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Posts on Commerce

Diane Clarkson | September 03, 2008, 02:35 PM
United Airlines retreats on eliminating transatlantic meals
Earlier this summer, United Airlines announced plans to stop providing meals to coach passengers on its transatlantic flights. Today, the airline emailed its customers to advise that they had changed their mind based on the feedback they’d received. United Airlines is positioning this as responding to what travelers value. You...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 02, 2008, 06:22 PM
Starwood Preferred Guest Takes To the Skies
Starwood’s loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest, has allowed members to transfer SPG to airline loyalty programs, which has been useful if not occasionally cumbersome benefit. However, now the program has gotten even better – SPG points can be used to book flights directly on www.spg.com/flights. It gets better: there are...( more )

Pfreemanevans | August 21, 2008, 10:12 PM
Online Sales and the Economic Environment: Q2 Update
News regarding the economic situation continues to be relatively gloomy and has been reflected in the Q2 results that offline retailers have been reporting. For example JC Penny reported Q2 comp store sales declined 4.3% versus last year, Abercrombie and...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 12, 2008, 12:31 PM
Kayak arms travelers with information to avoid pain points
Kayak has launched information tools to provide travelers with details on some of the greatest pain points in travel: Airline fees are extensive, vary between carriers, and change frequently. In response, Kayak has posted a Fees Chart which is particularly handy when comparison shopping includes checked bags fees. The quality...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 07, 2008, 08:07 PM
Southwest: I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Kelly
In a report I wrote earlier this year called “Travel Blogs: Aligning Marketing Objectives with Blog Strategy”, I talked about the potential of corporate blogs as a branding opportunity and the importance of allowing readers to post comments to maintain a conversational dynamic. Today, Southwest Airlines launched an online casting...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 05, 2008, 02:45 PM
Kayak and American Airlines part ways
Kayak has pulled AA fares from its website. Or AA has withdrawn itself from Kayak. Depending on which headlines you read. American Airlines and Kayak disagreed about how AA fares would be displayed on Kayak – specifically if fares would be displayed via AA.com or through Orbitz or other partners....( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 28, 2008, 02:56 PM
Flight crews “part of the labor puzzle”
After a couple of weeks away traveling for both holidays and work, I’m now back in San Francisco. Thankfully. To a large extent, I have now surrendered to the chaos of air travel. My flights were all delayed, the longest by over four hours. One delay was caused by a...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 07, 2008, 02:13 PM
Virgin America's negative into positive
One of my colleagues received an email from Virgin American for an upcoming flight advising that delays in modifying their new planes means that the in-flight entertainment system will not be functioning on her flight. Here is a portion of that email: Due to delays in the modification of our...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 02, 2008, 01:55 PM
Online Travel Agencies: Time for Creative Marketing
These may not be easy times for online travel agency marketers, but they are certainly creative times. Priceline announced today that they are lowering hotel booking fees and eliminating change and cancellation fees. Last month, Orbitz launched its Price Assurance program to give passengers cash back if another traveler books...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 16, 2008, 05:03 PM
Orbitz's "Price Assurance"
Orbitz has launched a policy called “Price Assurance” whereby they will refund customers who purchase an airline ticket and then see the price fall. Orbitz will foot the bill for amounts between $5 to $250. How popular will this be? According to Expedia, only about 6% of air travelers purchase...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 12, 2008, 08:36 PM
How many nickels in $2.3 billion?
United Airlines announced today that they will follow American Airlines and introduce $15 baggage fees for each direction for the first checked bag. Not to be left behind, US Airways followed suit hours later. You can link here to United’s statement about rising oil prices (self-evident) and how they are...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 10, 2008, 02:38 PM
Musing about TravelMuse
While the online travel agency has expertly translated the transaction element of booking travel online, it has never truly been able to duplicate the brochure rack browsing in a traditional travel agency. Not all travelers begin their research process with definitive dates and destinations in mind. In fact, in a...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 06, 2008, 01:12 PM
OTA's losing online hotel share
Comscore has released information indicating consumers are increasingly shifting from online travel agencies to supplier sites. According the Comscore’s data, supplier Web sites accounted for 72% of online hotel spending during Q1 of 2008. That's a three-percentage point increase in dollar share from last year. This trend is certainly...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 04, 2008, 04:46 PM
Weight based airfares generates weighty responses
Bloomberg published a story yesterday quoting an aviation consultant who suggested that charging airline passengers by weight “may be a logical step” in combating rising fuel prices. Another consultant quoted in the article called the idea “unrealistic”. But that hasn’t stopped bloggers from adding their two cents, mostly concerned about...( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 28, 2008, 05:19 PM
A few questions for AA about $15
It has been one week since American Airlines launched the $15 fee to check a piece of luggage. In that week, I’ve had numerous conversations with colleagues, journalists, friends and family on the subject. Here are some of the discussion points: - How much is this going to slow down...( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 27, 2008, 06:18 PM
A bright spot in US tourism
It has been so many months of dismal news in the tourism industry that this bright spot deserves notice: Inbound tourism has seen some record numbers so far this year. According to Commerce Department stats published in the NY Times, there was a 13.2 percent increase in inbound international travelers...( more )

IanFogg | May 27, 2008, 11:45 AM
Customer Service Disaster 1: DSL Warehouse
I've started receiving emails asking for my bank details that are being sent to an email address I have only ever used to buy something from DSL Warehouse. The email address the phishing emails are being sent to is: dslwarehouse @ [mypersonaldomainname] . org i.e. a very very specific email...( more )

Pfreemanevans | May 22, 2008, 10:28 PM
Update on Online Retail in Light of the Current Economic Situation
We continue to hear from economists that the rise in prices for gas and food-staple prices here in the US is driven by largely global demand. Coupled with that is a softening US job market and sagging home prices. Customers...( more )

Pfreemanevans | May 21, 2008, 07:34 PM
Parental Supervision at eBay
This week eBay rolled out their new rules for the feedback and seller ranking systems. On the one had it is sad because the community is no longer able to police itself. Competition is growing, sellers are getting really savvy....( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 21, 2008, 01:05 PM
AA cuts domestic capacity and increases fees
American Airlines announced major reductions this morning, planning to cut mainline domestic capacity by between 10 – 12% in the fourth quarter this year and to lay off an undisclosed number of employees. These are the painful, practical realities of record high fuel prices. American Airlines is also introducing a...( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 09, 2008, 12:43 PM
Lamenting Air Canada's "new era"
It is a New Era in Travel, at least according to the subject line in an email I received yesterday from Air Canada. Air Canada has launched On My Way, which they advise is the “new name for peace of mind”. This program gives access to 24/7 customer service to...( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 02, 2008, 05:09 PM
Airline crisis deepens
This is no doubt that the US airline industry is in crisis caused in large part to the current record-breaking fuel prices. This crisis isn’t something that $25 second bag fee and slowing flight speed a few km/hr will resolve. Airline execs know this. Extreme fare increases and dramatic cutbacks...( more )

Diane Clarkson | April 22, 2008, 05:30 PM
Going Green
Many providers within the travel industry are trying to facilitate travel decisions for environmentally concerned travelers. Check out Orbitz’s section on energy-efficient hotels and Expedia’s “Going Green” store. Hybrid car rentals, volunteer vacations and carbon offset programs are all a part of the travel industry’s efforts to go green. There...( more )

Diane Clarkson | April 18, 2008, 02:35 PM
Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?
Do Travel Writers Go To Hell? This is the title of a new book by Thomas Kohnstamm, a former Lonely Planet travel writer who has admitted that he did not always visit the places he reviewed for Lonely Planet. Mr. Kohnstamm blasts the venerable Lonely Planet for its unrealistic deadlines,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | April 17, 2008, 02:14 PM
Delta and Northwest: Fasten your seatbelts, there will be turbulence
If you’ve picked up a newspaper in the past week, you’ve likely read that Delta and Northwest have agreed to merge in a $3.1 billion deal that would create the world’s largest airline. Skepticism abounds within the industry and among travelers. We can’t be blamed – there isn’t a history...( more )

Diane Clarkson | April 08, 2008, 05:46 PM
Orbitz Live Destination Specialists
It has been my long held belief that the travel industry has been missing opportunities by approaching destination content from the wrong direction – assuming people have decided on a specific destination rather than mimicking traditional travel agents and offering counseling in destination decisions. We published a report at the...( more )

David Schatsky | April 08, 2008, 01:24 PM
Online Fraud, Maturing, Makes Compelling Reading
The New York Times recently published a story about online fraud citing FBI stats that place the value of online fraud at $239 million in 2007 or about $2,530 per incident on average. The increased sophistication and specialization of scammers are cited as evidence that online fraud is maturing. But...( more )

Pfreemanevans | April 02, 2008, 09:26 PM
Amazon Brings Text to Buy
Tuesday Amazon launched their TextBuyIt service that allows Amazon members to use their mobile phone (even very basic ones like I have) to text Amazon, find products and buy them through a few step process. Seems like it could serve...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 28, 2008, 05:58 PM
Gun shots, nipple rings and falling wings
I read the travel news every day and some days’ headlines are more provocative than others. Today is a banner day. A US Airways pilot accidentally shot his cockpit when his gun discharged mid-flight, a Texas woman is calling for a civil rights investigation into the forced removal of her...( more )

Pfreemanevans | March 24, 2008, 09:05 PM
Google's Search within Search Tool Painful, but Perhaps Inevitable
Retailers have been mad at Google before: Gmail ads, competitive bidding on branded terms. And yet, retailers still cite search (organic and paid) as the top revenue driver among all sources. I do totally get their anger. What company would...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 18, 2008, 04:59 PM
Southwest's corporate blog is missing the point
Southwest Airlines is facing its a significant scandal with the claims it violated Federal Aviation Administration regulations regarding airline inspections. The airline faces a $10.2-million fine for keeping 46 of its planes in the air last year after they had missed a required inspection for cracks on part of the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 14, 2008, 02:21 PM
AA.com goes mobile
AAdvantage members have received an email from American Airlines offering a first glimpse of new tools available through Aacom via mobile devices. You can log on to AACom from your cell hone and check in for flights, view your itinerary, change flights, book flights, buy upgrades and other features. We’re...( more )

Pfreemanevans | March 13, 2008, 05:40 PM
February Retail Sales
The commerce department reported a .2% decline in retail sales today which was below what economic analysts were projecting (.2% increase). Disappointing to be sure, but not entirely unexpected due to the hammering consumers have taken over the last few...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 07, 2008, 06:05 PM
Thoughts from the Social Media Strategies in Travel 2008 conference
This week I had the opportunity to attend the Eye For Travel “Social Media Strategies in Travel” Conference in San Francisco. There was palpable buzz of energy throughout the crowd of marketers who were eager to talk about social media strategy. It was interesting how frequently the “F” word was...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 26, 2008, 01:25 PM
Bloggers Insight to an In-flight Death
Carine Desir's recent death on a NY-bound American Airlines flight has sparked much controversy following her family’s claim that the flight crew initially refused her request for oxygen and both oxygen tanks and defibrillator did not work properly. American Airlines disputes the family’s claim, saying treatment began within two to...( more )

Nate Elliott | February 14, 2008, 11:14 AM
Special Guest Blogger: Dorothee Vogel on Tchibo's Efforts to Explore New Markets Online
I want to offer congratulations to my colleague Dorothee Vogel, who a month ago gave birth to her first child, a son. Reports are that mother and child are both doing well -- and as if to prove it, Dorothee's already back tracking the online commerce space. Here's her take...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 12, 2008, 02:02 PM
The Evolution of Security
I spent a lot of time earlier this year reading all types of travel blogs in preparation for a report we just published called “Travel Blogs: Aligning Marketing Objectives with Blog Strategy”. I read many corporate blogs that were really not more than thinly disguised press releases. Enter the newly...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 04, 2008, 03:37 PM
United Airline first legacy carrier to introduce second bag fee
United Airlines has announced that it will begin charging domestic passengers without status in a Mileage Plus or Star Alliance $25 to check a second piece of luggage. The airline reports this new fee will generate $100 million and help offset fuel costs because each bag is additional weight and...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 01, 2008, 02:26 PM
Continental Wi-Fi
Starting in January 2009, Continental Airlines will become the first US legacy carrier to offer onboard satellite television. The airline will also provide free Wi-Fi access to first-class fliers and charge $6 fee to coach class. They are ahead of American Airlines, but not caught up to JetBlue who introduced...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 24, 2008, 07:38 PM
When did airline check-in get so difficult?
I don't ordinarily use my blog to groan about my travel experiences. But today is a special occasion. After flying back and forth between San Francisco and Toronto, I've wondered again why airports are a breeding ground for hostility. There are now travelers coming who have printed online boarding passes...( more )

Pfreemanevans | January 17, 2008, 09:13 PM
NRF Views: Paco Underhill Has Been Cloned
At the NRF Big show this week I saw some new technologies that take a page right out of Paco Underhill's wildly successful consulting book. One company is called VideoMining. They use simple security cameras in retail stores and their...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 17, 2008, 03:04 PM
To merge or not to merge, that is the question
Last year US Airways’ attempt to acquire Delta Air Lines spurred countless airline consolidation talks within the industry and on Wall Street. We’re only days into 2008 and Delta mergers are again all over the news. I won’t get into they-should-or-shouldn’t-they debate: that is a well-established discussion and one need...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 09, 2008, 06:52 PM
British Airways launches new airline
British Airways announced plans to launch a new airline in June offering direct service between New York and Brussels or Paris. Open Skies’ managing director describes the airline as "a very special point-to-point application." Of course, Open Skies is not alone in this special point-to-point’ness. Eos Airlines, Silverjet, and l'Avion...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 31, 2007, 05:23 PM
Kayak Raises $196 Million and Buys Rival SideStep
The two largest brands in travel search are now one. Last week, Kayak.com announced the completion of a $196 million financing round and a merger with SideStep.com. SideStep.com will become a subsidiary of Kayak.com, while each site will remain a separate brand. Kayak and SideStep have been the #1 and...( more )

Nate Elliott | December 19, 2007, 03:44 PM
Special Guest Blogger: Dorothee Vogel on Green Travel
Dorothee Vogel, Jupiter's European online commerce analyst and champion of green products and green marketing, is back with another guest blog: While some travel suppliers are still heatedly discussing the relevance of carbon-offsetting schemes, lastminute.com’s involvement in the Carbonwise offsetting scheme stands as a unique success story. Lastminute.com said that...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 19, 2007, 02:17 PM
Travel review aggregator Kango goes live
A few years ago, it was a pleasant surprise to find a couple of reviews from other travelers to help select a hotel or destination. Today, there are millions of reviews online and the result can be overwhelming. Enter Kango. Kango is a travel review aggregator, using natural language analysis...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 18, 2007, 03:36 PM
Back Surgeons Beware
I've been playing with an Amazon Kindle over the last few days. Few things in this world are more intuitive to use than a book, and the good news is the Kindle is pretty easy to use and very comfortable...( more )

Nate Elliott | December 11, 2007, 03:29 PM
New Research: Over One Quarter of European Internet Users are Green Shoppers
My colleague Dorothee Vogel just published an interesting report about green shopping in Europe. Amongst the surprises: no matter how much noise the UK press make on environmental issues (and by God they make a lot of noise), they just can't convince UK consumers to do anything about it. Now...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 11, 2007, 02:59 PM
Travel's email customer service - the best of the worst
Every year we do a customer service web track where we email companies asking a very simple question and track how efficiently the email is answered. As my colleague, Zach McGeary, blogged about earlier today, the results have not always been stellar. The travel industry is always a mixed lot...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 10, 2007, 07:32 PM
Apple Store Focuses on Training as well as Product
I went to the opening of the new Apple store on 14th St. and 9th Avenue here in NYC last week and was once again impressed. The location is very hip, in the meatpacking district where all the cool people...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 05, 2007, 11:03 AM
New Year Will Start With Fewer Seats In The Air
Last year I celebrated (?) Christmas Eve by myself at the TGIFriday in Newark Airport. Storms had cancelled flights and there was so little seat vacancy that even a teary pregnant newlywed in the travel industry had no influence. This year, it could be worse for holiday travelers returning in...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 29, 2007, 03:39 PM
Cyber Monday Drives 'Em In
Following on the heels of a strong Black Friday weekend, Cyber Monday seemed to keep up pace. We are hearing reports of 20%+ increases in sales overall. And some specific results are pretty impressive. eBags.com had their second biggest day...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 27, 2007, 03:17 PM
New Mexico's Controversial Aliens
New Mexico launched an advertising campaign a while ago that has, in turn, launched quite a bit of debate. The ads and print campaigns feature alien office workers chatting about their personal lives and how New Mexico is the greatest place on earth. Critics of the campaign fear it will...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 26, 2007, 10:04 PM
Another Black Friday
If you look at just the top line sales, Black Friday 2007 was a great success - increase of anywhere between 7 and 8.3% have been reported. This is much in excess of the overall holiday retail season increase of...( more )

David Schatsky | November 25, 2007, 10:10 PM
Brave Consumer Props Up US Economy on Black Friday
"I'm really looking for the bargains this year because I'm losing my job; they're moving our plant to Mexico after the first of the year, so I have to be careful," said Tina Dillow of New Richmond, Ohio, who camped out at a Best Buy store near Cincinnati at 3...( more )

IanFogg | November 23, 2007, 11:26 AM
Amazon and Kindle: The Big Picture
Amazon, one of the world's largest online retailers of physical products, is embracing digital content in each of Amazon's original core product ranges (books, CDs, and DVDs). Amazon now has an online movie download shop with unboxed, a DRM-free mp3 digital music shop, and now an ebook shop and device...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 21, 2007, 05:10 PM
Talkin' Turkey
Thanksgiving is here and a huge proportion of Americans will be hitting the roads, rails and airways. About 31 million Americans will be traveling by car, despite gas prices over $3.00 on average, well above the $2.20 average from this time last year. Amtrak expected more than 115,000 riders on...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 20, 2007, 01:58 PM
Expedia's media model
Expedia announced late last week that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), with 3,700 hotels across IHG brands being included in the Expedia, Hotwire and Expedia Corporate Travel portfolios. This is a described as a two-part economic model. The first part is transaction pricing....( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 12, 2007, 04:24 PM
A blog by any other name
I had the opportunity to speak last week at the E-Tourism conference in San Francisco. The audience was primarily DMO's and a large proportion of them where in the process of deciding what type of user generated content they would like on their websites. My session and several others discussed...( more )

Nate Elliott | November 09, 2007, 03:18 PM
Special Guest Blogger: Dorothee Vogel on How UK Retailers are Handling Green Issues
My colleague Dorothee Vogel covers online commerce and online travel in Europe, and is Jupiter's resident expert on green issues -- especially how green issues are impacting the travel and retail industries. She attended a conference on that topic last week, and filed this report: "Carbon off-setting is like paying...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 24, 2007, 05:38 PM
California fires: Alert the alerts
I had Fox News on tv this morning and heard the announcement that a San Diego county area hair salon is offering free haircuts for evacuees from the wildfires. I was evacuated many years ago in Canada and can't remember haircuts being high on the list of emergency services: "we...( more )

Pfreemanevans | October 23, 2007, 11:32 PM
Amazon’s Earnings
Third quarter revenue up 41%. Operating margin down 2 basis points. Hummm, could it be Harry Potter’s fault?...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 18, 2007, 04:33 PM
Ryanair's Ripped Off Ad Ban
The share of online revenue between OTA’s and suppliers is always an industry hot topic and one that will be addressed in our upcoming US Travel Industry Forecast. This battle took an ugly turn in the UK recently. Ryanair took out a national ad under the title “Robbed by last...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 11, 2007, 08:36 PM
Delayed Passenger's Video is Compelling
We've all heard about lengthy delays on the tarmac over the summer. A DOT report anticipates 2007 to break 2000's record for delays. While industry and government organizations debate policy on how to manage this, public sentiment is getting more and more impatient. Check out this passenger video taken after...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 02, 2007, 03:34 PM
Passport Please
he extended passport deadline expired yesterday so all U.S. citizens are now required to carry a passport to return to the US from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda when travelling by plane. According to a Brownsville Herald article, more than 16 million passports have been issued since October 2006,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 25, 2007, 04:40 PM
Facebooking At 35,000 Feet
Alaska Airlines has announced that it will become the first U.S. airline to test a satellite-based in-flight wireless Internet service on one of its planes next year. They are planning to install the service from Row 44 Inc next spring and, if all goes well, may add it to their...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 21, 2007, 12:28 PM
Funship Island
Question: Can rich media inspire someone to consider a purchase they had previously held limited interest in? Answer: Yes. How do I know this? Funship Island. Funship Island is Carnival Cruises' virtual cruise experience where you can tour the ship, swim with dolphins and hit the water slide. In some...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 19, 2007, 01:42 PM
Check out TripIt
Here's something cool: TripIt is an online master travel itinerary. Basically, you forward your confirmation emails regardless of where you booked and TripIt incorporates them into a master itinerary. Here's what I like about TripIt: * All your travel itineraries are in one place. This is particularly useful for travelers...( more )

Pfreemanevans | September 13, 2007, 08:26 PM
Image Recognition Technology Emerging
Today, Yahoo! Shopping launched their shop by color feature. The tool makes use of image recognition technology to match the color of pixels in photos sent to Yahoo! Shopping by their retail partners to the 56 different color groupings they...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 10, 2007, 04:51 PM
U.S. travelers sue British Airways in mishandled luggage case
I believe we are on the brink of a re-energized traveler consumer advocacy. With the ability to communicate/complain via blogs and reviews and fueled by the deplorable service delays on US air carriers, travelers have little patience and a growing voice. Now, three US travelers have filed a proposed class...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 04, 2007, 03:07 PM
How Orbitz Will Save My Pre-departure Blood Pressure
I nearly missed my honeymoon. My husband insisted we had plenty of time but unexpected traffic delays and a security line up that looked liked an iPhone giveaway meant our honeymoon began with a frenzied taxi ride, a sprint through JFK, and my vow that we would forevermore take separate...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 29, 2007, 03:35 PM
A good day for vertical search alerts
Today is a busy PR day in travel vertical search with SideStep and Kayak both launching tools that will appeal to price sensitive travelers with date flexibility. SideStep launched a new tool called FareTracker to help travelers track flights and prices changes. The tool leverages the searches undertaken on SideStep...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 28, 2007, 02:39 PM
Pizza “act of customer service genius”
When my mother started traveling, air travel was an event worthy of new dress and fine hat. I travel like I’m going on an overnight camp: loose fitting clothes, small blanket, sandwiches, water. While airline revenues are looking healthier than they have in years, passenger satisfaction is on a rapid...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 23, 2007, 12:19 PM
It’s good to be back.
I’ve returned to work this week after maternity leave and have been struck by the many changes in the travel landscape. VirginAmerica has landed, promising to change the way with fly with everything from power sources at every seat to mood lighting. I’m not sure what in-flight mood lighting is....( more )

Nate Elliott | August 03, 2007, 05:45 PM
How about a Flat-Pack wedding?
A fun bit of Friday afternoon reading from a guest blogger, our European online commerce analyst Dorothee Vogel: "I have been astonished by the relative inefficiency of UK online wedding lists offered by major department stores. So the recent release about IKEA’s 'in store sleepover' idea, including a honeymoon suite,...( more )

David Schatsky | July 27, 2007, 12:57 PM
Non-Creepy Targeting at Amazon
Delightful experience on Amazon.com just now. I went there to look for "A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World." Amazon lists 5 books also purchased by customers who bought that one. Among those 5 were two other books I have just set out to buy: The...( more )

Pfreemanevans | July 09, 2007, 03:37 PM
Be a Parent to Your Customers
I have been on the ecommerce and direct marketing conference circuit over the last few months and have heard a lot about customers now being in control or “in the driver’s seat” and how this may change how we do...( more )

Pfreemanevans | July 02, 2007, 02:59 PM
Differential your assortment, or at least your Barbie
This week I went to a very nice event at the revitalized FAO Schwarz store on Fifth Avenue here in NYC. The event promoted the newly launched Barbie shop on the second floor of the store where girls and their...( more )

Pfreemanevans | June 18, 2007, 09:05 PM
Dot Calm?
The New York Times on Sunday reported that the rate of online sales growth has peaked. This is true and it is as we have expected, and stated, for quite some time. But the way many people seem to...( more )

Pfreemanevans | May 03, 2007, 04:43 PM
Boo.com resurrects as travel site.
I can't quite understand why one would bring back a brand name that is synonymous with crash in the travel arena no less. But having said that, the new Boo is trying to bring user generated content to bear on...( more )

Pfreemanevans | May 01, 2007, 04:08 PM
Matching Price and Promotion Across Channels
Another shopping anecdote that further emphasizes the complexities of our current multichannel-retailing environment. A friend was shopping online for a big screen TV. As a good analyst, he had done extensive research online and finally zeroed in on the make...( more )

Pfreemanevans | April 30, 2007, 05:50 PM
Has a multichannel attitude arrived on the selling floor?
My husband and I were shopping in a Banana Republic looking for trousers for him. He is an odd size and we have regular difficulty finding the right clothes for him. As we feared the store didn’t have his size...( more )

Pfreemanevans | April 11, 2007, 08:08 PM
Retail Community Sites: A sink or swim proposition for retailers
In an effort to capitalize on the current growth of “social” sites online, Lands’ End launched a site that focuses on swimwear and features places where people can post their stories of wearing swimsuits. It seems like some people might...( more )

IanFogg | March 16, 2007, 06:21 PM
The dilemma of the European air traveller
Special guest blog from Dorothee Vogel: I was quite relieved to read this week that I was not the only one to be upset by the way Ryanair tried to sneak on a priority boarding charge onto my luggageless booking. Ironically, this is an area where Ryanair are in dispute...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 22, 2007, 03:41 PM
JetBlue apologizes with Bill of Rights
In years to come, David Neeleman will be a Crisis Management case study of What To Do. After last week’s nearly 1100 canceled JetBlue flights and thousands of stranded passengers, it’s been a tough week for the JetBlue CEO. But Neeleman’s acknowledgment, regret and actions have earned him kudos from...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 16, 2007, 05:16 PM
Unmanaged Road Warriors
Unmanaged Roadwarriors. Sounds like a band. In fact, it is the latest of Orbitz’s microsites. Orbitz has launched the microsite to appeal to those folks who travel for business and whose companies do not have a selected travel provider. This is a large segment. In our Frequent Business Travelers’ survey...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 09, 2007, 12:32 PM
British Airways "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" $460 extra luggage charge
British Airways new baggage policy goes into effect next week amid some controversy. The airline will begin charging some of its long haul passengers up to $460 per flight for every extra piece of luggage on a return trip beyond an allowed single bag per passenger. As outlined by MSNBC,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 07, 2007, 06:56 PM
Free Internet Goes Hotel Upscale
Hotels are kidding themselves when they think the additional cost of internet access goes unnoticed by business travelers who are preoccupied with expense-form writer’s cramp. Last year in our Frequent Business Travelers'Executive Survey, frequent business travelers listed free in-room internet access as the top loyalty award feature that would impact...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 24, 2007, 07:17 PM
Temper tantrum puts Air Tran into the worldwide news
I read the story yesterday about the Kuleszas, a Massachusetts couple and their three year old daughter who were removed from a flight when the child refused to take her seat before take off, considered it briefly and didn't think of it again. However, apparently this is big news. Search...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 23, 2007, 07:17 PM
United's 18 month loyalty cut off (Note to United: it's now January 07)
Late last Friday afternoon – the time and day of week any PR type worth their salt knows a press release will go unnoted – United Airlines put out a press release regarding changes to their Mileage Plus Frequent Flyer Program. It is a crafted press release, asserting with a...( more )

Barry Parr | January 18, 2007, 04:37 PM
The Netflix slot
Seeing this in the local post office gave me a new appreciation for the role of Netflix in the our economy. Have you ever tried to get a postmaster to do anything special for you? What percentage of the out-of-town mail has to be Netflix for the local postmaster to...( more )

David Schatsky | January 17, 2007, 09:48 AM
Amazing Medical Discovery and How the Internet Can Help
I loved John Tierney's article in yesterday's New york Times science section about some recent research at Stanford on the physiological bases of spending behavior. Here's his blog post on it, which links to the column. Apparently, both the impulse to buy and the countervaling impulse not to spend are...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 09, 2007, 12:26 PM
Shhhh... passport required
Do you remember 5 or 10 years ago when companies hadn’t figured out that their websites were a useful place to provide information that would be crucial to customers. The travel industry’s communication about the new US Department of State’s “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” is an unfortunate blast of the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 29, 2006, 11:41 AM
Furious Virgin
Virgin America Inc., a start-up airline partly owned Richard Branson, was denied permission to launch due to U.S. government concerns about foreign ownership. To be certificated as a US airline, a company must show that it is controlled by US citizens, that the president and two-thirds of the board of...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 19, 2006, 02:35 PM
Airline mergers and increasing fares
With airline merger possibilities ongoing, the current emerging debate is what impact this will have on air fares. It is worth noting that fares already have been going up. In our US Travel Forecast 2006 - 2011, we wrote about this trend over the last year. The average ticket price...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 11, 2006, 04:41 PM
Today Is The Big Day For Online Sales, One Week Before Ground Shipping Cut Off Dates.
If last year is any indication, we may see peak online holiday sales volume today. Typically, last Monday and today have been the heaviest sales days for online retailers. Makes sense because next Monday is the most common ground shipping...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 11, 2006, 04:17 PM
SABRE, Worldspan, Expedia all making the news
After been overseas for the last couple of weeks, I returned today to find travel news headlines reading one Big Story to the next… Expedia said Friday that it will repurchase as many as 30 million shares in a tender offer, sending its stock up the most since its IPO...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 07, 2006, 09:23 PM
Crashing Websites? Is this 1999 again?
Since Thanksgiving, Overstock.com, Macys.com, Wal-Mart.com, cybermonday.com and Amazon.com, to name a few biggies have all had site slowdown issues. One would think that after 10 years of online selling retailers could plan for the traffic they are getting even at...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 04, 2006, 09:42 PM
Will New Offers From Payment Providers Spark Holiday Sales
Written by special guest blogger: Ed Kountz How can online merchants and consumers enhance their 2006 holiday shopping? If leading online alternate payment services are successful, one way will be a payment method for online purchases. Alternate online payment services...( more )

Pfreemanevans | December 01, 2006, 04:27 PM
The Annual Game of Chicken Is Afoot
As we hit the first of December today, we see the dust settling from the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy and the game of chicken between retailers and holiday shoppers beginning. Each year, retailers plan for a series of...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 28, 2006, 07:19 PM
Cyber Monday: Warranted Hype?
All those media types who are tying to pooh-pooh Cyber Monday are missing the point. Black Friday is not the busiest traffic or biggest sales day of the year for offline retailers and no one says that day is a...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 27, 2006, 06:19 PM
The X-Box wins at Amazon!
Big surprise. With 82 percent of the vote on Amazon’s creative door-buster campaign, the Xbox 360 Core system was a hands down favorite among Amazon’s customer base. And, in just 30 seconds, last week, Amazon sold out of all 1,000...( more )

Sapna Satagopan | November 21, 2006, 04:26 PM
What's Not to Like?
Right before for the holiday season, Like.com [alpha] launched a couple of weeks back. The creators had earlier launched Riya.com, an intriguing search engine that used facial recognition to enable photo organization and sharing. Now the creators are trying to replicate a similar idea for shopping search, using visual recognition...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 20, 2006, 05:37 PM
Thanksgiving and Black Friday Very Heavy Online Traffic Days
Don’t think consumers are forgetting about you on Thanksgiving and over the Black Friday weekend. In 2005, the heaviest traffic day to retail websites was Black Friday, followed very closely by Thanksgiving Day. In fact, all four days over the...( more )

IanFogg | November 16, 2006, 04:02 PM
3 U-Turns with X-Series; AOL MIA
Mobile operator 3, announced today a final break with its original strategy: today there was no mention of a fully walled garden and a per event charging model for media content downloads and viewing email messages. 3 announced that the X-Series line will: "...offer mobile Internet services free at the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 14, 2006, 02:03 PM
Fake reviews - hype or hindrance
With the growth of traveler hotel reviews, there are ongoing media stories of hoteliers posting fake reviews. I’m often asked if these fake reviews will undermine traveler reviews. The days of blind trust are quickly ending. I suspect we will see a growing importance in the number of reviews per...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 13, 2006, 11:40 AM
Sausage Making “Not Pretty
It was a rough quarter for Expedia, with profits falling 28 percent and its stock price at 75% of what it was when spun off from IAC in August 2005. An article in Bloomberg News suggests this is due to travelers’ preference for booking directly with suppliers. This is consistent...( more )

Pfreemanevans | November 09, 2006, 09:01 PM
Holiday Season Kick Off
Okay – playtime is over, now it’s time to get serious. Most reports show that Halloween went well. Good. And October sales were strong for most retailers. Even better. But, some big players were not so strong last month, Wal-Mart...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 27, 2006, 06:00 PM
YYZ to LGA - or EWR - advance fare only
American Express has released their 2007 Global Business Travel Forecast which is timely given we have just published our US Travel Forecast 2006 – 2011. The so-called transparency of the internet has lead to a significant shift in how people understand booking travel. It was only a few short years...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 16, 2006, 09:23 PM
Orbitz beta tests IM customer support
On October 11, Orbitz’s announced that they are beta-testing live instant message customer support comes as a pleasant surprise. In the last few days, I have become even less enamored with technology’s role in customer service. (I didn’t think less enamored was possible either.) I hollered every synonym I could...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 04, 2006, 10:10 PM
Liquid Ban Increased Lost Baggage Claims
Lost baggage statistics following the August 2006 ban on liquids and gels have been released and it is not a happy story. According to a Washington Post story, lost or mishandled bags have spiked by nearly 25 percent. With fewer staff than in years gone by, the airlines are struggling...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 21, 2006, 12:52 PM
Hotel Fees: Indecent Non-disclosure
The New York Times has an interesting story today about hotel’s mandatory surcharges and the debate over full rate disclosure. I am a strong proponent of fee disclosure. I am an equally strong proponent of the customer complaint letter. You can see why the Times story caught my eye. Christopher...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 11, 2006, 03:01 PM
Bon Voyage yellow suitcase
At the beginning of this year, Expedia launched a best rate guarantee, trip guides, customer promise, and their “Enjoy your trip” advertising campaign. Since then, they have had some rough months with their share prices and market share falling. It would be simplistic to attribute too much responsibility for their...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 01, 2006, 12:47 PM
Pilot locked out of cockpit after bathroom break
Imagine you’re on a flight, about 30 minutes from landing, and you see the pilot leave the cockpit to enter the lavatory. Now, imagine seeing the pilot returning towards the cockpit, then banging on a locked door unable to return to the cockpit. No, you’re not on a Saturday Night...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 30, 2006, 11:55 AM
Are retinal scans for airport security in the future?
Star Trek-ish though it may be, biometric identification is being considered as an air travel screening technique. The idea is to have a registered traveler program where, for a fee, you can have your eyes and fingerprints scanned and registered so you can jump through the queue quickly. The USA...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 14, 2006, 03:47 PM
TripAdvisor terrorism survey bunk
A TripAdvisor “survey” is making the media rounds suggesting that the terrorist plot thwarted last week will threaten visitor numbers to the UK from the US. HotelMarketing describes the survey as reporting nearly half (47%) of the respondents reporting they will avoid traveling between the US and the UK over...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 09, 2006, 05:21 PM
Meet me in St. Louis, Uncle Louis
If you’ve ever organized a group trip (family reunion, bachelor party, school trip, etc), then you know the pain of mass communication and decision making. Enter TripHub. TripHub is a trip planning service for any group where travel is on more than one credit card. It acts as a central...( more )

Diane Clarkson | August 02, 2006, 05:31 PM
Orbitz launches Mobile Access
Today Orbitz launched “Orbitz Mobile Access” and I’m again impressed how technology and customer service can offer a really useful function. You can access your itinerary through their mobile phones, which is pretty handy. Even better, you can find out if your flight has been delayed. And even better yet,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 25, 2006, 04:26 PM
Princess Cruises: between a dock and a hard space
Last week a Princess Cruise ship listed about 15 degrees and injured 240 passengers. Last week it was reported that the incident was caused by “a steering problem” Today Princess Cruises announced the incident was caused by human error. In a statement, the company’s President says, “We want to unequivocally...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 17, 2006, 05:26 PM
American Airlines' round one... ding ding ding
Ah, the travel industy is abuzz today talking about American Airlines’ announcement that it will be charging travel agencies a “booking source premium” of $3.50 per segment for all bookings through AA's non-preferred GDS programs. This decision has been met with a press release from the American Society of Travel...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 11, 2006, 12:46 PM
Yahoo! Trip Planner launches and raises the bar
Yahoo has launched Trip Planner (http://ww.yahoo.com/trip) and raised the bar for travel online community. The travel research resource is based on integrating travelers’ shared experiences with Yahoo!’s other platforms to offer an extensive planning tool that will appeal to avid researchers. TripPlanner includes travel journals, photos, interactive mapping, and integration...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 10, 2006, 02:21 PM
Did Kayak miss the boat?
Kayak is the first travel meta search company to launch a tv campaign. Here’s a link to check out the ads, which range from amusingly irreverent to irreverently negative. I think these ads will work well to generate word-of-mouth, supported by a contest for viewers to create their own ad...( more )

Diane Clarkson | July 05, 2006, 12:21 PM
Cendant sells Travelport, Orbitz
Cendant announced on earlier this week that it was selling its Travelport unit – including Orbitz, Cheaptickets, Galileo and Gulliver – to the Blackstone Group for $4.3 billion in cash. The sale looks like a good move for Cendant, who will use the cash to pay down debt so their...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 30, 2006, 10:20 AM
JetBlue and Continental Kudos
Kudos to JetBlue and Continental for receiving the highest marks in their categories in a customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power Associates and Aviation Week. And as a Canadian who has frequently had no choice but Air Canada, it is not a surprise to find they landed at the bottom...( more )

David Card | June 29, 2006, 12:25 AM
It's Not GoogleBuy, Let Alone GoogleMoney
Google Checkout is about 2/3 of a wallet service, circa 2001. The pitch to users: you don't have to fill in your credit card and mailing info for every merchant, you can trust Google with your information. To merchants: if you buy Google paid search, you don't have to pay...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 23, 2006, 03:41 PM
British Airways accused of price-fixing
British Airways is stepping into a scandalous spotlight beneath the glare of a price-fixing investigation. The US Department of Justice and the British Office of Fair Tradition are probing “possible cartel activities”. The issue is the possible price co-ordination between airlines for their fuel surcharges. BA and Virgin’s fuel surcharges...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 20, 2006, 01:29 PM
Charging Your Way to a Free Ticket
The Washington Post is running a story today about airline loyalty points and credit cards. With a graphic outlining the number of points/dollar to spend versus the cost of an airline ticket, they conclude that “Consumers typically earn one mile for every dollar spent on airline-branded credit cards, but the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 14, 2006, 12:59 PM
"Word of mouth is everything."
Here at Jupiter, we’ve had many conversations on the impact consumer created content. My colleague, Emily Riley, has just published a report on “Managing Word Of Mouth Online” – a very good read for the marketers out there. I have a report on travelers and online reviews that will be...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 13, 2006, 02:01 PM
Seeing Stars in Australia
Australia loves its hotel stars. And I’m not referring to Russell Crowe wielding a telephone in the lobby. Accommodation star ratings are a big deal in Australia. There are rating schemes for various property types (ie hotels, bed & breakfast, caravan parks) managed nationally by AAA Tourism. Each property’s rating...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 09, 2006, 03:01 PM
"Where Mary Tyler Moore lived"
The Associated Press has a story on the wire that is both a cautionary tale and a bit amusing. Jim Hourihan from Liverpool booked a flight from LA to Manchester, thinking he was heading to England. He was close. Well, kind of. Mr. Hourihan was actually heading to NEW England:...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 05, 2006, 11:56 AM
Ernst & Young carelessness exposes Hotels.com customer data
You may already have read that a laptop belonging to an employee of Ernst & Young was stolen from a locked car while an audit of Expedia was underway. The laptop contained data on 243 000 Hotels.com customers’ transactions from 2004. This incident happened back in February and it doesn’t...( more )

Diane Clarkson | June 01, 2006, 12:41 PM
Airlines’ Q1: Do you want the good news first or last?
The good news: international air passenger traffic grew 6.9 percent in the first four months of 2006. More good news: from April 2005 to 2006, passenger traffic rose 9.9%. Even more good news: the average load factor hit its highest in the past ten years at 76.5% And the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | May 31, 2006, 12:02 PM
Tuning in to travel podcasts
Last summer, I wrote a report that encouraged experimenting in podcasting. We’re starting to see this happening in the travel industry. Here are some of the podcasts I’ve come across in the last few days, along with my comments. Depending on whether you’re a glass half empty or half full...( more )

IanFogg | May 04, 2006, 12:16 PM
Skypecasts = Radio
Skypecasts are not about social networking or communities, although it's great marketing to latch on to one of the current Internet buzzwords to secure lots of coverage. The reasons: 1. Skypecasts are moderated group conversations and are not free-for-all chat. Therefore, the experience will be much closer to a radio...( more )

David Card | May 04, 2006, 09:47 AM
Ian Explains Skype Hype
Ah ha. Some method to the madness....( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 23, 2006, 12:02 PM
The downside of travelers reviews
Consumer travel reviews have been around for a while, and are rapidly moving from specialized sites into major sites. As travel consumer content grows, suppliers will increasingly see their influence. USA Today reports the Westin New York at Times Square saw a surge in requests for corner rooms with king...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 22, 2006, 11:20 AM
Airline fees: how far will they go?
Last week, Northwest Airlines announced it has set aside five percent of the coach seats on most of its domestic flights to see if travelers will pay $15 more to secure a roomier seat on the aisle or by the emergency exit. I had a few media inquiries and discussions...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 14, 2006, 11:08 AM
Southwest leads the charge
It was just a matter of time. Late Friday, Southwest raised airfares – up to $10 for a one-way ticket – in efforts to offset fuel costs. It only took until yesterday for American, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways to match the increases. Given fuel costs at over...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 10, 2006, 04:31 PM
GDS Content Sharing: forward thinking or end run?
When the GDS’s were deregulated in 2004, they struck agreements with the airlines to maintain the status quo. These agreements are ending, new deals are being struck, and things are getting interesting. This week, SABRE and Amadeus announced that they would share their airline-provided inventory with each other in the...( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 07, 2006, 11:01 AM
Part II: The Free Caffeine Experiment
In December, American Eagle tested charging for soda, coffee and tea on some flights in California. I blogged about it at the time, arguing that nickel and diming is not a sustainable strategy - adding value is. Surely American knew that no one would actually like paying for a soda....( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 03, 2006, 04:32 PM
Delta, AirTran… place nice in the sandbox
To spin or not to spin. That is the question for public relations folks who have to 1) find the angle and 2) assess if it is too transparent to be defensible. Delta found the angle and went straight to press, taking their rivalry with AirTran to a new level....( more )

Diane Clarkson | March 02, 2006, 05:01 PM
Murder Suicide
The big story in the US airline industry today is the looming pilot strikes at not one but two airlines. Northwest and Delta both filed for Chapter 11 on the same day – Sept 14 2005. Now, they face similar issues: efforts to reduce costs are creating serious labour issues,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 27, 2006, 11:04 AM
We won't thank you for the sticker shock
An article in the NY Times describes how several airlines are lobbying to loosen these regulations, giving them the freedom to advertise fares without including fuel surcharges. Currently, advertising regulations require airlines to include surcharges set at the their discretion be included in the base fare. Proposed changes mean that...( more )

Diane Clarkson | February 23, 2006, 01:14 PM
Airlines sans spin
There’s been an unusual amount of honesty in the press from airlines this week. Southwest and JetBlue will be increasing their fares to accommodate for fuel costs. And they are honest when they say they can, as the LA Times reports, because they won’t lose customers since “Chapter 11 bankruptcy...( more )

IanFogg | February 08, 2006, 06:27 PM
FT.com : Ebay's Wishful VoIP Thinking
The FT reports that Ebay sees Google, Yahoo, Amazon becoming less competitive with them : The four dominant internet groups - Google, Yahoo, eBay and Amazon - will increasingly focus on their core activities rather than compete with each other head-on, according to Meg Whitman, eBay's chief executive. "I think...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 27, 2006, 02:12 PM
Customer service vs. Rules are rules
Today, I’m thinking about customer service and empowerment: the ability for a customer service rep to move within flexible rules to solve a problem and make both sides happy. Case in point: I had a flight booked on a major US carrier for next weekend. They are my preferred carrier...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 24, 2006, 03:20 PM
Please stand by while Mr. Trump searches
Donald Trump has entered on the online retail travel space with his new site “GoTrump.com”. They have positioned the “art of the deal” as a central proposition in the site, along with a special section on Trump Picks The Best Hotels. My favorite part of the latter is the message...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 18, 2006, 03:26 PM
Travelers Choice Awards
We are still basking in the afterglow of the Golden Globes and its already time to celebrate another round of awards. TripAdvisor has announced their 2005 Travelers’ Choice Award Winners. Categories include Best Hidden Gem, Best Bargain, Best for Families and Best Pool. I’m not sure about their methodology –...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 17, 2006, 12:55 PM
US hotels mark the new year with major initiatives announcements
We’re only a couple of weeks into the new year and it’s already been filled with announcements from major US hotels announcing initiatives. With occupancy and average room rates running high, hotels are looking at ways to impress business travelers. Hilton has announced a $1 billion initiative aimed at property...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 13, 2006, 05:11 PM
Hotel Hi Tech
This year will continue to be one with hotel experiments in technology. Some will really add value to guest experience. Others will simply be novelties (where our minds’ “oohs” and “ahhs” will collide with wondering about the CBA) But to check out some of the oohs and ahhs, the Daily...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 11, 2006, 05:22 PM
Delta-Northwest merger rumours
US Transportation Secretary was, as he described, “thinking out loud” when he sparked rumours earlier this week about a potential Delta-Northwest merger. Industry pundits have debated where this idea fits on a scale of likely versus not, and good idea versus disastrous. The best summary I’ve read comes from Mike...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 04, 2006, 03:09 PM
“I want to get out of here!”
Passengers boarded a British Airways 7am flight from Berlin to London on Thursday but snow and ice delayed the flight. They waited for hours. At 11:30am, one of the gentlemen called the police emergency hotline on his cell phone and said he was being held hostage. Police boarded the plane...( more )

Diane Clarkson | January 03, 2006, 02:47 PM
Independence Air Shuts Down
It’s a sad start to the new year for Independence Air’s 2700 employees as the airline will cease operations on Thursday. Flyi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November and put itself up for sale, but didn’t receive an offer that would keep it flying. In their last gasps...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 22, 2005, 04:35 PM
Small tools and happy travels
In time for holiday travel, the TSA’s new passenger screening policy comes into effect. Boxcutters, lighters, knives, icepicks and hammers will continue to be barred. But small tools and scissors are no longer banned from carrying onto a flight. The TSA’s position is that this will allow screeners to spend...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 14, 2005, 03:36 PM
Mobissimo's One Box Travel Shop
Meta search engine Mobissimo has launched a “one-box search” feature. The idea is that you can enter your whole itinerary in one step rather than in separate boxes for departure/arrival cities and dates. I can enter information the usual way (ie: New York, Toronto, Feb 1, Feb 5). Or I...( more )

Diane Clarkson | December 07, 2005, 02:40 PM
30,000 passengers mistaken on TSA watch list
According to a CNET story, 30,000 airline passengers have had their names mistakenly matched with names on the Transportation Security Administration's watch list. These errors were reported at a recent US Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee meeting. None of these 30,000 have been prevented from...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 29, 2005, 12:20 PM
Travelocity RSS
I wrote a report a couple of months ago on where RSS can be used as a marketing tool. My premise then – as now – is that this technology can be drive incremental sales when used strategically and appropriately, ideally in an environment where prices are competitive and change...( more )

David Schatsky | November 28, 2005, 01:13 PM
"Cyber Monday" May Not Live Up to the Hype
There's a lot of talk today about "Cyber Monday," a notion promoted by shop.org that the Monday following Thanksgiving is becoming increasingly important to online retailers as consumers, equipped with broadband connections at work, take to the Web to vent shopping impulses that built up over the Thanksgiving weekend. There...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 23, 2005, 11:49 AM
Bumped traveler kicks back
Airlines routinely oversell their flights to make up for passengers who don’t show up. On good overbooked days, enough people will give up their seat in exchange for vouchers. Otherwise, the airlines play Holiday Roulette, and their statistical misfire torpedoes someone’s travel plans. Overselling seats is legal and I understand...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 14, 2005, 03:43 PM
SideStep Amazon deal is a big deal
In what could become one of the most important partnerships announced this year in the travel industry, SideStep will become Amazon.com’s travel provider early 2006. Prior to this deal, marketing distribution was SideStep’s Achilles' heel – particularly compared to the potential of traffic Yahoo and AOL would drive to FareChase...( more )

Diane Clarkson | November 07, 2005, 02:35 PM
Shhhh... Google experiments with flight search
After lots of silence and without any fanfare, Google has started experimenting with flight search. Try it: type in any two cities and your search results will include depart and return data boxes along with links to Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz and Priceline that will take you to results pages on...( more )

David Schatsky | November 03, 2005, 04:28 PM
We've Been Discussing Web 2.0
There's been a lot written about Web 2.0 lately. Our clients are starting to ask us about it. And we've been having some internal discussions here at Jupiter about what Web 2.0 means and what it implies for companies. It turns out that much of the research we are planning...( more )

Diane Clarkson | October 28, 2005, 03:26 PM
Farewell Song
Delta Airlines announced today that they are discontinuing Song, their low fare airline. Song will continue to operate until May 2006, one month after what will be its third birthday. Delta execs have not confirmed if Song was ever profitable. Given the overall economic situation at Delta, it’s probably fair...( more )

David Card | September 30, 2005, 09:02 AM
18 More Reasons to Live in New York or California
Or Massachusetts, in a pinch. A bunch of states are gathering their local sales tax rates into a database to boost their lobbying efforts to get online retailers to collect sales tax. The states that have signed on are Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina,...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 29, 2005, 03:28 PM
Jodie Foster movie outrages flight attendants
Flight attendants’ labor unions are urging members to boycott the new Jodie Foster movie “Flightplan” because they say flight attendants are portrayed as "rude, unhelpful and uncaring”, and the plot incudes a flight attendant and air marshal as terrorists. According to a Reuters report, an AFA spokeswoman said they worry...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 23, 2005, 10:43 AM
Delta eyes the world
Delta has revealed some of their restructuring plans in the wake of their Chapter 11 announcement. Part of the plan includes eliminating 7,000 – 9,000 jobs, and reduced pay frontline and management employees. This undermines their earlier position reassuring travelers that it will be business as usual, but since nobody...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 21, 2005, 11:23 AM
Gossip and security at 35,000 feet
Yesterday British airlines BMI and TAP Air Portugal announced they will allow passengers to use their own cell phones on commercials flights within western Europe later next year. Ok, I’ll admit my first shallow thought… abject horror at the prospect of sitting next to a teenager gossiping effusively. “Like, oh...( more )

Diane Clarkson | September 12, 2005, 04:27 PM
$15 billion deal
On Friday, the NY Times announced that Ford has agreed to sell Hertz for approximately $15 billion in cast and debt. The car rental company was purchased buy a group that includes Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, and the Carlyle Group. Th