Legion of Angels News Archive

They’re elusive. The airlines don’t like to talk about them (we asked). And determining their legitimacy from among the myriad websites that claim to specialize in them is a Herculean task. We’re talking about consolidator fares, those secret airfares the airlines release in limited “buckets” to companies that re-sell them for big discounts.

Yes, they do still exist and you can get them, but as with any purchase (such as “grey market” electronics), you’ll always trade something for the price break . There are reliable ways to get them, just as there are ways to get burned. And just because they’re specially negotiated deals doesn’t mean you might not be able to find a better published fare on your own.

The Backstory

To understand what consolidator fares mean today, you’ll need a little history. Decades ago, it became clear to airlines that only selling highly visible, published airfares to travel agents and consumers made it easy for competing airlines to beat their fares and make off with their customers. To ensure they could fill up less popular flights, airlines began quietly selling discounted seats through consolidators. They reasoned that a little revenue per seat was better than none, and because the discounted prices weren’t published, other airlines wouldn’t be able to swoop in and drive down overall prices.

You’d often find these fire sale fares in ethnic storefront travel agencies or even bodegas, which offered them only sporadically. According to Bob Harrell of New York airline consultancy Harrell Associates, the airlines employed plenty of tactics to get around pre-deregulation rules about tariffs, which required large numbers of seats sold this way to be part of a tourism promotion. “They’d print up five brochures, pass them around, and call it a tour,” he says.

Consolidators Today

Consolidators have come a long way since those early, often risky times. Airlines now see consolidators as a reliable distribution channel, negotiating annual contracts with them, establishing revenue targets, and tightly controlling ticket sales through a specific kind of booking class, or “bucket.” If you were wondering, consolidators and bucket shops are essentially the same thing, though the name, like the practice, has been refined over time. The fares are also known as “private” and “bulk” fares. But for the record, not every unpublished fare is a consolidator fare; military discounts, corporate discounts, and other specially negotiated fares – such as cruise and package fares – are also considered “unpublished” and are almost never consolidator fares.

Airfarewatchdog.com talked to Greg Rholl, Vice President of Pricing and Distribution for Minnesota consolidator Centrav, one of the largest consolidators, with contracts with more than 30 airlines, who ran us through the process:

A consolidator will have a contract to sell private fares at a lower price than the published fare. If there’s a printed ticket, only “bulk” generally appears on the receipt. They generally can’t – or won’t - sell the ticket straight to you, but will offer it through a travel agent (including an online travel agent such as Travelocity or Expedia), or agencies such as the ones that advertise in Sunday newspaper travel sections.

The agent adds their markup – keeping the margin slim so they’re not out-priced by published fares – and passes the remaining savings on to you. True consolidators don’t buy in quantity or ahead of time. Rather, they pull availability from their assigned class until the airline decides to close the window. It can be a great way to find a fluke fare, and consolidators now keep each other honest.

Centrav, for instance, is a charter member of the United States Air Consolidators Association, which requires that its members sell at least $20 million in consolidator fares and have uninterrupted sales of at least two years. This may not mean much to you, since you can’t buy tickets from the USACA, but it should: If your trusted travel agent chooses a dicey consolidator that reneges on the deal or goes under, you’ll be relying on your credit card or your agent’s integrity to buffer you from the loss.

In the second half of this article, the best ways to shop for consolidator tickets.

Source — Aviation

Like Unicorns (or in these trying times, a bank you can trust) consolidator fares are elusive, precious items that can offer a traveler great savings. Airfarewatchdog.com has taken the time to track down the facts about these airline special offers. In the first installment, we learned they were created to ensure flights sold out, but in an era of airline consolidations and bankruptcies, these deals are getting fewer and far-between.

What’s Your Best Chance of Finding the Fares?

According to both Bob Harrell of New York airline consultancy Harrell Associates and Greg Rholl, Vice President of Pricing and Distribution for Minnesota consolidator Centrav, the best times to find consolidator fares are when 1) you’re traveling coach internationally, 2) you’re traveling last-minute, or 3) both.

Because consolidators don’t actually buy the seats, they’re usually granted their window of opportunity early in the booking process (to fill up a limited number of seats to hedge the airline’s bet on passengers) or late (to make up for the passengers the airline estimated would book, but didn’t). Your travel agent can even find consolidator business class seats last minute, for up to a 50% discount.

What Do Consolidator Fares “Act” Like?

You may think that because you’re getting a bargain basement price, your consolidator ticket will be nonrefundable, non-changeable, won’t allow you to make advance seat assignments, won’t let you earn miles - a heavily restricted “use it or lose it” ticket. That’s usually not the case (and yes, you’ll almost always earn your miles), but you DO need to ask your travel agent for up-front restriction information. Consolidator fares generally act like those discounted economy class tickets of the lower echelons, and carry similar restrictions. That’s why some travelers are convinced they’ve bought consolidator fares on airline websites - but they haven’t. American Airlines spokesman Ned Raynolds confirmed that the airlines aren’t allowed to sell unpublished fares themselves.

The problem with bulk fares often doesn’t lie with the restrictions themselves, but the capacity that the consolidator has been granted by the airline. For example, say you bought a consolidator ticket as a “T” class (generally one of the lowest of the low airfare classes). If you bought it and the airline then closes out the consolidator’s “bucket,” you won’t be able to change it, even if the airline still has “T” class tickets of its own to sell. IF the consolidator has similarly restricted tickets like “L” or “K” class, you might be able to swap them, through your agent, but only if the consolidator’s window is still open.

Similarly, say you bought a discounted “Q” class ticket directly from the airline. If you wanted to change it and that particular class was sold out, you could ask the airline to let you pay the difference and a penalty to upgrade to a full-fare, unrestricted “Y” class ticket. You won’t be able to do that with a consolidator fare. The other restriction you’ll find across the board: You’ll never be able to upgrade your ticket using miles. The lesson: You’d better be sure that your consolidator ticket is the one you want, because you’re most likely stuck with it.

What About Consolidators That Sell on the Web?

Not a good idea. Consolidators simply aren’t built for customer service. As we mentioned before, through years of relationship-building, your travel agent has a much better grasp of which consolidators are good, and which ones are shady, than you do. Consolidators themselves can’t really offer you any guarantees on your fare. Big consolidators have a lot of sway with the airlines because of the volume they do, so they can often help (but the reputable ones will only deal with your travel agent). If something goes wrong with a consolidator ticket you’ve bought through a trusted agency, the agency should absorb your loss.

According to Simon Bramley, head of pricing for Travelocity, the Travelocity Guarantee to “make things right” would function this way, buffering you from a loss if something should happen to one of the consolidator fares it offers through its site (you’ll usually spot these marked as “exclusives,” and all restrictions are listed before you purchase). And as always, you’ll want to ensure every purchase by using a credit, not a debit card, so you can take it up with the credit card company if the deal goes south.

Comparison Shopping

The inevitable truth is that you’ll want to shop around. Airlines, in an effort to drive customers to their own sites, now offer low fare guarantees. That means that even if you find an “exclusive” consolidator fare online, the airline will more than likely match or beat it. Domestic consolidator fares have been all but completely squeezed out by the Internet, and because airlines are decreasing capacity (mostly domestically), you’ll find even fewer for US-only flights. Rholl notes that airlines now release prices to consolidators that are exactly the same as published fares. Of course, you always have the option of searching the consolidators that sell online, and then mitigating your risk by asking your travel agent to find the fare for you. Like all fares worth finding, locating them will take a search.

Source — Yahoo!

On January 5th 2009, the United States Air Force will launch perhaps the most ambitious experiment in the annals of air warfare. For the first time in history, officers who have no aviation experience will learn to fly unmanned combat drones into battle without ever setting foot into a real aircraft.

This dramatic shift comes as the USAF ramps up operations in order to meet the surging demand for aerial surveillance assets in Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to meet the challenge head on, the USAF looked at “innovative ways to get the war fighter what he needs to get the job done” said Lt. Col. Tom Marocchini, an A1 air operations officer at USAF headquarters, resulting in a sea-change in Air Force attitudes towards the training of drone operators.

Initially 10 officers, most of whom have no aviation experience, will be selected for what has been termed a “beta test” by senior Air Force officials, said Brigadier General Carlton D. Everhart of the USAF’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC). These officers are to be the pioneers for what is hoped will become a brand new career field for the operators of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Everhart said.

Selection standards for this initial cadre of aviators will be rigorous, Everhart said. While some physiological requirements are relaxed compared to the pilots of manned aircraft, the service is “maintaining the same eye sight requirements, including depth perception and color vision”, said Colonel Curt Sheldon, an A3-OA air operations officer at USAF headquarters. Additionally, many of the same academic requirements have also been maintained, including passing the Test of Basic Aviation Skills (TBAS) and Air Force Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT), as these have been shown to predict success in the air, Sheldon said.

Training for this new class of officers will begin much the same way as those entering the regular USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) pipeline. As training starts, the class will undergo Initial Flight Screening (IFS) to teach the students “air sense” and the emergency procedures needed to move on to flying more sophisticated machines, Everhart said. “Teaching air sense is the biggest open question. How long does it take to teach air sense? How long does it take for students to grasp the concepts?” are all areas of concern to the USAF, Everhart said.

The next stop is Randolph Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. Here the students will undergo academic and simulator training for instrument flight, air navigation, holding patterns and most importantly deconflicting with other aircraft traffic, Everhart said. The new aviators will also learn the finer points of how to operate with Air Force Air Tasking Orders (ATO) in order to fly in a combat zone and Crew Resource Management (CRM) in order to coordinate with their sensor operator. The biggest difference between the regular UPT course and the UAS operator course is that the UAS operators will not actually fly the T-6 during their training, Everhart explained- all the flying is done in a simulator.

The final step before entering flight training on a Predator UAS is the Joint Air Ground Operations Group (JAGOG). Here, the students will learn to coordinate with the ground forces that they are to support, Everhart said. The school not only teaches the finer points of the close air support and air interdiction to pilots but also serves as the training unit for the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) who clear the pilots to unleash their weapons on the enemy during such missions. Everhart explained that this phase of the training will be critical in developing the student’s “air sense”.

The final phase of the new training pipeline will be at the MQ-1 Predator Formal Training Unit (FTU) at Creech AFB, Nevada. At the FTU, the new aviators will attend what is known as the b-course where they will learn to fly and fight with the MQ-1 Predators. The b-course is designed for new pilots who have no experience in any major weapons system to learn the basics of flying an aircraft in combat, Everhart explained.

Once the b-course is completed, the new aviators are basic aircraft qualified. However, the aviators must still complete the mission qualification course at their operational squadron in order to be considered full fledged combat pilots. If the students prove to be successful, the USAF will make a decision on creating a permanent new career field for UAS operators. Additionally, AETC also hopes to eventually create a FTU for every individual UAS type, Everhart said. Sheldon cautions however, that while he expects the new training program to succeed, the “success of the beta testing is not a foregone conclusion.”

While the fate of the dedicated UAS pipeline is decided, the USAF is concurrently embarking on a program to take 100 new graduates from UPT per year and send them directly to a Predator, Global Hawk or Reaper UAS. Unlike the participants of the beta test program who will be initially restricted to the Predator aircraft, the UPT graduates will be allowed to fly any UAS in the inventory to which they are assigned, Sheldon said. Also unlike those graduating from the beta test program, the UPT graduates will not remain in the unmanned drone business permanently.

“The Chief (of Staff) has made the commitment that these pilots will return to flying a manned weapons system” after a three year tour flying a UAS, Everhart said. Similarly, those USAF pilots who were involuntarily reassigned to flying combat drones under the Transformational Aircrew Management Initiative- 21 (TAMI-21) program might also eventually return to flying manned aircraft as circumstances change, Sheldon said.

Sheldon, who is a former F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, said for those UPT graduates who are assigned to flying drones, the future is bright. Sheldon explains that not only do these pilots “get into the fight” immediately, they gain a breadth and depth of experience which will be of value later on in their careers and that experience will be fully applicable to manned weapons systems. In Iraq or Afghanistan, “when you get a call for a Close Air Support platform, the most requested platform is a UAS,” Everhart said, “with a UAS on station, you can watch, direct troop movements” in addition to attacking the enemy directly. “There is a lot of capability there, the future is very bright” Everhart said. Sheldon added, “Fully half of the aircraft that the Air Force will be buying in the future are going be unmanned. This community is going to be the second largest after the F-16 community. Getting in early is not a bad thing.”

While the ultimate fate of the dedicated UAS operator career field has yet to be decided, Everhart, Sheldon and Marocchini said they are optimistic, pointing out that the USAF only accepts highly qualified personnel into the ranks. While it has yet to be determined if the UAS operators will be “rated” i.e. part of the elite Air Force fraternity of aviators, Everhart said that he personally believes that it will happen, adding that “these guys are real warriors.” Sheldon, meanwhile, would only say that they are in the data-gathering phase, however should the UAS operators eventually be considered rated officers, he said that “it could potentially change the face of the Air Force.”

Source — Yahoo!

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – One of the world’s most beautiful cities is probably one of the cheapest.

Cape Town, the sparkling jewel in South Africa’s tourist crown, regularly wins international travel awards. It combines excellent infrastructure and hotels with magnificent beaches, wildlife and winelands, making it a favorite among business conventions and wealthy surf and safari seekers.

But even for those on a budget, the so-called Mother City is as welcoming as its name. Best news is the weakness of the South African rand, which make dollars and euros go further.

GETTING THERE: Only a few airlines fly straight to Cape Town, so direct flights from London are full and discount fares rare. Delta flies from New York via Senegal. Emirates via Dubai often has bargains. In addition to South African Airways, budget airlines like 1Time and kulula.com fly from Johannesburg into Cape Town. (Don’t panic if kulula staff announce the plane has landed in Zimbabwe — they love joking).

The airport tourism information desk arranges bus shuttles to the city at $12 per person and less for subsequent passengers. The Backpacker bus charges $15 and its Web site — http://www.backpackerbus.co.za — has good tips on travel and accommodation. Or ask your hotel or guesthouse to meet you. Metered taxis are expensive and there is no regular bus or train service to the city center. If you are renting a car, shop around for deals for foreigners.

GETTING AROUND: Cape Town lacks a decent public transport system. It’s worth hiring a car at least for a day or two. Most hotels and hostels offer peninsular and wineland tours. Some take bikes along with them.

Minibus taxis are used by locals and will give you a cheap, genuine taste of South Africa. But they are not for the fainthearted, despite efforts by the government to persuade minibus drivers to upgrade their vehicles and respect basic rules of the road. For a more predictable alternative, the Explorer double-decker open-topped bus has a hop-on, hop-off system, with the red line serving the city and the blue line surrounding areas at a cost of $20 per adult for a universal 24-hour pass. You can walk around most parts of central Cape Town without fear of crime during the day, unlike Johannesburg and Durban. But at night take a taxi, even for short distances.

WHAT TO SEE:

_Table Mountain. This is Cape Town’s icon. You can hike up or down (a steep 1.8 miles on the Platteklip Gorge trail) but check at the information booth on conditions (strong winds are common). The return trip by cable car costs $14.50, with discounts for children and students and sometimes in early morning and evening. Operating times depend on season and weather. Be prepared to wait at busy periods. Details at http://www.tablemountain.net.

A wonderful alternative to Table Mountain lies just across the road. Signal Hill has no lines, no hassle, no fees. Just uninterrupted 360-degree views of the city from the winding road. Join the locals at full moon and walk up and down the mountain (about 90 minutes each way) for an unforgettable experience. Remember, there is safety in numbers.

_Robben Island. The wind-swept island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned is a must. The trip takes 3 1/2 hours and costs $15 (children half-price). Book well in advance at http://www.robben-island.org as it’s hugely popular. Also, for just $1.50, visit the District Six Museum, which highlights the injustice of the apartheid era and the forced relocations of nonwhites from the vibrant city center to dismal Cape Flats townships, which are still home to the majority of the population. (Robben Island will be closed the first two weeks of November while authorities remove an infestation of rabbits.)

_Waterfront. The harbor and shopping complex is home to pricey hotels and boutiques. But you can soak up the sea air and enjoy live entertainment for free. There are restaurants and fast food joints for all budgets. Or pick up a picnic at the Pick ‘N Pay supermarket.The world-class aquarium is fab for both kids and adults.

_Beaches. The powder-white sand of Camps Bay and Clifton are the places to chill — and literally freeze in the Antarctic-influenced currents, even on scorching days. For swimming, the saltwater, open-air pool in Sea Point costs next to nothing and is in a breathtaking location on the beach, with a huge grass area for sunbathing. Weekends are packed but weekdays often empty (unless you coincide with a school outing, which adds to the fun). Take your own padlock for the lockers.

For less frigid waters, head to Fish Hoek and Muizenberg on the other side of the peninsula, which is warmed by the Indian Ocean currents. Muizenberg is a hotspot for surfers. Take time to chat with shark-spotters positioned on the beach and an overlooking hill to sound the alarm about occasional Great White visitors. (If you really want a close encounter, try shark cage-diving in Gansbaaii, a couple of hours drive away with transport offered from the Waterfront.)

SIDE TRIPS: A Cape Peninsular tour is a full-day highlight either with an organized group or (better) on your own. Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope are the best-known attractions. Beware the baboons who aggressively search for food. (We once watched a hapless tourist getting out of his car for photos as a baboon jumped into the driver’s seat next to the man’s hysterical wife!!)

Next to Cape Point, an ostrich farm offers guided tours, but you can also watch the mighty birds for free.

Farther down the road toward the naval base of Simons Town, you can swim with penguins at Boulders Beach, which boasts a thriving colony of endangered African penguins. It’s magical, and the birds are unfazed by humans.

Watch fishermen at work in the beautiful harbors of Kalk Bay and on the other side of the peninsula, Hout Bay. Hout Bay also offers 45-minute trips (about $4) to smelly but spectacular Seal Island, home to thousands of seals. World of Birds, also in Hout Bay, is great value for the money and popular with families. It also has giant tortoises, wallabies and squirrel monkeys (tourists are allowed into their enclosure twice a day).

Chapman’s Peak leading out of Hout Bay is one of the world’s most scenic roads but is currently closed following rockfalls. You can go halfway up to the picnic spots and, between August and November, feast your eyes for free on southern right whales. (Hermanus, the main center for whale-watching, is about two hours out of Cape Town).

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are much loved among locals for their Sunday evening summer concerts. Take a picnic and get there early.

DINING OUT: By international standards, restaurants are cheap in South Africa. It’s easy to have a slap-up dinner for around $10. Fish is superb — try the firm juicy kingklip — and fish ‘n chips on the seafront is hard to beat. Local cuisine includes Cape Malay curries and bobotie (a dish with minced meat). You rarely pay more than $15 for a coffee and there are great, cheap local beers and wines. Unlike other African countries, the water is safe and most restaurants happily supply a big jug of free tap water. Even the Waterfront has cheap options with pizzas, wraps, kebabs and noodles. There are plenty of eateries in Long Street — the nightlife center — in the trendy Waterkant district and along the Camps Bay beach. For unrivaled views at affordable prices, book a table in the Ritz hotel’s revolving restaurant in Sea Point. Even if you are trying to save money, don’t skimp on the customary 10 percent tip as waiters rely heavily on it to supplement their minimal wages.

SLEEPING IN: At the Waterfront, the Breakwater Lodge — a former prison — is the cheapest option. There’s an abundance of reasonably priced guest houses and B&Bs in central locations like Gardens, Tamberskloef, Sea Point and Green Point. Prices vary with the season but it’s easy to find a double room with private bathroom for less than $100 — often much less — and some establishments offer self-catering. The official Cape Town Web site http://www.tourismcapetown.co.za has listings but doesn’t provide links or prices. So try http://www.capestay.co.za. There’s plenty of choice in vibey hostels offering clean dormitory as well as private accommodation at even lower prices than guesthouses. These include http://www.longstreetbackpackers.co.za and http://www.catandmoose.co.za on Long Street. Quieter but also central are the recommended http://www.backpackers.co.za and the lovely Ashanti Lodge http://www.ashanti.co.za. In the suburb of Observatory, popular with students, is the Green Elephant, http://www.hostels.co.za. There are also many choices in Cape Town’s surrounding areas like Kalk Bay, Hout Bay and the lovely university town of Stellenbosch in the winelands.

WHEN TO GO: Spring (September to November) offers a floral feast in the Table Mountain national park. Mid-January to April is also a great time to visit. Mid-December to mid-January it seems as if half the country descends upon Cape Town and it gets packed and pricey. Avoid June to August unless you like wind and rain - but even then there are glorious sunny days as well as cut prices.

Source — Yahoo!

WASHINGTON – Amtrak’s USA Rail Pass is now available for purchase in the U.S.

Until recently, the pass could only be bought by travelers who lived outside the country.

The passes are available for 15, 30 and 45 days of travel. The 15-day pass offers eight segments of travel for $389. The 30-day pass offers 12 segments of travel for $579. The 45-day pass offers 18 segments of travel for $749.

Amtrak counts a segment of travel each time a passenger boards a train or connecting Amtrak Thruway bus.

The passes are priced the same regardless of when you travel, but you must begin your travel within 180 days of purchase.

Also note that the pass is not a ticket. Passengers must also have a ticket and reservation for each train they board.

If your travels are likely to take you to multiple points in California, you might be better off with Amtrak’s California Rail Pass, which offers seven days of travel in a 21-day period for $159.

The USA Rail Pass is not valid for travel on Amtrak’s Auto Train or Acela Express. Some other restrictions apply. Details at 800-872-7245 or http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass/ for more information.

Source — Yahoo!