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

July 19, 2004

Motorist Finds Airport Safety Plans
Home Secretary David Blunkett says a top-level probe has been launched into how a police dossier containing secret counter-terrorist plans for Heathrow airport went missing. The Sun reported on Monday it had been handed the dossier by a motorist who found it lying in a road. It showed 62 sites at the airport where attackers were most likely to launch anti-aircraft missile strikes. The paper said the dossier included facts about surveillance, escape routes, evacuation plans and deployment of rooftop snipers at the world's busiest international hub. Blunkett said he believed the dossier was genuine. "As far as I know, it is," he told BBC radio. Reuters | Posted 6:30 a.m.
• Security Breach is "Very Bad" (Telegraph)
• Document Said To Be Genuine (BBC)

Well, this is just what we need to restore travelers' confidence. I'm not surprised that this kind of thing happened at a place like Heathrow.

Another Win For Low-Cost Airlines
In a business in which everyone sells the same thing, the low-cost producer usually comes out on top. It took 25 years, but that is exactly what has happened in the airline business. The discount carriers have won the war. The insurgents have taken the capital. The discounters demonstrated their newfound clout last week when Southwest Airlines initiated a round of fare cuts, a role typically played by the major carriers. ''The low-cost guys are the price leaders now," said Robert Mann, an airline consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. The established airlines had to match the reduced fares, no easy job for companies with significantly higher expenses. United, Delta, and US Airways are all in talks with their unions for the umpteenth time, asking for still more wage and benefit concessions. Boston Globe | Posted 6:45 a.m.

British DVT Case Moves Forward
Families of victims of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) have won the right to take their cases to the House of Lords in a legal breakthrough that could leave the airline industry liable for millions of pounds in compensation pay-outs. Lawyers for the families said yesterday they were delighted that the country's highest court of appeal had finally decided to hear their arguments in full. Des Collins, the solicitor based in Watford, Hertfordshire, who has been representing the families in their legal battle with the airlines for more than three years, said the decision was a "clear indication" that the law lords had been listening to rulings in other countries. "We had to wait a long time to reach this point. I hope we can now go on and win our case," he said. The Independent | Posted 7 a.m.

Three Years Later, How Safe Are We? - Nearly three years after hijacked commercial jets were used to attack New York and Washington, security specialists warn that the aviation industry and especially the authorities that oversee it are not sufficiently prepared to prevent another attack or to respond adequately should one occur. IHT | Posted 7 a.m.

Hilton Tries Check-In ATMs Again - Hilton Hotel Corp. is taking another kick at the self-service can that will see Web-based kiosks deployed in 45 of its North American properties over the next year. The hospitality company said the project will involve 100 machines co-designed with IBM Canada and follows a successful pilot project at two of its biggest hotels in New York and Chicago. IT Business | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Yes, But Money Can Buy You Privacy - Money may not be able to buy you happiness but it can buy some privacy. A new report on the luxury travel market from tour operator Kuoni shows that today's well-heeled travellers value personal service above all else. From private jets to personal butlers, the demand for a tailormade experience away from the crowds has never been higher. Observer | Posted 7 a.m.

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• Off the Record... I liked Harry Shattuck's column in Sunday's Houston Chronicle. In it, he recognizes the importance of a real vacation and notes that fewer of us are actually taking one. Nowadays, even cruise ships come equipped with high-speed Internet connections. Where's the getaway in that? Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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