Travel Show 4: A Bogus $17 Million

Posted by Patrick Wiscombe on May 24, 2010 under Travel Show Podcasts | Be the First to Comment

In this edition of the Travel Show, we talked about:

A bogus $17 million
Volcanic ash travel disruptions
Frequent flyer accounting
JetBlue announces new service
Yellowstone open for business

The head of a Nevada company that manages business travel for major corporations has admitted she booked bogus trips to net herself $17 million. The money was used to purchase a Florida apartment and a stake in a California sandwich shop chain. She acknowledged she got American Express to pay her for sham travel she booked for a client for more than three years. As a corporate travel agent, she charged the phony trips to dormant American Express accounts in the client’s name, then pocketed the money when the credit card giant paid her as the travel vendor. To keep the scheme going, she posed as one of her client’s employees to authorize and answer questions about the expenses. Most of the proceeds went to developing some travel software, but also gave her husband $2.4 million to invest in a sandwich chain and bought a $475,000 apartment in St. Petersburg, Fla.. There was no indication her husband knew about the travel scam. She ultimately ran up $35 million in bills and various fees, fraud that wasn’t discoved for years because it was a fraction of the client’s total travel bills.

Three of Europe’s busiest airports have reopened after more volcanic ash from Iceland’s volcano finally dissipated and a no-fly zone was lifted. Up to 1,000 flights in Europe were affected by the closures. Those flying were told it could take a while for the backlog of flights to get started again and were adviced to contact their airlines before going to the airport.

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PODCAST SPONSOR: The Travel Show with Patrick Wiscombe is sponsored by GetAwayToday.com. Get an extra $10 off your Disneyland Resort vacation just for using promotion code CASTLE at checkout.

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United Airlines is getting a $64 million revenue boost from frequent fliers that will probably stay home and not use the miles. United said that it has changed the way it estimates how many frequent flier miles will expire and said announced in January 2007 that frequent flier miles in inactive accounts would expire after 18 months. When someone flies on United, the airline books some of the revenue and defers some of it into the future, to account for frequent flier miles that will eventually be ticketed. Now, it’s going to book more of that revenue right away.

JetBlue will offer nonstop service from Boston to Phoenix beginning in September and is offering introductory fares starting at $99 one-way for travel on the new nonstop route.

Delta Air Lines is going to waive the fee for the first piece of luggage checked for most people who carry its frequent flier credit card. Starting June 1, Delta said it will waive the $25 each-way fee for up to nine people on the same reservation. Delta collected $215 million from baggage fees alone in the first quarter. American Express declined to say whether the company is paying Delta to give up the first-bag fee for people who carry its card. The change applies to people who hold business or consumer versions of American Express Gold, Platinum, and Reserve SkyMiles cards.

Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone National Park is scheduled to open for the season. At nearly 8,900 feet, it is the highest elevation roadway in Yellowstone. Once the pass opens, all park entrances and interior roads will be open for the season. Park officials warn that visitors should still be prepared for winter and spring weather conditions and say that snow tires may still be required on some roadways.

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Tags: travel news, travel podcast