Despite a deluge of complaints over intrusive pat-downs and revealing airport scans, the government is betting Americans would rather fly safe than untouched. “I’m not going to change those policies,” the nation’s transportation security chief declared Wednesday. Get the full story »
Filed under: Travel
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More Illinois residents to travel for Thanksgiving
Terminal One of O'Hare International Airport. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
More than 2 million Illinois travelers will fly or drive to a destination over Thanksgiving weekend this year, a nearly 12 percent increase from the 2009 holiday, AAA Chicago said Tuesday.
The motoring organization said 2.25 million Illinois residents are expected to travel, with 2.1 million in cars and 87,000 flying. The average cost of an unleaded gallon of gasoline is $3.05 in Illinois and $2.90 in neighboring Indiana, AAA Chicago said.
The projected increase in Illinois Thanksgiving travelers is slightly more than what is forecast nationwide. AAA expects an 11.4 percent jump in the number of travelers from 2009, with 42.2 million people going at least 50 miles from their home. Of that amount, 94 percent — 39.7 million people — will be driving. Get the full story »
Orbitz names new Chief Technology Officer
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. on Monday said that it has named Roger Liew as senior vice president and chief technology officer. Get the full story »
Chicago to keep restaurant show
While the National Restaurant Association announced Monday that its high-profile trade show will stay put in Chicago through 2016, the city is not quite on terra firma yet.
The association will keep a close eye on whether a new state law aimed at cutting exhibitor costs at McCormick Place is fully implemented — a progression that could be derailed if two trade unions prevail in their challenge of the law in federal court.
“If something changes and the legislation is not able to be enacted the way it was designed and exhibitor rights go away, it becomes more difficult to explain why we would be in Chicago,” Mary Pat Heftman, executive vice president/convention for the association, said after a press conference announcing the new pact. Get the full story »
Execs return to private planes as economy improves
Private planes at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J. (AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky)
U.S. executives, including those at government-owned General Motors, are getting back on corporate planes as the economy slowly recovers.
While airlines still account for the majority of corporate travel, many businesses are gradually returning to private planes. They are eager to avoid airport hassles, flight delays and other potential logistical snags associated with commercial flying. For some companies, corporate jets are also a better value.
“We appear to be off the bottom,” said Dan Hubbard of the National Business Aviation Association trade group that represents companies that own and charter planes. “We seem to be seeing things stabilize at this point.” Get the full story »
Orbitz launches free mobile apps for booking travel
Orbitz Worldwide Inc. has launched free mobile applications for the iPhone and Android platforms that allow users to book hotels, flights and rental cars.
In addition, the Chicago-based online travel company has updated its mobile Web site, which has been live since July but whose debut went unannounced. Get the full story »
Greyhound offering $1 express routes from Chicago
Greyhound will launch new express bus routes in the Midwest Dec. 1 to take passengers from Chicago to Milwaukee, Madison, Indianapolis and Lafayette.
Tickets start at $1 for the one-stop service, the company said Friday, on new buses that feature reserved seating, free Wi-Fi access, additional legroom and power outlets. Dave Leach, president and CEO of Greyhound said the company is adding the routes in response to Megabus competition and higher demand from travelers looking to hop between popular Midwest cities. Get the full story »
Stepped-up airport patdowns drawing howls
Stepped-up security screening at U.S. airports in the wake of foiled terrorism plots has provoked an outcry from airline pilots and travelers, including parents of children who say they are too intrusive.
With the busiest holiday travel season nearing, fliers face long security lines and new rigorous patdown checks begun in recent weeks aimed at discovering hidden explosives. So some travelers are questioning whether to fly at all. Get the full story »
Orbitz: O’Hare to be busiest U.S. airport on T-Day
Travelers may want to choose Chicago Midway airport over Chicago O’Hare International this Thanksgiving to avoid stress-induced indigestion before the turkey is even on the table.
That’s because O’Hare is expected to be the busiest airport in the nation this holiday, according to a ranking by Orbitz, a Chicago-based online travel company, outpacing its next busiest counterpart Los Angeles International airport by 20 percent. Get the full story »
Orbitz shares tank on threat from American
Shares of online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. tumbled 18 percent on news that American Airlines has threatened to stop selling tickets on Orbitz sites.
Orbitz said American, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, was threatening to pull its content if the travel agency did not use a direct link to the carrier’s inventory instead of a global distribution service, which negotiates prices. Get the full story »
Orbitz raises outlook as 3Q profit doubles
Online travel agency Orbitz Worldwide Inc. posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast a 1-2 percent increase in full-year revenue as a rebounding travel industry lifts hotel and international air bookings. Orbitz, which owns travel sites Orbitz.com and Cheaptickets.com, said third-quarter net profit was $15.3 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $7.0 million, or 8 cents a share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Hyatt profit soars 83% on business travel rebound
The Park Hyatt hotel in downtown Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Hyatt Hotels Corp. posted sharply higher quarterly profit on Wednesday as demand for business travel improved.
The hotel owner and operator, controlled by the Pritzker family in Chicago, posted third-quarter earnings of $30 million, or 17 cents per share, up from $5 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 8:34 a.m.
Filed under: Cell phones, Consumer electronics, Consumer news, Hotels, Travel Hotel replaces room keys with cell phones
Visitors to a Stockholm hotel will be able to use mobile phones instead of keys to unlock the doors to their rooms. Assa Abloy AB, the world’s largest maker of door locks, has launched a pilot in which Clarion Hotel Stockholm will lend customers mobile phones with close-range radio chips, much like devices used for contact-less payments at gas stations. Get the full story »
Hyatt to add Park Hyatt in New York expansion
Hyatt Hotels Corp. intends to open its first luxury hotel in New York–a 210-room Park Hyatt–in a Midtown condominium tower under development by Extell Development Co. In unveiling plans for the luxury hotel, set to open in 2012, Hyatt has gone from just one hotel in Manhattan–the Grand Hyatt in Midtown–at the start of this year to now having plans for six. Get the full story »
MasterCard 2Q profit jumps on overseas card use
MasterCard Inc. on Tuesday said increased use of credit and debit cards overseas helped lift its third-quarter profit by 15 percent.
