SFGATE - Travel

Fare sale, new Tahiti flights, desperate hotels + more travel news

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 00:16:20 GMT

This week started out on a hopeful note for the travel biz...and travelers. According to the TSA, more than 800,000 fliers passed through airport security on Sunday. That's the first time the TSA's daily tally has topped 800,000 since mid-March when all things travel-related really started to plunge as stay-at-home orders rolled out. Still, we have a long way to go until we get back to the 2.5 million-or-so travelers passing through airport security we saw this time last year. But it's hopeful.

Upscale hotel asks paying guests for COVID-19 financial help

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 16:31:30 GMT

An upscale downtown Seattle hotel’s plea to paying guests for financial help it survive the coronavirus pandemic has been met with raised eyebrows among travelers. It is now the subject of an investigation by its corporate owner.

The pitch paints a dire picture of how badly the hotel industry has been ravaged by the historic downturn in business due to COVID-19.

Vacationers are still traveling – just not as far

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 17:42:34 GMT

Although airline travel has shrunk to a fraction of its former volume, new research indicates that Americans still want to get away on vacation this summer – they just don’t want to get as far away as they did before, and they’re not inclined to fly.

Although the summer peak travel months are slipping away, there’s still plenty of time for a vacation before fall sets in, and a survey of more than 1,000 consumers by the website VacationRenter.com found that many of them have been actively looking for destination options closer to home than in previous years.

Routes: New Tahiti, London flights plus Hawaii uncertainty, no-mask-no-fly rules + more

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:21:35 GMT

In route news, United Airlines has restarted service from San Francisco International to Tahiti, the U.K. and Mexico; British Airways expects to come back to San Jose this fall; revived SFO routes are coming from Lufthansa, Swiss and Fiji Airways; Hawaii’s Sept. 1 date for reopening the islands to visitors now seems uncertain; Alaska and JetBlue are the latest to bar all exceptions to their in-flight mask policies; American brings hot food back to Admirals Clubs and Apple TV to in-flight entertainment; and Virgin Australia’s restructuring eliminates wide-bodies from its fleet and long-haul service from its schedule.

United gives more perks to Global Services members

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 11:21:35 GMT

Back in April, United Airlines agreed to extend the elite status of its MileagePlus members during a period of sharply reduced travel, and now it is doing the same for its most esteemed customers: those in its Global Services program.

Airlines tougher on masks with new zero tolerance policies

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 19:46:56 GMT

Two airlines that dominate Bay Area airports will enforce stricter face mask policies beginning Friday as carriers adopt a zero tolerance approach for fliers who refuse to wear facial coverings.

Alaska Airlines will adopt some of the toughest punishments among U.S. carriers for passengers who defy its mandatory facial covering policy on planes and at airports. All Alaska passengers age 2 and older are required to wear a facial covering.

Elon Musk’s mysterious desert tunnel: A superfast LA-Vegas link?

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 12:42:17 GMT

What is Elon Musk’s Boring Company building in the desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas?

That’s the question posed by an article in Teslarati, a publication that tracks new developments in all of Elon Musk’s various ventures. And it suggests the answer might be a tunnel for ultra-high-speed travel between the two cities.

Southwest Airlines will disinfect tray tables between flights, but not armrests

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 21:21:36 GMT

The airline has cut back on disinfecting between flights to save time.

United adds more flights; COVID-19-sniffing dogs + more travel news

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 05:48:27 GMT

If you thought the outlook was bleak for airlines (as we wrote about recently), wait until you read about what's happening at big downtown hotels that typically cater to summer vacationers, and fall season conventioneers. Business and bookings that had been on an upward track, have suddenly started to stall as new surges of coronavirus and new travel restrictions have broken out in the US. Some 8,000 hotel closures could happen, according to a key trade organization. Read: How many hotels can survive COVID-19?

Coronavirus-sniffing dogs dispatched at Dubai Airport

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 21:50:12 GMT

In the United Arab Emirates, all arriving passengers must submit to COVID-19 testing prior to their trips, and show negative results to be admitted into the country.

But this week, Dubai International Airport (DXB) started using police dogs for on-airport rapid COVID-19 testing, which reportedly can produce results in minutes with 92 percent accuracy.