Fuel Surcharges Hit Delta's Frequent Flier Program

Escalating fuel prices continue to impact our world economy, everyday life and the airline industry. Due to continued, unprecedented fuel costs, we will add the following fuel surcharge to Award Tickets originating from the U.S. and Canada, effective August 15, 2008:

$25 for Award Travel between the 50 states and Canada
$50 for Award Travel between the 50 states/Canada and all international destinations

This was a difficult but essential decision to ensure we are doing everything possible to offset the cost of fuel which has nearly doubled in the last year. This fuel surcharge will not impact any existing ticketed Award itineraries or any future Award Tickets issued prior to August 15, 2008, regardless of the date of travel. We hope this is temporary, and should fuel prices subside from current levels, we will reevaluate this surcharge.
We are committed to making SkyMiles® the best frequent flyer program in the industry and providing you with the most benefits and rewards. We will continue to expand the destinations and opportunities for Award Travel and strengthen the program as we prepare for our proposed merger with Northwest Airlines®. Additionally, we will keep you updated on the launch of our new multi-tiered Award program and other key initiatives over the next 60 days.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support of Delta and the SkyMiles Program—now and always.

JEFF



J. W. Robertson



Managing Director, SkyMiles

Airline Travel Becoming Expensive

The travel industry continues to come across more bumps in the road and airlines seem to be one of the hardest hit.
As we head into the July 4th weekend, travel maybe difficult. Higher fuel prices mean fewer flights for airlines across the country and this fall looks like the skies maybe even unfriendlier.

Triple A says airline travel is down 2.3 percent from the same time last year.

Airport analysts say rising fuel prices are causing Tyler Pounds Regional Airport and many others throughout the country to decrease the number of flights.

"Every airline is cutting and even the airlines that have cuts in the system say that they're not done yet," USA Today travel editor Doug Carroll said.

This week the city of Tyler announced American Eagle will decrease the number of departures from five to three.
If your planning on going on vacation, airline industry experts say book your plans now because prices are going to continue to rise well into fall. Experts also say airline fairs are predicted to increase by at least another 25 percent by 2009.
"A lot of airline passengers today will not be passengers two years from now simply because the cost of air transportation is going to go up," aviation analyst Mike Boyd said.

Barack Obama Policy on the Caribbean

Outbound Travel - Outlook for Caribbean Tourism

“A Conversation with Dr. Alan Greenspan”

Dr. Alan Greenspan of the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve is sitting quite comfortably across from Sir Dwight Venner, the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. The scheduled discussion on the economic future of the Caribbean region with a specific focus on the tourism industry promises to be interesting. It has certainly attracted the more notable attendees of the conference. I’ve watched Senator Allen Chastanet the Chairman of the CTO, Vincent Vanderpool Wallace its CEO, Philip Saunders of Caribbean Airlines and other premieres of Caribbean government file into the auditorium. We’re all waiting anxiously for a few pearls of wisdom and groundbreaking thoughts… A day later, I’m still waiting.

Dr. Greenspan certainly knows his economics. His resume speaks for itself, from 1987 to 2006 he was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the United States and he currently works as a private advisor, making speeches and providing consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. He’s adding credibility to the conference by being here and they’ve probably paid an arm and a leg to have him speak. But he’s not telling us anything that we don’t already know. “Tourism and the world’s economy are critically intertwined…travel and tourism really reflects the degree of affluence in a society”. If a society does not have disposable income the less individuals within that community will travel. His view is that he rising fuel prices are not about to go down. He notes that we’re currently having immediate troubles (indicated by American Airlines stopping routes to Puerto Rico and other Caribbean destinations) and he believes that we’ll continue to have these problems.

However, similarly to Vanderpool-Wallace and Philip Saunders he doesn’t seem very worried about the future of Caribbean tourism. He notes that our product is good – “what does not change is the paradise that is the Caribbean”. “The real cost of transportation is actually decreasing. Technology allows people to move like never before and the latest data [March 2008] on the US going to the Caribbean is only marginally below the previous year. He notes that even he was surprised by this fact. He also explains why oil prices are rising, it’s not that we’re running out of oil, it’s that we’re eating into the buffer that previously existed to keep oil production and supply steady, as a result, oil prices have shot up. But, this will force the aviation industry to invest in exotic metals that will ensure fuel conservation.

So what’s the future of Caribbean tourism? Greenspan explains that economies that do well are those that ensure property rights are respected. Capital moves to those areas, which are safe and protected. And the tourism industry, despite hiccups, is very stable – annually there are 898 million arrivals in the world and by 2020 we expect this number to grow to 1.6 billion. “If we can get past 9/11 and high fuel costs the Caribbean has vast potential”.

Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit-Opening Ceremony PT2

Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit-Opening Ceremony