Air Travel Set to Increase in 2012 Along with Airfares

According to a hypothesis by AirpotParkingReservations.com, an airport parking aggregator, the new year means new opportunities for travel, and U.S. travelers are going to take to traveling via air a lot more in 2012. Air travel in the United States increased around 6% in 2011 and that increase is likely to continue well into 2012 as U.S. citizens schedule more trips and increase their overall travel budgets.

AirportParkingReservations.com has seen an upturn in reservations in many different markets. Owners believe that the increased air travel trend will also be supported by increased enplanement figures at a lot of the major airports when they are released by the Department of Transportation later in the year. TripAdvisor's annual travel trends survey saw 79% of participants saying they will spend a minimum of $3,000 on travel in 2012 with 57% saying they will spend $5,000. These increased budgets will be essential since airfares are predicted to increase with the decrease in airlines on the market.

The second quarter of 2011 foreshadowed the higher ticket prices when the average domestic airfare increased by 8.5% over 2010 to $370 per ticket. In addition to that, American Airlines' recent bankruptcy announcement illustrates the industry's financial burdens, which will continue to take their toll on travelers in the form of increased ticket prices.

New mileage-based fees will also go into effect in 2012, which will only serve to further increase ticket prices. The good news is that the Department of Transportation's new rules on disclosing all airline fees upfront are scheduled to begin in the next few months, so passengers will no longer be unaware of all the "extras" they are paying for.

The economy is in the toilet and airfare prices are increasing, but that isn't stopping hard-working Americans from going on some well-deserved vacations this year. Maybe the economy is doing slightly better, allowing for these increased vacation allowances, or maybe people just don't care about money because they believe that the world is going to end this year? Hopefully it isn't the latter.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle - 2012 Air Travel Forecast Predicts Increases in Travel and Airfares

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American Airlines to Offer International Curbside Check-In

American Airlines is expanding its Curbside Check-In service to give any customer traveling internationally the opportunity to check their bags with the skycap. This makes the travelers trip through the airport, which everyone knows can be extremely stressful, as smooth as possible.

Curbside Check-In from American Airlines is available to any and all customers traveling to an international location. This includes countries that require a visa, making American Airlines the only airline to provide a service of this kind.

Ever since September, American Airlines has been expanding the enhanced service to 28 airports that already offer domestic Curbside Check-In services including American Airlines' cornerstone markets in Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Miami and New York at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. 31 additional U.S. markets will offer the new service by the beginning of November according to American Airlines.

According to a statement from American Airline's Senior Vice President of Airport Services Tom Del Valle, "Offering Curbside Check-In for travel to international destinations is another way American is expanding its products and services to better meet the needs and desires of customers traveling abroad. The new service offers a seamless transition from booking to boarding, and we look forward to the positive changes this will bring to our customers' overall travel experience."

Curbside Check-In allows customers to have the convenient opportunity to book, purchase and check in from their home, drop their bags on the airport curb with the skycap and move directly through the security check-in point to their departure gate in one easy process. In addition to that, this service also provides flexibility for customers traveling with a large number of bags or to anyone who prefers to bypass the ticket counter altogether.

Curbside Check-In at international airports will also coincide with regular ticket counter hours and will be available to customers who use online flight check-ins, electronic tickets or those with/without pre-reserved seats.

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Source: The Sacramento Bee - American Airlines Introduces Curbside Check-In for Customers Traveling to International Destinations

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Dispute Between American Airlines and Travelport Continues

American Airlines and Travelport LP, a ticket middleman, have just delayed a duel between the two companies reminiscent of ones in the past that have resulted in American flights disappearing from popular travel websites and ticket brokers.

In a statement from both American Airlines and Travelport that was released yesterday, the two companies stated that agreements that are set to expire in the next couple of months have been extended to last until the end of the year. One of the deals that included Worldspan, an affiliate of Travelport, was set to expire on Sunday.

Travelport's "global distribution systems", which include Worldspan, Galileo and Apollo, provide information about airline flights and fares to travel agencies around the world. American Airlines wishes to deal more directly with travel agencies in order to reduce distribution costs and to tailor offers to customers directly.

American Airlines has also accused Travelport of breaking antitrust laws by raising fees and burying information about American flights, making travel agents see flight information and prices from other airlines before they see those from American. Several lawsuits have arisen due to the dispute involving AMR Corporation's American, Travelport, Sabre Holdings Corporation and online travel agencies which include Orbitz Worldwide Incorporated. The dispute even got so bad that American Airlines flights didn't even appear on Orbitz or Expedia.

Both American Airlines and Travelport LP have declined to comment on the current situation.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek - American Airlines, Travelport extend agreement

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