Frontier Introduces Three-Tier Fare Pricing

Frontier now offers a more customizable fare structure

Denver-based Frontier Airlines (route map right) has introduced air fares on three price tiers that it cleverly calls AirFairs: the "economy" fare with nothing included (no checked included and no flexibility to change tickets), the "classic" fare (including two checked bags, snack and drink, and in-flight television) and the fully refundable "classic plus" with checked luggage and in-flight entertainment also included.

The "classic" fare starts at about $20 more than the "economy" fare and includes two checked bags and an in-flight movie, which the airline reminds passengers is a $46 saving right there. Higher tiers also net more points for members of its Early Returns frequent-flyer program.

Take only a carry-on and bring your iPod, and "economy" will probably suffice. Traveling on business and need tun-on-a-dime fare flexibility, and "classic" or "classic plus" might be the fare for you. The new fare structure was soon compared (favorably) with Southwest's flexible "business select," "anytime" and "wanna get away" fares. To book it, you have to buy your ticket from the Frontier website, because Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity and other booking sites display only one fare class for each flight.

Meanwhile, sometime on Tuesday, Denver International Airport expects its 50 millionth passenger of 2008 to travel through. The city is planning to make a big deal of this, with Mayor John Hickenlooper planning to greet whoever that person might be and pass out commemorative items of some sort to passengers on hand. Despite the recent erosion in air travel, this will be a record year for DIA. In 2006, a record 49.8 million flew in or out of DIA.

Great Barrier Reef Ship Grounding, Update

Efforts underway to contain reef damage

Travel Babel seems to have been the first travel blog to report on the Chinese-flagged coal carrier "Shen Neng 1" that went 9 miles off-course and plowed into the coral reefs of Keppler Island, part of the Great Barrier Reef. The resultant oil spill continues to threaten marine life in a maritime protection area that also happens to be one of the world's great scuba diving destinations. Since then, the disaster has caught some world attention, with television news and wire service reports updating the situation and the Australian government response. The photo at right was released by Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and you can see a SkyNews report on YouTube.

The threat to the reef remains worrisome. According to an Associated Press report released on Tuesday evening, local time, "A stranded Chinese coal ship leaking oil onto Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an environmental time bomb with the potential to devastate large protected areas of the reef, activists said on Monday." Reuters quoted Llewellyn, director of conservation for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Australia, who called the "was a "ticking environmental time bomb."
The reef, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, the ship carried some 300,000 gallons of heavy fuel to run its engines. Shipping companies like this (relatively) cheap, low-grade fuel, which is very viscous, and and must be heated before injected into engines. When it ends up in the ocean, this gooey, sludge-like oil coats birds, wildlife, corals, rocks and sandy beaches and is extremely difficult to clean up.

An Environmental Crisis Waiting to Happen -- and It Did

"We've always said the vessel is up in an area it shouldn't be in the first place," Marine Safety Queensland general manager Patrick Quirk  told the media. "How it got to that to that position will be the subject of a detailed investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Board." He added ships sometimes used a shortcut through the reef, a practice that will be reviewed by the federal government.  Six thousand ships a year travel the marine lanes between the east coast of Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Numerous conservation groups have for years been concerned that bulk carriers are permitted to travel through the reef without a specialized marine pilot. The government has thus far said pilots are not necessary when ships pass protected areas because they are banned there -- until they stray off-course, nine miles off-course, in the case of the "Shen Neng 1." The government might now change its tune.

At last report, two powerful tugs were on the scene, attempting to stabilize the ship while salvage crews assessed the situation. A boom is in place around the stranded ship to contain the oil spill. Australian  officials say the "Shen Neng I" is owned by belongs to the Shenzhen Energy Group, a subsidiary of China's state-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (acronym, COSCO) -- the country's largest shipping company. COSCO could be fined up to 1 million Australian dollars (US$920,000) -- a pittance in view of the damage.

COSCO's History of Oil Spills

This Australian incident is COSCO's third major foul-up in less than three years. In November 2007, the "Cosco Busan" hit one of San Francisco Bay Bridge supports and spilled 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, contaminating beaches, killing wildlife and floating into the Pacific Ocean. Skipper John Cota received a 10-month jail sentence for negligence. I don't know whether COSCO was also fined, but cleanup reported cost $100 million.

On July 31, 2009,, "Full City," a Panamanian-flagged ship owned by COSCO, suffered engine failure, ran aground during a storm and spilled some 200 tons of oil that eventually spread 100 miles in an area of wildlife sanctuaries and popular beaches. Pollution effects could linger for a decade. According to a British report on the fiasco, "In the days following the disaster, one of Norway's worst, thousands of birds said to be part of the Lille Sastein bird sanctuary and which were covered in oil, were considered beyond saving and had to be shot. Hundreds more are being cleaned up by volunteers along the coastline." The captain, whose name and ultimate fate I don't know, was arrested for a failure to alert authorities that his ship was in trouble, but he was released without bail.

COSCO has been notably silent about this latest disaster, but on April 1, it issued the following press release, which seems to indicate that money and ROI and not responsbility are all that matter to this state-owned compay:

"COSCO Sustainable Development Report 2008, among the 44 sustainable reports, was praised as 'Notable' report, which was conveyed in the letter to Capt. Wei Jiafu, President and CEO of COSCO Group from Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Director of UN Global Compact Office on March 3rd, 2010. COSCO Group is the only selected Chinese company this year and only Asian company whose sustainability report is deemed 'Notable' for four years in a roll [stet]. The report analysis was conducted by a coalition of global investors from 13 countries managing over US$ 2.1 trillion of assets, and they are all signatories to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative to help companies that under United Nations Global Compact better corporate reporting on environmental, social and corporate governance activities."

Southwest to Start Service to New York in '09

Leading low-fare carrier braving LaGuardia in -mid-2009

Southwest is planning to start service to New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in June 2009. Since, IMO, LaGuardia is one of the worst, most congested, most unfriendly airports in the country, this might just put a damper on Southwest's high customer approval ratings. LGA, Newark (EWR) and JFK International, New York's major airports, among them are credited or blamed for something like 70 percent of the flight delays in the entire country. That's is the reason that Southwest has for years avoided New York, flying no closer than Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP), which is 50 miles from Manhattan. That's twice as far as Denver International Airport is from downtown Denver, and about the same distance as DIA is from Boulder.

Southwest, which reportedly is planning to fill the void at LGA when ATA went belly-up, is being quite coy about announcing which airports will be on the other end of the new routes. ATA's gates became available, and Southwest grabbed them -- not that there's all that much competition right now with airlines folding like a deck of cards in a poker game.

Republic to Announce Frontier's Fate

Merged airlines' single name to be announced next week

April 13, 2010, does not fall on a Friday, gut next Tuesday could mean bad luck -- or at least bad news -- for Coloradans who have been loyal to Denver-based Frontier Airlines, saddened when it was taken over by Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings and will be be heart-broken if the parent company removes the Frontier identification. Republic also took over Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines, and Cheeseheaads are rooting for that name to prevail.  And Indianapolis, the corporation's headquarters city, is probably so wrapped up in basketball that locals there aren't paying attention to anything in the air higher than a player can throw an alley-oop. FWIW, it has been reported that either the Midwest or Frontier name will be sellected.

Announcement "ceremonies" have been scheduled for the 13th in Denver, Indianapolis and Milwaukee to announce the decision. Republic's CEO Bryan Bedford is to make the announcement from Milwaukee, while Frontier employees and media (not including me) have been invited to a suite in Coors Field to watch event live via an Intranet connection. It is impossible not to read meaning into Bedford's selection of the announcement site.


The first Frontier Airlines, cobbled together from a merger of Arizona Airways, Challenger Airlines, and Monarch Airlines in 1950, flew until 1986, when Continental purchased Denver's hometown airline and wrapped it the Houston-based giant. The "new" Frontier took to the skies in 1994, and its name might meet the same fare as Frontier I.

Delta and Virgin America Offer WiFi to Some Flights

Two carriers now offer broadband WiFi on domestic flights

Following its introduction late last month on Virgin America, Aircell’s Gogo inflight WiFi service debuts today on on one Delta Boeing 757 and on five MD88 planes that fly the popular shuttle routes between New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Boston’s Logan International Airport and Washington's National Airport. Until December 31, access on Delta is free. On both airlines, the regular cost is $9.95 for flights shorter than three hours and $12.95 for flights three hours or longer.

State Department Warnings: What's in a Name?

Decoding US government warnings to international travelers from the US

Unrest and violence cause travelers -- especially Americans -- to reconsider international travel plans. Ten percent more Americans visited India in 2007 than in 2006, but with the recent terrorist attacks in Mombai (aka, Bombay) in which six Americans were among the 170 people killed, that number is likely to drop. Ditto travel to Greece, which welcomed 12 percent more international visitors in '07 than in '06 but has recently been plagued by riots in Athens, the capital, and concurrent strikes by workers at the Acropolis and other popular tourist sites.

Violence, of course, is volatile, and the US State Department doesn't always get it right. There were periods when visitors shunned London (Irish Republican Army attacks), central Europe (in the era of Germany's Bader-Meinhoff faction and other far-left terrorist groups) and parts of Spain (Basque separatist violence), as well as countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America when when wars, political unrest, assorted insurgencies and government policies made them unwelcoming. Consider that under Augusto Pinochet, Chile was not a desirable or safe tourist destination, now it is, while up north, not too many Americans visit Venezuela under Hugo Chavez or neighboring Colombia with its drug cartel-related violence. And US citizens have been forbidden or discouraged from visiting Cuba for nearly half-a-century, yet those who have visited report Cubans to be warm and welcoming -- and their visits to be incident-free.

The US State Department updates and issues travel advisories ranging from subtle warnings to outright recommendations to stay away from certain nations. When deciding on your risk-tolerance in light of these advisories, consider that the US government has also been telling air travelers in this country that the threat level is at "orange" just about since the color coding system was unveiled in 2002. That annoying Department of Homeland Security recording has played so incessantly since then that it has become just so much airport background noise -- and I don't think too many travelers pay much attention.

So it is with some skepticism that I share the State Department's definition of its country-specific evaluations for Americans contemplating travel abroad. These are updated on the department's website. Country-by-country evaluations are useful because they are not as simplistic as the "Department of Homeland Security's terror alert is orange" that we hear at airports.

• Travel Advisory - This is the general category of perceived threats that could affect Americans traveling to specific regions, countries or cities.
• Travel Alert - A threat that the State Department believes is of relatively short-term duration, including upcoming elections, hurricane or typhoon threat or other short-term situation.
• Travel Warning - Chronic violence, including such obvious destinations as Afghanistan and Iraq, where the situation so inflammatory and "potentially dangerous for Americans that we want them to know about that," Michelle Bernier-Toth, director of the Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Management, recently told Gannett News Services. Well, duh!

Bernier-Toth also explained that assessing situations is a "very collaborative process between our embassy and consulate, between various bureaus and offices within the department. . . Sometimes we tell people to consider the risk of traveling, sometimes we say you should defer nonessential travel or all but essential travel and sometimes we just recommend you don't go. The best way to figure out what kind of danger you're facing is to read the specifics of the alert."

I am scheduled to visit Egypt with the Society of American Travel Writers in February, and have read the State Department's assessment, I'm willing to accept the risk

Chinese Coal Ship Aground on Great Barrier Reef

Marine park and top diving destination at risk

If I ruled the world, China would stop mining coal. The cost is too great: frequent fatal mine accidents (the latest just a few days ago), filthy and unhealthy air over much of China from antiquated coal-fired plants and now the "Shen Neng 1," a Chinese bulk-coal ship that strayed from designated shipping lanes on Saturday and slammed into Australia's Great Barrier reef at full speed and ran aground on this world wonder.

The reef is a fanastic 1,800-mile barrier reef 60-odd miles off Australia's northeast coast that is arguably the world's finest scuba destinations. Great Keppel Island, where the ship ran aground, is a dive destination that boasts "pristine waters. I checked dive blogs and specific Great Keppel Island dive operators and resorts, and astonishingly, none mentioned this incident or its possible effects.

There has not yet been a really major spill of the ship's 950 tons of oil, but oil patches several miles from the wreck have been spotted from the air. Chemical dispersants were sprayed on the oil on Sunday  The ship, which is about 800 feet long and carried about 65,000 tons of coal, will have to be towed into port.

The BBC reported: "Queensland officials say the 'Shen Neng 1' is badly damaged and the salvage operation could take weeks. Fears remain that it could break up, spilling hundreds of tonnes of oil.
Environmentalists are furious about the grounding on Douglas Shoals, well outside the authorised shipping channel. The Chinese-registered ship is balanced precariously off the east coast of Great Keppel Island.
A tug boat is at the scene to help prevent it from keeling over and to assist with any attempt at refloating the stricken vessel. Its Chinese crew have remained on board." According to a statement in a video that is part of the BBC report, ships are permitted to sail the calmer waters between the Mainland and Queensland without a pilot. Blomberg more recently reported that a second tug is on its way.

Deja Vue All Over Again

On March 11, 2009, the Hong Kong-flagged container ship "Pacific Adventurer" was responsible for a large oil spill that Moreton Island and Sunshine Coast beaches, north of Brisbane The  ship lost 31 containers of ammonium nitrate that loose in Cyclose Hamish's rough seas. Some of the containers pierced the ship's hull, releasing some 270 tons of oil into the ocean. The captain was charged with violating marine-pollution laws but permitted to leave Australia.

In August 2009, the Australian and Queensland Governments and its owner, Swire Shipping, reached an  agreement, under which the transport company was to pay $25 million in damages. This far exceeds Swire's legal obligation of $17.5 million for compensation. The overage was to go to a trust specially established to help improve marine protection and maritime safety. The "Shen Neng 1" accident might put it to use. Who knows what will happen to the captain -- and whether China’s Cosco Group will pay a potential $921,500 fine -- far too little, IMHO.

Ironically, Cosco's website boasts that it is committed to the UN's Global Compact, whose cornerstones are "aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption." Environment. Slamming a ship into a marine park is a serious misalignment.

The Great Barrier Reef is a world wonder, home to some 400 coral species (the most in the world), 1,500 species of tropical fish, 4,000 types of mollusks, 200 types of birds, 20 types of reptiles. It is also the habitat for a number of threatened species such as the dugong ("sea cow") and large green turtle. Additionally, it is an important breeding area for humpback whales that migrate from Antarctica.

I have a special affection for the Great Barrier Reef. After snorkeling off Lady Musgrave Island, one of thousands of little land outcroppings, back in 1987, I decided to get my scuba certification, because I wanted to participate in underwater life, not simply to float on top as spectator. I'm now a certified diver but never managed to return to Australia. Since my visit, we've become aware that this reef, like all others on the planet, is under chronic assault from climate change, but a ship running aground and spilling oil or other harmless substances is acute trauma.