- Courtesy of The Lawyers' Travel Service January 19, 2011 In This Issue...
	U.S. AIPORTS MAY SOON TEST BODY SCANNER WITH PRIVACY UPGRADE
	AVIS BUDGET TEAMING WITH INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS
	AIRLINES EXPECT TO CAP PROFITABLE YEAR WITH A STRONG FOURTH QUARTER
	ON THE PHONE, INTERFERING WITH FLIGHT SAFETY
	NBTA: PREMIUM BOOKINGS FUEL PROJECTED 2011 BUSINESS TRAVEL SPENDING JUMP
	THE LAWYERS' TRAVEL SERIVCE PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS PROGRAM
	- HYATT REGENCY LA JOLLA, La Jolla
	- HYATT REGENCY SAN FRANCISCO, San Francisco
	- ROCCO FORTE HOTEL DE RUSSIE, Rome
	- ROSEWOOD SAND HILL, Menlo Park
	- TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER NEW YORK, New York City

U.S. AIPORTS MAY SOON TEST BODY SCANNER WITH PRIVACY UPGRADE
(Source: BusinessWeek)

U.S. airport full-body scanners that show a generic figure rather than actual images of passenger body parts may be deployed to some airports for tests this year, said the transportation security chief.

John Pistole, who leads the Transportation Security Administration, said he reviewed testing of the upgraded machines and progress is being made. The agency may make decisions on further deployments based on the results of live testing in airports this year, he said.

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and OSI Systems Inc.'s Rapiscan, which make the scanners for U.S. airports, delivered software upgrades to the agency last year that display an avatar and a box alerting authorities to potential threats. The scanners would eliminate the need for the agency to keep an employee in a remote room viewing images of passengers.

Full deployment of the upgraded machines would "completely address the privacy, the modesty issue" that has sparked complaints about the current devices, he said in a speech to a law group in Washington.

The 1,000 scanners due at airports by the end of this year will put them at more than half the security lanes at major U.S. airports.

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AVIS BUDGET TEAMING WITH INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS
(Source: MSNBC.com)

Avis Budget Group Inc. and InterContinental Hotels Group PLC said they are teaming up to give InterContinental's Priority Club Rewards members discounts on rental cars.

Priority Club Rewards members can save up to 25 percent on Avis rentals and up to 20 percent on Budget rentals.

The two companies also said their new partnership agreement will allow those rewards members to earn 125 points per rental day when they rent vehicles from Avis Rent A Car and Budget Rent A Car locations.

Thomas M. Gartland, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer care for Avis Budget Group, said in a statement that teaming with companies that have loyalty and rewards programs "has proven to drive incremental bookings and revenue for us."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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AIRLINES EXPECT TO CAP PROFITABLE YEAR WITH A STRONG FOURTH QUARTER
(Source: USA TODAY)

U.S. airlines will begin reporting their fourth quarter and full-year-2010 results this week. Most of the major U.S. airlines will report a profit for the fourth quarter of 2010, capping a turnaround year for the industry. Wall Street expects more improvement this year, even with fuel prices rising and millions of would-be travelers still out of work.

Delta Air Lines is expected to report its third consecutive quarterly profit and a full-year net income above $1 billion when it kicks off the earnings season on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines, United Continental Holdings and US Airways Group are also expected to post profits for the quarter and year. American Airlines parent AMR Corp., however, will likely be in the red, although both the quarterly and full-year losses should be about a third of those reported a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimate that the top five airlines earned a combined $3.44 billion this year, excluding special gains and charges. On that basis, losses totaled $4.36 billion in 2009, when United and Continental were still separate carriers. This year, adjusted profit for the top five is expected to rise to $4.68 billion.

The airlines have limited the number of seats for sale, allowing them to push up fares. They've all benefited from improved demand, especially for business travel. Fuel prices were stable for most of last year.

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ON THE PHONE, INTERFERING WITH FLIGHT SAFETY
(Source: The New York Times)

The announcement over the plane's speaker seems as much a part of the routine before takeoff as the demonstration of how to buckle a seat belt: Please turn off all electronic devices.

But some passengers invariably ignore the request, perhaps thinking that their iPods or e-books do not count. And really, does it matter if the devices are left on?

The answer, it turns out, is that sometimes it may.

"It's a good news-bad news thing," said David Carson, an engineer with Boeing. Electronic devices do not cause problems in every case, he said. "And that's good," he said. "It's bad in that people assume it never will."

Passengers are taking an increasing array of devices on board planes — cellphones, tablets, GPS units and more. Many of these devices transmit a signal, and all of them emit electromagnetic waves, which, in theory, could interfere with the plane's electronics. At the same time, older planes might not have the best shielding against the latest generation of devices, some engineers said.

Since 2000, there have been at least 10 voluntary reports filed by pilots in the United States with the Aviation Safety Reporting System, administered by NASA. In 2007, one pilot recounted an instance when the navigational equipment on his Boeing 737 had failed after takeoff. A flight attendant told a passenger to turn off a hand-held GPS device and the problem on the flight deck went away.

The Federal Aviation Administration says there are risks associated with electromagnetic interference and prohibits the use of electronics below 10,000 feet because pilots have less time at lower altitudes to deal with a problem. It is up to each airline to set the policy at higher altitudes. "There's not enough evidence to warrant a change," said Les Dorr, a spokesman for the agency.

There are many reasons that passengers do not comply with the restrictions. Mr. Carson of Boeing cited one. "Devices blur the distinction. P.D.A.'s that are cellphones, cellphones that play music. In the mind of the nominal consumer, it is hard to know what the device is actually doing."

Airline executives say that for the moment, they do not plan to create more restrictive policies. "We're accommodating the wishes of our passengers," said Tom Hendricks, head of safety and operations for the Air Transport Association, the airlines' trade group. "They wish to use these devices."

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NBTA: PREMIUM BOOKINGS FUEL PROJECTED 2011 BUSINESS TRAVEL SPENDING JUMP
(source: Business Travel News)

Annual U.S. business travel spending should climb about 5 percent in 2011 and 6.4 percent in 2012, to $254.5 billion, according to a report issued by the NBTA Foundation. The foundation also projected that the number of business trips this year would surpass 2010 levels, which had fallen from 2009. NBTA determined that domestic business travel spending in 2010 rose 2.3 percent year over year to $227.9 billion, while price inflation was about 2.7 above 2009 levels. It projected smaller annual price inflation growth during each of the next two years.

NBTA predicted U.S. business travel trips would increase about 4 percent, to 113 million, between the fourth quarter 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2012; the report estimated that spending during that two-year period would increase 11.6 percent to $66 billion.

For last year, NBTA estimated a 4 percent year-over-year increase in the price spent per business trip. "We expect this trend to continue over the next two years as the price per trip is expected to grow by 2 percent and 6 percent for 2011 and 2012, respectively," NBTA predicted.

Although business travel inflation experienced "a sharp decline" between first-quarter 2008 and second-quarter 2009 "due to acute deflation in both airfare and lodging," airfares have recovered, as have hotel rates in "most" markets, according to NBTA. Travel prices in 2011 are expected to inch higher by 1 percent to 2 percent year over year, followed by growth of 2 percent to 4 percent in 2012.

International outbound trips in 2010 increased 2 percent compared with a sharp decline of 13 percent during 2009. Meanwhile, NBTA predicted international trips in 2011 and 2012 would increase 1.7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively. Similar to the domestic market, international spending in 2010 increased at a greater pace (17 percent to $29 billion) than trip volume. Moving forward, NBTA predicted international travel spending would grow 3.2 percent in 2011 and 9.5 percent in 2012.

Group trip volume dropped 17.5 percent, or 33.7 million trips, between 2007 and 2010, indicating that travel for meetings and conventions was "under siege for nearly three years." In 2010, group trips declined 0.8 percent year over year, following a 2009 annual loss of 11 percent, but NBTA projected group volume would grow 3.2 percent in 2011 and 2.6 in 2012. Group spending increased 5 percent in 2010, to $97.4 billion. For this year, NBTA forecast group spending to rise another 5.5 percent.

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THE LAWYERS' TRAVEL SERVICE PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS PROGRAM
HYATT REGENCY LA JOLLA
3777 La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla

Visit Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, 5 minutes from breathtaking beaches, unique boutiques, outstanding dining, famous golf courses and attractions. The hotel is approximately 20 minutes from Downtown San Diego and the San Diego Airport. Hyatt Regency La Jolla consistently ranks in the top 10 of Hyatt Hotels in Overall Guest Satisfaction.

The Aventine hosts four restaurants that work seamlessly to allow guests to bill back to individual guest rooms; Café Japengo, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Truluck's. In addition to Restaurant Row, guests can enjoy Barcino Grill and Michael's Lounge on property.

Hotel guests are welcome to visit the new Stay Fit Gym offering multiple cardio and weight machines. The Stay Fit Gym is open 24 hours a day and is complimentary for all hotel guests.

The Lawyers' Travel Service Preferred Hotel Partners Program rate at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla is $189 (compared to corporate rate of $219).*

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THE LAWYERS' TRAVEL SERVICE PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS PROGRAM
HYATT REGENCY SAN FRANCISCO
5 Embarcadero Center
San Francisco

Luxury and location converge in perfect balance at Hyatt Regency San Francisco.

This Four Diamond hotel is located in the Financial District with a unique waterfront setting on the fabulous Embarcadero and offers easy access to all transportation options including BART, Muni & the famous California Street Cable Car line.

Room service is available from 6:30am – 10:30pm. Eclipse Restaurant serves Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner and is open daily from 6am – 10pm. All rooms feature City or Bay views with floor to ceiling glass windows that open to allow fresh air. The fitness center has just been renovated, expanded and features brand new equipment.

Guests will enjoy immediate access to the Financial District and the city's most famous attractions, restaurants and nightlife. Guests will find the historic Ferry Building on one side of the hotel, the ferry to Alcatraz and the Bay on the other, and stunning views all around.

With so many options, guests may choose to wander through Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf, shop in Union Square or board the cable cars for a riding tour of the city. Hyatt Regency San Francisco invites guests to stay with them on their next visit to San Francisco.

The Lawyers' Travel Service Preferred Hotel Partners Program rate at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco is $219 (compared to corporate rate of $269), including complimentary wireless high speed internet access, and local & 800# telephone calls.*

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THE LAWYERS' TRAVEL SERVICE PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS PROGRAM
ROCCO FORTE HOTEL DE RUSSIE
Via del Babuino 9
Rome

Often described as one of the most romantic settings in Rome, the unique atmosphere of the Hotel de Russie makes it the perfect rendezvous for a totally unforgettable stay.

Enjoy the hotel's signature breakfast at the renowned Le Jardin de Russie Restaurant or in the privacy of one's room.

On St. Valentine's weekend evenings, guests will enjoy a romantic dinner at Le Jardin de Russie Restaurant, giving them the chance to treat one's self to a tempting menu inspired by local specialties and seasonal ingredients.

The following benefits will be extended: - Luxury Accommodation in a beautifully appointed room
- Buffet breakfast served at Le Jardin de Russie Restaurant or Continental Breakfast served in the privacy of one's room
- Personalized heart shaped chocolate cake
- Special welcome gift
- 'Il Papiro' exclusive St. Valentine writing paper
- Il Papiro personal Card
- (special discount of 10% on any purchase)
- One romantic dinner at Le Jardin de Russie Restaurant (beverage not included)
- Two entrance tickets to Palazzo Farnese
- Upgrade to the next room category subject to the availability at the reservation's stage
- A special map tailor made by the hotel's concierge, featuring the most romantic spots of the city

Rates for the above Heart & Art Package are as follows:
Classic Double room €544
Deluxe Double room €654
Junior Suite €1038

Heart & Art Package
Valid from the February 12-14 2011
Minimum length of stay of 2 nights

Above rates are per room, per night, 10% VAT and city tax (per day) not included.

The Lawyers' Travel Service Preferred Hotel Partners Program negotiated rate at the Rocco Forte Hotel de Russie is €322, amenities listed above in the Heart & Art Package not included (compared to corporate rate of €414).*

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THE LAWYERS' TRAVEL SERVICE PREFERRED HOTEL PARTNERS PROGRAM
ROSEWOOD SAND HILL
2825 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park