The American Society of Travel Agents this month filed objections over the U.S. Department of Transportation's tentative approval in April of antitrust immunity for SkyTeam members and a four-way transatlantic joint venture for Air France, Delta, KLM and Northwest
(BTNonline, April 10). ASTA said DOT's approval would allow the carriers "to collectively fix prices, determine capacity, set customer service standards and collectively negotiate with travel agencies and other travel intermediaries," including global distribution systems. ASTA said those carriers, "with their collective might," would gain a more powerful position "to dictate to travel agencies the terms for the sale of their air products, and will thus be empowered to raise the costs of air travel for the many business and leisure travelers who rely on the services of professional travel agencies." ASTA said the carriers, "based on past airline behavior," would use their clout to gain a more favorable position with global distribution systems and further pass the cost of distribution on to agencies. ASTA said DOT "at a minimum" should preclude the carriers from jointly structuring distribution and agency agreements.
JetBlue Records Highest Average Monthly FareJetBlue Airways CEO Dave Barger in a memo to employees this month said the carrier has aggressively been raising fares this year and in March recorded the highest monthly average fare paid in its history. In the memo, he said JetBlue has "raised certain fares nine times in the first quarter, leading to an average purchased fare of $138 for March—our highest average fare ever." The carrier's average fare in September 2007 was $112, Barger said. "We have made tremendous progress on the revenue front over the last six months," Barger said in the memo. Barger cited the growing cost of fuel in the carrier's aggressive attempts to grow revenue.
Continental Expands Paperless Cell Phone CheckinThe Transportation Security Administration and Continental Airlines are expanding their paperless boarding pass pilot test, which allows passengers to use mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices in lieu of paper boarding passes. Continental in November launched the trial at George Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport, and last month further expanded it to Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport and Boston Logan International Airport. This month, Continental expects to expand the effort to Newark Liberty International Airport. The International Air Transport Association in October 2007 initiated a global standard that lets airlines offer consistent mobile phone checkin and boarding pass options. A handful of carriers already have done so, but IATA said differing regional standards have precluded a global solution
(BTNonline, Oct. 11, 2007). TSA said Continental is the only U.S.-based carrier using the technology, which embeds an image of a barcode on a cell phone that TSA screeners and gate agents can scan, but IATA by the end of 2010 plans to mandate it.