Airlines Saving Fuel: It's About Time

More travelers these days are getting emails from their airline or travel booking site notifying them of an itinerary change. Not to worry: It's likely that the change is a slightly later arrival time. Some airlines are curbing fuel costs by flying at slower, more fuel-efficient speeds.

In an example cited by Associated Press, Northwest slowed down the average speed of its flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Paris (ORY) by 10 mph. The adjustment added eight minutes to the overall flight time, but saved $535 in fuel costs - a potential savings of $195,000 for the airline over the course of the year for just that one daily flight.

Southwest initiated slower flights earlier this year, adding just one to three minutes to most flights for an estimated savings of $42 million annually. JetBlue is another airline that is adopting the slower-flight approach, adding an average of two minutes to flights.

If this sounds like a no-brainer - well, it's not that simple. For airlines that have hundred of flights a day, those minutes add up to thousands of extra employee hours. And even if, as the price of oil keeps rising, the fuel savings outweigh the payroll costs, there's another inflexible metric that comes into play: the mandatory maintenance clock. Airframes, engines and various parts all have specific time requirements at which they must be serviced, so flying airplanes longer means those deadlines come sooner in the flight schedule.

When traveling internationally, do you call home with your cell phone or use a calling card?

Delta Club Closures

In another cost-saving move, Delta Air Lines has announced the closure of nine Crown Room Clubs in the United States and abroad, bringing the total number of clubs down from 42 to 33. In some cases, such as Boston Logan (BOS) and Cincinnati (CVG), the Crown Room that's closing is one of two at the airport in question - in Logan's case, the larger of the two. Other airports losing Crown Rooms this month are Denver (DEN), Honolulu (HNL), Kansas City (MCI), Phoenix (PHX), Seattle (SEA) and London (LGW). Delta has said it will encourage members to make use of the airline's reciprocal agreements with other airlines including Continental and Northwest.

Istanbul Gets a W

Trendy American hotel group W Hotels is opening its first European hotel, not in London or Paris, but in Istanbul. W Istanbul has 134 rooms, suites and duplex suites, many with private gardens, terraces or cabanas. Standard features include pillowtop mattresses, oversized desks, MP3 docking stations, high-speed wireless Internet, 32-inch TVs, and voicemail. Noted chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is opening a Spice Market restaurant in the hotel, which is located in the Besiktas district.

Bedtime Story

Here's a healthy alternative to chocolates on your pillow: Several hotels are now using books as part of their turndown service. A new series of mini-books - Testify from Howl Press - present real-life true stories from noted or noteworthy authors. Five new books are issued each quarter, improving the odds that you won't get the same book twice. Hotels participating in the program include The Charles in Cambridge, Mass.

Be the Critic: Help American Pick Movies

If you've ever complained about the film selection on your flight, here's your chance to "put up or shut up": American Airlines has established a new entertainment Web site where you can go to indicate your preference for movies, four of which will be shown on the main screen for a future month's flights (and two of which will move to international flights the following month). The opportunity to vote starts sometime during the second week of any given month and stays open for seven days. There are still a few more days to vote in May for movies that will begin screening in August.

Clear Customs Faster with Global Entry

A new government program that launched this week will start operating at Washington Dulles (IAD), New York (JFK) and Houston Intercontinental (IAH) airports June 10, allowing participants to use special lanes when clearing Customs upon returning to the United States. Similar to Registered Traveler, which provides fast lanes for clearing security before boarding flights in the United States, Global Entry requires that you sign up, pay $100 and go through a background check. You will then be able to cl
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