Travel News

Hurricane Peak Season is Typically September 10

The flurry of Earl, Fiona and Gaston suggests otherwise, but hurricane season 2010 is actually running pretty much on schedule, number-wise. "It's just the same as it is every year,' said David Nolan, a professor of meteorology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. ‘We’re just coming up to the peak of the hurricane season.' All the ingredients are in place to cook a furious tropical stew, he said: ocean temperatures at their warmest, low wind shear, a conveyor line of tropical waves off Africa. Some years, like this one, large weather patterns add spice. This year, Nolan said, there are three of them -- the familiar La Niña and two ``oscillations' that are not exactly household names, the Madden-Julian and the Atlantic Multidecadal. Hurricane Earl is only the fifth in a year federal forecasters predicted would churn out 14 to 20 named storms.

Article about new Cosmopolitan Hotel in Vegas

Travel Age West has a good article about the Cosmopolitan Hotel, due to open in Vegas on December 15.  The hotel will have almost 3000 rooms, including some with terraces overlooking the Strip and bungalow-type suites. See www.travelagewest.com/travel/north-america/Info/The-Cosmopolitan-s-New-Perspective-on-Vegas/

Airlines Allow Changes Where Affected by Hurricane Earl

Airlines began offering passengers a way to change their tickets as Hurricane Earl threatened to disrupt travel along the East Coast. Delta Air Lines said customers traveling to or through several Eastern cities could make one-time changes to their travel schedules without fees. The changes are allowed for people with flights on Thursday or Friday. The waiver covers more than 20 airports, including those in the New York area, Washington, Boston, Baltimore, and Wilmington, N.C. AirTran Airways said customers traveling through several Eastern cities, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, could change their reservations without penalty. The penalty-free change applies to flights booked for Wednesday through Saturday. AirTran is owned by AirTran Holdings Inc. Frontier Airlines said travelers scheduled to pass through Newport News, Va. or Raleigh, N.C. between Wednesday and Saturday could change their travel dates without a fee. Customers who have not yet begun their trip could end up paying higher fares in some cases, Frontier said.  

Southwest flying out of Newark as of March 2011

Southwest will taxi to a Newark runway for the first time next March after United and Continental airlines agreed to give up takeoff and landing slots so regulators would approve their merger. The Justice Department concluded its review of the merger last Friday - the same day the airlines agreed to lease slots to Southwest. The move will bring another discount carrier to the region, joining JetBlue and AirTran, and provide more competition for the behemoths of the industry.

The Value of a Passenger Scared But not injured

A lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Seattle will try to find an answer to what it's worth when a passenger is mightily scared but not physically injured. In September 2008, a Boeing 757 operated by American Airlines had to make an emergency diversion to Chicago O'Hare after its main battery became fully depleted. Now a Seattle area woman has filed a lawsuit against American, saying the carrier didn't "exercise the highest degree of care," "breached its duty as a common carrier" and flew an airplane that wasn't in good mechanical condition. The lawsuit said American didn't maintain the airplane properly, didn't tell the pilots to land promptly when they discovered the electrical problems and didn't train the pilots properly. The lawsuit by passenger Jewel Thomas also accuses the pilots of not landing the airplane as soon as possible and accepting a landing on a short O'Hare runway that they should have known wasn't long enough for the ailing aircraft. An American spokeswoman said the airline hadn't seen the lawsuit yet and declined to comment.

How big was that Cup of Tea?

A Ryanair plane en route from the UK to Poland was forced to make an emergency landing in Germany after a 56-year-old woman spilled a hot cup of tea on herself, German police said on Wednesday. The Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Poznan made the unscheduled landing in the northwestern city of Bremen. The British woman was treated for scalding at the airport and released -- but not before the plane resumed its journey without her. She later took a train to Poland, police said

Queen Elizabeth to name the new Cunard Queen Elizabeth

The naming ceremony will take place in Southampton on October 11, before the 2,092-passenger ship sets sail on her maiden voyage - a 13-night cruise to the Canary Islands - the next day. It is the third Cunard ship to bear the Queen's name. The Queen also launched the line's Queen Elizabeth II in 1967, and named Cunard's current flagship, Queen Mary II, in 2004. She also attended the naming ceremony for Cunard's original Queen Elizabeth, launched in Clydebank, Scotland in 1938.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Hurricane Earl Update

Hurricane Earl appeared to have turned toward the U.S. coast Wednesday; with concern growing that New England could receive a direct hit later in the week. The National Hurricane Center also extended its hurricane watch from North Carolina into Virginia. Forecasters cautioned that it was still too early to tell how close Earl might come to land, but not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has such a powerful storm had such a large swath of the East Coast in its sights. The hurricane brought strong winds and rain to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Monday, where flights were canceled and cruise ships were diverted.

Earl will be either a Cat 2 or Cat 3 off of the Outer Banks and either a Cat 1 or Cat 2 when closest to Eastern New England.

Fiona Competing Too

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fiona got stronger with winds of 45 mph as it headed toward the northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for St Martin and St Barthelemy and watches were in effect for several other islands, including Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla.

Cape Town Westin Blacklisted Temporarily by US Consulate 

In an unusual move, the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa, blacklisted the five-star Westin Grand hotel for about five days due to "multiple theft" reports from embassy employees. The U.S. Consulate on Aug. 27 posted a directive on its website and also emailed it to U.S. citizens living in South Africa that read in part: "This message is to inform U.S. citizens that U.S. Government employees and contractors have been directed not to stay at the Westin Grand Cape Town...until further notice." On Aug. 31, the embassy lifted the directive, saying that "the hotel has taken measures to prevent similar incidents in the future." The hotel is next to the Cape Town International Convention Center.

AA Revamping Older 737's to Squeeze in More Passengers

American Airlines is stripping the interiors of its older Boeing 737s to increase the amount of overhead luggage space, squeeze more seats in and add new TVs, ABC News reported Monday. The planes, which are about eight years old, are undergoing the 21-day makeovers in a hangar in Tulsa, Okla. Five days a week, more than 350 maintenance technicians are working on the massive project -- four aircraft at a time. Eight have already been completed and there are 68 more to go.  A new seat design will allow the planes to carry 160 passengers, up from 148, with a couple of inches less allowed between the seats. The airline's overhead luggage bins will soon contain enough room for double the number of bags -- accomplished with doors that curve outward. The old TV monitors that did once hang down from the ceiling in the aisle are to be replaced with LCD flat screens that drop from the luggage bins.

Do Flight Simulators Lead to More Accidents?

Flaws in flight simulator training helped trigger some of the worst airline accidents in the past decade, according to a USA Today analysis of federal accident records. More than half of the 522 fatalities in U.S. airline accidents since 2000 have been linked to problems with simulators, devices that are used nearly universally to train the nation's airline pilots, the records show. Simulator training is credited with saving thousands of lives. But the problem, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) case files and safety experts, is that in rare but critical instances they can trick pilots into habits that lead to catastrophic mistakes. Investigators found that many airline simulators made difficult takeoffs seem far easier than in the real world. To make matters worse, the airlines and its trainers were never told the simulators were inaccurate, the safety board found.

Behavior so bad Carnival kicked 10 people off the Dream

Carnival Cruise Lines kicked 10 people off one of its ships after violence broke out on a ship's dance floor. A video posted on YouTube showed several people throwing punches and pulling hair. The incident happened on the Carnival Dream earlier this month. Carnival officials said the passengers involved disembarked in the Mexican port of Costa Maya. The cruise line made arrangements for the group to get back to the U.S

Expect more Mediterranean Cruises

Presidents, CEOs and Marketing Directors from some of the world's top cruise lines will be brainstorming in the south of France this winter to discuss the future of the cruise industry in the Mediterranean region. Cruise holidays have held up very well in the last year for a number of reasons, including perceived value for money, the attraction of the cruise experience as something new and recommended by friends, effective marketing campaigns and a fleet of sleek new ships that seem to have been launching almost every other month. Royal Caribbean, P&O, Costa Cruises, MSC, Louis Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line will all be represented and Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, Chairman, ECC, and Chairman of Silversea Cruises will give the keynote address at The Seatrade Med Cruise Convention 30 November - 2 December 2010 in Cannes. Ten of the new cruise ships being delivered in 2010 have called at, or will call at, Mediterranean ports and the future looks excellent. The panel will explore winter cruising in the Med - along with the potential of North African ports of call, among other hot cruise topics. The event is organized in association with the French Riviera Cruise Club, supported by MedCruise, and the Seatrade Med Cruise Convention is the largest gathering of the industry in the region.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Hurricane Earl Getting Stronger

Earl is the fifth named storm of the season.  It became a category 4 hurricane yesterday and has left much destruction in the Caribbean. The 5 a.m. update this morning said the storm is some 150 miles north-northwest of San Juan and is moving west-northwest at about 13 mph.  The center of the Earl is expected to pass east of Turks and Caicos on Tuesday night and Wednesday.  Cruise ships have made changes to their itineraries to avoid the storm.  Current Hurricane Center projections have the storm skirting the East Coast of the United States and Canada on Friday and Saturday. The outer bands of the storm are currently forecast to reach the coast of North Carolina late Thursday night or early Friday morning, and the storm is then expected to move roughly parallel to the East Coast on Friday and Saturday.

Here Comes Fiona

Tropical Storm Fiona has formed in the Atlantic and is currently some 500 miles east of the Leeward Islands.  The storm has sustained winds of 40 mph and is expected to strengthen by tomorrow.  Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect for St. Martin and St. Bathelemy, while Tropical Storm Watches are in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.

Violence Hits Cancun

Early this morning armed individuals’ hurled Molotov cocktails at a bar in the nightlife district of Cancun, causing a fire that has killed at least eight people. The incident occurred at the "Castillo del Mar" bar located on Avenida Leona Vicario in Region 239 of Franja Ejidal. According to preliminary reports, the subjects opened fire at the building after hurling the cocktails. Although the establishment was full of patrons at the time of the attack, most were reportedly able to flee the scene unharmed.

BA Club World Customers Can Now Purchase Upgrades to Seats in Upper Deck

British Airways customers will now be able to purchase a selected number of seats in the Club Word, Upper Deck cabin on B747 flights. Up until recently it was only possible to purchase Club World seats on the Main Deck.  British Airways Gold and Silver Executive card holders, Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members and clients with corporate agreements will have full access to all seats on the upper deck free of charge from the time of booking until the time of departure.  The seats allocated for purchase will not be blocked and may be reserved by eligible customers at any time. 

AirTran Fined For Violating Disability Laws

AirTran has been fined $500,000 by the Department of Transportation for violating laws on handling passengers who must use wheelchairs.  The DOT said it found a significant number of apparent violations of the Air Carrier Access Act.  In some instances the airline did not even respond to a written complaint, as required by law.  AirTran failed "to adequately categorize and account for all the disability-related issues that were raised in the complaints."  In response the airline said "We are dedicated to treating special needs passengers with the highest level of dignity and respect. Our goal is to establish AirTran Airways as the industry leader in addressing the needs of disabled passengers. We take this leadership role seriously and look forward to continually improving our service to this important group of customers."   AirTran can reduce its fine up to $200,000 by spending a similar amount to improve its system.  That includes up to $60,000 "to establish a council to help the carrier comply with federal disability rules and hire a manager for disability accommodations." The rest may be used to develop and employ an automated wheelchair tracking system at AirTran's major hub airports within one year that will generate real-time reports of the carrier's wheelchair assistance performance."

Two Men Arrested at Amsterdam Airport

The two Yemeni men arrived in Amsterdam Sunday on United flight 908 from Chicago.  They are being held on suspicion of involvement in a conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism.  US authorities raised concerns about suspicious items in their checked luggage that included mobile phones taped to plastic bottles which had been seized in the US.  Both men were Yemeni nationals and were in the US legally.  Neither man has been formally charged as yet.   The men were able to board the plane at O'Hare despite concerns that were expressed by security officials. The suspects originally flew to Chicago from Birmingham, Alabama, where airport security screeners at Birmingham International Airport found that one of the men was carrying a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three watches taped together, and an additional three cell phones taped together, a box cutter and three large knives. Authorities at the airport discovered no evidence of an explosive device in the man's luggage or on his person, and he was allowed to board the flight to Chicago.  Once in Chicago, the men checked their luggage onto separate flights bound for Dubai and then Yemen, though the men themselves were on a completely different flight.  Authorities in the United States suspected the men of conducting a dry run in advance of a terrorist attack and immediately notified Dutch authorities, who arrested the men upon arrival in Amsterdam.

Qantas Jet Returns to San Francisco after Engine Vibration

The Qantas jet left San Francisco at 11:05 p.m. last night but was forced to return at 12:45 a.m. after vibrations in one engine forced the pilots to shut it down.  The plane landed safely and there were no injuries.  Passengers disembarked at the jet way.  The passengers were put up in hotels as arrangements were made to get them to Sydney today.  Engineers found the engine needed to be replaced and are checking to see what caused the problem. 

Clipper Adventurer Still Grounded

The passengers on the grounded cruise ship are all off the vessel and headed home.  A technical team is assessing the damage and working out how to free the ship which is resting with a slight list.  So far the amount of damage to the ship is unknown.  The 122-passenger Clipper Adventurer is owned by the Bahamas-based Clipper Group and chartered to Adventure Canada.

New Cruise Guide Warns of Rip-Offs

The new Berlitz 2011 Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships is to be published October 4.  The guide points out the best and the worst by scoring cruise ships.  Some things pointed out in the guide:  Major cruise lines typically imprint an additional gratuity line on sign able receipts for such things as spa treatments or extra-cost coffees and bar charges, despite a 15% gratuity having already been added to the actual cost of the item; the cost of bottled mineral water for shore excursions has rocketed. For example Celebrity Cruises charges $4.50 and then adds another 15% gratuity "for your convenience;" The cost of cards for a game of Bingo is rising dramatically. NCL, for example now charges $40 for a block of four cards.  The fully revised and updated edition of the Guide includes in-depth reviews of 285 cruise ships and previews of the 20 new ships set to debut between 2011 and 2014.   

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Travel Warning Issued for Northern Ireland

The US, Australia, and New Zealand have issued a travel warning for travel to Northern Ireland. The Department of State's warning is as follows: "US citizens travelling to Northern Ireland should remain alert to their surroundings and should be aware that if they choose to visit potential flash points or attend parades, sporadic violence remains a possibility." There have been numerous bombing over the last month. Two bombs were defused in County Down on August 4 and 8. A car bomb exploded outside a police station in Derry City on August 3.

Latest Info on Hurricane Earl

Earl was approaching the Islands of Antigua and Barbuda when the last advisory was issued at 2 a.m. this morning. The hurricane is located about 280 east of St. Martin with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is moving west northwest at 15 mph. A hurricane warning is in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kits, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Saba and St. Eustatius. A hurricane watch is in effect for British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area within the next 24 hours and the watch area within the next 36 hours. Forecasters say Earl will become a major hurricane by tomorrow and will be nearing the US southeast coast by Thursday.

Northwest Flight Attendants Sue Delta

The Northwest flight attendants union filed a lawsuit in Washington last week saying their new managers are breaking their contract. The flight attendants say that their contract allows for two or more days off after a long international flight but that Delta is giving them only 11 hours. Delta disagrees with this.  Although the combined Delta and Northwest operate mostly as a single airline, the Delta flight attendants were not unionized and the Northwest flight attendants are still unionized. So far, no election has been held to see whether the Delta flight attendants want to be unionized. There have been several attempts to do this but all have failed. The next election could result in unionization as there are more Northwest attendants than those with Delta.

Nine People Removed from Flight

Nine passengers on a United flight from Dulles to Tampa last night were removed prior to takeoff after a comment was made to a flight attendant. A discussion followed and United determined the nine passengers could be rebooked on another flight. The remaining passengers continued on the original flight, while the nine people were booked on flights today. 

JetBlue Flight Has Hard Landing

A JetBlue flight from Long Beach to Sacramento made a hard landing last week causing four of the plane's tires to burst, starting a brake fire. The plane carried 86 passengers and 5 crew who were evacuated by the inflatable slides.  Five passengers were injured during the evacuation.

Mexicana Shuts Down

The airline shut down completely about midday last Saturday. The 89-year-old airline filed for protection from creditors at the beginning of the month but struggled to find a buyer willing to help restructure its $800-million debt load. It did find a buyer, a Mexican investment group, but the government plans to fire some 1,000 flight attendants. The investment group had purchased the parent company of Mexicana so all three airlines were shut down.    

Cruise Ship Hits Rock in Canada's Arctic

The ship, Clipper Adventure, operated by Adventure Canada, became grounded last Friday evening after hitting an uncharted rock. No one was injured and the passengers remained on the ship for another 48 hours. It was the second last day of the cruise when the ship ran aground in some 3 meters of water. The Canadian Coast Guard evacuated the ship Sunday and all 128 passengers were scheduled to fly to Edmonton. The cruise was called "Into the Northwest Passage." The ship ran aground about 60 miles east of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, formerly known as Coppermine, near the border with the Northwest Territories. Adventure Canada said efforts to dislodge the chartered vessel during high tide Saturday were unsuccessful. The ship is sitting with a slight list but is stable and it is up to the company to free the ship. About 70 crew members will remain on the Clipper Adventurer for now. Members of the coast guard were helping evacuate the ship's passengers Sunday afternoon, ferrying them by barge and Zodiac to the CCGS Amundsen, a Canadian research icebreaker and all passengers were aboard the Amundsen by Sunday evening. The Amundsen was scheduled to take the passengers to Kugluktuk, a trip that would have taken about six hours. They would then board a charted airline to Edmonton this morning. Adventure Canada runs between three and seven Arctic expeditions each year. The learning-travel packages include cultural experiences, natural history and wildlife viewing. The "Into the Northwest Passage" trip included about 20 staff, scientists, biologists, authors, historians and painters, who offered lectures during the tour.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Grenade explodes in Puerto Vallarta bar

A grenade exploded in a crowded Puerto Vallarta bar on Wednesday night, injuring several people severely. The Jalisco governor announced that it was an accident, the grenade having been brought into the bar by youth come to drink and accidentally detonated when they were carrying bottles of beer. Not many seem to be buying that explanation. 

Luxury resorts being built on Vietnam Coast

Marriott is planning a new Ritz Carlton Reserve with 110 villas, and 320 rooms, a JW Marriott hotel for the central Vietnam coast. Outrigger Resorts also has plans in the region. 

WWII Museum in New Orleans to expand

Bombers and torpedo planes will be the stars of the latest expansion of the National World War II Museum, and visitors will be able to get close-up views of the war planes on elevated catwalks. Construction of the new $35 million exhibit will be formally announced today. One of Boeing Co.'s most famous World War II aircraft, the B-17G Flying Fortress heavy bomber, will be a centerpiece of the new exhibit. "When you watch some of the old movies of bombing runs, it’s the plane you see," said Boeing historian Mike Lombardi said. The new museum wing will be called the U.S. Freedom Pavilion: Land, Sea and Air. (Note from Sally: The museum is very interesting and well worth recommending to anyone who will be in New Orleans. Tell them to have lunch there, too.  "The American Sector" restaurant is done by New Orleans chef John Besh.  www.nationalww2museum.org

Proposed FAA Fine for AA Largest Ever

The $ 24.2 million penalty proposed by the FAA for American Airlines is the largest ever set by the agency. The penalty is for failure to follow FAA directives about operating planes not meeting federal regulations. AA is challenging the penalty. The FAA said the planned civil penalty stemmed from inspection and repair lapses flagged in April 2008 that prompted the airline to ground 300 MD-80 series planes, disrupting flights for several days. American canceled 3,000 flights, affecting 300,000 travelers. The previous biggest proposed fine was USD$10.2 million against Southwest Airlines for alleged inspection shortcomings on certain Boeing 737s in 2006 and 2007. Southwest appealed and eventually settled the case with the FAA by agreeing to pay USD$7.5 million.

Is That a Tiger in Your Luggage?

Airwise News reports that Customs officers at Bangkok Airport found a two-month-old tiger stashed in a bag, filled with stuffed tiger toys, which was checked-in for an international passenger flight. The dazed and drugged cub was concealed in an oversized bag packed with the toys and bound for Iran when it was discovered by Thai authorities using an x-ray machine. A 31-year-old Thai woman was detained for questioning and was unable to explain why there was a real tiger in the bag. She denied any knowledge of the tiger said she was carrying the bag for someone else. An investigation was underway and DNA samples were due to be taken to find out the species of the cub, which had been sedated with anti-depressants, and determine whether it was caught in the wild or bred in captivity.

BA Passengers Briefly Thought They were Doing an Emergency Water Landing

British Airways apologized on Friday after a crew member mistakenly played an emergency message warning Hong Kong-bound passengers that the plane they were on was about to plunge into the sea. About 275 passengers on a Tuesday flight out of London's Heathrow Airport heard the message: "This is an emergency. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water," NBC News reported. The plane was flying over the North Sea at the time. Cabin crew on the Boeing 747 quickly reassured passengers that the message was a mistake and there was no emergency, NBC News reported.

Another Cruise Line Cutting Back on Cruises to Mexican Riviera

Add Crystal Cruises to the list of lines cutting back on voyages to the Mexican Riviera. Industry watcher Seatrade Insider today reports the luxury operator is replacing two seven-night sailings to the region schedule for April 2011 with new trips along the West Coast of the USA between Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Royal Caribbean’s Move from West Coast and Mexican Riviera Slammed

Royal Caribbean's announcement last week that it is pulling out of California and the Mexican Riviera, effective in January, appears to have ruffled some feathers among its fans -- notably those based in the West. The topic has been a hot one in recent days at the message boards of cruise sites such as CruiseCritic.com, and Royal Caribbean aficionados have left dozens of critical comments at Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein's blog. "Leaving the West Coast with zero (Royal Caribbean) ships is beyond rational thought," writes one upset Royal Caribbean regular at Goldstein's blog. Royal Caribbean announced Thursday that it plans to redeploy the Mariner of the Seas from the Mexican Riviera to Europe, effective in early 2011. The line says the 3,114-passenger ship, which has been sailing to the Mexican Riviera year-round out of Los Angeles since early 2009, will set sail for a new home at the port of Rome (Civitavecchia) in January. Mariner is the largest ship ever to regularly sail out of a West Coast port, and its arrival in Los Angeles last year was heralded as a major development for the city. With Mariner's withdrawal, Royal Caribbean no longer will have a presence in Southern California or the West Coast of Mexico -- destinations it has served for many years.

Belize Area Tells Cruise Lines to Stay Away

USA Today reports that the Caribbean hideaway of Placencia, Belize is making it more than clear that it wants nothing to do with the 3,000-passenger giants of the seas that sail in the region. The Placencia Tour Operators Association this week sent out a detailed list of reasons why it thinks cruise tourism would be a disaster for the village and surrounding 26-mile-long sandy peninsula, which thrives on multi-day visitors who come for diving, snorkeling and beach-going in a relaxed, uncrowded atmosphere. Noting that its members voted this week to oppose cruise tourism, the association said cruise ship tourists would have a detrimental effect on its traditional overnight tourist business, which has "known economic benefits ... outweighing possible economic benefits from cruise tourism.”

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Tropical Storm Frank Follows Mexican Coast

Today Tropical Storm Frank was located approximately 200 miles south-southeast of Manzanillo. The storm is generating sustained winds of 70 mph and is moving toward the west-northwest at 9 mph. Although this path is taking Frank away from Mexico's coast, and no watches or warnings are in effect, authorities warned that the storm still poses a threat to the states of Michoacán, Tabasco, Veracruz, Puebla and Colima, which may experience further heavy rainfall. Coastal areas of Guerrero and Michoacán are at highest risk.   

Mechanics at American Voted to Strike

The Transport Workers Union said the contract offer didn't make up for wage cuts that employees accepted in 2003. The union said 80% of mechanics cast ballots, with the offer losing 6,074 to 3,371. In separate voting, two smaller work groups were split. About 1,000 stock clerks joined mechanics in rejecting American's contract offer, while 78 technical specialists ratified the deal. The mechanics and stock clerks will ask the National Mediation Board to declare negotiations deadlocked and permit them to go on strike after 30 days. The MNB could release the unions from further negotiations or could order them back to the bargaining table as they have done once before.

Horizon Makes Some Significant Changes

Regional airline Horizon is changing its business model. MLT will turn over decision-making for all of its routes, and the risk for marketing and selling seats for them to sister company Alaska Airlines. Starting January 1 all of Horizon's capacity will operate under capacity purchase agreements (CPA) with Alaska. That compares to about 45% of its capacity right now. Under the CPA Alaska keeps the ticket revenue, pays a fixed fee to Horizon and covers Horizon's fuel costs and other operating costs. The rest of Horizon's capacity is on "brand flying," for which Horizon decides the routes, does the marketing and bears all of the revenue risk. There is no guarantee that Horizon will make a profit on the routes. Examples include Seattle-Boise, Idaho, and Santa Rosa-Los Angeles, which flow connecting traffic to Alaska Airlines but are primarily local markets, Horizon says. Horizon receives a pro-rate of joint fares on itineraries that include an Alaska connection.

Nigerian Airlines get Rights to Fly Their Aircraft to US

The FAA announced that Nigeria has achieved a Category 1 safety rating after coming up to ICOA standards. This will allow Nigerian airlines to fly to and from the US using their own planes. Before the upgrade Nigerian carriers had to wet-lease aircraft from another airline with Category 1 status for US-bound flights. FAA said an IASA Category 1 rating "means a country has the laws and regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, and that its civil aviation authority-equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters-meets international standards for technical expertise, trained personnel, recordkeeping and inspection procedures." Nigeria is the sixth country on the continent to achieve a Category 1 rating, joining Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and South Africa.

Air France KLM Withdraws Controversial Fee on Credit Cards in Sweden

The airline had imposed a fee on credit cards used through Swedish travel agents on December 1, 2009. The Swedish government introduced legislation on August 1 that made this practice illegal. The surcharge was €7.90 or US$10. The fee applied to travel agency bookings made with card payments on either of the airlines' merchant agreements, although it did not apply to corporate net fares. Many condemned the airline for imposing an extra charge they believed was already included in the fare and for penalizing the most efficient means of paying for airline tickets. However, AF/KLM said airlines no longer should be willing to shoulder the cost of a payment process that is of benefit to the client and the agency but not an airline. Ten EU countries have opted to forbid surcharges as part of their PSD implementation: Austria, Cyprus, Latvia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Sweden. An additional four countries-Germany, Denmark, Portugal and Finland-limit such surcharges. Some had similar bans in force before the PSD.

Azmara Club Cruises to Sail One Cruise from Dublin

Azmara Club Cruises will operate one cruise from Dublin in late August next year, the first time it has used the Irish capital as a departure city. The ship will leave Dublin on August 29 for a ten night cruise stopping at Bordeaux, Holyhead, Cork/Cobb, Bilbao, Gijon and Vigo and ending in Lisbon. 

Carnival Magic Adds a Pub, Trattoria and Outdoor Ropes Course

The Carnival Magic will get the cruise line's first pub with its own private label beer. The Red Frog Pub will have a Caribbean feel serving island-inspired snacks and drinks, including ThirstyFron Red, a private-label draught beer brewed for Carnival Magic. The Trattoria, Cucina Del Capitano, will be a dinner option with made-to-order pastas and risottos. The wine list will feature Italian vintages and many of the dishes were selected by Carnival captains. Framed archival photographs, many from the captains' personal collections, wood-beam ceilings and ornate wrought ironwork are intended to create the ambiance of an Italian home. Dinner carries a service charge. During the day, the space will be used as a casual made-to-order pasta bar, with no charge. Sports Square will expand Carnival's outdoor sports areas with a ropes course where participants can traverse across nets suspended above Spa Deck 12, with views to the sea nearly 150ft below. Surrounded by an eighth-mile jogging track, the complex also includes the first outdoor weightlifting area on a cruise ship, along with Carnival's first two-level miniature golf course, a Vita exercise course, a lighted multi-purpose court for basketball, volleyball and soccer, and ping pong and foosball tables.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Bangkok Opens New Rail Line to Airport

A new high-speed train that links central Bangkok to the city's main international airport takes only 15 minutes. The rail line opened yesterday after years of delay although some glitches still remain and are being worked on. The airport is the third busiest in Asia and was the only major travel hub to not have a rail link. The rail link was approved in 2003 and took seven years to build. It costs $3 for the 18 mile ride from Makkasan station to the airport but will increase to $4.50 next year. It runs every half hour with a maximum speed of 64 mph and is the fastest rail service in Thailand. A local, commuter line that runs parallel to the express train and makes a half dozen stops costs between .50 cents and $1.40, depending on where passengers board. A check-in service that will enable passengers in Bangkok to get boarding passes and check-in luggage is not yet in place but is expected to begin working in November.

Mexico Celebrates its Bicentennial

Mexico is celebrating its Bicentennial of independence from Spain that the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution. Eight commemorative tourism routes that pass through 100 different destinations, and 17 states, highlighting the historical settings and emblematic monuments of the country. The routes can be covered between one week and 10 days and because of their circular paths, travelers can start from any point on the circuit. The first four celebrate the bicentennial and the rest the revolution. The country has been celebrating since the beginning of the year but September 15 is the 200th anniversary when Niguel Hidalgo y Costilla first rang the revolutionary bell that started Mexico's independence movement. For more information about Mexico's bicentennial and centennial celebrations, as well as the eight commemorative routes, please visit icentenario.visitmexico.com. The site is in Spanish but can be translated English using Google.

Jewel Beach Resort and Spa to Open September 1

The former Sandals Dunn's River Villagio has been renamed the Jewel Beach Resort and Spa and will open September 1 under new ownership. It is now owned by Sagicor Life Jamaica and will be managed by Dallas-based Aimbridge Hospitality. The resort remains all-inclusive and is now undergoing a makeover. There will be six themed a la carte restaurants, five bars and lounges, a nine-hole pitch-and-put gold course and so acres of gardens. 

Small Plane Crash outside Kathmandu

A small passenger plane carrying 14 people has crashed 50 miles south of Kathmandu. The plane carried 5 US nationals. The plane broke into pieces on impact and all were killed. The plane was a German built Dornier that encountered bad weather and was returning to Kathmandu. 

FAA Responds to High Numbers of Near Mid-Air Collisions

The Federal Aviation Administration is concerned over the number of near mid-air collisions that have taken place in recent months. The National Transportation Safety Board recently began collecting its own data from pilots about airborne near-collisions across the U.S. and has received roughly 400 reports over the past few months of cockpit-warning systems activating because planes may have flown too close to each other. The FAA wants to bring pilots and air traffic controllers together to share information after a near mid-air collision takes place. The program is intended to get a better picture of what has led up to these dangerous incidents and how to prevent them. United is expected to be the first carrier to participate in the program. The FAA has called for a review of procedures. The review is to include possible changes in training for air-traffic controllers but also new ways to encourage controllers and their supervisors to report voluntarily. Under the initiative, the controllers would rarely face punishment if they quickly and fully report inadvertent errors.

RCCL Wants to Build Tourism Village in Belize

The cruise line wants to build a tourism village near the remote village of Placencia. It would, of course, be a welcome center for passengers coming ashore in tenders. Members of the Placencia branch of the Belize Tourism Industry Association reportedly oppose the idea of a cruise ship village for larger boats, and would like to see a niche brand of cruise tourism using small cruise ships. Placencia would provide easy access to the jungle and diving excursions beloved by cruise ship adventurers, boosting the tourism market by showing off the real Belize. Belize City is presently the only place where cruise ships dock.

Royal Caribbean is reportedly in a dispute over plans to build a second terminal in Belize City.

Government to Enforce California Ban on Cruise Dumping

The government will enforce a California law banning cruise ships from dumping any kind of sewage, including highly filtered wastewater, along the California coast out to three miles from shore. The state has some of the strictest laws in the country that limits pollution from large ships. The California bill was passed in 2005 but was dependent on the environmental Protection Agency to give its permission under the federal Clean Water Act. Nothing was ever done until now.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.

Hyatt Regency, New Orleans Begins Renovation

The hotel, located next to the Superdome has been closed since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans back in 2005. It will reopen late next year with 1,200 rooms and expanded meeting and exhibition space. 

Tropical Storm Danielle to Become Hurricane

Tropical Depression 6 has strengthened into Tropical Storm Danielle and is continuing to intensify and is expected to reach hurricane status late tomorrow. Its current track shows it hitting Bermuda and the eastern seaboard of the US. Anyone travelling to Bermuda later this week should monitor the storm closely. Those booked on cruise lines from the New York area should also keep close watch as cruise lines could be forced to change itineraries. Danielle is the fourth named storm of the 2010 season. We are now coming into the most active time of the hurricane season and weather experts have predicted a very active season.

Amtrak Looking at Expanding Vancouver Service

Amtrak currently serves the area with two trains a day and would like to expand the service to four trains a day. Prior to the Olympics there was only one train a day. The service was expanded to two trains a day for the Olympics and the second train will run through September. The Canadian government initiated a pilot project that provided border clearance service to Amtrak. The project has been very successful carrying some 25,000 passengers in July and a total of 214,641 passengers in the second quarter. The service extends to Portland and the trains carried a total of 398,414 passengers to June 30, up 17.3% over 2009. The Washington State Department of Transport helps run the Amtrak service to Canada and it said a decision was imminent. Travelers from the Northwest can get a 25% off deal to travel to Vancouver and a hotel from $107 a night through Tourism Vancouver and a brochure of reduced fees for a variety of local attractions.

An Advanced Pat down Screening Method is being tested

The TSA is testing an advanced pat down screening method where they use a "palms-first, slide-down body search technique." It is being tested at Boston's Logan Airport and McCarran Airport in Las Vegas and it is already being questioned by the American Civil Liberties Union.

A Consortium Has Purchased 95% of Mexicana

The consortium of Mexican business men has purchased a 95% stake in the Mexican carrier which declared bankruptcy earlier this month. The group bought 95% of Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico, which controls Mexicana as well as domestic airlines Mexicana Click and Mexicana Link. The remaining 5% is held by the pilot's union.

Continental and Aegean Airlines to Code Share

Effective today the two airlines will begin code sharing on Continental's flights from Newark and Athens and six leading holiday destinations in Greece: Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, Chania and between Athens and Larnaca, Cyprus. At a future date Continental will also code share on Aegean flights between Athens and Heathrow, and Munich and Frankfurt. Pending government approval.

News is courtesy of ARTA Online.