Globe Merchant Travel Blog

Each Way From To

$109 Los Angeles, CA Hermosillo, Mexico
$112 Washington, DC (DCA) Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
$139 Las Vegas, NV Hermosillo, Mexico
$161 Cleveland, OH Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
$195 Charlotte, NC Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
$216 Chicago, IL (ORD) London, United Kingdom (LHR)
$217 Philadelphia, PA London, United Kingdom (LHR)
$221 Indianapolis, IN London, United Kingdom (LHR)
$241 Phoenix, AZ Hermosillo, Mexico
$249 Atlanta, GA London, United Kingdom (LHR)

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Purchase Ticket By Monday, March 24, 2008.
Travel Complete Travel to/from London (Heathrow) is valid from March 21, 2008 – April 30, 2008. Travel to/from Hermosillo and Punta Cana is valid from March 18, 2008 – April 30, 2008.
Advance Purchase A 3-day advance purchase is required for travel to Europe.
Minimum/Maximum Stay No minimum stay; 30-day maximum stay.
Cabin Coach.
Travel On All or part of service may be on (1) US Airways, (2) regional or jet aircraft operated by US Airways Express carriers Air Midwest, Air Wisconsin, Chautauqua, Colgan, Mesa, Piedmont, PSA, Republic Airways, Trans States, (3) regional or jet aircraft operated by Mesa Airlines, (4) United Airlines®, (5) Bahamasair, (6) Windward Islands Airways International, (7) Lufthansa, (8) Spanair, or (9) bmi.
Blackout Dates Blackouts apply from April 16, 2008 – April 22, 2008 for travel to/from London, Hermosillo and Punta Cana.
Other The number of seats available for this sale is limited. All fares are subject to change until purchased.
Ticket Refundability Tickets are non-refundable.
Itinerary Changes Changes to this reservation are subject to a $100 minimum change fee per passenger for travel to/from the Caribbean and Mexico. A $200 minimum change fee per passenger applies for travel to/from Europe.
Routing Select markets may require nonstop routing.
Roundtrip Travel Required Yes.
Other Discount This is a discounted fare and may not be combinable with any other discounts. Travel vouchers, future travel awards or airchecks may not be used as a form of payment online.
Security Fee A September 11th security fee of $2.50 per flight segment will apply. A flight segment is defined as one take-off and landing.
Passenger Charge PFCs – Local airports assess PFCs up to $18 per passenger.
International Taxes Fares do not include international taxes and fees up to $100.
Purchase Through usairways.com, telephone reservations, or US Airways airport or city ticket offices. Tickets purchased through US Airways telephone reservations (800-622-1015) are $35 higher. Tickets purchased at US Airways airports or city ticket offices are $45 higher. Fares purchased through travel agents may incur additional fees..

More International USAir e-savers……

A debate on pension reforms began in parliament yesterday, with the proposed changes already having triggered widespread strikes and the government hoping that the passage of the bill this week will mitigate protest action.

”We are moving ahead with a major reform and footing the political cost,” Labour Minister Fani Palli-Petralia told parliament late yesterday.

Workers from different occupational groups, both in the private and public sector, have been walking off the job in strike action in protest against reforms the government says are needed to help ensure the long-term viability of the system.

Unions have opposed the bill, saying it threatens their pension rights.

Protest action picks up today and will continue tomorrow in a general strike that is expected to bring the country to a halt.

A number of senior government sources hope the passage of the bill, scheduled for Thursday, will lead to an easing of protest action.

However, opposition parties Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) and Communist Party of Greece (KKE)

called on the government yesterday to withdraw the bill and told workers they should continue their fight even after Thursday’s vote on the draft law.

“If the bill is not withdrawn, then we will fight for the withdrawl of (Prime Minister Costas) Karamanlis and the New Democracy government,” said former SYRIZA leader Alekos Alavanos after meeting with union leaders.

The strongly opposed reforms include the merging of funds and increasing the pension age for certain groups of workers.

The bill also introduces incentives to discourage employees from opting for early retirement.

The changes will gradually be implemented as of 2009 and in the case of private sector workers will be applicable only to those who began their insured working life after 1992.

The government, however, has not made public any details on the size of savings that will accrue from the reforms.

Meanwhile, some streets in the center of the capital were cleared of massive piles of rubbish yesterday as some municipal workers continued to collect trash after ending their strike action on Friday.

Authorities estimate it will take between seven to ten days to clean up the garbage which had been gathering on Athens streets for more than a week, posing a serious threat to public health.

Members of the municipal workers’ union that have refused to go back to work stormed the offices of the Athens city council yesterday and staged a sit-in protest, resulting in the cancellation of the council board meeting.

“Whoever wants to strike should strike, however, no one should block the path to lawful labor,” said Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis, referring to attempts by municipal employees to prevent garbage collectors from returning to work.

Strike agenda today and tomorrow

Protest action by workers opposing pension reforms will start today ahead of tomorrow’s general strike.

Around one million commuters will be forced to seek an alternative means of transport today as the metro and Athens-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) will not be operating for 24 hours.

Other forms of public transport will operate as normal, with the exception of the Proastiakos suburban railway, whose employees will hold rolling two-hour work stoppages until Thursday.

Tomorrow, however, is the main strike which is expected to bring the country to a halt.

Apart from workers of public and private sector union groups GSEE and ADEDY walking off the job for 24 hours, almost all forms of public transport will shut down.

Bus and tram employees will be on strike while the metro and ISAP will only operate between 10 a.m and 3 p.m to help demonstrators get to central Athens.

Power cuts are expected to continue as Public Power Corporation employees strike, and rubbish collection services will continue to be disrupted.

Planes are expected to be grounded with Olympic Airlines operating only one flight per destination. Aegean Airlines will cancel 23 flights and change the time for another 28.

Other groups striking include journalists, doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, teachers and bank employees. Gasoline stations will also be closed for the day.

nternational Weekend Getaway Fares

Travel Dates & Times for Weekend Getaway Fares
Depart anytime between Tuesday, March 25, 2008, and Friday, March 28, 2008.
Return anytime between Monday, March 31, 2008, and Wednesday, April 2, 2008.
Tickets must be purchased by this Sunday, March 23, 2008, 11:59 p.m. (CT).
Fares displayed are for round-trip coach class travel.

From/To/One Way Fare

Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) – London Heathrow, UK (LHR) $420
Chicago O’Hare, IL (ORD) – Paris De Gaulle, France (CDG) $766
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) – Leon, Mexico (BJX) $345
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) – San Luis Potosi, Mexico (SLP) $345
Miami, FL (MIA) – Guatemala City, Guatemala (GUA) $358
Miami, FL (MIA) – Managua, Nicaragua (MGA) $358
Miami, FL (MIA) – Panama City, Panama (PTY) $358
Miami, FL (MIA) – San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) $358
Miami, FL (MIA) – San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP) $358
New York Kennedy, NY (JFK) – Brussels, Belgium (BRU) $511

Additional Fees and
Restrictions May Apply

Visit www.aa.com/netsaaver for additional fare offers for this weekend and other travel dates.

ATHENS, Greece – Striking Greek garbage collectors pelted riot police with trash on Wednesday during labor protests that disrupted flights and caused continued power outages across the country.

The scuffles took place outside the Labor Ministry in Athens as 5,000 demonstrators marched to Parliament in the latest of a string of protests against a planned overhaul of the country’s debt-ridden pension system.

No injuries or arrests were reported.

Passing the unpopular reforms has proved the first major test for the governing conservatives since their re-election by a narrow margin six months ago.

A weeklong strike by municipal workers has left thousands of tons of uncollected trash on streets throughout Athens.

The country’s largest labor union, GSEE, called a three-hour work stoppage Wednesday to coincide with a debate on the reforms by lawmakers at committee level.

Public transport in the capital was halted and state carrier Olympic Airways canceled 14 flights and rescheduled at least a dozen more. Several other airlines also rescheduled flights.

Lawyers, doctors, teachers and civil engineers are also on strike to protest the draft pension reforms, and GSEE and civil servants’ unions have called a 24-hour nationwide strike for March 19.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis’ government says the state-guaranteed pension system could collapse within years without reforms.

The conservatives, who hold a one-seat majority in Greece’s 300-seat parliament, want to merge pension funds and cut early retirement benefits, insisting the proposed adjustments are relatively mild.

Greece’s ailing state carrier Olympic Airlines said yesterday it will lease two Boeing 737-400 planes ahead of the busy summer season to replace two other aircraft. “The agreement with (US-based firm Sundown Alexandria) foresees the leasing of two aircraft for 24 months for a monthly fee of $209,000 each,” Olympic said in a statement. It said it was also extending the dry lease (a lease without insurance, crew or maintenance) of another Boeing 737-400 for an additional four years. “The search for the lease of more aircraft is ongoing as we seek to better cover the needs of our summer schedule,” it said. (Reuters)

Boston in April From $199

Chicago O’Hare in April From $239

Los Angeles April from $239 May From $279

New York JFK in April from $199 in May from $269

San Francisco in April from $239 in May from $279

Washington Dulles in April From $199

Click here for more info…..

Flights from Athens delayed due to shortage of seasonal staff at airline

Hundreds of passengers suffered as several Olympic Airlines (OA) flights from Athens were severely delayed yesterday due to an apparent lack of seasonal staff who supplement the full-time flight attendants. OA employs some 700 stewards and stewardesses and 150 seasonal attendants under normal circumstances. However, there are currently as few as 30 seasonal staff employed by OA as the contracts of the other attendants have not been renewed. OA has said it will take on more in-flight personnel but they are not likely to be in place until June.