local airport ticketing desk where they will be able to make arrangements and inform passengers of the likely costs.

Alternatively, you may be able to find a flight better suited to your needs by making your own, independent arrangements to return home. The CAA is not in a position to cover the costs of your own arrangements. For all new bookings please ensure you retain your receipts.

If you are owed money as a result of incurring costs to return to the UK please send details of the amount owed to you by the Companies to Kroll Limited, Wellington Plaza, 31 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

Customers should check their travel insurance policy since it may provide cover for airline or accommodation failure. The type of protection provided may also vary depending on the type of policy taken out. A policy may cover the complete or partial cost of the original tickets or accommodation purchased.

If you paid by credit card, you may be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you paid by Visa debit card you may also have some protection. You should check with your card issuer for further advice.

In the event that you wish to organise your own return travel, detailed below are a list of potential alternative carriers:

• First Choice – 0871 200 7799
• Thomas Cook – 0870 750 0119
• Thomson – 0871 231 5938

Further information can be obtained from the Administrator’s help line as follows:

• From the UK – 0800 068 8991
• From Abroad - + 44 208 242 4783

Customers with advanced booking but yet to travel

All flights have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

Customers of Medlife Hotels

Unfortunately, customers who booked through Medlife Hotels are not ATOL protected.

Customers currently abroad

You may be able to stay in your accommodation and complete your holiday. Please contact your relevant travel agent.

Customers with advance bookings but yet to travel

All holidays through Medlife Hotels have been cancelled and the Joint Administrators are not in a position to refund you in respect of these cancelled holidays.

If you are owed money as a result of a cancelled holiday please send details of the amount owed to you by the Companies to Kroll Limited, Wellington Plaza, 31 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

Customers should check their travel insurance policy since it may provide cover for accommodation failure. The type of protection provided may also vary depending on the type of policy taken out. A policy may cover the complete or partial cost of the original tickets or accommodation purchased.

If you paid by credit card, you may be protected by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you paid by Visa debit card you may also have some protection. You should check with your card issuer for further advice.

Press Related Enquiries

All press related queries concerning the Companies Administration should be redirected to the Kroll Press Office on 0207 973 5995.

All press enquiries concerning ATOL protection should be directed to the CAA Press Office on 0207 453 6030.

The affairs, business and property of the Companies are being managed by the Joint Administrators A P Beveridge (ICAEW), M N Cropper (ICAEW), S J Appell (ICAEW) and S C E Mackellar (ICAS). The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Companies and without personal liability.

Alastair Beveridge, Simon Appell and Nick Cropper are all licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. Stuart Mackellar is licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Flights Cancelled as American and Delta do safety checks

Delta has cancelled several flights to inspect them in line with the FAA rules that may not have been followed as closely as required:
Delta Grounds 133 Aircraft for Inspections Brian Finnegan at JetBlog! reports:
The airline is not sure how long the inspections will take but Delta cancelled about 56 flights out of Hartsfield Airport Wednesday evening. No flights to Tampa were affected but flights to Tallahassee, Sarasota, and Pensacola were ...JetBlog! Interactive - http://pamablog.typepad.com/pama/

American cancelled some 200 flights over the past few days for similar reasons. This from the Huffington Post:

American Cancels About 200 Flights
26 Mar 2008 by The Huffington Post News Editors FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines canceled about 200 flights on Wednesday so its crews can inspect some wire bundles aboard its MD-80 aircraft.

There appears to be no reason for alarm on the part of travelers. These are fairly routine type inspections to make up for what may have been compromised inspection processes in the past. Air Travel is, in my opinion, actually far *too* safe. Risks more in line with what we experience with car travel would bring down the cost of flying dramatically, especially in the areas of security where the TSA's massive, bloated budget and inefficient procedures threaten to cripple the American and perhaps even global Airline and Airport industry.

Heathrow Terminal 5 opens for passengers

No lesser mortal than the Queen of England opened Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, a facility that cost amost 9 billion US dollars and will allow the processing of some 35 million passengers annually. Initially the terminal will only serve British Airways passengers.

Landing Fees may be used in attempt to ease congestion

Airlines and Airports do not appear impressed with US Government plans to use landing fees to help ease congestion on major US air travel routes. Landing fees are paid by airlines to airports and the proposal is to raise the landing fees during peak times in an effort to move more flight traffic to off peak.

The New York Airport Authority, operating five of the nation's largest airports, is not optimistic about the proposal suggesting it offers too little to be effective. They want a broad, regionally and nationally integrated policies to optimize routes and travel.

Hawaii Airports = on time!

Hawaii Airports from Hilo to Honolulu scored well for being on time, according to this report from the Pacific Business News

Of course Hawaii may have the advantage of no snowstorms, which are often a major cause of delays in other parts of the country.

Mahalo!

Thanksgiving Travel Smooth as Gravy and Mashed Potatoes

The rumors of Thanksgiving holiday travel problems turned out to be greatly exaggerated as most airports ran smoothly over the holiday and travelers mostly made it home from Thanksgiving without incident.

AP Reports on a happily uneventful Thanksgiving Travel Season

New York Airport congestion may tangle holiday travel

AP reports , via Advanced Travel, that New York Airports will see 1.7 million travelers for this holiday, and that Airlines may have booked more traffic than those airports can reasonably handle without delays and problems.

The twin challenges of massive travel and security are straining the TSA's ability to safeguard the nation's traveling public. My view is that TSA has failed to implement technological as well as common sense solutions fast enough. This is partly just bureaucratic inefficiency but also comes from unreasonable demands from the public to create the impossibility of perfect safety and no inconvenience.

Travel Booking Tips from BT Travel

Note: I was not familiar with BTS Travel until tonight and cannot vouch for this as a good company - but they did have some great posted rates to China, and these excellent general discount travel tips:

SATURDAY NIGHT STAY
Try including Saturday night during your stay at the destination.

BOOK EARLY
We sell heavily discounted tickets only. Our seat inventory is very limited on each aircraft. The earlier you book the more chance you have to get the cheapest possible seat.

AVOID WEEKEND TRAVEL
Traveling Monday thru Thursday is generally cheaper than Friday thru Sunday. This applies to departure and return travel. Airlines charge up to $80 more for weekend travel.

THE CHEAPEST ONE WAY FARES
We offer substantially cheaper one way fares than many other major websites. Our one way fare are typically up to 50 percent cheaper than round trip fares.

EXTENDED AIRPORT SEARCH
Our search engine automatically searches for lowest fares using multiple airports within large metropolitan areas. This method is guaranteed to find you the lowest possible fare if you are flexible with the airports.

Airport delays mean more shopping adventures

The LA Times reports on several Airports with shopping amenities you might want to check out next time through, noting that the food and shopping are improving in quality and quantity as Airports deal with longer layovers and more competition for traveler's attentions.

China Civil Aviation Report

Want some insight into Civil Aviation in China? Try the China Civil Aviation report website/ magazine. They have offices in Beijing and California and area a key English language source for information about what's up with Chinese Aviation.

As we've noted before, the China air travel market is growing at a breathtaking pace both in terms of travelers and air traffic as well as aircraft and pilots. Add this to the overall business boom in Asia and it's clear that this region may become the "happening place" for Airports and Air Travel. QuickAid predicts that enplanements in China will exceed those in the USA within 5 years.

World's Busiest Airports

Ready for the weekend? Are you joining the 16 million Americans who will be flying for this holiday? Forbes reports on the busiest airports in the world, so to get prepared take this picture tour of busy airports and hope you miss these lines!

Forbes noted that Singapore's Changi Airport is "the best in the world" and conspicuously not one fo the top ten Airports in terms of overall quality is in the USA. As American airline companies continue to face huge financial challenges and as commerce moves boldly to China and the east I predict we'll see transportation in America continue to decline while portals in Asia continue to thrive and grow. We are at the beginning of an era that will see a dramatic shift in the prominence of China and other Eastern countries, ending with a global redistribution of power that will have many side effects of unpredictable significance. So, buckle your seatbelt and hang on - it could be a bumpy decade!

Airport Flu Shots available at some locations

This list of Airports offering Flu Shots is from *last year*, but is likely to still be good for the 2007 flu season. Data from CNN:

Airport		Location		Cost		Hours	Contact
Chicago O'Hare		University of Illinois Medical Center at O'Hare Terminal 2, post-security; flu shot kiosks: two in Terminal 1 and one each in Terminals 2 and 3.		$35		Clinic hours: Mon.-Fri.: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sat., Sun., holidays: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; kiosk hours: Sun.-Fri.; hours vary	773-894-5100 www.ohare.com
Denver		Denver Health Medical Center at Main Terminal, Level 6		$18, cash only		8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily	303-317-0607 www.flydenver.com
San Francisco		SFO Medical Clinic: Terminal 2, Arrivals/Baggage Claim level		$25		Mon.-Fri.: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Wed., until 7 p.m.); Sat. 9 a.m.-1 p.m.	650-821-5601 www.flysfo.com/guide_nonflash/airportinfo/medical.asp
Las Vegas		First Aid and Travel Vaccination Clinic: Terminal 1, 2nd floor, pre-security		$30		Sun.-Fri. 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat. 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.	702-261-5620 www.mccarran.com
Boston Logan		On airport grounds. 1 Harborside Drive (Take Massport Bus #66 to Logan Office Center)		Call for price and availability		Mon.- Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.	617-568-6500 www.concentrahealth.com
Honolulu		The Medical Corner: 300 Rogers Blvd. (Ewa Access Road)		$25		Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sat.: 8 a.m. to noon	808-836-3900 www.themedicalcorner.com
New York JFK		Kennedy Medical Offices: Cargo Area C, Building 198		$20		Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sat.-Sun: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.	718-656-5344 www.kennedymedical.com
Vancouver		Vancouver Airport Medical Clinic: Domestic Terminal Building, Level 1. Pre-security		U.S. residents: $35 (Canadian) from nurse, $40 (Canadian) from doctor		Mon.-Fri.: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.	604-207-6900 yvr.ca/guide/todo/health_centre.asp
Atlanta		Third-floor atrium, next to USO		$25		Mon.-Fri.: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.	404-616-6000 www.rlbmedicalcenter.org
Los Angeles		Centinela Hospital Airport Medical Clinic: 9601 South Sepulveda Blvd. By the entrance to LAX/300 yards across the Terminal 1 parking lot.		$25		24 hours a day	310-215-6020 Lawa.org/lax/medical.cfm

Labor Day Airport Traffic Predictions

This article from Associated Content is talking about expected traffic at Airports this labor day. Chicago is expected to be the busiest Airport (as United's hub it gets huge traffic), and the USA's second most popular destination city.

It's a mistake to use Orbitz data to generalize about city popularity since the analysis is complicated by issues regarding Airport hubs, final destinations that are often different from Airport destinations, etc, but it's an interesting view into American Travel patterns.

Sleeping in the Airport? Check out this guide

The clever "Budget Travelers Guide to Sleeping in Airports"
offers some good advice and interesting travel tips for those stuck in Airports, though the site is actually suggesting this as a viable alternative to regular lodging, and they don't mean a fancy hotel that happens to be inside an Airport. From the Budget Travelers site:

For travellers who are REALLY on a budget and are looking for a way to skim a few bucks off their travel expenses, why not consider sleeping in an airport? Many airports are actually better than local lodging.

I can't imagine picking an Airport over any local lodging in the USA but this is a globally focused site and I'm sure there are some places where the Airport really is the best lodging choice.

For most travelers the tips are helpful in dealing with situations where you *must* sleep in the airport. I think this will become increasingly common as carriers are moving to minimize the number of flights and maximize the number of passengers.

Sweet Airport Dreams to you!

Travel Tip - find specialized airlines

Flexibility is a key part of the discount travel experience. If you can match your plans to the "low vacancy" seasons for hotels or the "slow days" of airlines you'll find it keeps your costs down. Often this aspect alone can reduce the cost of a trip by *half*. Here are a few approches to keep in mind where you sacrifice virtually nothing in terms of quality to obtain much lower rates:

Cheap Airline Tickets: For airline tickets find specialized carriers that travel to your location. These may *not* be reflected at consolidators like Orbitz or Kayak.com and may not match your exact dates, so you'll need to do a bit of online searching for "flights to cityname" and "cityname airlines", etc. The object here is just to get the name of the specialty airline. An example here in rural Oregon is Allegiant. They fly to Las Vegas from several western cities, have fantastic rates in combination with hotel specials, but to keep costs down they only fly 2 days per week so you need to make plans accordingly.

For international travel this specialty airlines rule is even more important. There are thousands of airlines around the world - and even within the USA - that are not represented on Orbitz or other consolidators, and many offer special rates but have enough restrictions that you'll need to plan somewhat around *their needs*. This is not a big inconvenience if you are clever. For example on a big trip you'll generally have some departure flexibility. Before you plan your time off check and see if the days of the week matter to your departure flight.

Cheap Hotel Rates: For hotels as I've noted before the general rule is to book nights Sunday-Thursday and avoid Friday and Saturday where many cities will be booked at higher rates. Las Vegas can be remarkable in this way - on strip hotel specials can drop under $50 per night where the Bellagio on a weekend will run you $250+. A few years ago my Las Vegas Hilton room was $55 for Mon-Thursday but the *same room* would have been about $150 if I'd stayed Friday night. This effect in Las Vegas seems to be more pronounced in some hotels than others so keep that in mind.