Air and Hotel Savings

1. One of my favorite monthly travel magazines is Travel and Leisure. This month's edition (available on any newsstand) features the results of the magazine's annual "best of":

http://www.travelexpert.com/travel-leisure/best

Of particular interest is the feature "Worlds best Hotels For $250 or Less":

http://www.travelexpert.com/travel-leisure/best/hotels

There are some fabulous "best in the world" properties at affordable prices that can help make your dreams come true. Two I strongly recommend for romantic vacations are The Ritz Carlton Bali and JW Marriott in Bangkok. Even from the west coast, flying time is considerable (especially to Bali), but once you get there, you will never want to return (don't say I didn't warn you!). Great airfares available to both destinations, and I suggest you use you frequent flyer miles for trips like these to get upgraded.

2. Southwest recently started a massive airfare sale for travel starting September 5 continuing through early December. The driving forces for this sale are increased capacity by low cost and major airlines, and the traditional drop-off in travel demand between Labor Day and the Xmas holidays. With sky-high fuel prices, the sale fares place even more pressure on the major airlines that are battling to survive, but also on the low cost airlines whose profit margins have been eroded as of late. The clear winner--YOU. And remember that the major airlines usually match the low fare carriers on the same or similar routes. Finally--there is one web site that displays both major airlines and low cost carriers fares--americanexpress.com.

3. A quick update on United Airlines (see UAwatch.com for more details). United (UA) received a $1 million loan to help the airline towards its exit from bankruptcy. UA has suspended any payments into any pension plans, on the premise that the lenders have requested no further payments towards any pension plans. One of United's unions, the Machinists, has sued United in an attempt to force payments into the pension plans, specifically naming the company's top three officers in the suit. United has been plagued by antagonistic labor relations for many years, and this may be the start of yet another round. Bottom line--I suggest you start using your United frequent flyer miles. I'll keep you posted...

Until next time -- Bon Voyage!

Theo

Dr. Theo Brandt-Sarif
9108 Hillboro Drive
Los Angeles, CA, 90034-1125
United States