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E L L I O T T ' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

December 24, 2004

Whiteout Conditions For Christmas
As the countdown to Christmas ticks away, the roads, rails and sky are expected to be flooded with the largest number of travelers ever recorded. While state police have launched extra patrols to keep busy roads safe, airports including Logan International are trying to deal with cancellations caused by blizzards in the Midwest and South. Almost 63 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the week from Christmas to New Year's, a 3 percent increase over last year, said David Raposa, director of public affairs at AAA Southern New England. The last time this many people traveled for the holidays was in 2001, when 61 million people traveled to see families after the terrorist attacks. (Herald) Posted 5:35 a.m.
• Bad Weather May Ground Travelers (NPR)
• At Airports, Record Cold - and Lines (Post)

Here's wishing all the readers of Travel Notes a safe holiday weekend. With all these weather delays, don't forget to confirm your flight before you leave for the airport - or better yet, stay home and have another eggnog.

Getting Out of Town for Holidays
Over the river and through the woods, maybe, but not to grandmother's house: The family Christmas is changing its venue, and its traditions. . In an ocean-crossing trend, families are meeting up anywhere but home, celebrating the holidays in exotic locales or with new rituals as end-of-year festivities go global. . Take the case of Chantal Massé. She and her husband, Pierre, have spent every Christmas with relatives at home in Granville, France, a picturesque town along the broad beaches of the Normandy coast. Not this year. (IHT) Posted 5:45 a.m.

Attendant Charged With Sabotage
Travelers might expect flight delays because of bad weather or occasional mechanical problems, but who would think a flight attendant would sabotage planes? On Thursday, federal prosecutors charged a Chaska man who works for Pinnacle Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink, with damaging the safety and emergency equipment on 14 flights, including some in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Many of the flights were delayed or canceled. The felony charge against Steven R. Hirtzinger, 23, came after an internal investigation by Pinnacle, which has its headquarters in Memphis. (Star Tribune) Posted 5:50 a.m.

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Bermuda's Island Life
If you want an entire tropical island to yourself at this time of year, skip the Caribbean. Try Bermuda instead. Balmy but not oppressively humid, cultured but not pretentious, quaint without being antiquated, Bermuda is practically abandoned between Thanksgiving and Easter and, for all intents and purposes, visitor-free during the two weeks leading up to Christmas. It makes this the perfect time to spend a long weekend on the former British colony, which is located 568 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and a relatively painless hour-and-a-half flight from Washington. (Archived from Elliott.org) Posted 5:55 a.m.

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US Airways Agents Give $137 Million Present
US Airways' 5,600 customer service and reservation agents approved $137 million in annual wage and benefit concessions Thursday as the airline works to reach new labor agreements with its five major unions ahead of a bankruptcy judge's ruling that could terminate contracts not renegotiated. Even with the concessions, the fate of about 800 Green Tree-based reservation agents won't be known until early next month, when the airline is expected to announce where it will consolidate its reservation operations. (Tribune Review) Posted 6:05 a.m.

Hey, This Jet Can't Make a U-Turn
An aborted U-turn by an American Airlines pilot sent a Dallas-bound jet sliding into a muddy field at Richmond International Airport yesterday, creating delays and cancellations for at least 100 other flights. No one was injured in the low-speed accident at 8:20 a.m. as American Eagle Flight 1239 was taxiing before takeoff at the north end of a main runway. The problem occurred as the twin-engine MD-80 aircraft began turning toward the airport's second main runway. As it pivoted, the pilot "misjudged the radius of his aircraft and got stuck in the mud," said Arlene Salac, regional spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration. (TD) Posted 6:10 a.m.

Oops! Alaska Air Revises Earnings on Mileage Error
Alaska Airlines Inc. revised third-quarter net income lower by 7.9 percent because of a clerical error in accounting for a frequent-flier program. The revised third-quarter net income is $61 million, down from $66.2 million reported previously, the carrier said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The error reduced third-quarter net income for the parent company, Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, to $74 million from $79.2 million. Alaska Airlines mistakenly recorded revenue from partners in its frequent-flier program who offer bonus miles as an incentive to use their products, said Caroline Boren, an Alaska Air spokeswoman. (Bloomberg) Posted 6:15 a.m.

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