To the list of instructions you hear at airport checkpoints, add this: "Put your palms forward, please."
The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers' hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives.
via edition.cnn.com
UNITED NATIONS - With a simple click, U.S. travelers buying airline tickets via some travel agencies and Internet sites can now donate $2 or more to fight AIDS in developing countries.
I STOPPED counting the number of flight cancellations in February at around 25,000. Just in the first two weeks of the month, 13,000 flights were scrubbed - that alone was the biggest disruption to the air travel system since 9/11.Why the airlines pre-emptively canceled so many flights as bad weather loomed on the East Coast is an issue for another time. What it meant, though, was that a lot of business travelers had to struggle to rebook seats or make new reservations in a system that has no slack whatsoever because airlines have been steadily reducing capacity in recent years to cut costs.
via www.nytimes.com
Flights are routinely canceled because of weather delays or mechanical problems, but passengers trying to fly from Rochester, N.Y., to Atlanta Thursday found their trip canceled for another reason: the flight attendants reportedly got into a fistfight.
via abcnews.go.com
The main runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International will be closed for four months starting March 1. Millions of travelers will experience delays — including some not flying anywhere near the Big Apple.
With about one-third of JFK's traffic and half of its departures being diverted to three smaller runways, planes will wait on longer lines on the ground for takeoffs and in the air for landings. Delays at one of the nation's largest airports will ripple to cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando.
via wcbstv.com
Engineers tasked with building an airport are faced with countless challenges: The ideal location needs ample space, endless flat ground, favorable winds and great visibility. But spots in the real world are rarely ideal, and engineers are forced to work with what they have, making sure that the end product is the safest possible structure for pilots. A survey of airports around the world turns up a mixed bag, ranging from dangerous and rugged landing strips to mega-size facilities that operate like small cities. Here, PM explores the world's most remarkable airports and why they stand out.
More and more airlines are removing first class seats. Just as many resort hotels have removed the world "resort" from their name. It looks better on an expesess account. "..hey boss I didn't fly in first, I flew business class." TB
Qantas is adding capacity in its Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 fleet, but is doing so by reducing its first class seats -- becoming the latest carrier to admit that its much harder to make first class pay off these days.
By replacing first class sections with business class seats in nine of its 747s and almost half its A380s, the carrier estimates it is adding the equivalent capacity of three 747s.
