Thursday's Travel InsideOut

Orbitz -- she of pressurized travel transactions -- hopped onto the media/advertising bandwagon in a super-charged way with the relaunch of Trip.com. For those of you who remember the ill-fated and nebulous Trip.com brand under former owner Cendant, we can say that at last Trip.com has a raison d’etre.

Dennis Schaal Blog: Mega, Not Meta, Move: Orbitz Enters Search Business: I wrote several weeks ago that Orbitz would attempt to maximize all of those lookers perusing its shop, take its media business a leap forward and get into the search business, possibly through a merger of some sort with Kayak.

Well, Orbitz, has entered the search business on its own, for now, by relaunching Trip.com as a search business. This fairly huge development was brought to my attention by Tom Botts of the Hudson Crossing Travel Industry Insight blog. Read more

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There are more warnings that this could be the Winter of our discontent, with airline bankruptcy filings looming.

Wall Street Journal: Loss at AMR Narrows: American Airlines parent AMR Corp. on Wednesday reported a $390 million second-quarter loss as collapsing travel demand continued to erase gains from lower fuel costs.

The results are the latest evidence that the airline industry is flying through one of its toughest summers ever. The other four large U.S. hub-and-spoke carriers -- Delta Air Lines Inc., UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. -- also are expected to announce second-quarter losses when they report next week. Read more

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United is not alone, of course, in feeling the pinch from and lack of control over credit card fees. Even federal agencies haven’t been able to negotiate lower fees from the banking kingmakers of plastic. (Note: the story below inaccurately says that United “last month” began passing along its fees to some travel agencies. Actually, the initiative is slated to begin July 20.)

New York Times: Card Fees Pit Retailers Against Banks: The most profitable item at Patricia Orzano’s 7-Eleven store on Long Island is coffee. Slurpees are a distant second.

But as more customers use plastic to pay for even small purchases like these, she has watched a growing share of her revenue vanish in a stream of credit and debit card fees that retailers say raise the price of goods and sharply lift the cost of doing business. Read more

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AirTran claims it’s the first carrier to install Wi-Fi throughout its fleet, and it offers tips about onboard-surfing protocol. I can’t wait until airlines allow passengers to use their cellphones during flights, and I’m looking forward to those yakety-yak-yak do’s and don’ts, too.

Yapta: AirTran the First to Establish "Internetiquette": AirTran Airways announced on Tuesday that it’s the first airline to equip its entire fleet (136 aircraft) with Wi-Fi. The cost for access is $9.95 for flights under three hours, $12.95 for flights longer than that and $7.95 for Blackberry/iPhone access. Read more

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Kayak, Airfarewatchdog.com, Hotwire and Yapta good, says Consumer Reports. Expedia and Orbitz price guarantees, not so much.

Consumer Reports: Travel Price Guarantees Come Up Short: Whether it's for a hotel, a cruise, or the fare to get you there, many travel sites offer a "best price guarantee," and will "refund you the difference" to match any lower price you can find. Some sites, such as Delta, will also throw in a travel voucher for up to $100. Read more

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Arthur Frommer looks askance at cruising. After all, it’s not “travel,” he sniffs.

TravelMole: Cruising? That's not traveling:
Don’t get him wrong. Arthur Frommer likes cruises but “travel, it’s not.” Read more

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Travel InsideOut is a Dennis Schaal Blog daily feature. Get a thorough-going look at the day's travel industry top and tangentially interesting stories. Feel free to comment on them below.

Travel InsideOut is Copyright (c) 2009 by Dennis Schaal. All rights reserved.

In Block-ade-Buster Move, Orbitz Launches 'Open Cuba' Campaign

Orbitz is offering a $100 coupon toward a four-night vacation package to Cuba and the online travel agency's Away.com brand is featuring a Cuba Travel Guide, with tips about exploring Old Havana and the Afro-Cuban heritage in Santiago de Cuba.

Imagine that.

It's all part of a petition campaign and website that Orbitz is officially launching tomorrow that calls on Congress and the Obama administration to end the 50-year-old Cuba travel ban. The petition reads:

"We call on you to reverse our failed policy of isolation and end the 50-year ban on travel to Cuba in the United States. We believe that every American should have the freedom to travel to any country in the world, including Cuba, because the interaction between peoples from different countries is the single most powerful way to advance the causes of peace and prosperity."

In light of the Obama administration's steps to loosen travel to Cuba by Cuban families, I heartily endorse the effort.

Americans should have the right to travel anywhere, and I give credit to Orbitz for taking the bold step to take a leadership position in the travel industry on this issue.

Orbitz and market-research firm Ipsos released a poll in tandem with the campaign launch that shows that 67 percent of respondents would back a plan to allow travel agents to book Cuba travel and 63 percent supported allowing online travel agencies to do so, as well.

I believe this was a bold move by Orbitz because the OTA risks a boycott and a backlash.

And, it's also curious that the Interactive Travel Services Association, the trade group that represents major OTAs and global distribution systems (GDSs) like Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan and Amadeus, didn't lead or at least join in the effort.

Perhaps there is some dissension in ITSA about the move.

As much as I applaud Orbitz's Open Cuba campaign, I have to say that offering the $100 coupon for Cuba travel cheapens the effort.

Signers of the petition get emailed a promotion code, which is good toward a four-night Cuba air-hotel vacation package if you register on Orbitz.com and once the federal government approves travel to Cuba for the general public.

Orbitz officials plan on presenting the petition to U.S. officials in Washington, D.C., later this year, but the coupon offering opens Orbitz to charges that the petition signers may have been swayed by the discount.

At any rate, I hope other major travel companies and nontravel companies join the campaign.

It is not only a travel issue, but a human rights issue.

There is growing momentum toward lifting the Cuba travel ban and travel companies, including some airlines, are getting excited. AirTran Airways and Allegiant Air already are dusting off plans.

In the Orbitz-Ipsos poll, 72 percent of respondents said they believe restarting U.S.-to-Cuba travel would benefit the daily lives of the Cuban people.

Clearly, the boycott hasn't worked and only has served to cause greater suffering for the Cuban people.

Let's take this opportunity to push travel to Cuba and to put pressure on Raoul Castro to open up the society.