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Welcome to the website of the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents, your source for the latest travel-industry news and information for agents and travelers in Arizona.

Published Airline Fares Must Now Include Taxes, Fees

New rules by the Department of Transportation took effect this week requiring airlines to disclose fees and taxes in published fares. “The rule really addresses a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Chris Mainz, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines. "There’s no justification for treating airlines any different than any other product you’d buy in America."Read more from Bloomberg…

Travel Law Experts Detail Effect of New DOT Rules on Industry

ASTA and a travel law expert laid out the new consumer-protection rules rolled out by the Department of Transportation and how the travel-agency industry should expect these regulations to affect its operations. The changes include wider baggage fee disclosure rules on airline and travel agent websites, an all-in advertising rule on travel prices, and a ban on increasing flight prices after final payment.Read more from TravelMarketReport.com…

US Airways is Considering Merger, CEO Says

US Airways confirms that it is looking into a merger with American Airlines. “We can now decide whether it’s best to operate as a standalone or to participate in further consolidation over time, and that’s what we intend to do,” said US Airways CEO Doug Parker. A spokesman for AMR Corp., parent company of American Airlines, said the company is “laser focused” on emerging from bankruptcy, but declined to comment on US Airways’ interest. Meanwhile, American Airlines asked three of its unions to meet to discuss the bankruptcy and a union official said the carrier could boost its presence in Miami after AMR emerges from bankruptcy.Read more from ASTA SmartBrief…

Educational Happy Hour

Join us for Sky Harbor Night - Thursday Evening, February 24, 2011
It has been a few years since we had the pleasure of hosting a General Membership meeting with Sky Harbor Airport as our theme. Join us for a free Educational Happy Hour on February 24, 2011. Your Arizona ASTA Chapter is pleased to have Deborah Ostreicher, Deputy Aviation Director Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as well as Julie Mahaffey Augeri, Stakeholder Manager for TSA in Phoenix and Northern Arizona. Both will discuss current and future plans for Sky Harbor. We encourage your participation. Learn what changes are coming.Read more…

Southwest Restructures Rapid Rewards Program

Southwest Airlines launched its Rapid Rewards program for frequent fliers almost 24 years ago and is now making the first major update to the program. The airline is enhancing the rewards for passengers who pay more for their airline tickets. “We just know that relative to the size of airline we are, we ought to be garnering more frequent fliers,” said Ryan Green, an official at Southwest. "We think there were structural things about the old program that kept us from getting our fair share. Part of the impetus in designing this new program was to remove some of those barriers so we can get our fair share."Read more from The Dallas Morning News…