 AMERICANS TRAVELING TO CANADA MUST PRESENT PASSPORT BY JUNE
Americans visiting Canada must present a passport starting June 1. The requirement, which applies to everyone over age 15, is part of an effort to improve security at the nation's borders. The new rule requires only a birth certificate for those under age 15.
EXTEND YOUR HOLIDAY SALE
Alaska Airlines is offering an Extend Your Holiday Sale - valid for travel between January 6, 2009, and February 11, 2009.
Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights on all days travelers should book early for the best selection of flights. Additional restrictions apply.
Sample fares include:
| Seattle | San Francisco | From $59 one way |
| Seattle | Los Angeles | From $69 one way |
| Seattle | San Diego | From $89 one way |
| Seattle | Palm Springs | From $109 one way |
BRITISH AIR REDUCES FUEL SURCHARGE
British Air is decreasing their fuel surcharge by as much as a third on longhaul services.
UNITED ALLOWS FLIERS TO BUY ELITE-LEVEL PERK
United is letting non-elite frequent fliers to purchase certain elite-level perks. United has announced its "Premier Line" option, which lets customers pay $25 each way for access to priority lines at check-in, security screening and boarding. Normally, access to such lines is restricted to the carrier's premium-fare customers and elite-level frequent fliers. Customers typically must fly at least 25,000 miles in a calendar year to qualify for the lowest level of elite frequent-flier status.
 SEA-TAC INTRODUCES ELECTRIC VEHICLE PLUG-INS IN PARKING GARAGE
The Port of Seattle is now offering prime location parking spaces with plug-ins for electric vehicles at the main garage of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The pilot program includes six spaces located on the fifth floor of the garage that will provide free electric charging.
 NORTHWEST DISCONTINUES NON-STOP FLIGHTS FROM SEATTLE TO LONDON
After January 7th, 2009 Northwest Airlines will no longer offer non-stop service to London. British Air is now the only airline offering such service.
 CRUISE LINES OFFER REDUCED FARES
Travel agents say taking a cruise has become nearly as cheap as staying home as cruise lines continue to offer deep discounts to fill their ships. "We always say cruise lines are resilient to the economy, but we have seen a slowdown in the number of bookings compared to the same time last year," said Harrison Liu, a representative for Royal Caribbean International. "We're working closely with travel agents and all our partners to entice consumers."
 STATE DEPARTMENT UPDATES TRAVEL ALERT FOR MEXICO
An increase in violent crimes in Mexico has prompted the State Department to renew its travel alert for the country. The alert does not advise Americans to avoid the country, but it does encourage them to be aware of their surroundings and to visit only tourist areas and legitimate businesses. Read the State Department's official travel alert.
SURVEY FINDS TRAVEL AGENCIES BEAT INTERNET FARES
In their 2007 survey Topaz found that business travel itineraries booked by a designated corporate travel agency averaged $56 less than the same itinerary booked on a public Internet site.
Since 2001 Topaz International has conducted comparative studies of corporate travel airfares between actual corporate travel agency booked itineraries and various public Internet sites, including Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and airline direct websites.
A.J. Rick Mazza, President and CEO of TRAVELSAVERS, a global marketing organization for independent travel agencies, summed up the latest round in the online-versus-agency debate: “Disillusioned with the Internet, both business and leisure travelers are now eagerly returning to their travel agents. On the positive side, technology has opened up so many extraordinary possibilities in our world, but we also need to be careful about its dehumanizing efforts. We advocate for corporations to take advantage of the best of both worlds…work with an experienced travel agent who uses today’s technology to assess and manage your travel expenditures. And, keep in mind that in our hyper-speed digital society, relationship-building is still a key element of any business transaction. Travel has always been a personal business, and always will be. Corporate travelers need the high-touch factor that a dedicated travel agent provides.”
 ETC AND GALILEO WORKING FOR YOU
How does ETC offer web competitive prices? By using Galileo, the best Reservation System available. Galileo aggregates more content on the whole, and provides more unique content than any other Reservation System. Some of Galileo's attributes include:
- Offers the most reliable, global and accurate travel supplier inventory, scheduling, and pricing information in the industry in over 116 countries on six continents.
- Represents more than 680 airlines.
- Electronic ticketing on 62 carriers in 47 countries.
- 27 car rental companies.
- Over 59,000 hotel properties
- 431 tour operators and all major cruise lines.
- Integrates exclusive web hotel rates with low-price guarantees eliminating the need to shop the Internet for Web specials.
The result? You get more content and the lowest fares possible. No need to search in multiple locations for the best fare - negotiated fares as well as Web Fares covering a wide array of low cost carrier fares are just a few keystrokes away.
CHECKING YOUR FLIGHT STATUS ONLINE
If you want to check your flight status, you can always call the airline. And for overall airport status, you can phone the airport. But it's easy to do online, and the Web will also provide you with additional information that you can't get over the phone. With your flight number and departure date you can easily check your flight's status. And all the major airports have Web sites.
* If you've got your airline's Web site address memorized, go there. All of the major airlines start you off with a search page on which you can get flight status.
* If you don't know the airline's Web address, you can go to any search engine, such as www.yahoo.com or www.google.com and type in the airline name and almost always get a link.
* You can go to the Port of Seattle's Web site at www.portseattle.org/seatac from which you'll find the phone numbers for and links to all of the airlines flying out of Sea-Tac. Click on the "All about flights" link on the left, then click on "Airlines" in the expanded list under "All About Flights." The site includes links to flight-tracking tools that give you the status of flights that are already in progress.
* You can also find a link to an in-progress flight-tracking tool while viewing your itinerary on ViewTrip. Go to our Web site at www.etctravel.com and click on the ViewTrip icon. On the left side of the ViewTrip site, you'll find a link directly to the FlightTracker tool as well as a link to current travel advisories. To view your itinerary on ViewTrip, you'll need your reservation number.
* For a list of airport Web sites similar to SeaTac's go to www.etctravel.com and navigate to "Online Resources." Click on the "Airport Directory" link, which will take you to an alphabetical list of airport links.
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© Copyright 2001 ETC Executive Travel Consultants |
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