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June 17, 2010
top story
Delta Offers More First-Class Flights in U.S.
Delta Air Lines has announced that by this fall, all of its domestic flights that are longer than 750 miles, or roughly two-and-a-half hours, will offer first-class service. The move, which is a part of the airline’s $1 billion product and services investment, will affect 50 routes with Delta Connection flights, including flights between Atlanta and Albany, Boston and Memphis, Detroit and San Antonio, and Cincinnati and Dalla/Fort Worth. (A complete list of routes that will begin offering two classes can be viewed here. Service may be operated by Delta Connection carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Chautauqua, Comair, Compass Airlines, Freedom Airlines, Mesaba, Pinnacle Airlines, Shuttle America and SkyWest.
According to Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s executive vice president – network planning and revenue management, “Business customers who appreciate the option of traveling in a first-class cabin and frequent fliers who appreciate the opportunity to upgrade will particularly benefit from the significant expansion of the two-class service on longer Delta Connection flights.” First-class service onboard these flights will be parallel with Delta’s other flights, with meals, china and linen service, pre-departure beverages, and complimentary cocktails, beer and wine.
Ally Miola
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more news
IATA Welcomes JetBlue to the Fold
JetBlue Airways is now an official member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an organization that represents 230 airlines in over 120 countries around the world. The news brings with it the prospect of a number of international partnership opportunities, as noted by JetBlue CEO Dave Barger at the 2010 Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Berlin. Already, the airline has developed interline partnerships with Lufthansa, American Airlines, Cape Air, Aer Lingus and—most recently—South African Airways. Now that it’s successfully passed the IATA Operational Safety Audit, the possibilities are seemingly endless for JetBlue, as member airlines carry 93 percent of the world’s international scheduled traffic. So be sure to hold onto those TrueBlue frequent-flier points, because there’s no telling where they may take you.
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BA Customers Join the Jet Set
British Airways has teamed up with CitationAir to bring an exclusive private jet service to British Airways customers flying within the United States, the Caribbean, southern Canada and Mexico. Dubbed PrivateConnect, the “pay-by-the-trip” service is operated by CitationAir and its parent the Cessna Aircraft Company, allowing BA customers to book one-time jet service, even if they haven’t arrived on it or are due to depart on another flight. The “pay and go” bookings can be made with a credit card through an on-line registration and dedicated phone number, forgoing any long-term commitments and up-front fees associated with private jet bookings.
Members of the British Airways Executive Club program, employees of a business that holds a corporate account with BA and anyone who has flown on a British Airways flight in the last 12 months is eligible to book this service. For more information, visit flyprivateconnect.com.
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The Ritz-Carlton Shows It’s Easy Being Green
The Ritz-Carlton will be rolling out new eco-friendly water bottles to all of its North American hotels and select properties in the Caribbean over the next few weeks. Through a partnership with Prima, the hotel will distribute co-branded 16-ounce bottles made entirely from plant material that can decompose in 30 days in a commercial composting facility or be reprocessed and made 100 percent into new bottles.
Not only does manufacturing the new bottles use 49 percent less fossil fuels, 45 percent less energy and 75 percent less gas than a standard plastic water bottle, they also contain no BPA (bisphenol A), the harmful product found in plastics. Considering that the brand’s annual waste assessment included an estimated five million 16-ounce bottles, the new policy is set to have a tremendous impact.
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deal of the week
Emirates Takes You to Africa
Emirates Airline has special low fares to Africa for those inspired by the World Cup to visit the continent. Roundtrip fares start at $1,360 from any four U.S. gateways, including New York (JFK), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO). All flights include a free stopover in Dubai, including Nairobi (NBO) from $1,360; Lagos (LOS) from $1,375; Dar es Salaam (DAR) from $1,375; Entebbe (EBB) from $1,390; Accra (ACC) from $1,415; Cape Town (CPT) from $1,435; Durban (DUR) from $1,435; Johannesburg (JNB) from $1,435; and Abidjan (ABJ) from $1,450.
Tickets are on sale now through June 30, 2010 and are available for travel beginning between August 1 and September 30, 2010. For more information, visit emirates.com/africasale.
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more deals
Professional Pursuits in Dallas
The Ritz-Carlton Dallas has a Professional Pursuits package for business travelers that includes daily breakfast for one, garment pressing for as many as three items per stay, valet parking and Internet access from $309 per night. The package is available through the end of 2010, but guests who reserve their stay by September 6 will also receive a special 15 percent discount on a weekday lunch at Fearing’s and on two spa treatments. For more information, visit ritzcarlton.com.
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How New York Celebrates Fourth of July
Celebrate Independence Day in New York City with the Fireworks on the Harbor package available at St. Giles Hotel New York – The Tuscany and The Court. Both hotels have partnered with New York Water Taxi to create this package, highlighting Macy’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show. It includes accommodations for two in a superior room, two tickets onboard New York Water Taxi and unlimited ride one-day metro cards. The package starts at $359 per room, per night, or $459 per room, per night in a suite that can accommodate up to four. Two additional tickets can be purchased for suite guests for $85 per ticket. The offer requires a two-night minimum stay and is valid from July 1 through 5. For more information, visit stgilesnewyork.com and enter promo code FIRE4.
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Escape to Europe
The Rocco Forte Collection has made a summer vacation in Europe more accessible with its European Summer Escapes offer, available at any city hotel in the group. Guests will receive up to a third off the room rate when they stay three nights or more between July 12 and September 5. This includes properties in London, Rome, Brussels, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Prague and St. Petersburg. For more information, visit roccofortecollection.com/european-summer-escapes.
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tried and tested
Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C.
New York, NY
Perched on Grand Central Terminal’s north and west balconies, the 220-seat David Rockwell-designed restaurant Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C. is a commanding escape from the human throng below. Expansive and atmospheric under the terminal’s celestial ceiling, the restaurant naturally draws tourists and the curious, but that does not distract the many business loyalists who convene here for lunch, cocktails and dinner in their finest custom suits.
There’s a private boardroom behind the bar, a wine salon with a 16-seat table, perfect for mixers and networking events, the private Michael Jordan room, and a 100-seat backcourt section. The restaurant is entered via its spacious bar area, which provides prime real estate for drinks and viewing the historic architecture around you. There are few places in New York more suited to enjoying a perfectly mixed martini than this bar.
Boasting top credentials including the Strip House restaurant and seafood shrine Le Bernadin, chef Michael Vignola stays steakhouse-true, with ocean-fresh oysters and a fine arugula salad among the warm-ups. Perfectly charred, marbled and juicy, the bone-in ribeye headlines a well-rounded entrée menu that includes wild striped bass, veal chops and lobster; truffled creamed spinach is a standout side. Apple pie and chocolate cake are able desserts, if you still have room, with Busnel Calvados among the after-dinner libations. Cabernets, Merlots, Burgundies and Pinot Noirs from Northern and Central California dominate a fairly priced global wine roster that also features fine players from Western Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
While priced in line with the Gotham steakhouse establishment overall (for example, the porterhouse for two runs $88, compared to $85 at Peter Luger), the service at Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C. is distinctly refreshing. Sure, almost any Gotham steak experience worth its salt comes with a bit of huff, but unlike, say, the more blithe Luger’s, The Glazier Group-owned MJ’s, with its welcoming, wine-savvy general manager Eddie Santos keeping the front of the house breezy and engaging, manages to keep some soul in the steak.
Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C., 23 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, N.Y.; tel.212-655-2300; michaeljordansnyc.com.
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Jeff Heilman
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