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

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September 24, 2004

Hurricane Jeanne Zeroes In On Florida
Hurricane Jeanne is targeting the U.S. and may reach Florida's east coast by Sept. 26, the first time the state has been hit by four hurricanes in one season since records began. The storm devastated Haiti, then veered north into the open Atlantic Ocean earlier this week before making a loop and heading for the Bahamas. The center was 340 miles (547 kilometers) east of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and moving west toward Florida at 8 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site at 5 a.m. New York time. The storm had sustained winds of about 100 miles per hour. A hurricane warning is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas, and Florida's east coast is under a watch, forecasters said. Floridians are still cleaning up from hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan, which battered the state over the past six weeks and cost billions of dollars in damage and lost tourism. Bloomberg | Posted 6:45 a.m.
• Jeanne Has Already Killed 1,100 in Haiti (AP)
• Back-To-Back Hurricanes Hurt Fla. Tourism (AP)

Hey folks, that's us. As I've said before, if this blog isn't updated on Monday, blame Jeanne.

Report: Screeners Miss Weapons
Covert government tests last November showed that screeners were still missing some knives, guns and explosives carried through airport checkpoints, and the reasons involve equipment, training, procedures and management, according to a report by the inspector general of the Homeland Security Department. A Congressional aide who has been briefed about the report, which is classified, said it showed the test scores were roughly the same in November as in earlier tests. This might actually represent progress, the aide said, because the test had become more difficult, with the weapons "more artfully concealed." "It's improving but it's got a long, long way to go," said the aide, who asked not to be identified because he was describing details that were not made public. The New York Times | Posted 6:35 a.m.

Time To Close The Security 'Cat Gap'
A gap in the airline passenger-check system permitted the former Cat Stevens to board a London-to-Washington flight despite being on a no-fly list for suspected ties to terrorists, a Bush administration official said Thursday. The incident involving Yusuf Islam, formerly known as singer Cat Stevens, dramatizes a need for changes to tighten the system, said Asa Hutchinson, under secretary for homeland security. "Right now, under the rules we get the information (about passenger boardings) at Homeland Security, I believe it´s 15 minutes after the plane takes off," Hutchinson said. AP | Posted 6:35 a.m.

US Airways Looks For 'Interim' Relief - US Airways plans to return to bankruptcy court today to ask a federal judge to impose pay and benefit cuts on its unions as the airline restructures its business operations. The threat of a court order for "interim relief" failed yesterday to force major unions still negotiating with US Airways to accept the salary reductions that the airline says it needs to regain profitability. Washington Times | Posted 7 a.m.

American Makes More Cuts - Despite slashing $4 billion in annual costs, American Airlines needs deeper cuts and improved productivity because of high fuel prices and industry overcapacity, the carrier's top executive said Thursday. "There are simply too few passengers willing to pay the prices we need to be profitable in the domestic market," Gerard Arpey, chairman and chief executive, told analysts. Dallas Morning News | Posted 7:05 a.m.

Look Out For Heathrow Strike - Airline passengers are today braced for long delays after Heathrow refuellers walked out on a 48-hour strike for higher pay. Strikers mounted picket lines at the airport after union officials rejected an 11th hour offer from employers. The Transport and General Workers Union said the strike, which began at 4.30am, would disrupt flights and said for the airlines to suggest otherwise 'was a lie'. Evening Standard | Posted 7:10 a.m.

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• Off the Record ... These aren't the best of times for the airline business. Fuel prices are soaring, profits are plummeting and bankruptcies have become almost routine. But JetBlue Airways apparently didn't get that memo. It continues to prosper and expand (earlier this month, it added service from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Not that it's always been a smooth ride for the new airline - last year, for example, it admitted to handing over passenger records to a Defense Department contractor. I recently asked JetBlue's chief executive, David Neeleman, how the company has managed to navigate the turbulent skies. Here's the interview. Posted 7:15 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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