Colorado's First Snow of the Season, 9/21/09

Skiers and snowboarders celebrate Colorado's first snow of the season

The snowbirds are already shivering in their shoes, but skiers and snowboarders are cheering the arrival of the season's first snow in Colorado's high country. Above is a photo taken at Copper Mountain yesterday morning (Monday, September 21). Denver television 10:00 p.m. news last night carried such reports as snow-hungry locals in nearby Breckenridge seen around town in their ski duds, carrying their boards, and Loveland fired up its snow guns yesterday (below). And this morning's newspapers printed first-snow-of-the-season pictures too. It's a perpetual early-opening ski area -- historically often the first in the nation, in fact.


If you are eager to follow the Colorado snow, sign up for Colorado Ski Country USA's snow report that will be E-mailed to you every day. Vail Resorts Inc. is not a CSCUSA member, so for reports from Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone, download VRI's be-the-first-to-know desktop snow alert. Some resorts send out individual snow conditions blasts via E-mail or to iPhones and/or maintain Twitter accounts. Other ski states and ski resorts have similar services, but I'm in Colorado, and yesterday's snowfall reports were what I fell asleep to and woke up to.

Tour de France is About Sport & Scenery

Cable telecast showcases elite cyclists and doubles as travelogue around France

My husband and I spend three weeks in France every July -- all courtesy of global television. The 95th Tour de France is again a broadcast tour de force -- a three-week telethon around France. This year's Tour began yesterday (Saturday) July 5 in Brittany and will conclude in Paris on Sunday, July 27. The 21 stages will cover 3,500 kilometers past farmland, forests, vineyards, villages, provincial cities, castles, cathedrals, chateaux, coastlines and most thrilling of all, the soaring Alps and Pyrenees.

No matter that the incomparable Lance Armstrong has retired, what doping scandals have hit pro cycling or which teams are in and out, the travelogue part is a thrill. Versus, the current name for the cable channel that used to be OLN, covers the major stage races in Europe and the US, but none is so captivating to travelers as the Tour de France coverage. We watched the Tour of California (lots of rain and lots of transmission difficulties) and the Vuelta d'Espana and the Giro d'Italia, and none showcased the scenery as well as the Tour de France. Regardless of who wins, we will have been on our annual (vicarious) trip to France and enjoyed every bit of the journey.

National Parks, Part II

An up-to-the-minute website and a great guidebook series spotlight our parks

Yesterday, I wrote a potpourri post that started with a description and photos from a just completed hike in Rocky Mountain National Park and ended with a plea to participate in National Public Lands Day coming up this Saturday. Here are two invaluable national parks information resources:

National Parks Traveler Website

National Parks Traveler does an excellent job of balancing breaking news, advocacy and visitor information to the country's 391 National Park Service-administered sites. The two most recent posts, as I write this, involved Teddy Roosevelt, one a report about a kerfuffle raised about the proposed addition of 12,000 acres of ranchland in and near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota to the National Register of Historic Places and the other visitor information to Theodore Roosevelt Island, a hidden gem in Washington, D.C. I have this site on my blogroll so that I check it often.

Lonely Planet Guidebooks

There are all sorts of guidebook series out there. Many of them are very good, but my favorites are Lonely Planet's, which relaunched earlier this year with four North American gems: Yosemite, Sequoia & King’s Canyon National Parks, California; Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, Wyoming; Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, and Banff, Jasper and Glacier National Parks in Canada. I wonder whether they are planning Rocky Mountain too.

Features of the Lonely Planet parks guides include:

•New full-color highlights section shows the best of the parks at a glance, with stunning photographs, author tips and a clear map.
•Detailed itineraries help visitors plan their time, whether they’re exploring well-loved sights, traversing back-country terrain or driving around the region.
•More than 40 hikes in every book, which is scratching the surface of what these parks have to offer but is more than most visitors will do in a week. Follow in the footsteps of LP authors on easy hikes, day hikes and backcountry hikes. Topographical hiking maps accompany the tricky routes, and reformatted hiking charts make it easy to compare hikes and select your favorite.
•New chapters. "Kids & Pets" with information for families, such as the best hikes for the little ones, and advice for pet-owners -- key since travelers won't go anywhere without their pooches but except for service dogs, canines are generally prohibited anywhere but parking lots and perhaps campgrounds . "Clothing & Equipment" with essential information for hikers and campers. "History and Environment" give visitors vital background information on the parks’ past and present.
•Opinionated descriptions of campgrounds large and small, modern and primitive--and an easy-to-reference camping chart to compare features and facilities of each. Plus the trustworthy reviews of other accommodations, restaurants and sights in or near the parks that you come to expect of a Lonely Planet guide.
•A range of other activities including cycling trails, driving routes, climbing, swimming, rafting, skiing, hang-gliding and more.
•Sustainable options and green travel ideas throughout. A “Support Your National Park” feature gives information on how to give back to the parks and promotes sustainability and volunteering.

DIA Offers Places to Plug in Laptops

Free WiFi at the airport is great; facilities for laptop users makes it better

Last January, I reported that Denver International Airport was installing terminal-wide WiFi. Initially, there were not a lot of outlets, which created a problem for travelers concerned about running down their batteries. When I had time to check E-mail on Concourse B (now called "the B Gates") a few months ago, I sat on the floor with my back against a stainless-steel post that happened to have an outlet in it.

I recently flew from a C Gate at DIA, and while I didn't have time to go online myself, I was pleased to see high stainless-steel tables with lunch counter-style stools and outlets in the area that Southwest uses -- and of course, laptop-toting travelers were using them. They looked a little tight, but the phrase "looking a gift horse in the mouth" comes to mind. I don't know whether the other gate areas formerly known as concourses are similarly equipped. I hope so.

Help Wanted in National Parks & Other Public Lands

Celebrate National Public Lands Day by visiting a park -- or lending a hand

Our Neighborhood National Park at the Change of Seasons

We are very lucky to have Rocky Mountain National Park a little more than an hour from our door -- and we never take it for granted. Today, my husband, a friend and I hiked to one of our favorite destinations, Cub Lake, walking first in sunshine, then through a stiff breeze that brought clouds in from the west, through some rain and finally in sunshine again.

This woolly worm crossed our trail. According to legend, the thinner the brownish red bands, the harsher the winter will be. If the woolly worm is mostly brownish red in the middle, winter will be mild. However, the legend doesn't indicated what a yellow band in the middle foretells.

The wind drove Cub Lake's lily pads toward one end. It drove me back down the trail quickly. After a quick look at a familiar lake and the sight of clouds moving in, I had no inclination to linger.

Near the trailhead, the elk emerged from the trees in Hollowell Park. It's truly fall when these magnificent animals appear.

What We All Can Do to Help....

In addition to visiting our national parks and periodically reminding our representatives in Congress how important the parks are, we can volunteer to help them. National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 26, is a two-pronged day of celebration of and service to the country’s vast and glorious public lands. The National Park Service is waiving admission charges at all 391 national parks, national monuments and historic sites and properties that it manages.

In addition to National Parks, Americans and visitors to our country also enjoy lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management lands, state and local park departments and recreational corridors under various jurisdictions. In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, and planted more than 1.6 million trees. Click here to find one of the thousands of sites around the country that needs your help next Saturday. Expect to get a free lunch, gratitude and a whole lot of satisfaction.

...And What We Can All Watch on Television

And then, between Sunday, September 27 and Friday, October 2, tune in to your local public broadcasting station to see "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a six-episode Ken Burns documentary that will remind us all what the crown jewels of our public lands offer to us.

Of the 319 units within the national park system, 58 are full-fledged national parks, and some of us are fortunate to live within easy-access distance of at least one of them. Film maker Ken Burns selected 10 don't-miss parks, which he wrote about in today's USA Weekend. In "10 National Parks You Don't Want to Miss," he wrote his reasons for selecting Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Denali, Glacier, Great Smokey Mountains, Acadia, Everglades, Zion and Shenandoah.

Boulder Celebrates the Fourth in Style

Close-to-home entertainment, music and great fireworks on Independence Day

We rarely go far for any holiday, because Boulder knows how to celebrate. My husband and I, often with friends, have have cobbled together our own Fourth of July traditions from the city's many options. For years, a goup of us would meet at Chautauqua Park for a picnic and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra's free afternoon concert of Sousa marches and other lively songs. That event no longer takes place. Instead, the orchestra plays a concert on the evening of the 3rd in the historic Chautauqua Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark with great acoustics. My husband and I and good friends are taking a picnic and going to the concert.

We usually take a morning hike on the 4th. The most appropriately named destination areound here is the Fourth of July Mine in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, west of town, but tomorrow, we will more likely to stay closer to home. In lieu of the afternoon picnic in Chautauqua Park, we might veg out a bit at home. Then, friends are coming over for hors d'oeuvres and drinks before we all walk up to the University of Colorado's Folsom Field for free entertainment and fireworks University of Colorado photo).

We are carpooling with neighbors this evening, so it seems as if we will leave about smallest possible carbon footprint for our Fourth of July activities.

Ski Train to Return for 2009-10

San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad steps in to operate Denver-Winter Park train

Shock and not a few tears greeted the abrupt announcement at the end of this past ski season that gajillionaire Philip Anschutz would no longer operate the 69-year-old Ski Train between Denver's Union Station and the base of the Winter Park ski area on weekends. His company sold the vintage railroad cars, and he washed his hands of this enduringly populat Colorado tradition.

Now comes the joyful news that the Ski Train will operate for a 70th year after all. Iowa Pacific Holdings, which is based in Chicago but operates the seasonal Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, an excursion train in southern Colorado's San Luis Valley, as well as short-line freight lines here and and elsewhere, said it wanted to operate the Denver-Winter Park service using rolling stock that would otherwise remain idle in winter. Amtrak asked the Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the tracks, for permission to operate a revived Ski Train on Iowa Pacific's behalf. Permission granted.

The old Ski Train website is still up with the announcement that the train ceased operations. The new broke so recently that there is not yet a new website, and of course, a timetable and fares have yet to be announced. The initial news indicated only that the revived train will run between December 16 and March 28.

Machu Picchu Under Tourist Seige

UNESCO warns that too many tourists now threaten Peru's top tourist attraction

I have not yet been to Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel high in the Peruvian Andes, but it is certainly on my go-to list. Maybe I had better move it up. According to an Associated Press report, "conservationists advising UNESCO's World Heritage Committee warn that landslides, fires and creeping development threaten the site," due to soaring visitation (800,000 annually) and excessive construction near the site.

The World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "was called to determine which of the world's cultural treasures should be added to its [endangered sites] list — and which of those already included there are now threatened. UNESCO committee spokesman Roni Amelan declined to confirm that Machu Picchu, which was named a World Heritage Site in 1983, would be classified as endangered, but said 'it's a possibility'."

The report continued that "unregulated growth, including a boom in hotel and restaurant construction in the nearby mountain town of Aguas Calientes, is putting pressure on erosion-prone riverbanks and could undermine the site." Agua Calientes is without "adequate sanitation" and "Peru's government has done little to address landslide concerns on the winding, mud thoroughfare that leads to the citadel, according to the report."

Residents of Cuzco, the an ancient Inca city and now a jumping-off point for excursions to Machu Picchu, have protested private development in Aguas Calientes, although Machu Picchu itself appears to be protected thus far. Continued uncontrolled visitation could change that as well. The article quote said Luis Lumbreras, identified as "an independent, Lima-based archaeologist who has studied Machu Picchu for more than 40 years," as warning, "Machu Picchu was never made for lots of people... "If we put tourists with boots [instead of people in sandals or bare feet] that are jumping, running, climbing the walls, etcetera, that's the danger."

Last February, locals protested plans to build more hotels and other tourist facilities, causing suspension of rail service, cancelation of tours and blocking of roads. At the time, the BBC reported, "Hundreds of local farm workers, students and teachers have blocked access roads and the only railway line, barring the way to tourists, who have been reduced to taking pictures of the demonstrators rather than the ruins themselves. The protesters want the government to invest more money in the area, and especially to improve the dirt roads."

A friend and her family recently returned from Machu Picchu filled with enthusiasm about the experience. She didn't mention protests or inadequate sanitation or overcowding, but other government have capitulated to development interests at the cost of local culture or respectful preservation of ancient treasures. The relevant UNESCO committee is concerned about this one -- and therefore so am I.

"I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane"

RIP: Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary

"All my bags are packed,
I'm ready to go.
I'm standing here outside your door.
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye.

"But dawn is breakin',
It's early morn'.
The taxi's waitin',
He's blowin' his horn. . .

"I'm leavin' on a jet plane.
Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh Babe, I hate to go."

Mary Travers has gone on her final journey. We know that she won't be back again, but her music is her legacy. We'll miss her broad smile, her creative talent, her stage presence, her straight blond hair, her distinctive voice that harmonized so well with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stuckey, her idealism. The whole package. Click here to listen to Peter, Paul & Mary's rendition of what I think of as the most poignant travel song.

Rumored Carry-On Charges Wean Travelers from Airlines

Newspaper poll indicates many travelers crying "uncle!" over airline surcharges

Today's Denver Post website included a non-scientific but enlightening reader poll regarding the rumor that airlines, already charging most travelers for checked luggage, might be introduce fees for carry-ons as well.

The question is, "Some airlines reportedly are considering charging passengers for their carry-on bags. Read story. If this happens, what will you do?" The as-of-now answers, which should be required reading for airline execs, are:

"I'm still taking everything in my carry-on" - 17.13%
"I'll still check bags and take a carry-on" - 26.12%
"I will wear multiple layers of clothes; no checked bag and no carry-on" - 7.28%
"That's it; I'm through with the airlines" - 49.46%

Perhaps another option should have been, "I'm only flying Southwest from now on." I flew Southwest to and from Oklahoma City last week. I was only gone for three days, so I did fit everything into a carry-on, but if I had checked bags, there would have been no charge. There was likewise no charge for non-alcoholic beverages, and every passenger on both packed-full flights was given two (2!) little bags of peanuts.

Cheap China Tour Package in Winter

Off-season package with air included makes China affordable

The first of my three visits to China was on a tour package for a rockbottom price including air fare from the US, good hotels in Beijing, Xi'an, Giulin and Hong Kong, and an upstream cruise on the Yangtze before the completion of the Three Gorges Dam. There were English-speaking city guides in each city (three of whom took the English name, Richard) and an English-speaking crew on the Yangtze riverboat.

The city guides met us at each airport and escorted us back to the airport again, but there was no full-time tour guide with us from beginning to end. Also not included were dinners (except on the ship), which meant we were free to try out local restaurants or just wander over to the nearest night market and graze the street-food stalls. I've returned to China twice since then, but that first visit in some ways remains the most memorable -- and the fact that we didn't break the bank stays with us as a big bonus.

Now comes word of a really inexpensive package from Friendly Planet Travel, whose Taste of China package has a similar low-frills format and also an astonishingly low price. There is no Yangztze cruise on this package, but the beguiling cities of Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, which I visited on both of my subsequent trips, are on the itinerary. If booked before September 23, Friendly Planet's package starts at $999 per person, double occupancy, including airfare from Los Angeles, fuel surcharges, hotels, transfers, many meals and most of the tours. Happily for travelers who want the comfort and convenience of a package but don't care to be babysat all the time, it has built-in free time as well.

The lowest prices are for remaining dates in December and January. I've been to China in winter, both to cold gray Beijing and to colder, grayer Harbin, which is so far north that is north of North Korea. No touristic hordes and a more refined sense of being in China and not Chinaland. Of course, you'll need warm clothes (wool, fleece, hat gloves), but you'd need them if you were visiting (or living in) New York, Washington, Boston or Chicago too. Winter days in Shanghai, Guagzhou (formerly Canton, which I have also visited) and Giulin are positively balmy.

I have never dealt with Friendly Planet Travel, but the price is right and the itinerary covers most of the main touristic highlights. 800-555-5765.

Zurich Profiled in New York Times

Just yesterday, a CNN Snapshot collection inspired a post that was, in effect, an ode to Switzerland. This week's New York Times travel section's popular getaway feature is "36 Hours in Zurich," spotlighting Zurich, not Switzerland's capital (that would be Bern) but its largest city.

International Travel is a Reality Check in the Name of Sanity

Despite past terrorist attacks, Europeans haven't succumbed to continent-wide paranoia

The Rocky Mountain News' Mark Brown returned from a two-week vacation overseas, where he appreciated being far removed from incessant, excessive, simplistic media coverage of politics starring "screaming talk-show hosts" and, more important from a traveler's standpoint, observed the absence of the post-9/11 fear-mongering and paranoia that has engulfed domestic travel. Despite higher air fares, reduced flight schedules and the pathetic dollar, international travel provides a welcome blast of sanity. In his column titled "Believe it or not, there's a land where cool heads prevail," he wrote:

"No one seemed to be living in fear. We were allowed to take bottles of
liquids on trains on the continent that saw bloody train bombings in 2004,
killing 191 people. We rode London's underground with unsearched backpacks and
suitcases less than three years after the July 2005 subway bombings that killed
52 people, the deadliest terrorist attack in London's history.

"No one made me take off my shoes at the airport on the continent where shoe bomber Richard Reid boarded a plane in 2001 with the intent to blow it up. Had to
take them off over here, though.

"Daily life in London means sitting next to Arabic-looking people on the
subway a couple of times a day, carrying backpacks and other items. Nobody
blinks an eye. The biggest threat to the London Underground that particular week
was a World War II mortar that was found to still be live under a main track.
Commuters were simply rerouted for a few days as it was disarmed and
removed.

"Meanwhile, back here a doughnut advertisement was pulled because the
woman in the commercial was wearing a scarf with tassels. And a fist-bump by a
presidential candidate was characterized as a 'terrorist fist jab.'

"As we seem to become more paralyzed with fear over here, life goes on over
there. It may be too late (and, let's face it, naive) to go back to a notion
that our fellow man isn't a threat but someone we need to cooperate and
communicate with for the good of all of us."

Thank you, Mark Brown, for your words of sanity. I hope that people will continue to travel beyond our tightened borders and that at least, your column is taken to heart by some of those who continue to be wrapped in fear -- but, I am "afraid" that they won't be.

Swiss Snapshots Online

CNN Travel posted 25 great photos of Switzerland on its Snapshot series. I'm guessing the editors had a hard time narrowing the submissions down, because it's difficult not to take a great picture in Switzerland. Many of the historic main cities -- Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne and Lucerne -- are set on lovely lakes. The mountains are jaw-droppingly beauitful year-round, when flowers fill the meadows and when snow covers them under a deep blanket of white. Picturesque towns and villages tucked into mountain valleys pose alluringly for photographs too, and when the Swiss put on traditional clothes, which can vary from valley to valley, and perhaps pull out their haunting Alphorns (like the Swiss Tourism image above, with the Matterhorn in the background) , the memory remains magical. I love visiting Switzerland, and I photos of this enchanting Alpine land always bring up powerful memories and a wish to return. I hope you enjoy the CNN Snapshot gallery as much as I did.

United to Drop Denver-London Non-Stop

Carrier to slash route after just seven months of operations

When United inaugurated its nonstop to London a few months ago, my husband and I jumped on the early fares and went to England and Scotland for eight days. That flight will go bye-bye on October 25, less than seven months after it started (March 30). I vowed to write some enthusiastic posts about something other than bad airline news on this blog, because I do love to travel, but find myself sucked in by one downbeat bit of news after another.

Offsetting higher jet fuel costs by eliminating some flights and charging for services that used to be free comprise United's strategy of "aggressive action to reduce our capacity, retire aircraft and eliminate the least-profitable markets from our fall schedule," the Rocky Mountain News quoted company spokesman Jeff Kovick as explaining -- again. It has become United's mantra.

Southwest Increases Denver Service

New year brings four new Southwest flights a day to DIA

I'm a big fan of Southwest Airlines, with its lack of pretension that it is anything other than a transportation provider, its efficient turn-arounds, its passenger-friendly policies in an industry that rarely is that and perhaps most of all, continuing to allow passengers to check to bags without paying an additional fee. Southwest just announced additional flights to and from Denver: two new daily nonstop roundtrips between Denver and Boston Logan; one new daily nonstop roundtrip between Denver and Spokane and one new daily nonstop roundtrip between Denver and Reno/Tahoe beginning January 10, 2010.

The Renaissance of an Oklahoma City Landmark

Oklahoma City's grand old hotel restored as a raving beauty. Is it still haunted?

When the Skirvin Hotel was opened in 1911 by oilman William B. Skirvin, it initially had 224 rooms in two 10-story towers and was one of the first buildings in Oklahoma City with air conditioning, then called “iced air.” I'm assuming that Oklahoma City summers were as brutal then as they are today, so iced air was welcome innovation. The luxurious hotel also had running ice water in each room, a ballroom that seated 500 and imported Austrian chandeliers that cost more than $100,000 each.

In 1930, just before the Depression really hit, the Skirvin gained a third wing and a couple of more stories for a total of 525 rooms, making it one of the city's biggest as well as one of its most opulent. The hotel was reportedly the site of one of the city's biggest scandals too. According Legends of America, it is haunted --or at least was until its renovation:

During Prohibition, "W.B. Skirvin was said to have had an affair with one of the hotel maids. According to legend, the maid soon conceived and in order to prevent a scandal, she was locked in a room on the top floor of the hotel. The desolate girl soon grew depressed and even after the birth of her child; she was still not let out of the room. Half out of her mind, she finally grabbed the infant child and threw herself, along with the baby, out of the window. The maid’s name remains unknown, but her ghost continues to haunt the Skirvin Hotel and she was nicknamed 'Effie' by former employees.

"Though the old hotel closed in 1988, former guests would often report not
being able to obtain a decent nights sleep due to the consistent sounds of a
child crying. Effie was apparently a woman of loose morals and many men who have
stayed in the hotel have often reported being propositioned by a female voice
while alone in their rooms. Others have seen the figure of a naked woman
with them while taking a shower. One man even claimed he was sexually assaulted
by an invisible entity during his stay.

"Other strange noises and occurrences were reported by staff and
guests including things seemingly being moved around by themselves, such as the
maid’s cart being pushed down the hall when no one was there."

There is even a Skirvin footnote to 20th century American political-social history. Skirvin’s daughter, Perle Mesta, later became ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a traditional plum ambassadorship for those with more social standing than diplomatic credentials, and later nicknamed Washington’s "Hostess with the Mostess." She was so prominent that she was featured in a Time magazine cover story in 1949. Her life was the basis of the hit Broadway musical, "Call Me Madam."

The hotel was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1979, closed in 1988 and stood empty for nearly 20 years. It's back now, and it is glorious. Reopened in 2007, for the State of Oklahoma's centennial year, the hotel gleams, thanks to a $56.4 million restoration that included the original exterior, historically appropriate windows, guest rooms reconfigured to today's standards, a truly beautiful lobby (center right), restaurants, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a fitness center and all the other accoutrement's demanded of a luxury hotel in the 21st century. Wherever possible, historical elements such as moldings, tiles and ceiling treatments were incorporated into the design. Each bed includes a custom coverlet with the story of the Skirvin and its city on it.

Doug Dawgz blog, one of several that focus on Oklahoma City history, wrote an illuminating post back in 2006 about the Skirvin with more background and also some wonderful historic photos.

People who believe in ghosts spectulate that the hotel might still be haunted. In my experience here, Room 1109 (lower right after evening turndown service) isn't haunted -- or I don't believe it is. Still, there was a voice message from the front desk when I returned to my room once evening asking whether "everything in my room was all right." Everything seemed just fine, but who knows?

The Skirvin Hilton is at One Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102; 405-272-3040.

Passengers Bill of Rights Stranded -- or Not?

Long-delayed passenger protection legislation seems stalled again -- but there is a deadline

A decade ago, in 1999, Northwest Airlines imprisoned a planeload of passengers on the tarmac for what The Indepdent Traveler described as "eight horrific hours without food, water, working toilets, honest or timely information, or the simple ability to walk off the plane despite being a couple hundred yards from the terminal gate at a major airport." And that was before 9/11, the TSA or other security excuses given these days when passengers are stuck in a parked airplane that isn't going anywhere for many hours.

"Airline passengers are more reliant on the good will of the airlines than most customers are on the good will of their service suppliers. So why shouldn't we have the same rights when flying that we do in other ordinary purchases of goods and services? Of course we should enjoy the same consumer rights when buying airline tickets as we do when buying anything else."

That is premise behind The Travel Insider's four-part series in early 2005 called "We Need an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights." The first post on The Coalition for Stranded Passengers' advocacy and informational blog dates back to December 2007. On January 4, 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story called "Airline Passengers Rights Movement Taking Off." Reporter George Raines wrote about milestones in the fight for passenger rights:

1) "It's possible that Congress, when it takes up a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration, perhaps in February, will include in it protections for passengers who are inconvenienced by being stranded on airplanes for three hours or more.

2) New York decided it couldn't wait for Congress to act. On New Year's Day, the first-in-the-nation airline passengers' bill of rights became law, requiring airlines to provide stranded passengers at New York airports with critical supplies to make delays more tolerable," with lawmakers in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut then in various stages of preparing similar legislation.

3) Kate Hanni, founder of the aforementioned Coalition for an Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights to lobby for the federal legislation, took the matter of "tarmac confinement" in late 2007.

4) "Aviation Consumer Action Project, a nonprofit group monitoring safety and security issues, negotiated a settlement on behalf of 4,000 Northwest Airlines passengers who were confined in airplanes from four to 11 hours during a snowstorm at Detroit Metro Airport in January 1999. They shared in a settlement of $7.1 million."

All along, travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott has been reporting on stranded passengers incidents (most recently about a Delta flight on July 26 that left passengers trapped in their plane for 392 minutes) and the snail's pace in which these issues are being addressed.

Ironic, isn't it, that legislation relating to the fasted form of travel is moving along so slowly? Actually, given the staunch opposition of the Air Transport Association, the trade organization of what's left of US commercial air carriers. Its major goal: "The association’s fundamental purpose is to foster a business and regulatory environment that ensures safe and secure air transportation and permits U.S. airlines to flourish, stimulating economic growth locally, nationally and internationally. By working with members in the technical, legal and political arenas, ATA leads industry efforts to fashion crucial policy and supports measures that enhance aviation safety, security and well-being" Nothing there about passenger service, is there?

Meanwhile, how has the bill fared in Congress? H.R. 1303: Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act 2007 was introduced to committee in March 2007 but stalled there. And that seems to be the current status of H.R. 624: Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act 2009, introduced in January of this year. However, there is a timeclock right now. As I understand it, Congress has until September 30 to extend the Federal Aviation Administration Act, and the Airline Passengers Bill of rights could be attached to it. Stay tuned.

P.S. The day after I wrote this, Chris Elliott posted "Why I Don't Support a Passengers' Bill of Rights." I'm not entirely sure that I agree with him, but he has followed the subject more closely than I, and I hold him in high regard. The truth is that neither of us has a crystal ball to know what the bill's final form might be, what last-minute compromises might be made and how whatever regulations are eventually passed will be enforced. Continue to stay tuned.

Airline Woes Could Cripple US Economy, Study Shows

Bad news and dire predictions continue for air travel

"Oil-fueled catastrophe in the airline industry would cripple US economy and eliminate US jobs, study reveals" is a ponderous title for an Internet post, but it is the gist of a feature on a travel site called eTurbo News. It cited a Business Travel Coalition study equally ominously and equally ponderously called "“Beyond the Airlines’ $2 Can of Coke: Catastrophic Impact on the US Economy from Oil-price Trauma in the Airline Industry" that predicted the domino effect of rapidly rising oil prices on jobs, the supply chain for the manufacturing that still exists in this country, lower tax revenues, American competitiveness, communities, and tourism. These, according to the article, "are just some of the predictable results from airline liquidations that could happen as early as the second half of 2008 as a direct result of unsustainable fuel prices."

As a global community and as a nation, we continue to use oil at an undiminished rate. Public transportation ridership is up in this country, but for many people, it is not an option because it simply does not exist. So people still drive around -- often one per vehicle -- in cars that are considered to get "good" gas mileage if they approach 30 MPG.

"The study expands on the analysis released on June 13, 2008 by AirlineForecasts, LLC and BTC and points to the real news about the airlines’ fuel problems: how multiple liquidations at legacy US airlines – now a serious possibility – would have a wide-ranging impact on many facets of the US economy," wrote eTurbo News.

But what we can do as individuals -- whether we drive less, carpool more, ride our bikes, cancel our vacations or simply fork over 15 bucks to check a bag or $2 for an inflight soda -- pales compared to the government's fuel consumption. Oil Change International, which is promoting the "separation of oil and state," reports that the Department of Defense (or shall we return to its old name, the Department of War?) is the country's single largest user of oil -- 1.6 million gallons a day. And every gallon that is pumped into a heavily armored HumVee (4 MPG), a mine-resistant tank (6 MPG), a helicopter (a 1,500-pound Bell Ranger reportedly burns 65 gallons in four hours; a big troop carrier way more than that) or a military jet is unavailable for civilian aviation, automobiles, buses, taxis or to heat homes in Maine and New Hampshire next winter.

The monetary cost is staggering -- $153 million for the 1.2 million barrels of fuel the armed forces use each month at $127.68 a barrel, which only seems trivial in comparison to the $10.3 billion a month America's Iraqi adventure is costing. The total so far is something on the order of half a trillion deflated US dollars, according to the Congressional Research Service. Politics, morality and even economics aside, the environmental cost is staggering. The US military burns more fuel and leaves a greater carbon footprint than the greening of the travel industry and the home-building industry combined.

Centennial for Canada's Splendid Empress Hotel

Victorian landmark in Victoria, BC, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year

Victoria on the south end of Vancouver Island is a totally captivating city. Whenever I've been there I've thought that I could easily live there -- or at least spend a few nights in one of the Fairmont Empress Hotel's 476 rooms. It is one of Victoria’s most distinctive and beautiful landmarks, and another time, perhaps I will. Meanwhile, I have strolled through the gardens, wandered through the lobby and had a drink in the Bengal Lounge, where the word "colonialism" is a quaint and picturesque theme rather than an administrative system that is way out of favor these days.

I was just leafing through a 10-year-old copy of Victorian Homes magazine, which featured Victoria and noted that the Empress Hotel was then 90 years old. It was built in 1908, when the British Empire was the world's most widespread and powerful. By then, Canada, was already evolving from colony to independent nationhood, but English influence was still potent in Victoria. The Parliament building overlooking the Inner Harbour would not look out of place along the Thames in London, and neither would the nearby Empress, a splendid and opulent example of late Victorian/Edwardian colonial architecture.

The grandiose Empress is now part of the Fairmont group. The public rooms, which are all I have seen, have been immaculately restored. Many of the original features are still in place, including beautiful leaded glass, 12-foot windows and some dozen ornate chandeliers hanging from the high carved-mahogany ceiling.

The Bengal Lounge carries out the theme of India in the days of the British Raj. The Empress Dining Room is an elegant restaurant serving contemporary British Columbia cuisine, including wines from a commendable list.

I have only sat down in the Empress for a drink, but many day visitors come for afternoon tea. In fact, I read somewhere that more than 100,000 guests do so each year, nibbling on small crust-off sandwiches of various sorts, freshly baked scones, house-made preserves, thick Jersey cream and a cornucopia of other pastries, and sipping on the Empress's custom-blended tea from Royal Doulton cups. There is a suitable dress code and such 21st-century tattiness as ripped jeans, short shorts or running clothes are not seen.

I don't know which day, week or month during 2008 has been designated for the official centennial celebration (and being so English in flavor, I am guessing there must be an official celebration!), but there is a Centennial Bed and Breakfast package that includes the hotel's famous afternoon tea, breakfast in the Empress Dining Room and a new commemorative edition of The Empress, a book tracking its glorious 100 years in words and pictures. Rates begin at CDN$199 per person, single or double occupancy, and is offered all year -- with the usual "based on availability" caveat that hotels are so fond of. If you just want to have tea, a special Centennial Tea will be presented every Friday afternoon through the end of September. The cost is CDN$100 for a memorable tradition.

The Fairmont Empress, 721 Government Street Victoria, BC V8W 1W5, Canada; 250-384-8111.

"Confessions of a Travel Writer"

Travel Channel premiere of a program that's a bit about my life

Many of my travel writer colleagues are totally fabulous: smart, curious, adaptable, genuinely nice. But some are less so: demanding, complaining, self-centered, condescending. And a few are particularly unpleasant to travel with. "Confessions of a Travel Writer," which was shown on the Travel Channel on August 10 but which I just watched, alluded to both. Fortunately, the show didn't feature the worst of the travel writer species or I'd be embarrassed by association.

Cameras followed five travel writers hosted by the Chilean Tourist Office on a one-week press trip last February (I think) to Santiago, San Antonio Valley wine country, Valparaiso and Patagonia (including the totally spectacular Torres del Paine National Park). And I finally watched, thanks to the magic of DVR. Charles Runnette hosted the show, with Shira Lazar, Chantal Martineau, Jimmy Im and Andrew Evans comprising the rest of the guests. Some of them represented publications that I thought did not accept "sponsored trips" -- but that's a topic unto itself. I could totally identify with it: a packed-full itinerary, private van transportation (and flights to/from Patagonia) between stops and lavish hosted meals that everyone seems to be hungry for.

On camera, Runnette sported the been-everywhere-seen-everything shaggy traveler look. He complained on camera about trivial inconveniences such getting the worst room in a Valparaiso hotel, about sitting in the last row on the flight to Punta Arenas, about penguin poop at the Isla Magdalena penguin rookery and about mosquitoes elsewhere in Patagonia. I can testify that press trips rarely give guests much of a chance to spend much time in their rooms other than take stuff out of their bag(s) and put it back in, shower and sleep. Runnette was enthusastic about a couple of big soaking tubs, but I've rarely had time to fill, let alone soak, in one of them on a press trip.

What the TV show failed to convey is the real work involved in gaining some insights and getting an interesting story despite the grueling schedule and the fact that even a group as small as five has different interests. Plus the host's desire to show off very specific things. The Society of American Travel Writers' 2006 convention was in Santiago. About half of us stayed at the same hotel that this press group did and the rest in a different high-rise hotel distant from the historic town center. Many of us ate at one of the Bellavista restaurants that this group did upon arrival. Many of us went to Valparaiso fof a day. And a few of us lucky ones selected a post-convention trip to Patagonia, including Torres del Paine National Park. Unlike a press trip, however, which is hosted, members pay to attend SATW conventions -- and in some cases, pay more than other groups but often get more for our meeting money. That said, we had slightly different versions of many of the experiences that this group did.

Like most reality shows, "Confessions of a Travel Writer" was not really real. All five of the guests were rather young, trim and telegenic. In truth, many travel writers have many decades on their odometers and aren't nearly as telegenic as this quintet. The women clearly were not members of the Patagonia/North Face/REI tribe. They wore the New York version of active outdoorwear, city-style makeup and glowing smiles. But even five people can be a microcosm of the travel writer experience. Charles and Shira hung together a lot. Jimmy misplaced his notebook in Valparaiso. Andrew was interested in photographing things that did not necessarily captivate the others -- especially Charles. But on balance, they seemed to get along. And that, on any press trip, is sometimes an accomplishment.

In an interview with WorldHum.com, which is owned by or affiliated with The Travel Channel, Runnette described the tightrope that we travel writers walk. He told interviewer Michael Yessis, "Any job is difficult to summarize in 43 minutes on TV, and, frankly, this show only scratches the surface of what it takes to be a travel writer. The funny thing about this job is that when you tell anyone you’re a travel writer, nine times out of 10 the first thing out of their mouth is: 'That’s my dream job.' I would say this show lays waste to that popular myth. Yes, it’s better than many jobs, but after watching this show viewers will understand the down side of travel writing. Dealing with morons, bad pay, long days and nights. And, frankly, it can be lonely at times."

The program was promoted as a "premiere," but according to a Facebook entry, it is a pilot -- so there may be others. If there are, I'll be watching.

A Berry Nice Hike

Fall is in the Colorado air (and on the Colorado ground) -- but are the aspens OK?

The other day, President Barack Obama signed an official proclamation designating September 2009 as National Wilderness Month. My husband, our friends Reed and Dave and I celebrated it with a hike into the James Peak Wilderness. When we left Boulder shortly after 8:00 a.m. with the intention of hiking to Rogers Pass, the sun shone in a clear blue sky. When we arrived at the East Portal Trailhead (below), the sky was still blue, and the sun was still bright.

We hiked up the trail that is familiar in winter and in summer. It leads to Rogers Pass, but there are also side trails to Arapahoe, Forest and Crater Lakes. We've never seen so many raspberries on bushes in open areas. Are the bears all working the garbage cans closer to town rather than the raspberry bushes? I stopped to pick and eat every time I spotted red. My companions nibbled a few, but I went after as many as I could.

Picking and eating those sweet, fresh-off-the-bush berries proved so distracting that it took me a while to notice that the sky was quickly clouding over. It was only later, when it started getting cool and threatened to sprinkle, that I stopped to put on a long-sleeved shirt.

It's 5 miles or so from the trailhead to the pass, but we weren't interested in getting wet, so a few miles in, we turned around. The descent was quick, the rain held off and once we were out of the conifers, I started really looking at the grasses and bushes, which definitely showed their true fall colors.

From afar, the aspens were beginning to turn to gold.

Closeups revealed spots of dark brown and black.

Several years ago, the aspens along the Front Range went from green to black to fallen to the ground without ever showing their classic autumn beauty. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again in during National Wilderness Month '09.

United and Continental Expect to Be Bedfellows

Rivals are vowing cooperation -- and Southwest is implementing next-generation air-traffic efficiencies

The on-again, off-again romances, courtships, engagements and miscellaneous liaisons in the American air transportation industry are positively dizzying. The latest announcement involves a planned linkage of former rivals United and Continental in a bilateral agreement for domestic and international cooperation, in reality a cost-cutting measure by two struggling legacy carriers that have invidually trimmed costs and tapped new revnue sources, largely by charging passengers for services that were until recently free.

The new relationship, which is yet to be approved by regulators, is described as a "partnership" and not a merger. It is supposed to include code-shared domestic flights and also reciprocity between United's MileagePlus program and Continental's OnePass program, enabling to earn miles when flying on either airline and redeem awards on both carriers, including accruing miles toward elite status -- though whether they will be any easier to redeem is yet to be seen. Similarly, members of Continental's Presidents Club and United's Red Carpet Club will have access to both.

Continental has also been invited to join the Star Alliance, which has announced an "enhanced transatlantic partnership of the two U.S. airlines and Star Alliance member carriers Air Canada and Lufthansa" -- whatever that will turn out to be. This latest venture into airline togetherness is supposed to be implemented sometime in 2009. Forgive me for being a tad skeptical, but when it comes to airline coopration, several similarly optimistic plans have unraveled.

Meanwhile, go-it-alone Southwest seems to be stepping in to the tune of $175 million to help implement Required Navigation Performance technology that "allows the aircraft to fly more precise, direct, and accurate paths, allowing more 'lanes' to be built into the same limited airspace," an airline press release quoted executive vice president and chief of operations Mike Vande Ven as explaining. Within six years, Southwest expects to have RNP at the 64 airports it serves. Southwest calculated that every single minute of time saved on each flight, would reduce carbon emissions by up to 156,000 metric tons annually by 2015 and result in $25 million in fuel savings per year.

Southwest has partnered with Naverus, a leader in RNP development, and the Federal Aviation Administration since May 2007 to train the airline's pilots on RNP, equip the airline's fleet to be RNP capable to and to produce RNP-charted procedures. In other times, the FAA might have taken this responsibility upon itself, but Southwest appears to have provided the impetus to get fuel-saving and green procedures underway. Southwest's goal is to begin flying with RNP procedures in place by fall 2009 and have the entire fleet under such operations by 2013.

Road Tripping in the Rockies

When it comes to driving in the mountains, it's always something

Winter driving in the Rocky Mountains often provides such challenges as slick roads, temporary avalanche-control closures, longer closures when a slide hits the highway, SUVs that slid off the road and caused rubbernecker delays, jackknifed 18-wheelers, trucks waiting to pull into chain-up areas and meanwhile blocking traffic lanes, just plain heavy skier traffic (I-70 west of Denver means epic traffic jams, winter weekend after winter weekend), etc.

Summer is roadwork season when highways and local streets in mountain communities are repaired, resurface or at least repainted (winter sanding can erase the white and yellow lines. Bridges are rebuilt. Exit ramps are widened or reconfigured. Cone zones prevail. Give yourself some leeway if you need to get somewhere at a certain time.

Why Can't an Airline Be More Like a Bus Line?

Washington Post compares eight Washington-New York bus lines. Wow!

I was living back East in the last century when Eastern Airlines launched its then-revolutionary Shuttle between New York's LaGuardia and Boston to the northeast and Washington-National to south. Low fares. Hourly flights in both directions. No strings. No TSA screening. Except in the heart of the rush hour, quick cab ride to close-in airports. Business travelers embraced it. And it soared. In those pre-Amtrak days, rail travel on antiquated trains (the New Haven Railroad to Boston, the Pennsylvania Railroad to D.C.) seemed tedious, and buses, for business travelers, seemed déclassé.

Fast forward to this century, and buses seem to be a fantastic way to travel between these two cities. Washington Post reporters rode 10 different buses operated by 10 different bus companies, and all I can say is: with the arguable exception of Southwest, the worst bus line sounds preferable to the best airline these days.

The Post's motorcoach comparison shopping, assembled into a chart called "Rolling With It," reveals low fares (the lowest reported as $1*, the highest one-way fare is $30), convenient center-city stops, online booking with no or modest change fee, walk-up service with no or modest surcharge (but usually cash only) and often amenities that airline passengers can only dream about. Depending on the bus line, these can include free WiFi, electrical outlets, leather seats, free bottled water and free movies that in one case passengers vote on. Most have some kind of frequent-rider deal, with a free trip after as few as four paid trips. Amazing!

*There must be strings to a dollar fare, but I don't know what they are.

The most stinging criticism the Post had was for two lines. MVP was described as, "Our non-MVP bus was pretty dismal. Hindsight lesson: MVP runs its own vehicles Monday-Thursday but uses others on weekends. No WiFi, broken reading lights and the restroom was like an indoor outhouse, unclean and lacking toilet paper and hand sanitizer." Of New Century Travel, the paper commented, "The boarding was unclear — we were instructed to board the Philly-bound bus, but then what? — and the ride was harrowing from start to finish. We want our 20 bucks back!"

I suppose that those Continental Express passengers stranded overnight on the tarmac in Minneapolis last month would have been ecstatic if such had been the worst of their experiences. Click here if you've forgotten that awful true story.

If you are traveling that NYC-WAS route, check the Post's chart with prices, policies, phone numbers, websites and ratings from four buses to a half-bus. If I were still traveling the Northeast corridor, that's what I would do.

Bruising Add-On's Tarnish the Cruising Experience

Royal Caribbean taken to task for charging extra for cupcakes

I can't pretend to be an authority on cruise ships, having taken all of one full trip and one out-and-back trip to nowhere on a "naming cruise" with mainstream cruise lines in my life. Even with my limited experience, I was shocked at all the extras that are not included in the price of the voyage. In fact, I wrote a feature called "Keeping the Bargain in Bargain Cruises" after I found out how many add-ons there are and how much they cost.

Now Anne Campbell's post, "Royal Caribbean the First to Charge for Cupcakes," on her Ship Critic blog shines an authoritative spotlight on these extras. She wrote, "Aboard Royal Caribbean’s 'Oasis of the Seas' you’ll pay extra — the cruise line says prices aren’t available yet — for a cupcake at The Cupcake Cupboard, an on-board shop."

While she praises the beauty and such innovative diversions on RCCL's ship(s) as the “flow rider” surfing simulator, rock climbing, ice skating, roller blading on deck and central Promenade of stores, restaurants and bars, she takes the line to task for charging extra for room service and a surcharge or a la carte pricing (a record in the cruise industry) at nine of 24 restaurants aboard.

"But no one wants to feel nickeled and dimed aboard a cruise," she notes.

TSA Screeners Get New Uniforms and Badges

Transportation Security Agency screeners -- 48,000 strong -- will be dressing more like law-enforcement officers

If a royal blue shirt and badge communicates "police" to you, screeners at the nation's airport checkpoints who are going to start wearing police-style badges are projecting an intentionally misleading image. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is outfitting its screeners with 3-inch-by-2-inch, silver, copper and zinc badges to be worn on "police blue" shirts after just two days of procedural training, including how to communicate with the flying public in a non-confrontational manner.

The TSA's idea is to convey an image of authority to passengers, who, understandably, are weary of arbitrary and inconsistent screening procedure. The TSA blames the public for harassing and being disrespectful of screeners, occasionally even pushing or punching, according to reports. The TSA probably prefers to believe that their screeners treat passengers even-handedly and politely, but anyone who flies more than occasionally has had less than pleasant experiences. And some airport police are not thrilled that the screeners might be, to put a snarky spin on it, impersonating officers.

Extending this, the Transportation Security Agency has had a high employee turnover rate since it was created as part of the post-9/11 Department of Homeland Security. According to the TSA's own Employee Retention Report released in July 2007, the agency "had an attrition rate of 17.6 percent in 2005 and 14.6 percent in 2006, according to the report. TSA says that decrease is evidence of an attrition rate that continues to fall. The administration said its turnover rate is 16.5 percent, higher than 2006, but still a 13.6 percent reduction since 2005." Even if it were falling comparably to, say, 10 percent, that's still somewhere around 4,800 former TSA screeners every year. Given the efficiency of other Department of Homeland Security agencys (FEMA comes to mind), who knows what happens to all those very official looking badges. Will the agency require and track their return?

Airport police officers are armed and have the power to arrest, which screeners do not. Some are concerned about confusion that can cause unforeseen problems. Other agencies,including some stationed at airports, also give badges to their employees.

What People Don't Like About Hotels

Advice for avoiding hotel billing hassles

In yesterday's post, "What People Like About Hotels," I speculated that "travelers seem overwhelmingly disappointed with air travel, but hotels seemingly are still viewed favorably," and gave the results of a survey about hotel positives. Today, travel consumer advocate Christopher Elliott wrote about an increasingly common problem with hotel stays. He called it "folio failure." Most, he noted, are "erroneous charges that . . . are innocent mistakes — a wrong room number, sloppy handwriting or a computer glitch." His advice is to check your bill before you leave so that the error can be corrected on the spot. Here's his advice (with my added comments in italics):

1. Have an alibi - Elliott gave an example of a restaurant/bar bill that had mistakenly been charged to his room. He wasn't in the hotel at the time of the charge and could prove it, so the charge was removed.

2. Say ‘no’ to the minibar key - "Accepting a minibar key, even if you don’t intend to use it, can lead to billing problems later on," he wrote. Further advice, when doing so, ask the front desk agent to note in the record that the key has been declined. He pointed out that "some minibars register a 'sale' any time an item is moved, meaning that if you touch it, you buy it." Many of us touch the mini-bar contents when storing a doggie bag in the little refrigerator. When I remember, I do refuse the minibar key. Now that I've written this, I'll bet I remember more often.

3. Keep your receipts - Retain receipts from meals, taxis and other services outside of the hotel. If you get charged for a room service or hotel restaurant dinner but can prove that you weren't in the hotel at the time, such erroneous charges can be removed more easily (see tip #1). Of course, is you are someone's guest, say, at dinner, you won't have a receipt for that meal, but make a habit to keep receipts when you can to increase your odds of avoiding wrongful charges.

4. Ask first - He pointed out that "so-called 'full service' hotels like to charge you for every little thing." In addition to hotels that charge guests for receiving guests' packages, not uncommon for travelers attending trade shows or conferences, annoying add-ons include telephone fees, Internet connections (WiFi or Ethernet), one bottle of water free upon checkin that is replaced by others that cost, access to on-site gym or swimming pool and parking. In many respects, mid-range motor inns provide the best value. Parking, recreational facilities and Internet access are generally free. I also like hotels like the Kimpton properties and some suite hotels that put on a complimentary wine and cheese in the afternoon. Others offer complimentary quality coffee and tea in the morning. "The solution," Elliott counseled, "is to never assume any service, no matter how small, will be free, and to always ask if there will be a charge."

5. Don’t wait to dispute a charge - "If you see an incorrect charge on your bill, notify a hotel employee immediately," Elliott wrote. With the popularity of so-called "convenient" online checkout, many travelers are in a hurry and push buttons to accept charges without really looking to see what they are. Conversely, when checking out in person and there's a line piling up, many people are reluctant to take the time to look over their bill. Moral of the "folio failure" story is to take an extra moment -- regardless.

"Air Contrarian" Chooses Growth in Difficult Economic Times

While other airlines are cutting back, low-fare AirAsia intends to keep on growing

The travel news is full of service cuts here, airline bankruptcies there, airlines folding completely elsewhere, and surcharges and extra fees all over the map. So it came as a surprise (to me anyway) to read a piece called "Strong Expansion is the Best Way to Cope with High Fuel Prices, AirAsia Exeuctive Says" on a travel trade site called eTurboNews. Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, described as Asia's largest low-cost airline with a 60-city route network that includes Southeast Asia, China and Australia, spoke to eTurboNews Stephan Hanot:

Q: How fuel is affecting your strategy?
A: Fuel is becoming a massive problem as it went up from US$36 in 2003 to
over US$170 for jet fuel today. And they are only two ways to deal with this
burden to cut costs. The first, chosen by many airlines, is to reduce the
network and adapt capacities. It works but it will also affect considerably
travel patterns and could lead to a cycle of further route network’s adjustment…
The other way is still to grow up. This is the way AirAsia choose. We have to
fill up aircraft as more passengers are the best way to compensate for the
burden of high fuel prices. We will also continue to look at ways to reduce our
costs.

Q.This means: no cut in your network, including domestic routes?
A. That is correct. More revenues can make up for the deficit we could
record because of the fuel crisis. In fact, I speed up the opening of new
routes. We will out of Malaysia open between June and July up to four new lines
[routes]...

Q. Does it then mean that AirAsia low cost model turn its back from
traditional point-to-point markets?
A. We have seen indeed an increasing number of passengers in transit at our
main bases...I anticipate a further development of our transfer activity in the
future.

Q. Will you increase fuel surcharges?
A. We try not to pass the burden to consumers with additional fuel
surcharges. We rather look at other ways such as paying a minimal fee to use our
various services. We recently introduced fees for check-in luggage for
example...

Q. How about your environmental credential? AirAsia seems to be far behind other airlines in terms of initiatives such as carbon footprint compensation.
A. Asia is generally behind developed nations in Europe, America or
the Pacific...Our fleet is one of the youngest in the world and is extremely fuel-efficient as we put more seat per aircraft than most or our competitors. We also try to accelerate the replacement of our ageing Boeing 737-300 by more fuel-efficient Airbus A320. However, we are looking now to introduce a scheme for carbon dioxide (CO²) footprint compensation. We look at ways to see how this CO² credit would be at best used. I expect that we could come up with some program by early
2009....

Can AirAsia keep it up? I don't know, but it operates on an aggressive model. Founded only in 2001 as a no-frills, low-fare, fequent-flight carrier that currently flies to 60 destinations, it was named named 2007 CAPA Airline of the Year. AirAsia managed an on-time record of 89 percent in May, and even in challenging times, seems to be continuing various promotions and fare sales to fill seats.

Contrast this to a front page story in today's Denver Post called "Fares Adding Fuel to the Flier," which reported that base fares for domestic flights from Denver are up 7.5 percent since June 2007 -- plus the add-on fees that did not exist a year ago. Competition does put the reins on increases a bit, with the greatest fare increases on routes with the least service. The phrase," The airlines have those passengers over a barrel" comes to mine -- a barrel of oil, perhaps.

AirAsia's slogan: "Now everyone can fly." What a contrast to many US carriers -- Southwest seemingly being an exception -- that seem to being instituting the slogan, "Now no one can fly anymore."

Low Cabin Pressure Forced Plane Back to Denver

Oxygen masks did not deploy, and six United passengers seem to have decided to go to the hospital

Tonight's 10:00 o'clock news included a report about a plane that returned to Denver late this afternoon due to low cabin pressure. According to "Pressurization Issue Forces Plane Back To Denver" from Channel 7, United flight 591 took off from Denver International Airport for Seattle shortly before 4:00 p.m. but soon returned to Denver because of what was described as "a pressurization problem." The Boeing 737 landed shortly after 5:00. Of the 121 passengers aboard, six went to the hospital -- they "opted to go to the hospital," according to the report. There were also three flight attendants and two pilots on board.

What makes this all seem to weird is that despite "the pressurization issue," the oxygen masks did not deploy. According to Channel 7, United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy, said "the situation was not one that would warrant the masks to drop."

Am I missing something when I wonder about the purpose of oxygen masks if not to deploy when cabin pressure drops? Or is United's latest revenue source going to be pay-to-use masks, perhaps like an oxygen bar? Of course, the aircraft was taken out of service until mechanics could inspect it fully. I can't wait for a followup to this story explaining what happened to cause pressure to drop in the first place and then why the oxygen masks not to drop. When the former drops, I would have assumed that the latter is supposed to drop as well.

What People Like About Hotels

These days, travelers seem overwhelmingly disappointed with air travel, but hotels seemingly are still viewed favorably. Richard P. Carpenter Travel & Trivia recently posted the results of a survey commissioned by hotels.com on what people like about staying in hotels. I went to the hotels.com site to try to find out the breadth, depth and randomness (or not) of those surveyed, but I couldn't find it on their site. Therefore, here are the results from Carpenter's blog:

What people said they looked forward to when spending a night in a hotel:
* 66 percent (tie) -- simply peace and quiet.
* 66 percent (tie) -- having no responsibilities.
* 58 percent -- not having to make the bed or clean up.
* 43 percent -- room service.
* 41 percent -- a full night's sleep.
* 18 percent -- control of the TV and remote.

What people said they would gladly leave behind when heading for a hotel:
* 75 percent -- chores and housework.
* 47 percent -- their jobs.
* 11 percent -- their children.
* 8 percent -- their spouses or significant others.