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

July 9, 2004

False Alarms Rattle Several Airports
A passenger breached the Ottawa Airport's first line of security by getting on a plane with checked baggage that did not belong to him. That breach of security touched off a false alarm that paralyzed operations Wednesday, stranding passengers and grounding flights for nearly four hours. In total, more than 200 passengers and a dozen flights were delayed. According to a leading U.S. aviation safety expert, emergency response to the bomb scare displayed hallmarks of an organization caught unprepared. "What happened in Ottawa has happened to dozens of airports in the U.S.," said Michael Boyd, a Denver-based consultant who has worked with major carriers, including the defunct Canadian Airlines. Ottowa Citizen | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Herald Sun : Sydney airport frozen by intruder
-- Sky News: Reporter allowed to board flight with knife

• We think we can stop the next 9/11. But it should be painfully obvious to us that we can't - our security net is full of holes the size of a 747. Sadly, little seems to have changed since the TSA took over. Send us your comments.

Another Hotel Tax Proposed in N.C.
Town leaders in Maggie Valley, NC, want the power to enact a new tax and set up an independent tourism authority to promote the tourism-dependent valley. The Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night instructed Town Manager Scott Buffkin to send a letter to lawmakers asking for the go-ahead to levy up to 3 percent in a room tax that would be used to promote tourism inside the town limits. A governing board made up of members of the community would control the money, said Alderman Linda Taylor, who brought the plan before the town board. The tax issue was not on the meeting agenda that was published last week. The new tax would be collected in addition to the 3 percent already collected by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, but it would be spent locally instead of dispersed countywide, Taylor said. Citizen Times | Posted 6:45 a.m.

More Airline Bankruptcies Ahead?
There’s a dogfight in the skies over Europe, and the outcome of the battle very well could foretell the future of the airline industry in the United States. The continent is now home to more than 50 low-cost carriers, including Wizz Air, Snowflake, VolareWeb, Air Polonia, Now and SkyEurope. And, of course, Easyjet and Ryanair Holdings , the most successful of the bunch. With so many players, no one is surprised that five newcomers have gone bust recently. And airline analysts expect more to exit the business this winter. What surprised analysts, however, was the Jan. 28 earnings warning from Ryanair. Earnings for the fiscal year ending in March 2004 would be 10% below earnings for fiscal 2003 and 20% below earlier projections for fiscal 2004, management said. MSN | Posted 7 a.m.

Independence Air Sued Over Name - Independence Air calls its airplanes "I-jets." But a group of former intelligence officers says that's threatening their business. Annapolis-based Ijet Travel Risk Management offers security advice to executives who travel abroad, and they say being associated with the discount carrier is confusing their customers. The firm has filed suit in an effort to block the northern Virginia airline's use of the term "I-jets." They cite trademark infringement. (AP)

15-Year Sentence Sought For Peru Airline Mogul - Prosecutors on Friday requested a 15-year sentence for the founder of Peru's largest airline who's being tried on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. State attorney's allege that Fernando Zevallos was part of a cocaine smuggling operation in the mid 1990s. They also charge that he laundered drug profits. (AP)

Denver Airline Official Charged in Theft - A Mexicana Airlines executive was arrested Thursday for allegedly embezzling money from the company's Denver office, police said. Although the amount Jose A. Gutierrez, 24, is accused of embezzling over two years is just more than $33,000, investigators believe it may be substantially more. (Rocky Mountain News)

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• Off the Record... thanks to the folks at Frommers.com for the lovely write-up of Travel Notes. The article said this blog is "Independent, honest ... and a great distillation of the latest air travel news." It also accused yours truly of being "unafraid to express [my] opinions." Guilty as charged. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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