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

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October 13, 2004

Report: Airport Screeners Overworked
The nation's 45,000 federal airport-security screeners suffer from low morale, understaffing and excessive overtime, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security inspector general. The report, released yesterday, comes as the agency said it faces a 22 percent attrition rate, compared with 15 percent last year. Before the federal government took over the screener workforce, private companies that ran security checkpoints typically incurred staff turnover of 100 percent a year. The report focused on working conditions among screeners employed by private companies under an experimental program at five airports. The Washington Post | Posted 6:35 a.m.
• Earlier: IG Finds Flaws In Screening Process (GovExec)
• Read Previous Inspector General Reports (DHS.gov)

Question is, can overworked screeners also be effective? If there is another incident (and let's hope there isn't) then we'll have our answer.

Wyndham Gives Top Execs The Boot
Debt-saddled Wyndham International Inc. today fired a number of its top bosses in a move the company is couching as a "corporate right sizing." The Dallas-based hotelier, which carried $2.5 billion in debt as of June 30, 2004, axed four executives to better manage the company and to "transition into a hotel operating company with a more balanced portfolio of owned, managed and franchised properties," said a company statement. Wyndham gave pink slips to president & COO Theodore Teng, Joseph Champ, chief investment officer & executive vice president of business development, Patricia Smith, executive vice president of human resources, and Donna DeBerry, the top officer for diversity and corporate affairs. CPN | Posted 6:45 a.m.

New Bill To Protect Ground Travelers
Since Sept. 11, 2001, research shows there have been five times as many terror attacks on rail lines and other ground transportation as on airports and airlines, with an even greater disparity in total fatalities. Federal spending per capita to protect air travelers is nearly a thousand times greater than comparable spending to protect trains, subways, buses and ferries, or $9 per air traveler verses less than 1 cent per bus or train passenger, said Rep. Robert Menendez of Hoboken. Menendez, a Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, yesterday called for passage of a bill he introduced last month that would boost federal spending on mass transit security. AP | Posted 6:50 a.m.

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Deceptively Worthless Miles - Why go for the miles when loyalty is what really counts? Face it: miles are all but worthless. In 1999, I wrote how air miles have become akin to a second national currency. Today, they are a global currency that has become passé. The value of air-miles and other incentive-based points have fallen quicker than the Dollar to the Euro. Why? Blame it on supply-side economics. The sheer barge of outstanding miles and points, which many experts estimate exceed 9 trillion, have been devalued from 2 cents to .05 cents. Going for the miles seems foolish, at best. Featured all-new story from Travelcomment.com | Posted 7 a.m.

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Southwest Airlines Raises Fares - Southwest Airlines over the weekend raised one-way fares by $3 for long-haul routes in about 100 markets, the carrier said on Tuesday, citing rising jet fuel prices. The low-cost carrier said the price increase was carried out as part of its periodic adjustment of fares and was partially aimed at offsetting the increasing price of jet fuel. Reuters | Posted 7 a.m.

Pennsylvania Cracks Down On Travel Club - A Florida-based travel business has agreed to refund more than $35,000 to customers as part of an agreement reached with the state Attorney General's Office. Attorney General Jerry Pappert said the agreement was reached Tuesday with Charles T. Lynch, president of Funscapes L.L.C. and FUNSC Inc., based in Holly Hill, Fla., and with an office in Pittsburgh. Tribune-Review | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Hotel Stadium Tax May Strike Out in Allentown - Bipartisan opposition to raising the Lehigh Valley's hotel tax might derail prospects for a minor league baseball stadium in Allentown. Raising the regional hotel tax is the linchpin of the Allentown plan, but the idea has set off a tug-of-war between legislators who support the increase and those who want to fund the stadium and other regional projects by using slot machine revenues. Morning Call | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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