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

February 18, 2004

Welcome Aboard, Mr. Bin Laden
Imagine if the world's most notorious fugitive, Osama bin Laden, attempted to board an airliner in the United States. Suppose he were clean-shaven, sporting short hair, wearing a pinstriped business suit and looked like so many other travelers that no suspicions were raised. How far might he get? If he used aliases such as names of family members he would be nabbed instantly and whisked away for questioning. That's because many of his relatives are on the FBI's secret "no-fly list," according to intelligence sources. But suppose he boldly decided to use his own name. Would he be cleared to fly? Insight recently learned that scenario was tested at a U.S. airport in the South during January. The result was troubling: America's most-wanted fugitive is cleared to fly. Insight | Posted 6 a.m.
-- Crypto: More CAPPS II Controversy

• Stupid, stupid, stupid. That's about all I can say. We pay $1 billion for CAPPS II and we get ... this? Send us your comments.

'Eyes' Keep Watch on LA Roads
Like many drivers, Beth Lumetta gives little thought to the string of traffic lights at all those intersections that she encounters each day. "I like it when they're green, not when they're red — that's about it," said the Studio City office manager, who often travels on city streets to avoid freeway congestion. But behind many of the simple-looking dots of shining green, yellow and red across the cityscape, an elaborate high-tech system is helping to reduce congestion. Since the 1980s, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has been equipping intersections across the city with sensors that synchronize and coordinate traffic lights through a centralized computer network. The system has become one of the city's primary means of getting more traffic through its jam-packed streets. Los Angeles Times | Posted 6:15 a.m.

ATA May Fly to Europe
Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines Inc. could become the first U.S. low-cost carrier to provide scheduled service to European destinations, the airline's vice chairman said Tuesday. James Hlavacek said the airline, which flies an all-Boeing fleet in its scheduled service, said it's only a matter of time before the low-cost phenomenon spreads to trans-Atlantic flights. While ATA has not announced European service, the airline has carefully studied the possibility. "Some low-cost carrier is going to do it," he said Tuesday in Seattle. "We have the capability. We could be the first." Tribune | Posted 6:20 a.m.
-- News: New tanks will cut dangerous fuel vapors

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• And finally ... have you noticed that CAPPS II is becoming a pet issue for some travel industry pundits? Granted, a few experts, Like Edward Hasbrouck, have been on the issue all along, but others seem to using the controversy to generate publicity for their causes. And I thought using 9/11 as an excuse for every airline service cut was poor form. Posted 6:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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