NEW TAX INITIATIVES

The agreement allows U.S. taxpayers to claim a tax deduction for expenses associated with a convention held in the Netherlands Antilles to the same extent as a convention held in the US. The implementation of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement means that the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles -- Bonaire; Curacao; Saba; St. Eustatius; and St. Maarten -- are considered part of the North American area. (Aruba had previously been considered part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986 when it was granted a "status apart" and became a separate part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.)

Expenses incurred while attending conventions, business meetings and seminars on the five islands are allowed as deductions according to the same regulations as if each of the five islands were a U.S. territory.

Any Questions Email DTM for answers

United Airlines Proposes Offering Lower Base Fares with a Bevy of Add-Ons. What's next, fee's to enter airports!

United is considering a pricing plan called "bare fares," in which some customers would be offered a low base fare with the option to pay extra fees for seat assignments, checked bags, Mileage Plus credit and other extras.

The idea was revealed Dec. 12 by Greg Taylor, United's senior vice president for planning, at United's first Investor Day in six years. In his presentation, Taylor said unbundling with bare fares was one of the pricing ideas United officials are "doing some work around" and "hope to roll out in the next year or so."

He did not indicate whether value-added options would be offered at booking or at check-in.

The idea of bare fares he said, is to apply the add-on options to promotional fares or other cheap leisure fares.

He said that United officials were convinced that offering bare fares would enable the airline to offer customers a competitive fare while at the same time creating a revenue premium for United.

And that's not all. Taylor's comments on items being worked on and possibly rolled out within the year also included options that would let customers buy:

• Elite status for a single trip. Buyers would get priority check-in, priority security line access and priority boarding.

• Flight flexibility for a "nominal" fee, perhaps $25 or $50. Customers would be purchasing the right to make a change in their ticket between purchase time and time of departure without paying the $100 change fee. Taylor said United believes that, at the right price point, this option would result in more revenue than just the change fee alone.

• A one-day pass for Red Carpet lounges. United could use the information it has on passengers, such as a long layover between flights, to proactively offer the option when they check in at a kiosk or online.

All of these options, Taylor said, "could be nice revenue generators" while "providing a better experience for our customers."

Taylor said the premium customer was still United's focus, and that there were customers at the other extreme who just wanted basic transportation at a low price.

Taylor added that "there's clearly this constituency in the middle who would be very happy to do a value exchange where they pay a little bit more for an improved travel experience. We think these types of products just perfectly target that audience."

United is encouraged the products would work in part based on recent experience.

Based on current sales, the carrier is expecting to bring in $100 million in revenue in 2007 from its existing offer to let coach passengers upgrade at the time of check-in (and, in 2007, perhaps at time of purchase) to roomier Economy Plus.

It also is expecting to get $40 million in revenue in 2007 from customers paying at check-in to upgrade to a premium cabin, and $7 million from customers willing to pay $25 to get confirmed seats on earlier or later same-day flights instead of taking their chances in standby.

Any Questions Email DTM for answers

New 2007 Passport Requirements

New Requirements for Travelers

1. Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document.

2. As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.

Enterprise to add fuel-efficient hybrid cars to California fleet

Enterprise Rent-A-Car announced plans to add at least 160 Saturn VUE Green Line hybrid vehicles during the first part of 2007 at Enterprise locations in Los Angeles, Sacramento and the Bay Area with additional cars added as the year goes on.

The vehicles get about 27 miles per gallon in the city and 32 MPG on the highway.

"The Saturn VUE Hybrids deliver 20% better fuel economy over the standard VUE engine, and if California renters show continued demand for alternative fuel cars we will add more to our fleet," said Leonard Almalech, Enterprise's Bay Area vice president and general manager in a statement.

British airlines not friendly to open skies

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have attacked a deal to liberalize air travel between the U.S. and Europe. The companies say it would be bad for British aviation. From London, Stephen Beard reports.
After years of talking, negotiators finally struck a deal.

Under their draft agreement, European carriers would be able to fly to the U.S. from anywhere and not just from their home countries.

London's Heathrow would be opened up, but that's upset British Airways and Virgin. Hardly surprising says Andrew Bounds of the Financial Times. These are the only two European airlines that currently have transatlantic takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow.
Other airlines would be able to bid for those slots and this would then allow greater competition and one would think lower prices on transatlantic travel which of course would hit BA and Virgin profits.
BA shares fell almost 10% this morning, but there is wider opposition to the deal.

Other critics in the U.K. and Germany complain that the U.S. would still be able to prevent a foreign airline from taking control of an American carrier.

European member states will vote on the draft agreement later this month.

JFK Terminal 7 gets first registered traveler program

The New York area got its first registered traveler program, with Clear Registered Traveler and British Airways partnering to launch a pre-screening program for business travelers and other road warriors that features expedited security clearance at JFK Terminal 7.

NWA Takes DC-10 Out of Rotation

Northwest retired the last of its DC-10 aircraft from scheduled service Jan. 8, ending a 34-year run in which the airline used them to carry more than 125 million passengers, complete more than 765,000 flights and travel more than 1.3 billion air miles.

Northwest's last scheduled DC-10 flight took off from Honolulu and landed at Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. Now Northwest is operating that service with an A330, the most modern aircraft in its fleet, with an average age of two years.