American Sends Some Love to Its Employees (Unfortunately It’s Not Quite Enough)

AMR Corporation, the parent of American Airlines, recently annmounced it would be giving its workers $67 million in what they are calling “Thank-you Checks.” However, most employees are greeting it with a shrug.

Still angered over an executive bonus given out in 2007 worth nearly $59 million in AMR stock, many employees felt the payout, which will give each American Airlines employee $800 and American Eagle employees $500, too little and too late.

American’s largely union work force felt the executive payout was made in bad faith, given the fact that in 2003 the employees took paycuts and made other concessions to help the airline avoid bankruptcy.

Keep your eye on developments between American and its unions, particularly the pilots’ union which has been trying to negotiate a new contract for months with little success. In fact, bet on the airline and its pilots’ union ending up at the arbitrator’s table some time in the near future.

And don’t forget, you can always book the best airfare deals on the Internet at Cheapfares.com.

 

A Disney World Resort Gets a Major Facelift

Disney’s Contemporary Resort was one of the first two hotels to open at Disney World (the other being the Polynesian Resort). Unfortunately, over the years the A-framed shaped hotel with the open breezeway for the monrail to pass through hasn’t aged well.

Decor that was trendy in 1971, when it opened, has grown garish over the years.

So Disney has embarked on a much needed facelift of the hotel that sits next door to the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.

Considered the least themed of the Disney World resorts, the Contemporary is the only resort that is less than a five minute walk from the Magic Kingdom. The entire resort is getting makeover.

Typical of Disney, attempts are being made to make the redo as unintrusive as possible to visting guests, although some sections or floors will be closed from time-to-time.

So there’s no reason not to stay at this popular hotel during its refurbishment.

And, of course, you can schedule your next visit to the Contemporary Resort and Disney World at Cheapfares.com, where you’ll find the best values on the Internet for your next Disney vacation. 

 

Finding Great Deals on First and Business Class Travel

Airlines know that their best prospects for repeat customers are usually found among executive travelers. And to better accommodate executive and first class travelers, you now can search for affordable executive class travel at Cheapfares’ popular Executive Class Travel Page.

With this proprietary feature, Cheapfares will submit your travel itinerary to several top providers and e-mail you with their best offers within 24 hours of your inquiry.

Cheapfares specializes in first and business class travel to destinations throughout the world, saving you as much as 60% off published first and business class airfares. Find the best in online travel deals at Cheapfares.com.

 

Americans are Booking More Travel Online

2007 was a banner year for online travel purchases as for the first time more travel was purchased online than off-line, according to a PhoCusWright Cosumer Travel Trends Survey indicates. 

The study indicated that 51% of U.s. travel was purchased online. The survey projected that that figure would increase to 56% in 2008 and 60% by 2009.

Plane tickets, in particular, are being purchased more frequently online.

Whether you simply want ot purchase plane tickets or a complete vacation npavckage, there’s no better online resource than Cheapfares.com.  Stop by today and book your next trip or vacation on the Internet’s best resource for online travel reservations.  

 

Do Airline Woes Signal Possible Fare Wars?

It’s no secret airline carriers are increasingly being weighed down by fuel costs and concerns about an economic downturn. And it’s hit their stockmarket prices, as airline stocks are at their lowest in years.

In fact, market capitalization for some airlines is less than the cash they have on hand. American Airlines (AMR), for example,  had nearly $6 Billion in cash and short term investment on hand at the end of September, but has a market capitialization of only $3 Billion.

But while this is bad news for the airlines, this isn’t necessarily bad news for air travelers.

The airlines are finding it’s harder to put through price increases to cover increased fuel costs and are increasingly reluctant to try to do so.

For some of them, the response has been to consider cutting back on flights, but that’s unlikely for the most part. Most carriers have already made cutbacks in the past few years and there’s just not much fat to trim, particularly with the possiblity that cutting back could mean a competitor gains new customers.

 Watch for some of the airlines to break ranks on trying to hold the line on airfares and start discounting airfares in a grab for more customers. While it is almost a self-defeating gambit for airlines to do so, it’s been the traditional response to slowdowns in the past.

Among legacy carriers, Northwest has often been a leader in trying to grab marketshare this way, although I suspect it’s more likely that a low cost carrier, or carriers, will be the spark for the next round of fare wars.

So while this is bad news for the bottom lines of airlines, it will likely be good news for travelers. And don’t forget you can always find the lowest airfares offered online by visting Cheapfares.com,  your source for the best travel deals.

 

Atlanta Just Keeps Getting Busier and Busier

The world’s busiest airport keeps getting busier. In 2007, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) was once again the world’s busist. They makes three years in a row.

The number of landings and takeoffs at ATL rose 1.8% last year to approximately 994,500.

In second was Chicago’s O’Hare, where traffic declined 2.4%. Closely behind in third place was Dallas/Fort Worth, which saw traffic decline 2.3 %.

Regardless of whether you’re using the busiest airports in the world or traveling a bit off the beaten track, there’s no better place to find the best airfare deals than Cheapfares.com. Stop by today and take a look at the best deals on the Internet.

 

Traveling to London? Thankfully the Strike’s Called Off

Word out of England is that the strike planned by union workers at BAA Ltd.’s seven British airports has been called off.

The strike would have included Heathrow and Gatwick and was to start Janaury 7.

The union and the management company reached an accord (of sorts), agreeing to negotiate rather than snarl two of the world’s busiest airports with the headaches that would have accompanied a strike. If you’re interested, they were arguing over pensions (which has been a big issue among US airlines the past few years).

So if you had any concerns about the effects of a strike on airport operations there, problem solved.

Go ahead and book your flights now at Cheapfares.com.

Hey, there’s some pretty good deals to England, and Europe, right now.

 

The Top Hotels for Those Who Want to Exercise

Are you one of those people who doesn’t want to interupt their exercise routine just because you’re on the road?

Then I’ve got some news for you.

Athletic-Minded Traveler has just released it’s 2007 listings of the best U.S. hotels with gyms. Their staff researched over 3,500 hotels, taking into account the size of the gym, the equipment and the general atmosphere.

Their top ten list–

1. The Houstonian (Houston, TX)

2. Renaissance Clubsport (Walnut Creek, CA)

3. Park Hyatt at the Bellevue (Philadelphia, PN)

4. Four Seasons (San Francisco, CA)

5. Embassy Suites Lakefront (Chicago, IL)

6. Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine (La Jolla, CA)

7. Westin Atlanta Perimeter North (Atlanta, GA)

8. Grand Hotel (Minneapolis, MN)

9. Broadmoor (Colorado Springs, CO)

10. Venetian (Las Vegas, NV)

You can get more details on each of the above here.

Personally, I’d be tempted to add the Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas at Las Colinas (whew, that’s a mouthful to say), but for some reason, they didn’t ask me for my opinion.

And if you’d like to book a reservation at any of the above, just visit Cheapfares.com and check out our hotel search page. Then it’s just a matter of providing a little information and you’ll be ready to exercise your tail off at the hotel of your choice.

 

Shhh…Don’t Tell Anyone About This Airline Seat Secret

 There are other people who know this secret who will probably kill me for sharing it, but…Most people can figure out whether they want a window, aisle, or center seat (well, nobody really wants a center seat). But the majority of us don’t have a clue as to whether one seat on a plane is better than another.

Enter two websites– seatguru.com and seatexpert.com – both of which list the major carriers and the aircraft they use, while providing comments and information on the best and worst seats in each type of aircraft.

A few of the rating are even based on obscure criteria that you can’t determine from a normal seating diagram. The presence of annoying bright lights, small windows and bothersome movie screens, for example.

So next time you book a flight on Cheapfares.com, check out  seatguru.com or seatexpert.com for details on where you should sit.

Don’t tell anyone else or this might be the last thing I ever write.

 

Downhill in the Dark is in Vogue

I still remember the many times I’d go skiing at a resort I used to frequent and the slopes would close at 4:30 in the afternoon—because the sun was going down. As I got smarter about it (and became a better skier), I’d always try to make sure I was at the top of the mountain when that hour approached, so that I could have the longest possible downhill trip before being told “the lifts are closed.”

That’s not the case these days. In what is an almost surreal experience, now when the sun goes down, the lights come on.

At least that’s the experience you can have at some ski resorts, among them Keystone and Park City Mountain Resort.

As you can see in this photo from Keystone…

 

…the lights are on for many of the slopes when the sun goes down.  And it’s open to both skiers and snowboarders.

 Keystone currently offers 15 lighted trails and, get this, offers discount rates for night skiing and snow boarding starting at 4:00.  

Discounted! Jeez, back in the old days I would have paid full price for a lift ticket, if not more, to be able to ski the slopes at night.

Park City Mountain Resort and Brighton Resort have taken the lead in Utah. Even better, at Park City night skiing is free with the purchase of an all-day lift ticket (it’s 38 bucks if you miss out on the day skiing).

Brighton has actually offered night skiing on some slopes since 1978, but it’s only been in the past ten years that they began illuminating 22 of their runs.

Okay, skiers and boarders, ready to try to your hand at “downhilling after dark?”

Find great deals on packages to all three of these resorts at Cheapfares.com.  

In fact, Cheapfares is your best source for all the best travel deals, wherever you want to go. Only on Cheapfares will you find all of the top deals offered by both of the largest travel web sites (no more bouncing from site to site looking for the best deal), as well as the best in last minute deals for that spur of the moment trip you want to take.

So whether you’re heading for the slopes, the beach or even international destinations, make Cheapfares your first and last stop for all your travel needs.