Taking off Travel blog

Travel Strategy

The big news in travel in the past week was the announcement of initiatives to improve travel and tourism in the US. The industry accounted for 7.5 million jobs in 2010 and 2.7% of GDP.  Among the measures announced were the easing of restrictions for regular travelers who pass a background check, resulting in lower waiting times at airports, an increase in the number of countries from which visitors can enter without a visa and quicker processing for visitors from countries like China and Brazil. There will also be an interagency task force to develop a National Travel and Tourism Strategy. See the video below for more info:

Response from the industry has been largely positive, as a snapshot from Travel Market Report reveals. In particular, many felt that the industry was at last being respected as a major force in the US economy.

Sustainable Travel Finalists

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the finalists in the 2012 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, which recognize sustainable travel initiatives industry wide.  There are four categories: destination stewardship, global tourism business, conservation and community benefit. The finalists are

Destination Stewardship

• Destination Røros, Norway

• Misool Eco Resort, Indonesia

• Tanabe City, Japan

Global Tourism Business

• Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Singapore

• REI Adventures, USA
• Wilderness, South Africa

Conservation

• Cheli & Peacock, Kenya

• Inkaterra Peru, Peru

• NamibRand Safaris: Wolwedans Collection, Namibia

Community Benefit

• Saunders Hotel Group, USA

• Soria Moria Boutique Hotel, Cambodia

• The Thailand Community Tourism Based Institute, Thailand

The next stage of the 3-stage judging process includes on-site visits to the finalists. The winners will be recognized at WTTC’s global summit in Tokyo, Japan, to be held from 16-19 April.

No More Hidden Travel Fees

In other news, new protections for air passengers are about to come into force. These mean that when you book and pay for a ticket, that’s the price you should pay. Airlines will have to include fees and taxes in the price they are advertising (only the mandatory ones), and to disclose the costs of the optional extras. Once a flight is purchased, the price stays the same. (Full story on NewsNet5.)

Want discount airport parking ? Find out about our airport parking coupon here.

Top of the morning to you and here’s our weekly (ish) roundup of airport and airport parking news.

Off Airport Parking Research

First up, the results of some new research into airport parking, published on the UK’s Travel Daily UK blog. UK firm Looking4Parking has published research showing that 66% of those using airport parking firms save an hour on their journey. And a third of the 1,000 people polled also thought that a meet and greet service saved up to 2 hours.  Convenience and cost were among the factors that led people to book with off airport parking firms. Find out more about the airport parking research here.

Looking Ahead to Terminal 4 – JFK Airport

In the New York Times last week, there was a sneak peek at changes happening at JFK’s new terminal 4, due for completion next year. According to the article by Christine Haughney, the structure is beginning to take place. The new terminal will automate baggage screening and speed up security. When completed passenger transfers between domestic and international flights are also expected to work more smoothly. Read more on the JFK expansion here.

Airline Administration Fees

It’s not just here in the US that we have a problem with ever increasing air travel fees. Saturday’s post on the Travel Rants blog saw Darren Cronian talking about administration fees on EasyJet, one of the UK’s low cost airlines. The cause of contention is a new GBP9 (approximately $13.50 at today’s exchange rates) applied to all debit card payments. This fee is more than 9 times the maximum fee charged by banks for debit card transactions. With new European legislation coming in to improve transparency for travelers, Cronian asks:

why is it that every time the government or European Union announces a new legislation, the airlines find somewhere around it, which ultimately costs the consumer money?

Why, indeed?

Radiation Tests for TSA Employees

We’ve been wondering about the effects of airport scanners for quite a while and the Transport Security Administration (TSA) has generally played down health concerns. However, according to an article in the LA Times, the TSA is planning to test its employees and check their radiation exposure. No tests yet for the scanners themselves or the passengers though.

Save on Airport Parking

Finally, to end today’s roundup, a piece of company news – our latest airport parking discount coupon. If you’re thinking of making airport parking reservations at (MDW) Chicago Midway Airport, (IND) Indianapolis Airport, (ALB) Albany Airport, (ORD) Chicago O’Hare Airport, (JFK) John F. Kennedy Airport or any of our more than 150 airport parking locations nationwide, you won’t want to miss this offer. Just book 2 days or more by January 31, 2012 using the promo code Happy12 and SAVE 10%*.  This offer is valid for travel for the entire year.

Airlines Oppose Philadelphia Airport Extension

From time to time I do a travel news roundup. This week, it’s an airport edition, including some news on airport parking. First up is the news that US Airways has opposed the planned expansion of Philadelphia International Airport, which will include a runway running alongside the Delaware. According to the airline the expansion will not address the key issues of delay reduction and traffic congestion, nor will it attract the international nonstop air service desired by many of those in the business and hospitality industry.

The airlines (other opponents of the scheme include Southwest Airlines, Delta and UPS) and the city differ widely in their estimates of the value and the cost of the scheme. The city says it will cost $6.4bn and bring up to 100,000 jobs; the airlines put the tab at closer to $10.5bn and say the jobs figures have no base in reality. Another key issue is the timing of the construction of the new runway. The city wants to push ahead with it, while the airlines would like to tie their financial commitment to benchmarks including economic improvement or resolving airspace issues.

The two sides remain at loggerheads. Read the full story here and check out our Philadelphia airport parking rates.

New JetBlue Routes and Watertown Expansion

In other news, JetBlue has started a nonstop daily service to San Juan, Puerto Rico from Bradley International Airport, MA. An additional service to West Palm Beach will also start this week. Meanwhile, the expansion of Watertown International Airport’s terminal is nearly complete, with a new passenger waiting area, upgraded baggage claim and plans to install an on-site car rental franchise.

SmartPark Gets iPhone App

Finally, if you’re planning to park at our SmartPark JFK airport parking location, your job is even easier with the facility’s airport parking reservation iPhone app. You can even get parking rewards with the app, so download it today.

Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP) is the upper Midwest’s largest and busiest airport. It’s also the 12th busiest in the US, racking up 32 million passengers in 2010 and 437,075 landings and takeoffs.

History of MSP Airport

Officially, the airport isn’t part of a city, but provides access to several, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Eagan, Mendota Heights and Richfield. Dating back to the early 20th century, the airport stands on the site of a former Speedway racetrack and was originally called Speedway Field.

Terminals

The airport has two terminals, one named after Charles Lindbergh, a Minnesotan, and the second, the Humphrey Terminal, after vice-president Hubert Humphrey. The Charles Lindbergh Terminal, constructed in 1962, handles international flights and many major airlines. It was also one of the settings for disaster movie Airport. Low cost airlines and charters are based at the other terminal. There are plans in hand to expand the airport by doubling the size of the Humphrey Terminal, adding a new concourse to the airport and installing a regional jet terminal. This is part of the MSP 2020 vision. Read more »

A couple of days ago, I highlighted some of the content you enjoyed most on the blog in the past year. Now it’s time to look at the year as a whole, both on and off the blog. Offline, we’ve continued to add new off airport parking facilities to our lists. Some of the most recent ones include:

• V.I.P. Park & Ride (JAX)
• AmeriCar (SYR)
• Amelias Hospitality Inn and Suites (SLC)
• Chicago Marriott O’Hare (ORD)
• San Diego’s Park Shuttle & Fly (SAN)
• Payless Parking (MHT)
• Select Airport Valet Parking (BOS)
• Park Plus Airport Parking (EWR)

Our Midway Airport Parking Facility also had some great reviews this year from Elite Yelp members. Here’s one description of the excellent service they got with our airport parking facilities.

I love this service and recommend it to everyone.  If you book online it’s only $10 (ish) a day and the shuttle service to and from is quick to pick up and drop off.  I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes for them to grab me from the airport on my return and they always pick you up from your car before you’ve even unloaded all of the bags. – Shannon S.

In March, we made it possible for you to make airport parking reservations right from our Facebook page, with a new welcome tab specifically designed for the purpose. We’ve been getting more active on Facebook this year. Some of the updates you liked and shared most included our post on NaNoWriMo,  our guest post on San Francisco, our profile of Justin Mussler and our Black Friday deals post. Facebook has made many changes this year, including preventing automatic imports of posts via its Notes application. However, you can still follow our blog via the Networked Blogs application.

Soon after, in April, we launched our mobile site, so that the increasing numbers of people using mobile devices to make travel arrangements could book their airport parking from their smart phones and have similar functionality to the web interface.

Our most recent online development was the launch of our Google+ profile and Google+business page. Those are still being developed, but expect more from us there in 2012!

On the horizon for 2012, look out for a refresh of our brand and a streamlined website for a faster, easier consumer experience in booking airport parking reservations. We’re also continually evaluating programs as we look to bring more value to our customers, so expect to hear more from us on that next year.