Tokyo is no longer the world's most expensive city for business travelers, according to Runzheimer International, a consulting group. That honor now belongs to Hong Kong, where daily expenses, including meals and a business-type hotel room, cost an average of $474 a day, vs. $440 in Tokyo. All of the cities in the Top 10 list are located abroad. New York City, although the most expensive U.S. city, is relatively cheap at $305 per day.
Business class improved
A number of U.S. airlines are improving their business class cabins. Delta Air Lines is adding laptop electrical outlets to 70 percent of its business class cabins (except for L-1011 aircraft). Leg room (the "pitch," or distance between one row of seats and the next) will increase from 40 or 45 inches to 50 inches. The carrier is adding individual video units to each seat so that you may watch what you like, when you like. Food will be upgraded, as will in-flight phone service and flight attendant training. Miles for investing Bull&Bear Securities, the discount brokerage firm, has teamed with American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program to offer miles to investors. Bull&Bear will award 200 miles for each trade (500 miles for your first trade), 1,000 miles for opening a new account and one mile for every $10 of asset value maintained in the account on an annual basis with a minimum asset level of $25,000. In addition, you'll get miles for asset transfers: beginning at 500 miles for transfers of $1,000-$100,000. For more information, call 800-285-5232. Cruise deal Radisson Seven Seas Cruises has joined Delta's frequent flyer program with some interesting benefits for travelers on select Panama Canal and Costa Rica cruises. If reservations are made by Sept. 15 for certain cruises sailing between December and April, the second passenger in a cabin gets 50 percent off, plus free economy airfare from select East Coast cities and a free two-night stay in San Jose, Costa Rica. You'll also get a bonus of 5,000 frequent flyer miles. Booking up You may find it a little harder getting a cabin on Carnival Cruise Lines in the coming months. Bookings are up over 42 percent compared to the year-earlier period, but capacity is only up about 13 percent. Perhaps one of the reasons is Carnival's vacation guarantee program, which they've extended through 1998. That program promises that if a passenger doesn't like their cruise, they can get off at the first non-U.S. port of call and get a refund for the unused portion of the cruise, plus airfare back to the point of embarkation. But most people seem to love their cruises, Carnival notes; less than one- tenth of 1 percent of passengers asked for a refund during the trial period. Ron Perry is the president of Prime Time Travel in Oklahoma City. You may call him at 340-1120 if you have any questions or issues you would like to address in "Travel News."
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