Month: July 2020

Viva Las remote office? Allegiant Air to pitch ‘work from Vegas’ travel packages to boost bookings

By 6 months ago

No-frills Allegiant Air unapologetically caters to vacationers, but the crushing coronavirus pandemic has it scouting a new type of traveler, too.

The Las Vegas-based airline in late August plans to start peddling work-from-Las Vegas travel packages, including nonstop airline tickets and a hotel room. The pitch: Fly, stay, work and play.

“We’re working with a top Las Vegas casino resort operator to capture opportunities presented by the rise in remote working,” Scott DeAngelo, the airline’s chief marketing officer, teased on the airline’s earnings call Wednesday. “The business traveler paying on the corporate card is now giving way to the individual travelers paying their own way to work remote,  but away from home.”

The targets: professionals in larger cities Allegiant serves, including Oakland, California; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Rockford, Illinois, outside Chicago; and even close-by Phoenix, DeAngelo said in an interview with USA TODAY.

Allegiant is hoping you'll hop a plane for a new remote-work experience.
Allegiant is hoping you’ll hop a plane for a
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The UK has finally embraced a Continental approach to leisure

By 6 months ago
Margate does a good impression of Mykonos - getty
Margate does a good impression of Mykonos – getty

Al fresco dining, table service, beach bars? It’s about time

It’s a rather endearing British trait to use terms such as “French”, “Spanish” or “Italian” as glowing compliments. It’s a less endearing trait to use the word “foreign” as a disparaging sneer, but when we get specific – Nordic! Californian! Moroccan! – we mean it as the highest of accolades.

A nice breakfast terrace at a B&B in Suffolk? “Ooh, this is just like Tuscany!” Sleek, hygienic interiors and well-groomed staff at a boutique hotel in Birmingham? “This is all a bit Scandi, no?” Pavement seating outside a café in Margate? “I feel like I’m in Mykonos!”

This month, as hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and bars have reopened their doors post-lockdown, I’ve felt every inch the tourist in my adopted hometown of Margate. The streets are different to the ones I walked

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Vacation trips, easing of travel rules fuel hopes of business jet rebound

By 6 months ago

By Allison Lampert

MONTREAL (Reuters) – A pick-up in leisure trips and easing European travel restrictions are driving demand for business jet flights this summer, fueling cautious hopes for a rebound in an industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, executives and forecasters said.

Commercial and business aviation are both seeing improved domestic traffic this summer. But private flights, which carry smaller groups and promise wealthy passengers less risk of exposure to the coronavirus, have generally fared better than commercial airlines since the start of the pandemic.

U.S. business aviation traffic is down around 20% year to date through July 19 on an annual basis, compared to a decline in U.S. commercial airline traffic of 48% over the same period, according to FlightAware data.

Adam Twidell, chief executive at Private Fly, a global booking service for charter flights, said his company’s booking levels are around 80% of last year’s mark

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Dreaming about your next trip? You’re not alone, but this time it’s different

By 6 months ago

If you’ve already canceled your summer vacation, you’re probably dreaming about your next one. It’s OK. So are a lot of people.

Rob Hall is one of them. He skipped his family cruise to Italy this summer but is optimistic that the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak will be over by fall. He’s planning to fly to Maui for a few days in October – at least that’s his dream. 

“We so badly need to get away,” says Hall, a retired financial services manager from Walnut Creek, California.

He’s not the only one. A survey of travelers by Qtrip finds plenty of pent-up demand for travel. A surprising 40% of respondents are planning to travel this summer. Another 23% are waiting until the fall or winter, and 7% are holding off until spring. (And the remaining 30% say they don’t have a clue when they’ll travel again.) 

“We

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