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| Quick Hits | | |
JFK Runway Reopens
Authority of New York and New Jersey said that the $348.1 million runway project at John F. Kennedy International Airport was completed ahead of schedule and within budget. The runway is open again after the four-month construction project aimed at reducing flight delays.The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that the $348.1 million runway project at John F. Kennedy International Airport was completed ahead of schedule and within budget. The runway is open again after the four-month construction project aimed at reducing flight delays.
TSA Vows to Screen All Cargo from U.S. Airports by August
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the TSA rule requiring screening of 100% of cargo on commercial jetliners by August. Though TSA currently inspects about 75% of cargo, shipments arriving from abroad are usually shrink-wrapped and exempt from screening, GAO found. TSA responded: "Effective August 1, 2010, 100 percent of all cargo transported on passenger aircraft from U.S. airports will be required to be screened; to develop a contingency plan that suggests otherwise is unnecessary."
Airline Baggage Fees Adding Up
From January to March, the airlines collected $769 million in baggage fees and $554 million from reservation change fees, according to the Department of Transportation. The numbers do not include fees from seating assignments and on-board sales of food, drink, pillows, blankets, and entertainment, which are reported in a different category. Total first quarter 2010 airline revenue from all ancillary sources was $1.9 billion, with Delta reporting the most at $592 million. Passenger fees and ancillary revenue from other sources constituted 6.2 percent of the total revenue of the 28 carriers reporting ancillary revenue. Spirit Airlines' reported the largest percent of any carrier, 21.7 percent. "This has become a billion-dollar industry," said Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel. "This is clearly working for the airlines. And they're not going away anytime soon."
Air Travel Passes Pre-Recession Levels
Air travel inched passed pre-recessions levels, according to the International Air Transport Association. International scheduled traffic statistics for May showed an 11.7 percent increase in passenger traffic over May 2009. South America saw the biggest growth, 23.6 percent; Asia-Pacific saw a 13.2 percent growth. Europe saw 8.3 percent growth. The U.S. saw a 10.9 percent increase; the region's careful matching of capacity to demand has driven load factors to 82.4 percent, the highest of all regions.
Amtrak Expands Free Wi-FI Service
Amtrak's three-month trial of free Wi Fi was so successful that Amtrak is making it standard on all Acela trains running between Washington, D.C., and Boston. It's planning to offer Wi Fi on its fleet nationwide, once it gets funding. This will begin this fall on Amtrak Routes in California, with Northeast regional service.
DoT Awards Tokyo Haneda Slots
The Transportation Department on Tuesday confirmed a tentative decision awarding three U.S. carriers with routes to Tokyo's close-in Haneda Airport, a favorite with business travelers. Delta Air Lines will get two flights a day, while American Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines each will get one. The new flights are expected to begin in October.
DoT Says 5 Flights Spent More Than 3 Hours on Tarmacs in May
The Department of Transportation is investigating the five flights in May that were stuck on tarmacs for more than three hours. The government will consider levying fines against the airlines for violating new rules that prohibit such lengthy tarmac delays. The rules have contributed to a significant decline in tarmac delays.
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iJet Risk Intelligence Report
Travel Security Intelligence, from iJET
details |
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Online Travel Tips
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Airline Fares Rise Every Month in 2009
Every month last year, major U.S. airlines saw a year-over-year decline in average fare. So far this year, the opposite has held true. Couple that with a growing appetite for ancillary revenues-from baggage fees and change fees to lounge passes and whatever the revenue management department's fancy-and domestic airlines are in a better position to generate revenue than they've been in quite some time. (Click here to see a pdf of this section, with all charts and auxiliary features.)
"Pricing is still below where it was in 2008, though it's bounced way off the nadir that it hit in 2009," US Airways president Scott Kirby said this month. Coming off the lowest fares in a decade, airfare analyst and FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney said there is hardly anywhere for airfares to go but up, and signs of prices firming continue to build. Whereas yields declined about 12 percent for the full year of 2009, through April this year yield has grown about 8 percent year over year, with the momentum building with each month, suggesting even further pricing power in the airline's hands for months to come.
Even though carriers have been unable to pass through major systemwide fare increases, Seaney said the mix of business has moved steadily to favor higher yield travelers as the airfare fire sale that lured so many leisure travelers to the skies last year has made way for heightened airline pricing power.
"The industry really aggressively discounted last year," Kirby said. "What we've seen this year is the industry is not discounting as aggressively. There haven't yet been large fare increases across the industry. They don't get headline press reports, but there have been some more tactical fare increases across the industry in recent weeks. I'm optimistic that, given the strong revenue environment that we and others are seeing, that we'll start to get some pricing traction."
Seaney said many airlines this year "are closing out all of their cheapest inventory classes for the summer" and, even if fare hikes haven't been met with widespread success, "Southwest hasn't had a systemwide, marketed published sale since November of last year, and last year they were doing at least one a week. That tells you how firm it is for the summer."
As fares themselves firm, airlines also continue to diversify their sources of revenue through a la carte fees, new service charges and other ancillary fees. What started a couple of years ago as a charge to check a second bag has snowballed into a fundamental shift in how airlines price their products and generate revenues. The trend toward unbundling, upselling and other euphemisms for charging more shows few signs of letting up.
"We've recognized the need to transform the revenue model, and we've taken calculated risks as we try to create new streams and revenue," said Kathryn Mikells, CFO at United Airlines, which alone expects revenue generated from ancillary revenues to top $1.2 billion this year. The ancillary revenue revolution took hold with checked bags, introduced by United more than two years ago, but carriers continue to experiment and build revenue, while giving customers a service option or a new source of frustration, depending on the perspective.
Continental CEO Jeff Smisek this month presented selling exit row seating as a case study in how airlines are finding new revenue in old places. "We have other products to come, but exit row seats have been a homerun for us," Smisek said this month. "In the old days-that is, a few months ago-we used to give away exit row seats." Though Smisek said Continental's elite status frequent flyers still would get priority, Continental in some cases would have given away such a perk-on a free, first-come basis. "Aunt Erma, who bought on Orbitz and doesn't know she's flying Continental, who gets on board and looks around and says, 'gee this one's blue and gray,' and paid $69, she gets the exit row seat," Smisek said. Now, Continental sells those at varying prices, depending on length of haul-but still maintains it as a free perk to the most frequent flyers. "We are now generating on average $120,000 a day from this one product," Smisek said this month. "You do the math." Continental and United are hardly alone, and new optional services and fees continue to expand in the industry.
Just this month, American Airlines introduced what it calls its Boarding and Flexibility Package, part of a suite of ancillary services called Your Choice, which AA director of merchandising strategy Cory Garner described as "our umbrella brand for our optional services." The suite also includes such previously available optional services as inflight Internet access, Admirals Club day passes and confirmed flight changes, among others. Garner said AA plans to add many more Your Choice offerings. "This is another step in an evolution that's been taking place for years now, and something we see as giving the customer more choice, more control, more visibility, more ways to personalize their travel," he said. "This is a point along an upward trend."
AirTran CEO Bob Fornaro this month said he sees a law of diminishing returns already at play when it comes to ancillary airline revenues, noting that, at least for his carrier, the biggest moneymakers already have been introduced. "Certainly, it's a good revenue source," Fornaro said on the topic of ancillary revenues. "There are opportunities, but the biggest ones I think are in our numbers now: change fee, cancel fee, the upgrade program and the first bag. Going forward, most of the changes will be modest. You can debate some of the other things-whether to charge for carry-on bags-but I just don't see that happening right now," he said, referring to a Spirit Airlines proposal to charge passengers to carry on luggage.
The industry may be slow to adopt such a move, but there is evidence that consumers have grown to accept the new pricing models. J.D. Power and Associates this month released its annual consumer satisfaction survey for the U.S. airline business, and found that not only did overall satisfaction improve in the past year, but that passengers may have grown to accept the proliferation of ancillary fees levied by carriers.
"The fact that overall satisfaction with airlines has improved is particularly notable in light of a difficult economic year, in which add-on fees have continued to proliferate and two major airlines have merged," said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power. Among the criteria on which it rates carriers, the costs and fees category saw an increase in satisfaction in the past year. |
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of Travel
Need a gift for the person who has everything? Or something special for your loved ones?
CI Travel Gift Certificates are a great way to give the gift of travel.
You choose the amount, they choose everything else. Contact us today for more details at vacations@citravel.com | |
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CI Travel
Business Travel Newsletter
July 12, 2010 |
Greetings!
Ah, the summer of 2010. It's not even August yet and the summer weather delays are already impacting business and leisure travelers alike. The reduction in the number of flights coupled with smaller flights has made it difficult for passengers whose travel is interrupted by weather. With the thunderstorm season coming upon us, cancellations and delays are going to increase.
What can you do?
Stay cool. Keep our number handy. Bring extra reading material. Try never to check a bag so that you will have greater flexibility in addition to your toiletries and change of underwear!
When you are initially booking your flights, if possible, try not to book the last flight of the day. I know a longer layover for a change of plane is a pain, but you may want to increase your pain tolerance here so that you are giving yourself at least an hour in between domestic flights. In the summer time, I look for connections that are 90 minutes to 2 hours in between flights.
Know the rules. Expect that airline personnel will be stressed out and over-worked. They may not know their company's rule on passenger compensation. Politely ask them to see a copy. They must have copies available to show passengers.
Lastly, patience and controlled persistence will get you on your way faster than threatening to make a YOUTUBE video on your smart phone. Smile, it will go a long way and maybe get you on your way faster.
Chris Nicholas and the Employee/Owners of C I Travel
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State Department Increases Fees
Fees for Passports, Visa Pages and More Going Up
Effective July 13, the U.S. State Department will impose new fees for many of its passport-related products and services. The total cost of a new passport will increase from $100 to $135 for adults (age 16 and older) and from $85 to $105 for minors. Renewals will increase from $75 to $110 for adults and from $60 to $80 for minors. Travelers needing extra visa pages will pay $82. Previously, this service has been offered free. As a result, ASTA members should take this opportunity to alert travelers of the new fees.
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Product / Service |
Current Fee |
New Fee | |
Adult Passport Book (First Time) |
$100 |
$135 | |
Minor Passport Book (First Time) |
$85 |
$105 | |
Adult Passport Book Renewal |
$75 |
$110 | |
Minor Passport Book Renewal |
$60 |
$80 | |
Adult Passport Card (First Time) |
$45 |
$55 | |
Minor Passport Card (First Time) |
$35 |
$40 | |
Adult Passport Card Renewal |
$20 |
$30 | |
Minor Passport Card Renewal |
$10 |
$15 |
The complete rules and fee chart can be found on the Passport page of the State Department's website.
The State Department admitted that more than 98% of the comments received from individual members of the public were opposed to the fees, as were comments from the travelindustry and from the Consumer Travel Alliance and other consumer and civil liberties organizations. But the State Department brushed off those objections (failing even to acknowledge complaints that the rulemaking violated U.S. international treaty obligations on freedom of movement, as well as violating the Administrative Procedure Act) and finalized the proposed fee increases unchanged. No consideration was given to their economic impact on self-employed or freelance business travelers, despite the requirement for such an assessment under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The most extreme increase will be for adding blank visa pages to a current passport, currently a free service for which a new fee of $82 will be imposed. Check how many blank visas pages are left in your passport, and when your passport will expire. Unless you pay $60 extra for "expedited" (2-week) service, standard passport application processing time is supposedly 4-6 weeks. Adding pages sometimes takes much less time than getting a new passport. But because the fee increase is likely to prompt a surge of last-minute applications for all sorts of passport services, I wouldn't count on getting your passport back until the end of August if you send it in (by Express Mail) today.
Editorial Comment - PLEASE - I can't caution you enough to avoid getting the Passport Card option! These cards CANNOT be used for flying back into the U.S. They are only good for entry by land or sea. It's not worth the savings of $90 if suddenly you have to fly back into the U.S. due to some emergency. That $90 savings could cost you ten times that amount!
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Ground Transportation News
Here Comes Miami's Consolidated Car Rental Center
The mixed blessing of a consolidated car-rental facility comes to Miami next week. The facility is due to open on Monday, July 12. It covers 20 acres and 3.4 million square feet of space and can accommodate 6,500 cars. Shared buses will shuttle renters from Miami's terminals to the rental building. Airport authorities claim the four-level structure will offer a "shopping mall experience."
Lop 30% Off Car Rental Expenses - Negotiate!
Car rental negotiations save corporations about 30 percent off standard car rental rates, according to data published Wednesday by Runzheimer International Travel Management Network. The firm's Car Rental Negotiation Survey, based on responses from about 60 corporate car rental programs, reported that 80 percent of companies are negotiating nationwide agreements with car rental vendors. About half the companies surveyed seek a flat rate for car rentals, while about one-third use a combination of flat rates and floating discounts for their programs.
Of those negotiating flat rates, most are paying between $36 and $40 per day for intermediate-sized cars in the United States, according to the study. A majority of those negotiating discounts are getting at least 16 percent off negotiated rates. Just under one-quarter are negotiating discounts of 16 percent to 24 percent, while 35 percent are negotiating 26 percent or more off published rates. Most also are able to include such concessions as unlimited mileage, insurance, premium club memberships and upgrades, according to the survey. The survey also indicated that more buyers are negotiating multiyear contracts than in the past. Survey respondents were about evenly divided between one-, two- and three-year contracts with car rental vendors. When Runzheimer fielded a similar survey in 2007, only 13 percent of companies were securing three-year contracts.
Editorial Note - Your Account Team at C I Travel is skilled at negotiating rental car agreements. Let us help you get better deals. |
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Less than 10% of Fliers Using In-Flight Wi-Fi
 Wi-Fi connections in the air may not be the magical service capability that some in the travel world had hoped. Although airlines and providers of the service says they're pleased with consumer response, some analysts estimate that perhaps less than 10% of the passengers who could use Wi-Fi to log on to the Internet actually are doing so.
Even that estimate may be inflated by the heavy dependence on coupons and short-term introductory periods when the service is free, says consultant Michael Planey, who advises airlines on in-flight technology. The biggest issue for travelers, Planey says, is the price.
"I believe the more successful business model is to reduce the session price as much as possible to drive usage up," he says. Cal Lacasse, an aerospace industry sales executive from Flower Mound, Texas, who travels weekly, agrees that the cost is the biggest barrier: "I don't think it's worth the cost. Anything more than free is too much."
Gogo, the biggest Wi-Fi service provider in the air with eight big airlines as its partners, charges $4.95 to connect to the Internet on flights of up to 90 minutes. The price goes to $9.95 for flights up to three hours and to $12.95 on longer flights. It now has a monthly rate of $34.95 for use on all carriers it provides service to.
That could be too much even for some business travelers. The trade journal Business Travel News recently surveyed corporate travel managers and found that only about a third of the companies that responded reimburse their corporate travelers for in-flight Wi-Fi expenses. |
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Michael O'Leary, CEO at Ryanair, is poised to outline a number of proposals, including offering inexpensive tickets for "vertical seats" where passengers stand during the flight and a charge for using the restroom. The airline plans to introduce a standing area at the back of its planes. A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said the vertical-seat proposal likely would not meet safety requirements.
True
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Airline News
Paperless Boarding Pass Pilot
The electronic boarding pass pilot enables passengers to download their boarding pass on their cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs). This innovative approach streamlines the customer experience while heightening the ability to detect fraudulent boarding passes. Each paperless boarding pass is displayed as an encrypted two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information. TSA security officers use hand-held scanners to validate the authenticity of the boarding pass at the checkpoint.
As of June 22, 2010, the pilot was operating at 66 U.S. airports, plus Frankfurt, Germany, with five airlines: Continental, American, Delta, Alaska and United.
To view the entire list of airports and airlines as well as how the system works, click here. Strong Numbers for Domestic Carriers Could Mean 2010 Recovery
Last year, major carriers saw their average fares deteriorate each month in a year-over-year basis, and fares dipped to their lowest levels in more than a decade. So far this year, airlines' average fares have increased each month. Industry observers have optimism that the industry's recent pricing power -- coupled with revenue from ancillary fees -- could result in a recovery from last year's doldrums, according to an industry report.
Airlines Do Less For Stranded Passengers
In the past, airlines offered passengers stranded by canceled flights a free hotel room and food, along with a seat on the next available flight. This year, carriers have surprised passengers with how little they are willing to do for their stranded customers. They have made their contracts of carriage vague and difficult to decipher, while leaving themselves a way out in almost every circumstance.
Alliances Battle to Keep Business Travelers Loyal
Airline competition has largely become a competition among global alliances, with frequent-flier programs battling to maintain the loyalty of coveted business travelers. Airline columnist Scott McCartney notes that each of the alliances has strengths and weaknesses in categories such as upgrades, ticket availability and airport clubs. This is not good news for travel managers who must now watch so many different fees from so many diverse vendors and find ways to account for the spending increases. They've got to have a hundred set of eyes.
News from Delta Air Lines
Delta Drops Fee for Last-Minute Frequent Flyer Tickets Delta Air Lines has dropped its fees, which went as high as $150, for frequent flyer tickets redeemed 20 days or less before departure. Until the change, it cost $150 to book a frequent flyer ticket within three days of departure, $100 for between four and seven days and $75 to book within eight to 20 days. Tickets booked 21 days out and more had no redemption fee. Delta also instituted a first checked bag free benefit for customers with a Consumer or Business Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express.
News from United Airlines
United has completed ahead of schedule a project to upgrade certain items on our domestic fleet cabins. The most visible change is that customers in United First ® can now enjoy new, upgraded leather seat covers on our A319, A320, B757, and domestic B767 and B777 airplanes. Those seats also feature new, more comfortable seat cushions, and the planes have new carpeting in high-traffic areas. These changes are contributing to significant improvements in customer ratings for cabin cleanliness, condition and workability.
Enhanced North America Premium Class Meals
Customers in premium cabins on North American flights are now offered more of the food they want when they want it. Beginning this month United has improved the hot breakfast, increased the lunch portion and increased the protein ratio for dinner, all based on customer feedback. They also added a snack basket for flights between one and two hours with no meal service, and on flights of just under four hours or more. Additionally, they continue to evolve the Choice Menu based on direct input from travelers.
Daily nonstops to Accra, Ghana
United announced service to Africa, with daily nonstop flights between Washington Dulles and Accra, Ghana, which has for centuries been a center of international trade. Passengers on the new route enjoy the comfort of Boeing 767 aircraft outfitted with new international first and business class cabins, featuring true 180° flat bed seats, and personal 15" widescreen video entertainment centers. Passengers in Economy Plus will enjoy up to 5 extra inches of legroom over Economy. United offers convenient connections from Washington Dulles to Accra, Ghana from 75 destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
News from Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines announced new winter service between its Houston hub and Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport in Colorado, beginning Dec. 16, 2010. The service will operate through April 3, 2011. Gunnison is located just 30 miles from Crested Butte Mountain Resort, one of Colorado's most popular powdery slopes for alpine skiing and snowboarding.
"The thought of a snowy mountain escape is especially appealing after a long hot summer," said Jim Ferea, Continental's managing director scheduling. "Our new Houston to Gunnison flight joins our growing list of ski destinations in Colorado that are easily reached through convenient connections at our Houston hub."
The new service will depart Houston at 11:40 a.m. and arrive in Gunnison at 1:25 p.m. The return flight will depart Gunnison at 2:15 p.m. and arrive in Houston at 5:35 p.m. Flights will operate daily except between Jan. 4 and Feb. 16, 2011, when the service will operate Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The flight is scheduled to accommodate convenient connections for customers traveling from points throughout Texas, the eastern United States, Mexico and South America.
Continental also recently announced plans to launch nonstop flights between Newark Liberty and Cairo, Egypt, beginning May 18, 2011, subject to government approval. Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, will be the 72nd international destination that Continental serves from its New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and the 30th city in Continental's trans-Atlantic route network. Continental serves more nonstop destinations with more flights from the New York area than any other airline.
The Newark-Cairo route will benefit from connecting traffic at both ends. Cairo is home to
Egyptair, one of the 28 carriers, including Continental, that are members of Star Alliance. Egyptair and its regional airline partners offer service to 41 destinations in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Damascus, Istanbul, Aswan, Jeddah and Johannesburg. The flight will be timed to provide convenient North American connections at Continental's Newark Liberty hub to the West Coast as well as to 87 other cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America.
Continental will operate the approximately 5,600-mile flight with a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, seating 50 customers in BusinessFirst with flat-bed seats and 226 customers in economy class. Flying time eastbound will be approximately 10 hours, 25 minutes, and westbound will be approximately 12 hours, 10 minutes. Continental plans to operate the route on a daily basis during peak summer travel season, with five- and four-times-weekly service during certain periods in the first year of operation. Following is the preliminary schedule for the new service, planned to take effect May 18, 2011.
|
|
Leave Newark |
Arrive Cairo |
Leave Cairo |
Arrive Newark | |
Summer |
5:30 p.m. |
10:55 a.m. (next day) |
12:55 p.m. |
6:05 p.m. (same day) | |
Winter |
5:30 p.m. |
10:50 a.m. (next day) |
12:50 p.m. |
6:15 p.m. (same day) |
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Hotel News  ASK YOUR CI TRAVEL CONSULTANT FOR AVAILABILITY AT GREAT CI SELECT HOTELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY! Contact Your CI Travel Consultant to Reserve Rooms at great hotels throughout the U.S.
ASTA and Other Industry Associations Fight Proposed New York Hotel Tax Increases of Up to 20%!
ASTA and other travel industry groups are gearing up for a battle with the state of New York over a tax that would require intermediaries who book hotel rooms to pay a 20% surcharge on the regular hotel occupancy tax. Opponents of the tax say it could force hotel bookings out of New York and have other unintended consequences.
Editorial Comment - If you book rooms in the state of New York we urge you to write the Governor's Office and any state legislators regarding this proposal. Tell them you'll move your meetings and business elsewhere if they insist on gouging travelers.
Hoteliers Keep Adding Rooms
Despite an uncertain economic recovery, hoteliers are building new hotels, with roughly 432,000 new rooms coming online globally, according to a report from the MKG Group. Breaking it down regionally, that's adds up to170, 000 new rooms in North America and 138,000 in Europe, an increase of 3.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. Asia-Pacific is adding 98,000 rooms, a growth of only 1.9 percent. Other regions also show development resilience during the global economic challenge, with Latin America registering 63,600 new rooms (+4.8 percent), Middle East and Africa 52,700 (+4.2 percent). (Source: MKG press release).
Hotel Industry Leading Indicator Is Up for Fourth Month in a Row
The U.S. Hotel Industry Leading indicator, or HIL, went up 1.5 percent during May for the fourth consecutive month. The HIL usually leads the industry's business activity four to five months in advance. The latest increase brought the index to a reading of 113.5. The index was set to equal 100 in 2000. Eight major indicators were up, including weekly hours in hotels, hotel profitability, future demand for international visitors, housing activity and the National Vacation Barometer. Only one major component was down-tightness in the labor market. |
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NBTA News  Nationwide, the average tax rate on car rentals at the top 50 business travel airports has reached a staggering 13.8%--including state, local and car rental taxes--according to the National Business Travel Association. Worse: At several airports the rate is much higher, including Boston's Logan International (25%), Chicago O'Hare (23.7%) and Phoenix's Sky Harbor International (21.9%). That puts a $75 daily car rental at more than $90 in those places. Tax rates for renting a car in the city are comparable. Painful? Yes. Surprising? No. As the U.S. struggles recover from recession, cash-strapped cities and states are doing all they can to bridge ugly budget gaps. Visitors are an easy mark for the taxman. "If you can levy taxes on tourists, you don't have to levy as many taxes on your constituents," says Curtis Dubay, a tax analyst at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation in Washington. No surprise then that car rentals, hotels and restaurants are often associated with high taxes. But there are some new twists, and it's getting harder than ever to avoid paying up. According to recent research by Joseph Henchman, director of state tax projects at the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., local authorities in 22 states are trying to wrench more hotel occupancy rates out of online booking companies like Expedia, Priceline, Hotels.com. Court decisions have been mixed, and in many cases legal action is still pending. Florida's going even further, levying an occupancy tax on timeshares as well as hotel rooms--a move expected to bring in $2.2 million in revenue over the next two years, according to a February report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Even the great outdoors is getting pricier. New York state has added a $5 fee for out-of-staters looking to use state park campsites this year. In Maine campers at state parks will now lose $2 if they cancel their reservation. In 2009 six states--Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New York and Washington--raised the cost of their hunting and/or fishing licenses, according to the NCSL. In some cases, like Illinois' $2 (15%) hike on fishing licenses, the fee increases have been in the making for several years. Nonetheless, they often affect sportsmen (and women) who travel out-of-state to hunt, fish and camp. And they're targeted to specific groups--making them palatable to the general public--says Stacy Mazer, a staff associate at the National Association of State Budget Officers. Locals can be affected, too, says Henchman. Case in point: Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire all raised the tax on prepared food--which means everything from fast food to high-end restaurants--according to the 2009 State Tax Actions report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Flying? Be prepared to open your wallet. AMR's American Airlines, Continental and Delta Airlines are raising their luggage fees (at Continental, for example, the first checked bag now costs $25.) It isn't all the airlines fault. Financially strapped, they are, in part, passing on the pinch from Uncle Sam, including a 7.5% ticket tax, a $2.50 per ticket "9/11 fee" to pay for transportation security and a $3.70 segment tax. A spokesman for the Air Transport Association of America, an industry group, says carriers are worried about a proposed hike in the fees to increase airport safety and capacity. A movement on Capitol Hill this summer to keep car rental tax rates from rising further would seem to offer some hope for vacationers. A coalition including the NBTA, car rental companies, Ford, General Motors and the United Auto Workers is pushing a bill to end "discriminatory state taxes" for auto renters. The group complains that the taxes often finance non-travel related projects, like sports stadiums, and that they often affect locals as well as tourists. Don't expect much to come of it. State and local government officials contend the legislation pre-empts their revenue raising authority. "It is arguable that the worst recession since the Great Depression," Timothy Firestine, the chief administrative officer of Montgomery County, Md., told a congressional panel in June, "is not the time for Congress to limit any local or state tax receipts." |
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The entire team at CI Travel thanks you for working with us! Our goal remains to Improve your travel ROI one trip at a time. We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to your next call!
Sincerely,
Chris Nicholas
CI Travel
757-640-9206 |
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