Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.travel From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: travel Mon, Mar 9 1992 Date: Mon, 9 Mar 92 05:46:24 EST Message-ID: 03-09 0000 DECISIONLINE: Travel USA TODAY Update March 9, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FARE INCREASE DELAYED: Airlines in bankruptcy Friday balked at efforts to impose a fare increase, forcing healthier competitors to postpone the plan. United Airlines, pushing a 2% hike on domestic discount tickets, said the price increase now has been set for March 14. Continental, one of three major carriers in Chapter 11, had entered the delay into reservations computers. CHAPT. 11 CARRIERS BALK: Continental Airlines apparently entered a delay on the proposed 2% fare increase into its reservations computers because the other two major carriers under Chapter 11 - Trans World Airlines and America West Airlines - would not raise prices. Other airlines followed Continental's delay for fear of losing passengers. Twice this year United has had attempts at a 2% increase thwarted by TWA. AIRLINE, FLIER CONCERNS DIFFER: Airlines focus too much on services fliers don't care about and not enough on things they value most, said speakers at an airline-quality conference over the weekend in Washington. In a survey of airline managers and frequent fliers, Kent Gourdin, University of North Carolina found fliers cared most about comfort, being informed of delays and being cared for when travel is disrputed. (For more, see special Concerns package below.) BUSH OFFERS A GERMAN AD: President Bush's ad encouraging British tourists to come to the USA has sparked strong interest in the U.K. So Saturday, a new Bush ad for Germany was unveiled in Berlin. Bush dubbed in German asks, "Was warten Sie auf? Ein Einladung von President?" In English: "What are you waiting for? An invitation from the President?" More than 2.6 million British tourists are expected this year. UA WANTS TWO-ENGINE PLANE OK'D: United Airlines has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to approve a request to fly jets with only two engines and two pilots to Hawaii from San Francisco. United must first use the plane on domestic flights over land conditions similar to long-range flights over water, the FAA says. OVERBOOKING DROPS IN '91: U.S. airline passengers were 30% less likely to be bumped because of overbooked flights last year than in 1990, according to the Department of Transportation. Airlines involuntarily denied boarding to 46,879 people with confirmed reservations in 1991, compared with 67,004 in 1990. Among the 10 major airlines, TWA and Southwest had the highest bump rate; American and Delta the lowest. COMAIR EXPANDS FLA. ROUTES: Comair Inc., the Cincinnati- and Orlando, Fla.-based Delta commuter airline, said Friday it will expand its flights from Orlando to Daytona Beach, Key West and Melbourne, Fla., adding flights effective April 1. One daily roundtrip flight will be added to each city; all are on the Comair route. A morning roundtrip will replace a previously scheduled Orlando-Savannah, Ga., roundtrip. LUFTHANSA HAS SAVER FARES: Lufthansa, Germany's national airline, Friday announced it would offer "Early Saver" fares for April through September to five German cities. The fares begin at $548 midweek for April, May and September and $648 for June-August. The German destinations: Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Munich. Weekend fares are $50 higher. USAIR HAS RPM DECLINE: USAir Friday reported a 2.5% drop in revenue passenger miles for February when compared to February 1991. Available seat miles flown during February went up 1% from the previous February. Passenger boardings were down 4% and load factor was 52.5% vs. 54.4% for February 1992 vs. February 1991. For the first two months of 1992, revenue passenger miles dropped 4.3% from January, February 1991. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON CONCERNS: MANAGERS FOCUS ON DRINKS: "Honesty is more important than a gourmet meal," Kent Gourdin of the University of North Carolina said at a weekend airline conference. Gourdin's survey found that fliers' top concerns are comfort and delay information while managers' top focuses are beverage service on short flights, courteous flight attendants and on-time performance. FLIERS WANT TOP TREATMENT: Gourdin found that delays bothered fliers less than lack of information about the delays. He also found that while several managers said no simple service changes were possible, fliers suggested better employee training. "Passengers care more about how they are treated than what they are treated to," Gourdin said. "Management can provide quality service without spending a lot." USAIR CHANGED POLICY: Airlines say they do listen. USAir changed its refund policy last year in response to fliers, said spokeswoman Susan Young. "No one knows better than passengers what he or she likes on an airline, and that's what we listen to." Figuring out which airlines do that better was a topic of debate at the airline-quality forum in Washington. INDEX COMPETITION COMING: The airlines now rely on government ratings of on-time performance, baggage handling and complaints. The forum's sponsor, Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research, last week published a broader rating system. The University of Colorado (Denver) has proposed a survey method. And J. D. Power and Associates and Avitas are developing an index. (End of package.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Weather Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Travel Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM