This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Global Air Traffic Plunged in April May 27, 2003 By JOE SHARKEY April was a cruel month for world air traffic, according to the International Air Transport Association. Preliminary figures show that global passenger traffic was off 18.5 percent over April 2002, the trade group said. Asia-Pacific airlines, hit hardest by the SARS panic, showed a 44.8 percent drop. The unprecedented combination of crises - the war in Iraq and the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic? has had a disastrous impact on the international transportation industry, in an order of magnitude approaching that of Sept. 11, 2001, Giovanni Bisignani, the group's director general, said in a statement. Singapore Airlines Offers Hot Bargains A fare sale of $99 each way on Singapore Airlines between New York airports and Frankfurt or Amsterdam seemed too good to be true. But a spot check of availability on the airline's Web site yesterday showed that at least some of Singapore's discounts were actually better than its fare sale announcement, issued on Sunday. For example, the price on the Web site was $89 each way for a flight from Newark on June 11 and returning from Amsterdam on June 23. One reason for the bargains: Singapore Air, badly battered by the SARS scare on its Pacific routes, is eager to expose trans-Atlantic customers to its highly regarded in-flight service. In e-mail Sunday to readers of his travel Web site, www.joesentme.com, Joe Brancatelli said Singapore's new promotional fares were the lowest he had ever seen offered to continental Europe. The fares, which will probably sell out quickly, do not include airport and security taxes ($85 round-trip on the Newark-Amsterdam itinerary, for example). Tickets must be bought before June 9 and the outbound trip has to be taken before July 1. There is no minimum-stay requirement, but there is a 30-day maximum stay. It's the Unthinkable: Lower Parking Fees Airport parking lot revenues have been off sharply since the 2001 terrorist attacks, and some airports are doing the unheard-of: lowering on-site parking fees. The latest is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, which cut in half its regular $10 daily charge for 4,100 long-term spaces in its underutilized Big Blue Deck parking center. The discount is available through Labor Day. Among other airports lowering parking fees recently are Burbank Airport in Los Angeles. And officials at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which reduced its 2002 fiscal year parking revenue projection to $80 million from $89.7 million, are debating whether to lower parking charges next month or wait until after summer. Besides the travel drop-off, airport parking revenues have been affected by aggressive new competition from private parking garages, and by federal security mandates shutting down spaces closest to terminals in many airports. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/27/business/27MEMO.html?ex=1055043825&ei=1&en=4bb11607fe23c631 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company