Far-off fares: Air France already has put winter fares on sale
through Aug. 7 for travel Nov. 1 to Dec.11 and Jan. 11 to March 24.
Roundtrip fares range from $338 from New York to $518 from the West
Coast.
Alaska Airlines set fall fares to Vancouver. Roundtrip fares for
travel Aug. 25 to Dec. 16 range from $72 from Seattle to $144 from
Southern California.
In other airline news...
Never on Sunday: Royal Jordanian is extending its smoking ban to
Sunday flights starting Aug. 2. Wednesday flights became smokeless
in June. Cathay Pacific will ban smoking on Japan routes beginning
Oct. 25, which will make it a totally smoke-free airline.
Routings:
Swissair is dropping its Philadelphia-Zurich flight effective
Oct. 25.Mexicana launched Miami-Merida and Oakland-Zacatecas service,
both twice-weekly.Aeromexico changed its New Orleans-Cancun schedule -- earlier
departure and later return -- to allow passengers more beach
time.Northwest will take up the Memphis-Biloxi route on Oct. 1 with
three daily DC-9 flights, replacing turboprop service provided by
Northwest Airlink. It made the decision after Senate majority
leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) arranged for the Gulfport/Biloxi
Regional Airport Authority to make a presentation to the airline's
marketing department.Air Canada launched daily Toronto-San Jose nonstops.Virgin Atlantic is launching new routes from London to St.
Lucia, Barbados and Antigua at the end of September, with 747
aircraft.Continental kicked off its Newark-Glasgow service.Aer Lingus expanded its Boston service to daily and its Chicago
service to six times weekly, both year-round.It takes a village: British Airways has new headquarters near
London's Heathrow Airport, which the airline describes as a
"radical" new office complex designed to be a "catalyst for change"
at the airline. Set up like a village, with four buildings that
each have their own courtyard, the arrangement allows employees to
take a laptop and work in one of the cafes or in the 240 acres of
parkland. Everyone, including chief executive Bob Ayling, works in
an "open plan environment." The "village," called Waterside,
includes a health club, hairdresser and supermarket, from which
employees can order electronically.
Partners:
Virgin Atlantic and British Midland will expand their
code-sharing pact on Aug. 17 to include British Midland's flights
from London (Heathrow) to Warsaw.American and TAM (Transportes Aereos Meridionais) implemented
their code-sharing agreement, with TAM's flights from Sao Paulo to
Porto Alegre carrying the AA code. They will expand the pact to
Brasilia, Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 12.Mesa Airlines, which went through some tough times, has a new
feeder agreement with America West. It is focused on the Phoenix
hub but could expand to Las Vegas and Columbus. The pact is much
improved from the old one, America West said, providing better
connecting times and larger aircraft, including the Canadair
Regional Jet, on many routes.LanChile and Qantas will share codes beginning later this year
to provide connections at Papeete, Tahiti.Moving on: Yet another United alumnus has joined US Airways.
Mark Schwab is the new vice president-international, overseeing the
carrier's growing European operations (it now serves seven points,
with a Milan application pending). He will remain in London, where
he had been United's general manager for the U.K. and Ireland.Miles:
United is awarding double mileage on all flights to Osaka
through Sept. 30, which is enough for a free domestic economy
ticket.Northwest extended its double mileage offer for qualifying (Y
or B) North American coach tickets through Sept. 1. The offer also
applies to first and business class tickets worldwide.Sol Melia Hotels in Latin America became a participant in the
American AAdvantage program Aug. 1. Members earn 500 miles per
stay. The company is offering 2,000 miles per stay in September and
October at all Gran Melia Hotels, Melia Hotels, Melia Confort
Hotels and Paradisus Resorts. Guests must stay a minimum of three
nights and pay rack or corporate rate.