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

June 15, 2004

Pittsburgh Airport Slips into Chaos
Many US Airways passengers flying from Pittsburgh International Airport Sunday to kick off summer vacations or for other reasons probably found the experience to be anything but relaxing. Some travelers endured waits of two hours or more to retrieve boarding passes or to check luggage as lines to the US Airways ticket counter snaked throughout the terminal for parts of the day. The long waits caused tempers to flare and the police to be called to settle down the crowd. At one point, one group of passengers, fearful of missing their flight, started chanting, "Hold the plane, hold the plane," according to KDKA-TV. Post-Gazette | Posted 6:30 a.m.
-- Inquirer: US Airways woes are hurting Pittsburgh
-- AP: US Airways jet hits owl in PIT, runs off runway

• On second thought, maybe that "deathwatch" feature isn't such a bad idea. I find it regrettable to see a once-great carrier like US Airways sliding ever closer to the proverbial abyss. Send us your comments.

Deaf Passengers Sue Burbank Airport
An advocacy group filed a class-action lawsuit against Bob Hope Airport on Monday, claiming the facility failed to provide basic access for deaf and hard-of-hearing travelers using the airport. The Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness said deaf and hard-of-hearing people have been shut out of the exchange of critical information at the airport due to a lack of TTY telephones and monitors displaying boarding and paging information. "The 30 million people living in this country who are either deaf or have experienced some degree of hearing loss are tired of waiting for institutions such as airports, which serve the general public, to voluntarily provide the equal access that is required under the law," attorney Kevin Knestrick said. AP | Posted 6:45 a.m.

Hotels Doing Better Than Expected
The strong rebound in the hotel industry has prompted PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to revise upward its prediction of hotel room-rate increases for this year, from 1.9 percent about two months ago to 3 percent last week. The hospitality practice of the professional services firm also predicted that average daily rates will rise 3 percent next year over this year. Rates had remained flat last year and dropped 1.4 percent in each of the previous two years. In its latest report, PwC forecast that average rates nationwide will hit $85.64 this year and $88.20 next year. PwC also predicted that occupancy this year will increase only about half as much as the rise in room rates, as measured by percentage, indicating that hoteliers feel confident enough about the rebound to strengthen rates rather than primarily focus on filling hotel rooms. Meeting News | Posted 7 a.m.

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• And finally ... the story that won't go away is back again. Remember that GPS tracking story I did for The New York Times in January? Telematics systems aren't new, but the way in which these devices were being used - to overbill travelers - was different. Now the AP seems to have discovered the same story - again. I don't mind. I didn't exactly break the story, and I think the more times it gets told, the more likely the car-rental industry will finally do something about the abuse of such systems. Posted 7:10 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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