Delta to make adjustments in 24 small markets

 Delta Air Lines today will notify the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of its plans to adjust flying in 24 small markets. In concert with the retirement of Delta's Saab fleet and to halt $14 million in annual losses, the changes will affect Essential Air Service (EAS) markets.

Flights in these markets on average depart with 52 percent of the seats filled, with some locations as low as 12 percent. This compares to a domestic system load factor of 83 percent for 2010. Weak demand in some markets has led to flights occasionally operated with no passengers on board.  

"While Delta would prefer to continue serving these communities, the new reality of mounting cost pressures faced by our industry means we can no longer afford to provide this service. As we continue to strengthen our business, Delta is retiring the Saab turboprops and some 50-seat jet aircraft, which will hinder the financial viability of serving these smaller markets," Delta said.

Get your Rv'ing on

School is almost out, the warmer weather is here and thoughts of camping as well as taking that recreational vehicle of yours "on the road again" -- Hopefully you've done some preventative maintenance before you parked your RV, but even if you did? They are a vehicle and will need repairs from time to time. That's when searching for the right place to have rv repairs done is important. Especially if you have a breakdown away from home.

Hawaii lures foodies

This year, TasteHawaiiOnline.com wants travelers to journey to Hawaii to meet the local foodie community on Maui.

Local chefs, Chef Marc McDowell, Chef Beverly Gannon, Chef Ryan Luckey, Chef James McDonald and Chef Brian Etheridge, will share their passion for Hawaii's new farm-to-table movement through cooking demonstrations; food, wine and dessert tastings; lectures; panel discussions and 5-star gourmet dinners.

The "Invitation to Foodies" seminar is a 3-day culinary event that explores Hawaii's new eat local movement.  Attendees will gain knowledge that every foodie should know, personally and professionally, and meet local chefs, farmers and sommeliers.

This event benefits three Maui non-profits.  The non-profits are the Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui, Haku Baldwin Center and Ka Lima O Maui.

Baseball time is here

Spring is here and you've already forgotten for a moment about Miami Dolphins Tickets or New Orleans Saints Tickets, instead you start reading about who's making up which lineup and which pitchers will be the starting pitcher for the season for your favorite team.

It's also a good time of year to start looking for tickets online, you may be able to find a great deal on those New York Giant Tickets or plan ahead for that weekend you've always wanted that includes New England Patriots Tickets. Planning ahead can save you money when it comes to hotel and travel arrangements.

The Internet can also come in handy when it comes to baseball season, a last minute trip that includes Boston Red Sox Tickets is as easy as just a few mouse clicks away. Many times last minute travel deals can be just as affordable as ones you plan out months in advance. Great seats that may not be available through the stadium can be found online.

Citizen group demanding action after third Southwest incident

Yesterday, on the heels of the FAA secretly mandating removal of oxygen generators from airline lavatories, both American Airlines flight 547 and Southwest Airlines flight 812 decompressed. On BOTH flights, the oxygen masks deployed and people passed out due to an apparent lack of oxygen. The FAA justified that risk by saying that decompressions rarely happen.

"The FAA has long asserted that the airlines can self-regulate in the area of safety inspections, but clearly the airlines cannot be trusted. It's the fox guarding the hen house and it's got to stop," Kate Hanni said. "The airlines are motivated only by their bottom line, cost cutting, and razor thin margins; that doesn't leave a lot of room for 'in cabin safety' issues or tap testing the fuselage for cracks. The FAA must step in and impose fines that are meaningful and inspections that actually work to determine life or death safety issues both inside and outside the aircraft."

Mahoning Valley Downs coming

The Mahoning Valley Development Group (www.MahoningValleyDowns.com) is proud to announce the plans to build Ohio's Eighth Horse Racetrack, Mahoning Valley Downs and Resort which will be a $300 million dollar world class resort constructed on over 100 acres, Mahoning Valley Downs and Resort will undertake a massive construction to create a world class facility that will seek visitors nationwide. It will be a thoroughbred racetrack along with a casino with an eye towards the expansion of VLT's (slots) to racetracks.

The full plans will be announced at a news conference on Tuesday, January 18 at 11 AM at Mr. Anthony's Banquet Center, 7440 South Ave. Boardman (Youngstown), Ohio 44512. Dr. Bradford Pressman and Rick Lertzman who represent Mahoning Valley Development Group will be present to unveil the rendering of the project, discuss the area where the project will be located and answer any questions.

Social media and travel

Bigmouthmedia's 2011 Travel Report has revealed that the sector's enthusiasm for digital marketing is set to continue in the face of extremely challenging trading conditions.

While the travel sector has continued to be amongst the worst affected by events in 2010, the standout statistics from the bigmouthmedia Travel Report 2011 indicate that enthusiasm for the nascent social media and mobile channels is set to continue unabated, with social strategies taking a larger share of budgets than direct email marketing for the first time. Meanwhile smart phone enabled enthusiasm for mobile grows, with 28% planning invest in apps development and 22% looking to build mobile sites over the course of the next year.

Travel Trends Survey released

Today, Travel Leaders unveiled the 2011 results of their authoritative annual Travel Trends Survey . After a one-year hiatus – the adult "playland" of Las Vegashas regained the top spot over the family playground of Orlando by the slimmest of margins. In addition, this year's findings show that 50.1% of Travel Leaders clients will spend more on travel this year while 38.2% will spend the same amount. Conducted November 3 – 30, 2010, and based on actual booking data, the 2011 Travel Trends Survey includes responses from 547 Travel Leaders owners, managers and frontline travel experts throughout the United States.

"The trends revealed in this year's survey lead us to be quite bullish on travel in 2011. Bookings are on the rise as people either feel more stable in their situations or decide they can't wait any longer to take a needed vacation," stated Roger E. Block, CTC, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group, which includes locations from coast to coast. "Spending signs are encouraging as 50.1% indicate that their clients will be spending more per trip, while 38.2% responded that clients will at the very least spend the same as they did last year. Plus, what our Travel Leaders experts are seeing and booking for 2011 translates into the overwhelming majority feeling more optimistic in their outlook for 2011 than we've seen since late 2006/early 2007."

British Airways reveals the top 10 destinations for 2011

British Airways has announced that the US, Caribbean and Indian Ocean all feature heavily in its top ten destinations for 2011, but the pride of place goes to North African destination, Marrakech.

Willie Walsh, British Airways' CEO, said: "The response we've had to the launch of routes like the Maldives, Las Vegas and Marrakech has been incredible. We've seen destinations in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean becoming even more popular with leisure travellers looking for sun and relaxation. Those after 24-hour cities are heading towards New York, Las Vegas and Japan."

He added: "Tourism and leisure travel is a crucial focus for us, so growing our holidays business is a major part of our business plan. We've already made great progress thanks to the launch of our Dynamic Packaging capability on ba.com, which enables customers to book flights and hotels together and realise substantial savings. Revenue this year is up 55 per cent and there remains a huge opportunity for future growth."

BA's top ten destinations for 2011 also includes the airline's new routes, with services to Haneda (Tokyo) starting on February 19, Marrakech beginning on March 27, Puerto Rico on March 28, and flights to San Diego on June 1, 2011.

British Airways top ten destinations include Marrakech at the number one spot, followed by San Diego, New York, St Kitts & Nevis, Puerto Rico, Maldives, Japan, Las Vegas, Mauritius and St Lucia.

British Airways joint business with American Airlines and Iberia also gives customers a choice of 17 flights a day between London and New York.

Best Western's top 11 2011 Travel Destinations

Once the holidays end and the New Year arrives, it's the ideal time to sit down as a family and make vacation travel plans for 2011, according to Amy Graff, Travel and Kids expert for Best Western International and the senior editor for the award-winning blog, On the Go With Amy.

To arm families with fresh ideas for budget- and family-friendly activities, Amy today released her Top 11 Destinations for Family Travel for 2011, which includes "must do" and "must see" ideas ranging from touring a newly built aquarium to discovering U.S. history.

AirTran reports increase in travel for November

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AAI), today reported traffic for the month of November. The airline reported that revenue passenger miles (RPMs), available seat miles (ASMs), load factor and enplanements represent new monthly records for the month of November.

For November, traffic grew by 6.6 percent to more than 1.5 billion RPMs. The airline's load factor for the month was 80.6 percent. AirTran Airways enplaned more than 2 million passengers for the month, a 5.3 percent increase from the same month one year ago.

AirTran Airways November 2010 Traffic
(Preliminary)
	November 2010	November 2009	Change
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)	1,568,307	1,471,129	6.6 percent
Available Seat Miles (000)	1,945,523	1,918,566	1.4 percent
Load Factor	80.6 percent	76.7 percent	3.9 points
Passengers Enplaned	2,037,215	1,934,925	5.3 percent
	Y-T-D 2010	Y-T-D 2009	Change
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)	18,001,629	17,053,959	5.6 percent
Available Seat Miles (000)	22,065,974	21,318,652	3.5 percent
Load Factor	81.6 percent	80.0 percent	1.6 points
Passengers Enplaned	22,712,880	22,019,302	3.1 percent

Saving while traveling

I love to travel, though most of my recent trips have involved visiting my oldest daughter who is now living in Arizona. However, whenever I fly I look for discount airfare. There are typically some really good deals out there, even on non-stop flights which is always my preference.

The standard industry tip of not purchasing tickets on a Monday or close to the weekend is not always true, but if you have a bit of time before your scheduled trip, the odds increase that you'll find airline tickets at a price you want to pay.

I also recommend planning some aspects of your trip in advance, make a list of the places that you *must* see in order of preference. That will make it much easier if seeing one attraction takes longer or less time than what you planned for. Take advantage of the internet, websites like Fodors not only have suggested itineraries, but also have travel trips that might just make your next vacation even more enjoyable.

Cruising mental meanderings

Two days ago it was over 94 degrees here, humid and miserable. Today it's 62 degrees and I broke out my sweater. While it's not been cold long enough that I'm missing the heat and I definitely will not miss the 94 plus temperatures, it's cold enough that thinking about the Royal Caribbean cruise line and a few beach type encounters is a thought in the back of my mind. Last week all I had to do was walk outside and pretend I was in an almost tropical environment...

:-)

The long awaited Boeing 787 jets

Some have joked that part of the reason the Boeing 787 jets were called Dreamliners is because it's taken so long to build them that it could be a dream. Yet, it appears to finally becoming a reality and Continental Airline being one of the first to order these behemoth jets is showing off the interiors.

I'm not sure if my semi-regular flights from Detroit to Phoenix is going to be far enough of a distance to ever be able to fly on a 787, but for those of us who do dream of that? Boeing has quite a bit of information on their website.

Beach breezes...

When the heat index is close to or over 100 degrees and your house has no air conditioning, you can hope for a thunderstorm to move through the area. You can also spend time dreaming about heading to the beach, where the ocean breezes will make you feel cooler than the sweltering urban heat. http://avistaresort.com is a great place to start dreaming.

If you are ready to move beyond dreaming and want to actually start planning? Finding the right Myrtle Beach hotel is only a mouse click away.

There are so many different resorts in Myrtle Beach to choose from, whether your dream is closer to mine of just sitting on the beach or playing golf or being pampered at a spa -- you'll find what you are looking for.

48 hours to tee time...

Looking to make a last minute reservation for a tee time at a number of golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area? Then you might want to check out and bookmark, www.48hourteetimes.com.

It's a great place not just because you can get 48 hour tee times but because they offer some great discounts so last minute doesn't have to equal paying top dollar to play golf at a huge list of golf courses. They offer their online system seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

If you are looking for a reservation for tee times scheduled more in advance, they have a companion system linked on their website where you can do that and also capitalize on the savings...

Brief history of Myrtle Beach...

After the Civil War, most of the abandoned land along the ocean was purchased by the Conway Lumber Company, employees would head to the beach on their weekends off since the area was so beautiful. This was of course before any of the http://www.myrtlebeachseasideresorts.com websites became popular.

Then a man named Franklin Burroughs felt that this part of South Carolina, known as "New Town" could rival Coney Island. He didn't live to see it happen, but his sons continued on and as more and more people began to head to the shores to the earlier versions of hotels, cottages, then resorts started to be build resulting in places like www.myrtlebeachseasideresorts.com; a destination for beaches, water fun and golf, in 1957 Burrough's wife suggested naming the town after a popular flower, the wax myrtle.

As the location became more popular, golfers discovered the climate was a great place for them to play year round, which makes sense considering some of the golf packages that are being offered. So what started out as a place for lumber workers to spend their free time has now become a part of our country where golfers and their family flock year round.

United and Continental reportedly closer to reaching a deal

One wonders what the impact to air travel will be after reading this AP story that reports United and Continental are closer to reaching a deal to become one...Part of the story:

DALLAS — United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. are moving closer to announcing as early as Monday that they will combine to form the world's largest carrier by passenger traffic, according to people familiar with the matter.
Continental's board plans to meet Friday and Sunday to consider a deal, according to one person familiar with the discussions but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
Another person briefed on the talks said Thursday that negotiators have agreed that the combined company would be called United, it would be based in United's hometown of Chicago, and run by Continental CEO Jeffery Smisek with United CEO Glenn Tilton as chairman. All those decisions would need approval of both boards.

The impact on the employment numbers will also be of interest to discover if the boards from each airline approve the deal...

It's impossible to not want to go here...

In doing some image searching, I came across this picture and it's so amazing that it would be impossible to not think about Myrtle Beach Accommodations after viewing it since the picture is a sunset outside of a Myrtle Beach Accommodation. Even if you decided to stay at one of the hotels that is not exactly on the beach, but opted for one of the ones that had a golf course (since golf is the "thing" to do there), the beaches are within a close distance.

Though for me? I'd opt for one of the Myrtle Beach Hotel locations on the beach, preferably with a room that had an oceanside view...There is nothing more appealing to me than being able to open a patio door enough to feel a nice breeze and to hear the sounds of the ocean, especially late at night when the rest of the world is sleeping. I've had the opportunity to do this in other places, but I've not yet traveled to this part of South Carolina. It's even harder to not want to plan something now when looking at this picture.

Myrtle Beach Days

While the topic of Golf Myrtle Beach Days didn't make it into the song "Myrtle Beach Days" by the Fantastic Shakers (shared below) many of those who head to that part of South Carolina are looking for Myrtle Beach Golf Vacations or maybe the golfers are, with any family members they bring that are not golfers taking advantage of the rest of what the area offers...It also gives you an idea of the many things to do before tee time.

Some of the Myrtle Beach Golf Packages are pretty affordable, according to some of my friends who play more than miniature golf with tee times and prices related to Myrtle Beach Golf being shared online. When my father was alive, one of his favorite places to play golf was at Myrtle Beach. Though after watching the below video, I'm sorry I didn't make a bigger fuss to go too.