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.