Travel Log - News Archives

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InterContinental Checks Out of Hotels.com, Expedia

InterContinental Hotels Group has decided to stop doing business with Expedia.com and Hotels.com, citing their failure to "use clear marketing practices, honor its trademarks, guarantee reservations through a common process, and clearly present hotel fees to their customers," according to a story in CNET's News.com. The move affects some 3,500 hotels at the companies chains including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. Sabre Holdings' Travelocity.com will pick up much of the listings business instead.

Rick Bruner | August 17, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Remaindered Links:
Donkeys in Spain, Trains Across America, Cars Not in Alaska, and More

Lots of news to note, not enough time to blog. Hence, we are introducing this "Remaindered Links" feature:

• Guardian: "Have donkey, will travel; Tim Moore sets off to conquer the Camino de Santiago in Spanish Steps"
  
  
• SFGate: "Poker holds royal flush on travel circuit; Casinos court spectators, players alike"
  
  
• Washington Post: "Airport, Rail Travel Make A Comeback"
  
  
• Washington Post: "In Alaska, Cars Are an Inferior Mode of Travel"
  
  
• Guardian: "BA staff go sick as holiday travel chaos looms"

Rick Bruner | August 17, 2004 | Featured Destinations, News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Visit Florida Launches Post-Storm Ad Campaign, Bush Urges Sensitivity

As reported in the St. Petersburg Times, the Florida tourism industry wated no time getting back to business followint the weekend's hurricane Charley. Visit Florida lauched a $119,000 national newspaper campaign thanking Floridians and resuce workers for their part in helping during the storm and to remind potential visitors that the state is still very much open to travelers.

While the travel industry is eager to insure it's ability to get back to business, Florida Governer Jeb Bush urged the industry to be sensitive to areas of the state which were hard hit and are still reeling from the storms.

"There's a tremendous amount of tragedy going on in this state right now," said the governor, who chairs the state Commission on Tourism. "There needs to be a little bit of time, it could be days or weeks, before we get our message out."

Steve Hall | August 17, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

LAX, the TV Show

Heather Locklear
and Blair Underwood

As if a movie set in an airport were odd enough, now NBC brings us a TV show set in an airport, LAX to be specific, starring Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood. Copy on the web site reports:

Television favorites Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood are teamed as intense rivals in this dramatic series centered in a world unto itself: a major international airport. Security breaches, terrorist threats, illegal immigrants, missing children, drug busts – when it comes to stories to tell, well, the sky’s the limit. Each week will feature compelling dramas, from chance encounters to surprise reunions to the ongoing power struggles and romantic misadventures between the people who keep LAX running smoothly. Cast: Heather Locklear, Blair Underwood, Paul Leyden, David Paetkau, Wendy Hoopes, Frank John Hughes, Chad Todhunter.

Rick Bruner | August 13, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (1)

American Airlines Plays Nice With Customers Due to Storms

Because of storms Bonnie and Charley, American Airlines and American Eagle are allowing customers with reservations for today through August 14 to from or through La Romana, Port Au Prince, Punta Cana and Santo Domingo, to change their travel at no cost to alternate flights. Additional destinations and dates are included in this announcement so check this press release for full details.

Steve Hall | August 13, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

TSA Screeners Charged With Stealing From Luggage

Oh, that's nice. The government told us we needed a new government agency to take over airport security because private firms couldn't be trusted with this critical front-line on the war on terrorism. Thus was born the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Well, now four TSA screeners have been arrested for stealing cash and other valuables from travelers' luggage at JFK and La Guardia airports in NY. Newsday reports.

Rick Bruner | August 11, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

NYC Hits New Record for Tourism

Take it from my, NYC is a great place to live. But, according to NYC & Co, the city's tourism bureau, it's also a great place to visit, so much so that 2003 set a new visitor record of 38 million tourists passing through, despite ongoing concerns about terrorism, crowds of Republicans and other possible turn-offs. Oh, and did we mention, the Statue of Liberty is open for business again?

Rick Bruner | August 5, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Government Threatens to Cap O'Hare Flights to Limit Delays

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation are threatening to limit the number of flights in and out of O'Hare airport, the nation's largest, in order to reduce delays that are affecting flights across the country. Reuters reports:

U.S. aviation regulators threatened on Wednesday to again cap commercial flights at Chicago's O'Hare airport to reduce delays that are slowing down the rest of the nation's aviation system.

"We are going to do something about this problem right here and now," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told airline executives before an unprecedented meeting aimed at achieving much broader concessions on scheduling than carriers had agreed to previously.

"We are going to get schedules in line with present capacity at O'Hare," Mineta told officials from UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc. and a dozen other passenger and cargo carriers.

Rick Bruner | August 4, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

NTSB Urges Use Of Child Safety Seats on Airplanes

For years, kids under two have flown free if they sit on their parents laps. It's the cheapest thing but it's not the safest thing. Three children have died in crashes from being thrown across the cabin. Whether or not any seat of any kind could protect a passenger in the event of a crash, the benefits of children strapped into car seats far outway the risk. First off, through experience in the car, kids know they can't go anywhere when they are in the car seat. This alone, would eliminate the annoying (to parents and nearby passengers) squirm factor children are so good at displaying when in flight. Second, when a parent is seated next to another passenger, that passneger suffers from the kid climbing all over them as well. Car seats in flight would eliminate this.

I have two kids and I've put them on planes before (in my lap as well as in their own seats) but my blood boils when I see kids coming down the aisle in their parent's arms. So much so that I sometimes wish I could get up and get on another plane. I know they're just kids but the both learned and physical restraint of a car seat will increase both the safety of the child and the mental stability of parents and fellow passengers. Of course another seat does costs money. Well, how much would you pay to increase the safety of your kid?

Though the agency has no power to enforce its will, USA Today reports the NTSB has voted unanimously to urge airlines to require children under two to sit in a car seat while in flight.

Steve Hall | August 4, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Computer Snafu Grounds Hundreds of Flights

They say to err is human, but to really mess things up, you need a computer. American Airlines and US Airways were reminded of this point on Sunday morning when a computer glitch grounded some 250 of their flights. The problem was actually attributed to user error concering a system that tracks details of ongoing flights such as route plans, crew scheduling and weather monitoring, USA Today reports. The computer system is maintained by Electronic Data Systems, the Texas-based company founded by eccentric 1992 presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Andras Revesz | August 2, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)