USA3000 to Shut Down

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

He is the author of "Online Travel" (2000) and "Business Travel: When It's Your Money" (2004), the first step-by-step guide specifically written for small business and self-employed professional travelers. He was also the co-author of the annual "Best Travel Deals" series from Consumers Union.

Perkins' advice for business travelers is featured on MyBusinessTravel.com, a website devoted to helping small business and self-employed professional travelers find the best value for their travel dollars.

Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

Perkins' travel expertise has led to frequent television appearances, including ABC's "Good Morning America" and "This Week with David Brinkley," "The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather," CNN, and numerous local TV and radio stations.

Before editing Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Perkins spent 25 years in travel research and consulting with assignments ranging from national tourism development strategies to the design of computer-based tourism models.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Perkins lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife.

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Apple Vacations, one of the country’s largest tour operators, has decided to shut down its airline subsidiary, USA3000, early in January. Although neither the airline’s nor Apple’s website has anything to say about a shutdown, the airline does not accept reservations after January 6.

Compared with some airline shutdowns, this one will have minimal impact:

Apple has arranged for alternative charter flights on other airlines for all existing bookings, with no additional costs and (usually) little change in schedules.
This is not a financial failure; Apple is a going concern, and the shutdown is apparently a simple business decision to “outsource” its charter flying to other airlines rather than maintain an in-house airline operation.

Neither Apple nor USA3000 is saying any more than absolutely necessary, but there is no reason that anyone should worry about any existing bookings or hesitate to make any new ones. The only downside—if any—is that USA3000 generally earned high marks in traveler surveys, and it’s too early to say if the substitute lines will treat Apple customers as well.

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