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

February 25, 2004

Airline Liable in Smoke Death
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that an airline can be held liable for the death of a passenger from a severe asthma attack caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. The 6-2 ruling was a defeat for Olympic Airways , the Greece-based airline that challenged a $1.4 million award against it in the case of a 52-year-old doctor from California who died on a 1998 flight from Athens to New York. The airline had argued that it cannot be held liable under the Warsaw Convention, an international treaty on airline liability, when a passenger's preexisting medical condition has been aggravated in the aircraft cabin. Reuters | Posted 6:20 a.m.
-- Read the entire text of the Supreme Court decision

• Maybe this will prompt the hotel industry to ban smoking in all of its rooms. I have no sympathy for people who light up near a bed that I'm going to later sleep on. If you travel a lot, this could be a good time to go cold turkey. Send us your comments.

Danish Carrier: One Size Doesn't Fit All
Airline passengers who admit to being large or extra-large can now pay for a bigger seat on some Maersk Airlines flights. The Danish airline believes it's the answer for the larger passenger who finds economy class too small, but who won't pay for an upgrade. Travelers who admit to being large or extra-large can pay for a bigger seat on the airline's Scandinavian routes. However, the seats won't be cheap. A small seat comes in at £45 return and a medium at around £90. But the extra-large starts at around £270. Ananova | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Record: Danish carrier discovers size does matter

Who's the Dummy Now?
A former department store model is now working traffic enforcement for the police department. Officer TED is a dummy, traffic Cpl. James Ginter said. Before joining the force, Officer TED - traffic enforcement decoy - had a career at Robinson's May as a store mannequin, but he was let go and donated to police. Dressed in uniform, Officer TED is dropped off at busy thoroughfares to peer over the steering wheel of a patrol car. It's an effort to get motorists to obey traffic laws. Officer TED serves as a visual reminder for people to check their speed, Ginter said. AP | Posted 6:40 a.m.

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• And finally ... look at what the Supreme Court started. The bulletin boards are hopping with disgruntled smokers lamenting the fact that they can't light up inside America's airport terminal. Well, there's always Europe. Posted 6:50 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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