“seems really, dare I say it, stupid,”

American Airlines new $15.00 checked bag fee has caught the media's attention. This New York Times article predicts, and we believe rightly so, "it is also likely to make the fight for already-tight space on planes more fierce, as passengers try to stuff more carry-on luggage into overhead bins."

Or as one reader comments "it's not the fee that bothers me. ... It's the free-for-all fight that's going to break out when people start bringing on huge carry-on bags."

It is important to note that Southwest does not have plans to follow American's check bag fee.

Southwest’s Linda Rutherford comments "punitive fees don’t fly with us, so what you heard are just rumors. We are NOT thinking of gouging our Customers with such a fee to check a bag.”

Checking in our favorite destination finds things are not doing so well

Is it possible? Once considered recession proof, Las Vegas, finds that it is not immune to the problems in the economy. According to Newsweek....the economy of which was once thought to be impervious to the economic swings suffered by the rest of the country. Not anymore. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Las Vegas has seen gambling revenues fall only once since 1970: in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks they dropped 1 percent in 2002 from 2001. So far this year they've fallen 4 percent, the number of conventions held has dropped 10.4 percent, and average daily room rates were off 3.8 percent in the first two months of 2008, according to the most recent data available. Visitor volume was up 1.2 percent through February, but market analysts say that's because of the extra day provided by this being a leap year; March's figures will likely put the year-to-date numbers in negative territory. Read more by clicking the above link.

“I hate you, and I tell everybody I hate you,” he says. “You could not pay me to get on your airline if I didn’t have to...."

True customer loyalty is defined by long-term trust that a company anticipates a customer’s needs, says James T. Kane in this New York Time's Travel Bug column. “The airlines keep trying to change your behavior rather than changing theirs,” he said. “When an airline makes a big mistake, they want to give me more miles. They don’t understand: I really don’t want to get on your plane under the conditions you’re subjecting me to. Give me good service instead.”

Slot Machines With Joysticks

In an attempt to attract younger players, the New York Times reports the venerable slot machine is undergoing a generational shift.

“We’re talking about a different vernacular, a whole different machine,” Whipsaw’s president, Dan Harden, said. His ultimate challenge, Mr. Harden said, is to redesign the machines that power the gambling industry to appeal not just to the “Cadillac generation” but to the
“ BMW generation” as well.

What is very interesting is the admission by industry experts that perhaps their current business model of attracting to a younger demographic might not be best for their bottom line.

For example, “Younger players come to town to party,” said George Maloof Jr., president of the Palms Casino Resort, a popular Las Vegas hangout for people under 40. “They drink, they go to nightclubs, they go to the after-hours clubs, they check out the pool for the scene there. Gambling in general is not high on their agenda.”

The problem is however "gambling, particularly playing the slots, still pays the bills." What is even worse is the fact that the younger gambler trend toward the less profitable table games, not the higher profit slot machines.

We have previously written about the lack of middle of the road medium price casinos on the strip. All the newer high end casinos, just built, or are being built, are geared toward this unprofitable demographic. Casinos that attract the primary slot machine player that drives the casino profits are being ignored.

“With all the growth going on, every casino has to bring in new players or we’ll see a drop in everyone’s market share,” said Frank Legato, managing editor of Global Gaming Business, a trade journal. “It’s critical to keep bringing new players into casinos rather than recycle those who are already there.”

Most of the $1 billion-plus that the roughly one million slot machines in the United States take in on a typical day is paid to winners. But about 5 to 10 percent, depending on the casino and whether it is a penny, nickel, quarter or dollar machine, stays with the casino.

“The slot makers need to figure out how to develop these younger players,” Mr. Maloof said. “We need it for the bottom line.”

It seems that the push toward the "higher end night clubbing partying demographic" may prove to be just as unprofitable as the previous Las Vegas trend toward attracting the "family market."

link to Planet Travel's Las Vegas Connection with independent reviews of more than 50 Las Vegas hotels

Planet Travel's Las Vegas Connection Beta Up and Running

Looking for the best deal to Las Vegas...You found the right web site. Our new and updated Las Vegas Connection web site is up and running. Take a look. It is part of our major upgrades to all our Planet Travel web sites. The internet travel business is huge. We are just a little fish in a very giant pond. We are proud of the time and effort our team put into making this little fish a great source to plan your next Las Vegas vacation. Watch for more upgrades in the next few weeks.

Govt. Overcharges for New US Passports

From the Associated Press

"Americans have been quietly gouged since 2002. The report they initiated showed the costs incurred by the State Department and the U.S. Postal Service, for accepting passport applications, were considerably less than the fee charged."

"It's the combination of excessive fees plus the long wait that's most galling to passengers," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "It's just another way the federal government has ill-served passengers. Airline passengers are taxed and fee'd more than any other group. To see that we're being gouged on top of that is most irritating."

Happy Returns for Travel Agents

From the New York Times

(Click the above link to read the entire article)

Gene Luntz, an artist's representative in Manhattan who flies six to eight times a year for work, is one of the converts.

After years of booking his travel online, through Web sites like Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia and Priceline.com, he has gone back to using a travel agent.

Yes, they still exist, those people who until the mid-1990s booked about 75 percent of airline tickets and had as much power as God but then seemed at risk of extinction. In fact, many travel agents -- or travel specialists, as they are now known -- say they have seen an increase in business in the last year or so.

One big reason, they say, is that travelers say they do not have the time or energy to scour the Internet for the best deals. And they crave a personal touch that a disembodied voice in a call center cannot provide. Many of the returning customers offer variations of the tale Mr. Luntz, 60, told.

About two years ago, he said, he bought plane tickets on Priceline.com. The day before he was to leave, he caught a vicious cold. He spent hours on the phone, he said, trying to find someone to help him change his flight. But he was unsuccessful and ended up throwing the tickets away. ''Going to the Internet is an absolute nightmare,'' Mr. Luntz said.

That is when he called his former travel agent at the Tzell Travel Group in Manhattan. ''She's available for phone calls. She returns calls,'' he said. ''They take really good care of me, despite the fact that I'm not General Motors. The most amazing thing is that for the price of a Starbucks coffee for my girlfriend and me, I have someone on the other end that can help me, as opposed to a Web site that can give me no response.''