Procurement.travel - The Source for Managed Travel Insight

August 3, 2010

Mexicana filed for insolvency proceedings in Mexico and bankruptcy protection in the United States, but said it would "continue to render services normally while it restructures its liabilities and brings its costs into line with market conditions." The airline said it made "minor adjustments to its international flight schedules," including frequency cuts and some service suspension. Several nonstop routes to the United States have been replaced with connecting service through Mexico City. In an unrelated development, the airline also no longer can carry the code of partner American Airlines, following a decision by U.S. regulators related to Mexico's civil aviation authority.

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August 3, 2010

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reported second quarter net income of $42.3 million, up from $12.4 million a year earlier. Rental days dropped 0.5 percent year over year and average revenue per day rose 0.8 percent. "We are on track to make 2010 the most profitable year in the history of the company," according to CEO Scott Thompson, who noted "pricing improvement in a more challenging and competitive pricing environment."

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July 30, 2010

British Airways posted a pre-tax loss of £164 million (US$247 million) for the three months ended June 30, up from £148 million (US$223 million) a year earlier. The carrier attributed a £250 million impact from "all disruptions" during the quarter, notably airspace closures due to volcanic ash and cabin crew strikes.

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July 29, 2010

GDS hotel bookings in June jumped 23.5 percent year over year and average daily rate grew 6.3 percent, according to Pegasus Solutions. In North America, hotel ADRs for bookings in global distribution systems increased 3.3 percent. The 7.5 percent growth outside North America represented "the highest ADR growth year-to-date," according to Pegasus. "Increasing demand witnessed by healthy booking volumes indicates there is yet more room to raise rates and realize additional revenue potential."

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July 29, 2010

Southwest Airlines grew second-quarter net profit to $112 million from $91 million a year earlier. Excluding special items, net income more than tripled to $216 million, representing the "second-best" second quarter in the company's history, according to CEO Gary Kelly. Traffic reached record levels, average fare increased 19 percent to $131.82 and passenger revenue jumped 21 percent to drive "another record revenue performance." Kelly noted that business travel, while "not fully recovered," has "strengthened." He partly attributed "a continuing and significant marketshare shift" to Southwest's no bag fees campaign, adding that "an all-time record load factor is possible for July. We see no signs that the [revenue] momentum will stall in second half 2010."

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July 29, 2010

Avis Budget Group proposed to purchase Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group for "a higher price" than an offer floated in April by Hertz Global Holdings. According to a letter from Avis Budget CEO Ronald Nelson to Dollar Thrifty's board of directors, the higher price combined with other more favorable terms make the Avis proposal "a superior one." According to a Dollar Thrifty statement, the company will review the deal. Dollar Thrifty already scheduled a Sept. 16 shareholder meeting to vote on the Hertz proposal.

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July 28, 2010

BostonCoach now offers a set of reports detailing total costs including fees, lost savings and other information. The ground transportation operator will provide to clients audits that identify "differences between quoted versus actual costs" for BostonCoach services; most frequent users and pick-up locations; "users who are incurring excessive stop-time and/or wait-time charges; and names of users who are excessively canceling rides but still incurring charges because cancellation policies were not met." According to BostonCoach CEO Larry Moulter, "many companies are spending upwards of 23 percent more than they expect for car service."

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July 28, 2010

Wyndham Worldwide reported second-quarter net income of $95 million, up from $71 million last year. Systemwide average daily rate dropped to $64.27 from $66.22 and occupancy increased 1.3 percentage points to 50.2 percent.

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