Jetsettersblog

Putt & Win” Promotion Brings Savings and Fun this Summer from Award-Winning Food & Shops

Queens, NY (May 22, 2013) – Just in time for the Memorial Day kick-off, LaGuardia Airport’s Food & Shops will roll out a new golf-themed summer promotion for passengers traveling through Terminal B.

A portable putting green will allow travelers to take a swing to earn discounts and free products for shops and eateries in Terminal B. Once a traveler has completed their turn, they will receive a scratch-off card good for 10% off, 20% off, or free merchandise and food.

“Our summer ‘Putt & Win’ program will bring an element of fun to the travel experience, as well as an opportunity for our passengers to save.” says Lillian Tan, Vice President and General Manager of MarketPlace Development, the retail development company that manages the Food & Shops program at LaGuardia’s Terminal B.

The ‘Putt & Win’ promotion will be available to travelers from 11:00am-4:00pm, every Friday from May 24 through August 30. The location of the putting green will alternate between the center food court and American Airlines ticketing area. Location information and general information about the promotion can be found at www.ShopLaGuardia.com.

About MarketPlace Development

MarketPlace Development develops and manages airport retail programs across the country. A recognized industry leader for over 20 years, MarketPlace Development works in partnership with airports and airlines to enhance passenger satisfaction and maximize revenue. The Massachusetts-based company is responsible for the concessions programs at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B, Philadelphia International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport, and has also worked with numerous airports and airlines across the country.

Web: www.marketplacedevelopment.com

LaGuardia Airport

MarketPlace Development is the private partner with The Port Authority of NY and NJ in the $18 million, 47,000-square-foot redevelopment of the food and retail program at Terminal B, the largest of LaGuardia’s four terminals. The award-winning program features 60 restaurants and specialty shops.

Web: www.shoplaguardia.com,  Twitter: @shoplaguardia

United Airlines has expanded its baggage delivery service, which lets customers to skip baggage claim upon arrival and have their checked bags delivered to their final destinations within 100 miles of arrival airports. Baggage Delivery by BagsVIP is now available to customers departing from any domestic airport and arriving in 36 cities.

The service is available in Albuquerque, Aspen, Austin, Boston, Bozeman, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Honolulu, Houston, Jackson Hole, Los Angeles, Miami, Montrose, New Orleans, New York/Newark, Orange County, Orlando, Palm Beach, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Portland, Reno-Tahoe, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Sarasota, Seattle, Tampa, Vail-Eagle County, Washington/Dulles and Washington/National

United plans to expand the service to more than 190 domestic airports. Standard rates for bag delivery within a 40-mile radius of the arrival airport are $29.95 for one bag, $39.95 for two bags and $49.95 for three to eight bags. Delivery is available up to a 100-mile radius for an additional charge that varies by distance. Delivery pricing is in addition to any standard checked-bag charges that might otherwise apply.

Separately, United has begun offering Premier Access benefits. Customers can purchase, where available, access to expedited check-in and security checkpoint lanes, along with priority boarding, for prices beginning at $9 per segment. United limits the number of customers who can purchase Premier Access to ensure the benefits are available to the airline’s premier-level frequent flyers and eligible United MileagePlus credit card members.

Island Air closed the sale of the Hawaii regional airline to a newly formed holding company owned by Lawrence J. Ellison, chairman of Oracle, the software giant. Ellison also happens to own most of the Hawaiian island of Lanai, which he purchased last year.

“This is another major investment and commitment to Hawaii,” said Paul Marinelli, vice president of Lawrence Investments, LLC, the company owned by Ellison that purchased Island Air. “We understand the critical importance of transportation in an island state and we will ensure that Island Air strengthens its role, capacity and service to the people of Hawaii. We recognize the need for providing options for travelers, and we believe Island Air has tremendous potential to deliver value to both residents and visitors.

“We are excited Mr. Ellison has acquired Island Air. He has the vision and resources to literally take Island Air to new heights,” said Les Murashige, Island Air president. “The entire Island Air team pulled together over the past year to restructure and position the company for success and this sale represents the culmination of that process. I want to personally thank our 245 employees, the unions that represent them, and our entire management team for their efforts this past year. And, on behalf of all of us at Island Air, we welcome Mr. Ellison and we look forward to an exciting future together.”

Island Air has already added one new ATR 72 aircraft to its fleet. The airline’s customers will now enjoy a larger plane with more seats, more legroom and greater comfort.  The ATR 72 is also environmentally and economically superior to other aircraft in its category. There are no planned staff changes and Island Air will continue its operations as usual while developing plans for additional planes, routes and services. All current tickets will be honored and all Cloud9 members will retain their status and benefits.

Island Air is Hawaii’s leading regional carrier, serving airports on all major Hawaiian Islands. The airline now offers 224 weekly flights between the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai.

Porter Airlines is adding a fourth weekday roundtrip flight between Windsor International Airport, Ontario, Canada, and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, starting April 15. Flights are timed to provide convenient connections in Toronto for Ottawa, Montreal, Northern Ontario, and other destinations.

“Windsor passenger numbers have really improved since we started flying there less than two years ago,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “It’s a perfect example of how competition can make fares more affordable and lead to more and more people choosing to fly. This is what has made it possible for Porter to add a fourth flight for Windsor.”

Delta Air Lines will introduce Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding in all of its BusinessElite cabins throughout the world. The new bedding will be available on all BusinessElite International flights, as well as BusinessElite flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and between Atlanta and Honolulu, beginning in June. BusinessElite customers will receive a Westin Heavenly sleeping pillow and comforter. Passengers on flights more than12 hours also will receive a lumbar pillow.

In addition to the new Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, Delta is making investments in several other products and services to revamp the in-flight sleep experience. These include a white noise channel on Delta Radio, and new BusinessElite amenity kits featuring Tumi and Malin, and Goetz products.

Delta is also enhancing the sleep experience by expanding full flatbed seating. The carrier is introducing full flat-bed seats in the BusinessElite cabin of all transcontinental flights operating between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle beginning in March. All of Delta’s Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft serving these transcontinental markets will offer the flatbed seats over the next 24 months.

Airspace Lounge, an airport lounge network open to all airline passengers, announced its expansion to Terminal 5 (T5) of John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Operated by Swissport, the lounge is scheduled to open in May. It will be located near Gate 24 of T5, which serves JetBlue Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and, beginning in April, Aer Lingus.

Airspace Lounge currently operates at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and is opening March at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Airspace Lounge offers any passenger flying on any airline a modern, relaxing atmosphere and all-inclusive amenities via the purchase of a daily entry pass.

“All passengers traveling with any of the airlines serving JFK T5 will soon be able to separate themselves from the concourse and visit Airspace Lounge to enjoy ample space to rest or work as well as complimentary food and beverage offerings,” said Anthony Tangorra, president of Airspace Lounge and senior vice president-lounges at Swissport. “The lounge is conveniently located post security to serve passengers near their gates and includes everything needed for airport comfort – a relaxing atmosphere, separate restrooms and showers, and a dedicated work area– all at a reasonable price.”

Airspace Lounge will open each day well before the first T5 flight until boarding of the last departure of the day.  Customers will be offered complimentary food and beverages, such as a hot breakfast sandwich, hearty sandwiches or cheese plates in the afternoon and evening. It will also include a free alcoholic beverage from the full-service bar. Other snacks, coffee, tea and soft drinks are also included and available throughout the day. Travelers can enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi, power outlets at every seat, the use of MacBooks and Windows PCs, and seating and workspace areas.

Virgin America has launched a new low-fare daily nonstop service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The flight will be launched on May 21st with a red carpet welcome and party at the gate for its first commercial flight guests.

First flight guests include Virgin America CEO, David Cush and the award-winning Austin-based psychedelic rock band, The Bright Light Social Hour – who will perform an acoustic set onboard for lucky inaugural customers, who will also get the customary water cannon salute.

United Airlines re-launched the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with commercial service from the airline’s hub in Houston to Chicago O’Hare at 11 a.m. on May 20. The flight took off and landed without incident.

“The 787 offers an unmatched travel experience for our customers and co-workers, and we are thrilled to be flying it again,” said Jeff Smisek, United’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.

United says it will operate additional Dreamliner flights on routes from Houston to other domestic hubs this week, and the airline will launch international 787 service on the much-anticipated Denver-Tokyo route on June 10. This summer United said it also plans to inaugurate 787 service on existing routes including Houston-London, Los Angeles-Tokyo, Los Angeles-Shanghai and Houston-Lagos.

Dreamliners were grounded in January after sparks and fires in the aircraft’s lithium-ion batteries caused concern. Although United and other airlines who had their Dreamliners grounded are not voicing any misgivings about putting the 787 back into service for long haul flights, most have put plans into place for such flights at least several weeks out from their re-inaugural flights.  Two consumer action groups, FlyersRights.org and the Aviation Consumer Action Project, are petitioning the FAA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a two-hour limit from the nearest airport for the safety of passengers and crew until the root cause of the battery issue that initially caused the grounding can be found.

The Twittersphere buzzed about the on-time landing with United itself crowing: “What’s so beautiful about a grey day in Houston? Seeing the United Dreamliner back in service!”  Somewhat less jejune was @IvantheK’s comment:  ”News is about the aberrant. We don’t go to the airport and watch planes land safely”- Peter Jennings (Unless it’s a #Dreamliner),

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will start new nonstop flight between San Francisco and Copenhagen on April 8. A large number of International and Scandinavian companies have expressed a strong desire for a direct service between the West Coast and Scandinavia, and the new route, with six weekly frequencies from San Francisco to Copenhagen. SAS expects to carry 125,000 people per year on the route.

“As a member of Star Alliance, SAS has supported the cruise industry with products and airfares for many years,” said Stefan Larsson, general manager-Americas. “Virtually all U.S. cruise lines currently have access to special cruise fares in business class, premium economy and economy for travel originating in North America. SAS is proud to partner with the cruise lines in support of this very important market. The interest for summer cruises in the Baltic Sea has been on a steady increase and connecting the West coast of the U.S. with Scandinavia will only expand the demand for Baltic Cruises with Copenhagen and Stockholm being the most important turnaround ports”.

Currently, SAS operates nonstop service from New York (Newark) to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, from Chicago to Copenhagen and Stockholm, and from Washington, D.C. to Copenhagen. From its hubs at Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, SAS serves cities throughout Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the rest of Europe.

Delta Air Lines, in a move to boost service from the West Coast, said it is expanding flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with daily year-round and seasonal service to 14 destinations, including eight new markets. The additional service adds 12 percent more daily seats in the market.

The new and expanded Los Angeles service includes new daily service to Nashville and three daily flights to Seattle starts April 8. New intra-West service will fly to two markets: San Jose, Calif., with four daily flights (starting July 1) and Spokane, Wash.. with one daily flight (staring June 10).

New summer seasonal service to serve three markets: service to Boston will operate daily (starting June 10); service to Anchorage will operate three times weekly Friday-Sunday (staring June 21); and service to Bozeman, Mont., will operate Saturday only service (staring June 22). New Central America service will fly to San Jose, Costa Rica (staring July 1).

Delta also will expand current intra-West service with one additional flight to Oakland, Calif., Phoenix and Sacramento, Calif., each for a total of five new flights (staring June 10). The airline also will increase frequency to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico from Saturday only flight to daily service (starting July 1) and one additional Saturday flight will be added to Guadalajara, Mexico (starting July 6). Delta also will expand service to New Orleans with one additional flight for a total of three daily (staring Sept. 4)

Delta also will offer full flat-bed seating in BusinessElite on four of the seven flights to New York-JFK this summer. It also will increase service to Las Vegas aircraft to six daily mainline flights starting in June.

By this summer Delta said it will operate 118 peak-day departures to 40 nonstop destinations, including Sydney and Tokyo, from Los Angeles.  All Los Angeles domestic service offers customers the option of First Class, Economy Comfort or economy seating, along with in-flight Wi-Fi.