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

November 30, 2004

TSA Accused Of Spilling Man's Ashes
It's a case of airport security that some say went way too far -- a Transportation Security Administration screener is accused of opening a sealed box and spilling the cremated remains of a San Diego woman's relative all over her suitcase. Lisa Miller, who found her cousin's remains scattered among her belongings, is understandably upset, and after failing to get an apology, she's suing the TSA for damages. When Charles Mason died last year, Miller went to Seattle to transport his cremated remains. She put his ashes in a sealed box -- with what she said was proper identification -- inside a backpack. "It has the name and address of the funeral home," Miller told NBC 7/39. "It has a serial number. It has that it's the cremated remains of Charles Mason." (NBC San Diego) Posted 6:35 a.m.
• Coming Home Was Cousin's 'Dying Wish' (KING)
• View TSA Rules for Transporting Ashes (TSA.gov)

This blog was the first to draw attention to the TSA groping incidents. And really, I thought I had seen it all. Guess I was wrong.

Hurricane Season Ends - On Paper
It seemed like there was no place to hide this hurricane season. And, really, there wasn’t. From Texas to Maine, every coastal state in the Atlantic felt at least the brush of a storm – and Florida was socked by four, including three hurricanes. Beyond U.S. shores, Caribbean islanders, Cubans and Canadians also suffered. Virginia was affected by seven – a record – that spun off more than 40 tornadoes, another record. Richmond reeled under unprecedented flash flooding that inundated the downtown’s popular club, dining and shopping district. The season ends today. “It’s certainly one to tell your grandchildren about,” said Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “We set some records that will stand for a long time.” (Pilot) Posted 6:45 a.m.

No Worries, Flying is (Relatively) Safe
Loosen up, nail-biting, sedative-popping frequent fliers. Traveling on scheduled United States airlines is safer than it ever has been, with no fatalities in 2002 and only one death in 32.6 million passenger departures last year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, a quasi-independent agency that examines why planes crash and what happens when they do. And even if your plane does go down, the chances that you will walk away from the wreckage have improved sharply in recent years. "There hasn't been a major crash - knock on wood - in nearly two years," said Doug Wills, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group of 24 airlines. (The New York Times) Posted 6:50 a.m.

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Soup Of the Day
Ever wonder about karma and air travel? Once in a while a nasty passenger comes along that gets what he deserves. There is a line between inconvenienced and downright rude. The following is a perfect example. He boarded the aircraft with a growl and a snicker. "I hope your airline goes under and everybody suffers in the unemployment line. It's just another day with this nickel-and-dime operation." "Welcome aboard," I said with a forced smile and a semi-sarcastic tone. He merely grunted back in disgust, threw his bags on the floor, and plopped himself into his first class seat. (Travelcomment.com) Posted 6:55 a.m.

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Business Travel on the Upswing Again
In the waning weeks of 2004, a positive note: Two of the travel industry's hardest-hit segments -- domestic business travel and international inbound travel -- will see their first increases since before Sept. 11, 2001. Americans will take 144 million business trips by the end of this year, 4 percent more than in 2003, the Travel Industry Association of America annual survey says. (Reuters) Posted 7 a.m.

Congress May Intervene in US Airways Strike
Will the US Congress have to settle US Airways' escalating labor dispute? It might, if the bankrupt airline succeeds in rejecting its collective-bargaining agreements and imposes $1 billion in wage and benefit cuts on 28,000 workers, said Stephen Olson, a local expert on federal labor law. Contract rejection could trigger a chain of events that eventually would land the case in the lap of Congress, according to Olson, an attorney with the Downtown firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. (Tribune-Review) Posted 7:05 a.m.

Can't Pay Off Airport Fees? Here's a Plane
A financially troubled Brazilian airline offered the country's airport authority one of its planes Monday to pay off a debt, an authority spokesperson said. Vasp, Brazil's No. 4 airline, offered the Federal Airport Authority an Airbus to pay for the 11.5 million reals ($4 million) in takeoff and landing fees it owes, said the spokesperson on condition of anonymity. The model of Airbus, which the airline valued at $13 million, was not made public. (AP) Posted 7:10 a.m.

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