With air security, travelers are flying blind
December 24, 2009 ·
The Transportation Security Administration likes to keep terrorists guessing. Apparently, it likes to keep travelers guessing, too. And we do. Shoes on — or off? Laptop computer in the bag — or on the conveyor belt? And tickets: middle name, middle initial or just first and last? Oh, and are they going to pull you [...]
Air France crash may lead to new safety rules
December 17, 2009 ·
New airline safety standards may be required after the crash of Air France Flight 447 cast doubt on the reliability of speed-measuring equipment in difficult, stormy conditions, French aviation investigators said Thursday. The Airbus A330 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil’s coast en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1. All [...]
China’s Shaolin monks plan deal with travel co.
December 17, 2009 ·
The famed fighting monks of China’s Shaolin Temple next plan to tackle modern finance. The local government entity in charge of managing the 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple’s tourism-related assets has agreed to cooperate with China Travel Service, a spokeswoman for the state-owned company said. News reports said the venture would seek to raise up to 1 [...]
AAA projects increase in holiday travel
December 16, 2009 ·
Expect crowded skies and highways if you’re planning to travel this holiday season, as millions more take to the road, according to a forecast issued Wednesday by motorist group AAA. Holiday travel is expected to jump 3.8% compared to last year, an increase of more than 3 million travelers compared to the 2008 season, AAA [...]
Fewer flights, rising fares at some big airports
December 16, 2009 ·
Air travel isn’t as quick and cheap as it used to be from some big-city airports. Airlines scrambling to reverse their financial free-fall by dropping unprofitable routes has left travelers with fewer nonstop options and, sometimes, higher fares on remaining flights. Blame the recession and airlines that added too many flights to too many places [...]
UK holiday travelers face strike chaos
December 16, 2009 ·
More than a million people faced travel chaos over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays as baggage handlers and check-in staff at Heathrow and Aberdeen airports announced strikes in tandem with work stoppages by British Airways cabin crews. BA applied for an emergency court injunction on Wednesday to stop the 12-day strike by its workers, [...]
Snuba mixes snorkeling and scuba
December 14, 2009 ·
Breathing underwater was a strange sensation. It was even stranger because I’ve never been scuba-certified. Stranger yet that my wife — who is reluctant to even duck her head under water — was happily swimming 15 feet underwater behind me as we plumbed the depths on this island off the coast of Honduras. We had [...]
