Domestic Travel Recovery in 2011
It won’t be until 2011 that domestic travel will return to 2006 levels, according to Boston-based Global Insight Inc. However, it said U.S. domestic person trips are expected to total as much as 573 million in the third quarter of this year, up from 566 million in the third quarter of 2007. It expects domestic travel to be up 0.5 percent this year for leisure travelers, which is more than offset by a four percent decline in business travel.

Global Insights pegs leisure travel recovery to the second half of next year while business travel will now show recovery until the first half of 2010. Even so, the company said that domestic travel will not recover to 2006 trip levels until 2011.

The company joined with D.K. Shifflet & Associates in producing is latest U.S. Travel Insights report, forecasting leisure and business travel, visitor spending, travel inflation and international arrivals.

It forecast that the global economic troubles will force both sectors to continue to decline next year. International arrivals, threatened by increasing government and security red tape, is expected to exceed 60 million this year, up more than seven percent from last year. The company expects such traffic to remain strong over the next three years.

TCCA-MDW Launched by Porter
Saying it was breezing into the Windy City, Porter Airlines marked the first flight between Toronto City Center Airport (TCCA) and Chicago Midway International Airport. Porter is the only carrier offering service between these two downtown airports. The inaugural flight departed TCCA 6:50 a.m. as part of an initial schedule of three daily roundtrip flights per weekday and two each on Saturday and Sunday. As of Jan. 8, the full schedule of six daily weekday flights and added weekend service begins.
“This is another milestone in Porter’s development and we’re pleased to bring our unique service to Chicago,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “This will change the travel experience between Toronto and Chicago, making it fast, convenient and simple.”
Expanded service to further U.S. destinations such as Boston, Washington and Philadelphia is planned as additional aircraft are delivered over the next 18 months.

Airlines Promote Holiday Fare Sales
After months of warnings that holiday travel will be more expensive with the capacity cuts and fare increases established all year, airlines are now cutting many fares for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, according to FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney, who said this kind of discounting normally comes about two weeks out from a holiday. The failing economy was cited by such web sites as Seaney’s and Bestfares.com. Northwest led the pack last Tuesday with a holiday fare sale which was matched by most other carriers.

For instance, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air launched a "Winter Escape" sale featuring fares as low as $49 one way to many of the carriers' destinations in the Lower 48, Canada and Mexico. Rickets must be purchased by Nov. 24 for travel from Dec. 3 through March 11, 2009.

Bestfares.com Tom Parson indicated holiday deals are still to be had by shopping around and using alternative airports. However, having anticipated fare sales, Parsons said that when it finally came it was a letdown because they were only 25 percent off and must be purchased 21 or 30 days out. They also still include blackout dates November 30, December 1 and December 20. Naturally, the biggest bargains are on routes where mainlines compete with low-fare carriers.