• Northwest Airlines has announced new daily nonstop Northwest Airlink regional jet service to New York's LaGuardia International Airport (LGA) from Heartland markets Des Moines, Iowa; Flint, Mich.; and Madison, Wis., beginning Nov.4, 2007.
• Northwest is making it even easier to get to Las Vegas with nonstop service from twelve cities, including exclusive nonstop service from Madison, Memphis and Grand Rapids.

Northwest Airlines Allows Domestic Nonrefundable to Refundable Ticket Exchanges

As part of its continuing effort to improve the overall travel experience for our customers, Northwest will allow a wholly unused domestic nonrefundable ticket issued on/after October 1, 2007, to be exchanged for any Northwest or KLM refundable or nonrefundable ticket.

Currently, Northwest only allows wholly unused domestic nonrefundable tickets to be exchanged for any Northwest or KLM nonrefundable ticket. Northwest does allow the value of a wholly unused international nonrefundable ticket to be exchanged for any Northwest or KLM refundable or nonrefundable ticket of higher value and different rule number.

The new policy will allow a wholly unused domestic ticket issued with a nonrefundable fare to be applied toward the purchase of another Northwest or KLM domestic or international fare of higher, equal or lower value. The nonrefundable value of the original ticket remains nonrefundable for any subsequent ticket exchange and should be documented as nonrefundable in the endorsement box of the exchanged ticket.

Skyteam Strengthens Global Network With Addition of Three Associate Airlines

SkyTeam has welcomed Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways as the first official SkyTeam Associate Airlines. As of September 1, passengers traveling with Air Europa, Copa Airlines and Kenya Airways receive the same benefits offered to passengers traveling with the 10 current SkyTeam member airlines including frequent flyer programs and improved access to airport lounges.

SEC Filing Reveals Northwest Gets Bigger Chunk of Midwest

As previously reported Northwest is a signigicant investor in the group that purchased control of Midwest.

According to a Midwest Air Group filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Sept. 13, Northwest would own 47% of the group under the merger deal Midwest signed with TPG Capital in August.

The amount of Northwest's investment, $213.3 million, making it a minority investor, is a lot more than previously suggested when Midwest announced the agreement Aug. 17.

TPG's share of the offer is $238.1 million, or 53%. TPG, formerly known as Texas Pacific Group, is a global private equity group best known in aviation circles for its investments in Continental, America West, Hotwire, Sabre and Ryanair.

With the TPG-Northwest combined $451.4 million offer, they outbid AirTran for Midwest and are offering Midwest shareholders $17 a share. (copyright 2007, Travel Weekly)

Northwest Airlines and Midwest Airlines Sign Codeshare Agreement

Northwest Airlines announced that it has signed a codeshare agreement with Midwest Airlines for tickets purchased beginning Nov. 3 with travel starting on Nov. 17, 2007.

The first phase of the codeshare agreement will include Northwest’s Hawaii-bound flights from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles with travel beginning on Midwest Airlines in Milwaukee, Omaha and Kansas city. The Northwest operated flights will also be identified in reservations systems and airport flight displays by the Midwest Airlines two-letter YX code.

“This is just the first step in expanding the networks of both carriers by opening up 250 city pairs and more than 1,000 new flight options for customers,” said Nathaniel Pieper, Northwest’s vice president – alliances. “Codesharing allows Northwest to offer our customers the expanded reach of two airlines while enjoying the convenience of a single ticket and check-in.”

The global airlines body IATA said on Monday it had placed its last order for paper tickets, clearing the way for air travel to be based entirely on electronic ticketing from June 1 next year.

"In just 278 more days, the paper ticket will become a collector's item," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association.

The changeover from paper would not only cut airlines' costs by $9 for every traveler but would also mean the industry -- criticized by environmentalists for its part in global warming -- would save 50,000 mature trees a year, he added.

Bisignani did not say whether the $9 in cost savings would or should be passed on to passengers.

Based in Geneva, IATA represents more than 240 airlines which operate 94 percent of scheduled international flights.

Non-IATA airlines, mainly low-cost carriers like the Irish Ryanair and the British Easyjet, already have a paper-free ticket system where travelers are registered in computers and present only an identity document at check-in.

IATA launched its drive for so called "e-ticketing" just over three years ago and now 84 percent of travelers on IATA carriers fly without paper tickets.

The airlines body says China, one of the fastest-growing markets for air travel and host to next year's Olympic Games, is heading to be the first country in the world to operate an entirely paper-free ticketing system by the end of this year.

British Airways will discontinue its daily flights between Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport and London Heathrow Airport, effective March 30.

According to the airline, the service will be discontinued due to low profits on the route.

BA noted that the aircraft will be utilized "on other routes where it can make a profitable contribution to the airline's bottom line."

British Airways plans to start nonstop service to the U.S. from key European destinations outside of the U.K. next summer, starting with flights to New York from two or three European cities.

The service becomes possible under the U.S.-European Union open skies deal that takes effect March 30. The agreement lets any E.U. carrier offer nonstop service to the U.S. from any country in the E.U. instead of just its home country.

Southwest Airlines, after months of testing various alternatives, is changing its boarding procedure while keeping its open-seating policy in place.

Starting in November, Southwest passengers will be assigned a letter and a number, such as A32, on their boarding pass when they check in for a flight. The number/letter code indicates the passenger's boarding group and their position in line within that boarding group.

The same would be true for passengers in B and C groups.

Once on board, customers may choose their favorite seat anywhere on the plane.

Southwest believes the new boarding procedure will "improve the customer experience and increase customer productivity," while eliminating the "cattle call" effect at its gates.

The new procedure stops short of actually assigning passengers to specific seats, retaining its 36-year old, signature, open seating policy.

The Walt Disney Co. plans to build a family resort in Hawaii, but it won't be an island Disneyland.

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts announced Wednesday it has bought 21 acres of oceanfront property on the western side of Oahu that it will use to build an 800-room hotel complex.

The resort, Disney's first without a nearby theme park, will emphasize family-centered vacations while respecting Hawaii's culture, said Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo.

"It will give our guests another way to visit a place that they've loved for many years," Rasulo said. "As the crossroads of Asia, it is your diverse culture that makes this place so special."

Disney spent $144 million to buy the land at the Ko Olina development, near the existing J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa.

Disney has several themed resort hotels near Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida, but it has never built a hotel resort that will stand on its own. Hawaii has no full-scale amusement park.

Construction on the resort is expected to begin next year, with opening set for 2011. The planned Disney complex has not yet been named.

Rasulo said there were no plans to expand the resort into a theme park.

"This decision and project really enhances our state's reputation as a family destination," said Gov. Linda Lingle. "That's what we are, and the Disney name brings that to everyone's mind, front and center."

The hotel complex is expected to create 1,000 jobs along the island's Leeward coast, an area known as much for its homelessness as for its breezy beaches.

The resort's designs and amenities won't be finalized until early 2008, but Rasulo said it will include educational and cultural activities, including local entertainers and hula dancers.

"When our families go home, they will know much more about Hawaii," Rasulo said. "To call it a hotel would be a vast understatement of what we're trying to achieve."