News

07 OCT 2010: International airline passengers want to do it themselves.  A report, based on surveys taken at seven major airports on five continents, said most travellers want self-service services increased and expanded.

They want to do-it-themselves for everything from handing in baggage to paying excess fees, to reporting missing bags, to  switching flights.  And, oh yes, do something to to ensure self-serve security, passport control and boarding.

The surveys found that on-line booking and check-in have overtaken the more  traditional methods of picking up tickets from a travel agent an airline office, or standing in line to check in and get your boarding at an airport counter.

Here are some of the findings from the SITA report:

•    An average of 71% of passengers surveyed at the seven hubs booked in online or at automated airport kiosks for their flights, and many more said they would do so if they understood the process better (?)

•    Only 3% of respondents questioned checked in on mobile phones (perhaps more would do so if they understood the process better!)

•    38% of passengers (up from 21% in 2009) used airline websites to book hotels

•    35% of passengers (up from 19 in 2009) used airline websites to book car rentals

•    There were similar increases in use of carriers' websites for services such as travel insurance, bus and train tickets and for ordering duty-free items in advance

The surveys were carried out on a single day among what SITA said was a representative sample of the millions of travellers using the seven airports -- Atlanta, Beijing, Frankfurt, Johannesburg-Tambo, Mumbai, Moscow Domodedovo and Sao Paulo.

The survey found travellers in North America and Asia were increasingly willing to pay a small extra fee to offset the carbon footprint of their flight. Those passengers who already paid for carbon offsets included:

•    44% at Mumbai

•    35 % at Beijing

•    27 % at Atlanta

•    At Frankfurt, one of Europe's largest hubs, the figure was only 6%.

The report did not identify how passengers saw automation working, particularly when it came to security, passport control, or baggage check-in.

However, methods of easing these processes are apparently being analysed by SITA.

07 OCT 2010: International airline passengers want to do it themselves.  A report, based on surveys taken at seven major airports on five continents, said most travellers want self-service services increased and expanded.

They want to do-it-themselves for everything from handing in baggage to paying excess fees, to reporting missing bags, to  switching flights.  And, oh yes, do something to to ensure self-serve security, passport control and boarding.

The surveys found that on-line booking and check-in have overtaken the more  traditional methods of picking up tickets from a travel agent an airline office, or standing in line to check in and get your boarding at an airport counter.

Here are some of the findings from the SITA report:

•    An average of 71% of passengers surveyed at the seven hubs booked in online or at automated airport kiosks for their flights, and many more said they would do so if they understood the process better (?)

•    Only 3% of respondents questioned checked in on mobile phones (perhaps more would do so if they understood the process better!)

•    38% of passengers (up from 21% in 2009) used airline websites to book hotels

•    35% of passengers (up from 19 in 2009) used airline websites to book car rentals

•    There were similar increases in use of carriers' websites for services such as travel insurance, bus and train tickets and for ordering duty-free items in advance

The surveys were carried out on a single day among what SITA said was a representative sample of the millions of travellers using the seven airports -- Atlanta, Beijing, Frankfurt, Johannesburg-Tambo, Mumbai, Moscow Domodedovo and Sao Paulo.

The survey found travellers in North America and Asia were increasingly willing to pay a small extra fee to offset the carbon footprint of their flight. Those passengers who already paid for carbon offsets included:

•    44% at Mumbai

•    35 % at Beijing

•    27 % at Atlanta

•    At Frankfurt, one of Europe's largest hubs, the figure was only 6%.

The report did not identify how passengers saw automation working, particularly when it came to security, passport control, or baggage check-in.

However, methods of easing these processes are apparently being analysed by SITA.

08 OCT 2010:  Hungry?  Want a steak?  If you’re on the Carnival Paradise, Triumph or Inspiration while they’re testing their "steakhouse entree" fee, you’re going to have to cough up eighteen bucks or cruise on by.

The fee applies to four added menu items in its main dining rooms on the three ships:

•    An 18-ounce grilled prime chop rib (18 ounces? That’s a dollar an ounce which is a lot less than you’d pay elsewhere, but who on earth eats 18 ounces of meat at a sitting)

•    A nine-ounce filet mignon

•    Broiled Maine lobster tail

•    Surf and turf (with lobster and a petit filet mignon)

The testing period is expected to last about three months and will be evaluated after that. We will venture a guess that it will prove immensely popular.

Other items in the dining rooms are still free - including an always available flat-iron steak.

As for the fancy stuff, "The beef is USDA prime, dry aged, the same beef that is served in Carnival's steakhouses," the line says.

Carnival already a charges a fee of US $30 per person at the classic steakhouses and alternative dining venues on many of its ships.

08 OCT 2010:  Four new ships will help the Port of Miami kick off its 2010-2011 cruise season. Looking for one of its strongest seasons ever, Miami expects to welcome over four million cruise passengers over the next year.

The latest additions to the Port of Miami are:

•    Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic, one of the largest and most modern vessels sailing today will bring its innovative style of cruising and high-end Vegas-type entertainment with seven-day itineraries to the Eastern and Western Caribbean.

•    The Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Cruises’ latest upscale and widely acclaimed Solstice-Class ship. The 2,800 passenger vessel will sail alternating seven-night Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Miami.

•    Oceania Cruises’ ultra high-end luxury ship, the Marina. This first new build for Oceania will arrive in Miami in early February 2011

•    Costa Cruises will return to the Port of Miami with the Atlantica on January 7. The Atlantica will operate a series of seven-night alternative Western and Eastern Caribbean cruises

08 OCT 2010: It’s a banner year for cruise tourism in Saint John. The New Brunswick port welcomed its 1.5 millionth cruise ship passenger ever on Wednesday, as Camille Stearns of Little Rock, Ark., received the red-carpet treatment from city officials.

Stearns got to meet Mayor Ivan Court at city hall, had a limousine tour, and lunched at the caves in St. Martins. Stearns, and her grandmother Dorothy Wilson, told the media they were surprised and thrilled by the honour.

By the time cruise season ends later this month, it will have seen more than 200,000 people from 76 cruise ships visit Saint John.  

"It just shows how quickly our business is growing," said Betty MacMillan, manager of business development for the Saint John Port Authority. "It took us 18 years to get to a million (passengers) and all of a sudden two years later we're at 1.5 million."

The city is asking for federal and provincial government funds to help with an $18-million expansion of the port. They are looking for $4.6-million from each, allowing the port to expand thus enabling it to handle more than one 300-metre ship at a time.

Jim Quinn, CEO and president of the authority, said it's not good for marketing to have to turn even one ship away because the port can't accommodate it.

The port hopes to complete the expansion by 2013.

08 OCT 2010: The Port of San Francisco yesterday became the first California port, and only the fourth port in the world, to provide onshore electricity as it enabled the Island Princess to shut down her engines and power up from the City’s electrical grid while in port.  

"Once again we are demonstrating that doing right by the environment doesn’t come at the expense of jobs and economic growth," said Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"With shoreside power, we can welcome a growing number of cruise ships and the tourist dollars they bring to San Francisco while protecting the Bay and our local air quality."

The US$5.2 million project will remove more than a ton of deadly particulates from the air each year, and that figure is expected to dramatically increase as more ships are outfitted to use the onshore power which results in zero air emissions while a ship is connected in port.

The Island Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, will be at Pier 27 for about 10 hours. In that time, it will draw seven or eight megawatts of power, or about as much as a large hotel.

The electric bill for the 10 hour period will be about US $16,000 – a saving of approximately $9,000 had the cruise line bought the power from PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric Company), said Ed Harrington, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

"That's clean, renewable power that will be powering this ship," Harrington said.

The other cruise ports with shoreside power are Vancouver, Juneau and Seattle.

The ports of Los Angeles and San Diego also plan to implement shore power.

08 OCT 2010: Nine foreign nationals were detained after being intercepted on a ship that arrived from Morocco early Thursday morning.

A spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency says the passengers, who had no identity papers when they were picked up at the Port of Montreal, were in good health.

``They are being detained because we are not certain of their identity,'' Jacqueline Roby said in an interview.

The nine were on board a vessel that arrived in Montreal around 2 a.m. from Casablanca, Morocco.

Roby says the nine were being detained because it's alleged that they violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

``What's important is the law for the protection of refugees. These nationals were arrested for trying to get around the law and not because of their nationality,'' she said.

The border services agency says it's not aware of any evidence that the nine passengers from Morocco were hiding in shipping containers - as initially reported by some media.

``I don't have any information that they were in a container,'' Roby said.

``The information I have is not that, but I cannot confirm anything because that's part of the inquiry.''

The nine will remain in custody until a scheduled appearance before the Immigration and Refugee Board for a detention hearing.

It took 10 hours before any information was released about the ship Thursday, because the CBSA first had to first get permission from Ottawa to discuss the case.