In a major turnaround, Ryanair has agreed to have its fares published on Kayak.com and some other European airfare sites. This brings Ryanair fares to the same screens as other major airlines in Europe.
The airline has steadfastly refused to work with intermediaries since its inception as a web-based booking airline, with much of its chief executive Michael O’Leary’s ire aimed at traditional offline retail travel agents – inevitably angering almost the entire travel trade community in the UK.
The move to work with Kayak signifies either that the airline has established new or improved XML systems from its website or has chosen to partner with the US-based engine purely for commercial reasons.It also recently started working with Travelzoo’s Fly.com metasearch engine with content.
Carl Icahn set to win Fontainebleau Hotel in Vegas
After two other competing bidders were disqualified by the courts, it seems that Carl Icahn will win control of the property for a bargain price.
Icahn’s November offer of $156.5 million, including financing during the Chapter 11 case, set the minimum for others to beat. The 63-story Fontainebleau, about 70 percent complete at a cost of $2 billion when it filed for bankruptcy in June, sits on about 27 acres at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. It will cost about $1.5 billion to finish, former bidder Penn National Gaming has estimated.
Although two rival offers for the project were received, “the examiner has determined that the submissions are not qualified,” Eve Karasik, attorney for the Chapter 11 examiner, said in court papers, without identifying the bidders.
California high-speed rail line worth $42.6 billion?
Citizens got their first look at plans for a high-speed rail corridor running from Anaheim to San Francisco. They had plenty of questions such as, noise, neighborhood impact, vibrations and eminent domain.
The California Rail Authority, a nine-member board chaired by Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, is proposing building an 800-mile-long rail line that would transport passengers at 110 mph from Anaheim to San Francisco in about three hours.
The overall cost is estimated at $42.6 billion and would be funded through private and public money, including federal and state funds and bonds.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
