Fallout from Failed/Foiled 12/25 Airliner Attack

Privacy versus security in the air seem to be tilting toward full-body scan technology

More full-body scanners that "see" through clothing. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, from which the would-be bomber departed for Detroit, reportedly immediately is beginning to use 15 L-3 Communications' booth-like ProVision scanners (right) that it previously purchased. These scanners are supposed to detect explosives and other non-metallic objects that a metal detector would miss. ProVision uses "active millimeter wave imaging technology" to penetrate clothing and packaging to reveal and pinpoint hidden weapons, explosives, drugs and other contraband. It has the potential over screening more than 400 people per hour.

Changes in attitude. Just last year, the European Parliament voted against using such anatomically explicit devices on privacy issues, but Europeans now seem to be leaning toward their use. Peter van Dalen, vice chairman of the Parliament's transport committee, said that newer technology does not appear to violate travelers' privacy and  urged the installation of the equipment across the 27-nation European Union.

Improved software technology. New devices rather than human screeners looking at the images as as passengers pass through the machines to detect suspicious objects while allaying invasion-of-privacy concerns. Interestingly, it was the left-leaning American Civil Liberties Union that initially objected to the scanners' "virtual strip search," but it is now a Republican Representative, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who sponsored a successful measure prohibiting whole-body imaging for the primary screening. The bill now goes to the Senate, so as Europeans are poised to increase the use of these scanners, the US might not be following  -- even though aircraft from or bound for the US are thought to be at greater risk. Meanwhile, the ACLU's position advocates "effective security that respects privacy.

Boom times for Rapiscan. The Transportation Security Agency has purchased 150 of its scanners in addition to the 40 now in use at 19 US airports. The company's WaveScan 200 "is composed of a real-time Radiometric Scanner that images electromagnetic millimeter wave energy, an integrated full-motion video camera, on-board computer, and sophisticated, intelligent video detection engine." according to the company's website.Current TSA rules require that images are not visible in a public location, that TSA officers "assisting" passengers is unable to view images and officers who evaluate the images never see the passengers. Passengers may opt for a pat-down rather than a body scan. It depends on which option individuals consider less invasive. At most airports, the scanning machines are for secondary screenings after passengers have cleared pass through a metal detector, they are being used in place of of metal detectors at Albuquerque, Las Vegas; Miami; San Francisco; Salt Lake City; and Tulsa.

Super-sensitive "sniffers" coming. SpectraFluidics has developed sensors can detect minuscule traces of explosives by detecting molecules from a passenger or from luggage. In a test, Spectrafluidics' devices were able to detect PETN, RDX, TNT and ammonium nitrate. PETN has been confirmed as the explosive material involved in the attempted bombing of the Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day. the explosive This is a faster, more efficient alternative to the current swabbing. SpectraFluidics plans to release the system in 2010. It can be a handheld device or a portal like the current metal detectors. The company says that it will be able to retrofit Existing scanning and screening systems. ill balso plans units for retrofitting existing airport scanners and other screening hardware already installed in the market. The goal is real-time detection of trace amounts of explosives in either vapor or solid phase, with minimal user interaction.

Timing is Everything. The people behind Verified  Identity Pass Inc's Clear program, a pre-clearing process that charged customers for a faster approach to TSA security checkpoints, probably regret the timo,g of their enterprise. Clear was launched with great fanfare in 2005 and closed abruptly in June 2009, as I wrote about here. I'm guessing that the principals behind Clear wish that they could have held out until the end of the year, when increased security and longer delays would have provided a new market for their service.

Department of Homeland Security Subpoenas Travel Bloggers

First Ammendment rights versus security concerns

Chris Elliott of elliott.org and Steven Frischling of FlyingWithFish.com got hold of and published Transportation Security directives following the failed terrorist incident on a Detroit-bound plane. You know the story. I don't need to recap it here. The Department of Homeland Security wants to know how these two bloggers obtained these confidential documents and have subpoenaed them to find out. No one is diminishing the need for vigilence and security when it comes to air travel, but IMO, Homeland Security is barking up the wrong tree when their concern is with who leaked these documents rather than paying full attention to plugging the holes in the security system.

In the old world of traditional news, reporters, their editor bosses and their publisher bosses stood firm to protect their First Ammendment rights (that's the Freedom of the Press one). Think Watergate. Now independent bloggers in many cases have become watchdogs since the mainstream media is crumbling and/or becoming a vehicle for info-tainment and so-called "reality TV." For journalists, it doesn't get more real than the need to protect sources and maintain freedom to publish -- no less online than in print or broadcast. They don't have powerful corporations and squadrons of lawyers behind them. They should have all of us behind them. When they break news like this that affects us, they are on our side as travelers (and as travel journalists). Let's be on their side.

Read Chris Elliott's report of the subpoena here, Steve Frischling's here and travel writer/blogger (and until recently USA Today travel reporter) Chris Gray Faust's commentary here.

Sleep in a Grounded 747 in Stockholm

Jumbo jet conversion to airport accommodation

Last January, I learned of a project to convert a 747 into an airport hostel at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport and wrote a post about it. I just read a piece on a neat blog called Airport Hotels, not surprisingly about airport hotels but also related subjects, that it has been completed and is operating. Look at the image on the right and click back to the ratty aircraft the developer started with.

Airport Hotels blogger Susan R. has a fascinating post not just about the Jumbo Hostel* at Arlanda but also other interesting aircraft, grounded and otherwise. She found a 727 that has been turned into a treehouse-height executive suite in Costa Rica and a plane once used by East Germany's iron-fisted Erich Honecker and now a luxury suite at Holland's Teuge Airport. Susan R. also found some futuristic flying machines and has images of all the once and future airborne wonders on her post.

*The URLs to Jumbo Hostel's English and Swedish websites (www.jumbohostel.com and www.jumbohostel.com) are not functioning right now, but you can also read about it in a profile on the Hostel.com website and see photos in article in De Zeen, a design magazine.  

The Cow Is Gone.TSA Closes the Barn Door.

Thwarted terrorist attempt "inspires" new TSA regulations that border on the ridiculous

Scroll to the bottom of this post for update.
According to conventional wisdom, generals are always fighting the last war. A corollary might be that security officias are always responding to the last terrorist incident. After Robert Reid was arrested for trying to ignite explosives in his shoes, every airline passenger was required to remove his/her shoes, send them through the X-ray machine and shuffle through the metal detector. Now, following a thwarted terrorist attempt on a plane bound for Detroit, new security measures have been instituted -- perhaps at least partly as a tactic to divert public attention from the fact that the the government ignored alerts by the father of Abdul Mudallad, the 23-year-old Nigerian who tried to blow up the plane using leg bomb and a syringe, had warned. New regulations that we can all find logical reasons to debate:

•  US-bound passengers are being physically patted down during the boarding process in addition to passing through metal detectors, removing their shoes, discarding water and beverages and being restricted to 3-ounce or smaller containers of liquids in carry-ons.
•  US-bound passengers will be permitted only one carry-on and will not have access to it, either throughout the flight or during the last hour.
•  Passengers on international flights to the United States must remain in their seats for the last hour of a flight without any latptops or other personal items, blankets or pillows on their laps. (Anyone who has to use the lavatory must be escorted by a crew member.)
•  Airliner entertainment systems will no longer display real-time route maps that would indicate when the plane enters US airspace or where it is.

 The new regs remind me of parochial school (hands on your desks) or old college dorm rules when boys were permitted to visit girls' dorms (door open, all four feet on the floor). The net result of all this security zeal, in addition casing delays and ticking off passengers, is that people will be increasingly reluctant to fly. Business travelers unable to use their laptops? Parents who will not be able to hold a sleeping baby wrapped in a blanket? Cold-sensitive travelers or underdressed vacationers returning from tropical resorts who could become chilled in refrigerated aircraft cabins? There unlikely to be eager to fly again in the near future. I know I'm not, and I'm scheduled for two (domestic) trips in January.

Beyond personal inconvenience will be theimpact on the airline industry, already heard-hit by unpredictable fuel prices, the global recession and weathter-related delays.

Dec. 28 update: According to an Associated Press report called "Passengers again free to move about the cabin"on MSNBC.com, the TSA has relaxed some of the strict rules in the wake of the failed bomb attempt and given captains discretion about instituting some of them. "it was now up to captains on each flight to decide whether passengers can have blankets and other items on their laps or can move around during the final phase of flight," the report said. "Confused? So were scores of passengers who flew Monday on one of the busiest travel days of the year. On some flights, passengers were told to keep their hands visible and not to listen to iPods. Even babies were frisked. But on other planes, security appeared no tighter than usual.The Transportation Security Administration did little to explain the rules. And that inconsistency might well have been deliberate: What's confusing to passengers is also confusing to potential terrorists."

The Grinch That Stole the Ski Train

Ski Train return anticipation turns to disappointment

Call U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn the Grinch who took away hopes for the imminent return of the Ski Train Denver and Winter Park. On Wednesday, His Honor declined to issue a temporary restraining order that would have forced Amtrak to operate the Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train beginning this coming Sunday. Iowa Pacific Holdings, the new operator of the legendary train, already had some 13,000 reservations on the books, it was cautious enough to take them all by phone rather than online. I was afraid something like this might happen when train service was not heavily promoted at the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Expo back in November.

Iowa Pacific, which claims that it had an "implicit" agreement with Amtrak to provide train crews, reportedly spent $800,000 to restart the legendary train, which should be celebrating its 70th anniversary this winter. Amtrak claims that Iowa Pacific had not agreed to required insurance and indemnification terms required and that the Pacific's railcars had not yet passed Federal Railroad Administration safety certification.

Judge Blackburn agreed with Amtrak. According to the Denver Post, "Blackburn said in his written order that Iowa Pacific. . . had not demonstrated it would 'suffer irreparable injury' if the court did not issue the restraining order against Amtrak." That is mystifying, because dedicated train service to a resort base that does not operate during the absolute peak weeks of the ski season would indeed be grievously injured.

January 6 is now the earliest that Ski Train operations could begin. Iowa Pacific released a statement by VP Dan Marko that was clearly vetted by attorneys: “We appreciate the due-diligence that Judge Blackburn afforded Iowa Pacific Holdings to share our story and provide information given the forced circumstances.We recognize that this leaves the operations of the Ski Train as indefinite, and will be focused on presenting a comprehensive case in January to clear these obstacles to future operation.” Keep your fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, all customers holding reservations can receive a full refund by contacting Iowa Pacific at skitrainservice@ iowapacific.com or 877-726-RAIL.

Tough Times for Travelers

What a bad week it's been for travelers, with weather, accidents and incidents impacting holiday travel

It started with the closure of the Chunnel under the English Channel and the suspension of Eurostar service. Closer to home, sowstorms across the northern tier of the United States have been gumming up travel since last weekend, especially a week ago when flight delays were epic. United Airlines canceled about 1,000 flights, and Washington's National Airport actually closed. Snow that started in Denver yesterday (Tuesday) evening, and while Denver International Airport reportedly had well-staffed security checkpoints and fast-moving lines, delays in the Midwest impacted flight schedules here too. Then there was the American Airlines jet that overshot the runway in Kingston, Jamaica, during a heavy rainstorm. Meanwhile, Amtrak stopped operating between Philadelphia and New York for a few hours this afternoon. Let's hope that 2010 begins more auspicially for travelers than 2009 seems to be ending.

Chunnel Shut Down; Eurostar Services Halted

London-Paris-Brussels rail connection uncoupled

"Indefinitely" is a word that has been in the news lately. Tiger Woods is suspending participation on the PGA tour "indefinitely, and now the Eurostar train between London and Paris has suspended service "indefinitely" too -- at least through Monday, at last report. On Friday, five trains carrying some 2,000 passengers were standed in the Chunnel, the tunnel under the English Channel. Some passengers reportedly were stuck underground for more than 15 hours without food or water. Also, it was reported that there was little or no communication to passengers explaining what was happening. Reports didn't cover how bad those passenger cars must have smelled after 15 hours.

Eurostar blamed "acute weather conditions" for electrical problems that plagued their trains. Three test trains seem to have used the Chunnel without incident on Sunday, but the test runs also indicated that heavy snow in northern France was somehow being sucked into the trains' power cars. The incident was unprecented and unexpected in Eurostar's 15 years of service. The rail fleet is reportedly being modified and further test runs are to be made early in the week. According to the latest BBC report, there will be no Eurostar service on Monday.

With peak holiday travel beginning, 31,000 people in Britain, France and Belgium had canceled their train travel plans on Saturday, and another 26,000 were expected to cancel by the end of Sunday. Eurostar chief executive Richard Brown warned that services might not return to normal for days. Cross-channel travelers had few options. Nearly half of all flights out of Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly asrports were cut on Sunday, and air service in Brussels also was impacted. And does anyone take a terry anymore?

Travel Tumbnail: Clear Creek Historic Park in Downtown Golden

Outdoor museum a short stroll from Golden's quaint downtown

Close to Denver and closer to Boulder, Golden is an appealing destination with plenty to do and to see. I have taken visitors to the town's three guidebook-variety attractions: the free tour of the enormous Coors Brewery, Colorado Railroad Museum and Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, which recently installed a new permanent exhibition.

Still, it has been a while since I spent any time in downtown Golden, which nurtures its small-town, Old West ambience -- street-spanning arch and all. Turns out that Golden has a total of eight museums. Over the years, I have been to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, the historic Astor House Museum,  the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum which means I have a lot more to explore in the future. This week, the local chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers held its holiday party at the Golden Hotel, and a handful of us arrived early to take a brief walking tour.

Clear Creek runs through the heart of Golden, and like many communities in Colorado, the town has reclaimed its banks. There are now parks, recration paths and a well thought-out vehicular and pedestrian bridge. Interpretive signs and seating make this a pedestrian-friendly bridge.

Volunteer and staff historians unlocked some of the pioneer buildings that have been relocated to Clear Creek History Park. This creekside park is open year-round, but in winter, the one-room schoolhouse and cabins are normally opened just for school groups -- or groups like ours. In summer, heritage vegetables are grown in a small kitchen garden, a beehive produces honey and chickens peck around in their little fneced-in yard.

Looking from a bridge across Clear Creek toward the west is Mt. Zion. It is emblazoned with a distinctive M, a mountain monogram for the Colorado School of Mines that's difficult to see on the snow-dusted hillside.

We walked back to the main street along the creekside path, passing bronze sculptures that dot the downtown and trees decorated with holiday lights that went on as the sun set but were beyond my camera's ability to capture.

Golden was Colorado's territorial capital, but with statehood, it was moved to Denver. Golden hasn't quite forgotten or forgiven. The Old Capitol Grill, the building where the territorial legislature met, is named in its honor. It was badly damaged in a fire a few years ago. It has been rebuilt and remains a warm, welcoming Cheers-style bar, but without the patina that once existed.

For information on all the attractions, shops, restaurants and more, stop at the GoldenVisitors Center, 1010 Washington Avenue (on the north side of Clear Creek).

Temple of Isis Pylon Raised from Sea Floor

Alexandria retrieves a centuries-old treasure from the days of Cleopatra

Having visited Egypt earlier this year, I felt a connection when I read today's wire service report datelined Alexandria about archaeologists who raised a nine-ton, 7-foot-tall pylon from the bottom of the Mediterranean (AP photo below). The massive quarried stone once was at the entrance to a Temple of Isis that is believed to have fallen into the sea following fourth-century earthquakes that also destroyed the famous Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Divers have discovered the remnants of a city beneath the waves. 

Egypt has planned an ambitious underwater museum to showcase the sunken city.The temple and also Cleopatra's palace complex are part of this underwater realm. The pylon was part of a Ptolemaic palace where Queen Cleopatra courted wooed the Roman general Marc Antony  in the first century. The lovers committed suicide after they were defeated by Augustus Caesar. Remember the asp?

The palace complex as next to the Temple Isis, a goddess of fertility and magic. These buildings are believed to have been built is at least 2,050 years ago -- perhaps much earlier. Archaeologists believe the pylon came from red granite quarried in Aswan, some 700 miles to the south. A single standing column is Alexandria also came from the Aswan area.

Some 6,000 artifacts lie beneath the sea in the harbor, with another 20,000 are elsewhere off the coastaccording to Ibrahim Darwish, who head Alexandria's underwater archaeology department. These inlcude sphinxes and pieces of what is believed to be the Alexandria Lighthouse. The pylon is the first major artifact extracted from the harbor since 2002 when removal operations were halted to prevent damage to the antiquities.

This retrieval was done with painstaking care. Dr. Zahi Hawass, who heads the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, told the media, "The tower is unique among Alexandria's antiquities. We believe it was part of the complex surrounding Cleopatra's palace. This is an important part of Alexandria's history and it brings us closer to knowing more about the ancient city." Next April, Dr. Hawass hopes to find the long-lost tomb of Antony and Cleopatra, which he believes it might be inside a temple of Osiris about 30 miles west of Alexandria.

An underwater museum, currently in the planning stages, would enable visitors to walk through underwater tunnels to see sunken artifacts. Similar underwater tunnels to view marine life exist in several cities, including San Francisco and Victoria. Such an underwater museum would be a joint project between Egypt and UNESCO. Until that happens, the Cairo Museum's display of the project gives visitors a notion of what it will be like.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner's First Flight -- At Last

Long-delayed maiden voyage of Boeing's newest plane aircraft

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a mid-size aircraft (290 to 330 passengers), is the first large commercial jet made of light-weight, high-strength composite materials for fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and reduced noise. It was rolled out in July 2007, with an original plan for the first flight to take place in September 2008 and for it to enter commercial service in May 2009. Fifty-six airlines had placed orders for more than 900 of these new-generation planes, which would make it the best-selling widebody, two-aisle plane in aircraft history. There were delays of various sorts (subassembly part shortages, subcontractor issues, fastener issues and other unglamorous manufacturing problems), and that, coupled with the global economic downturn, resulted the cancellation of 70 orders, but there are still Dreamliner 777 orders on the books at this writing. All the frustrations seem to have washed away two days ago when the Dreamliner took off from Boeing's airfield in Everett, Washington. Click here for the video of that first three-hour-plus flight, and then click on "webcast" on the upper right part of the screen.

Travel Industry to Tackle Climate Change

"Live the Deal" initiative emerges from Copenhagen conference

The United Nations Climate Change Conference that wraps up tomorrow in Copenhagen has been in the news mainly for the estimated number of demonstrators, the number of demonstrators arrested and the heads of government who would or wouldn't be attending, and if the were, when, and if they weren't, why not. A travel-industry initiative called Live the Deal has emerged from Copenhagen. Let's hope it helps people continue to travel while decreasing the environmental burden caused by those travels. We have already seen hotels go green, but lodgings are only a small part of the travel picture. International industry leaders are, of course, just beginning to talk, but as the old proverb says, "Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

 Below is the press release about those first steps:

Copenhagen, Denmark/ Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates/Madrid, Spain 16 December - "Live the Deal", an innovative, global campaign to help travel companies and destinations respond to Climate Change, reduce their carbon footprint and move to the Green Economy, was launched this week during the Copenhagen Climate Summit.

Announcing the new initiative, long time tourism green campaigner Geoffrey Lipman UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General said: "What Copenhagen represents is a new commitment by the world community towards sustainable low carbon growth patterns. The targets and mitigation actions that countries develop and negotiate through this process will be a new base for travel industry action. What we are providing is a very simple way to get behind the evolving government initiatives, to keep pace with changing patterns and to demonstrate that our sector is acting, not simply talking." He added "We should not be ashamed to promote the growth of smart travel – clean green, ethical and quality - it’s the lifeblood of trade, commerce and human connection".

"Live the Deal" follows the pattern established in the UN led Copenhagen Seal the Deal campaign by its single minded focus, its simplicity and its broad based engagement goals. It will seek to encourage the sector directly and through representative organizations.

It has been developed with the support of UNWTO, whose Secretary-General Taleb Rifai calls it "The kind of link between global policymaking and responsible tourism action that we are looking to inspire and encourage. Our sector fuels the economy, creates jobs and is one of the biggest development opportunities for the world's poorest countries – and it can be a leader in the transformation to a green economy".

The campaign will be underpinned by a simple carbon calculation tool that allows easy correlation with government targets and implementation measures, as well as a Think Tank and Annual Innovations & Investment Summit. The inaugural Summit will be in Abu Dhabi in the last quarter of the year. Live the Deal will be promoted by a multimedia video "We can take this Climate Change" from platinum album writer and singer Alston Koch which will be profiled around the world in 2010

Big Bling in Washington

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History to display two fabled blue diamonds

If the US had a monarchy, the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond (top right) would be part of the crown jewesl, but we're a republic, so the priceless gemstone belongs to all of us. The 31.06-carat Wittelsbach-Graff (below right) Diamond will soon be on view for the first time in more than half-a-centry. These two fabulous blue diamonds will be displayed together for the first time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History from January 28 through August 1.

The Hope is known to have been found in a mine in India in the 17th century, while the Wittelsbach Diamond surfaced in the 1660s when Philip IV of Spain presented to his daughter, who was betrothed Emperor Leopold I of Austria. According to the Associated Press, "In 1722 it became the property of the Wittelsbachs, the ruling family of Bavaria. It disappeared after World War I, resurfacing in Belgium in 1951, and it was auctioned last year by Christie's in London for more than $24 million. It was acquired by jeweler Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds International Ltd."

If I were going to be in the Washington, DC, area in that timeframe, I'd go and gawk.

New Hotel Wing Shines at Sunshine

Upgraded accommodations at Sunshine Village near Banff

The Banff/Lake Louise area in western Alberta boasts three very different and very intriguing ski areas. Mammoth Ski Louise's network lifts and vast skiable terrain comprise the largest ski area in the Canadian Rockies (or perhaps all of the Rockies). Norquay, the smallest of the trio, is the closest to town and has a reputation for challenge. Like Taos, Norquay's toughest runs are the first you see on approach, with the easier turf out of sight. But Sunshine Village offers something unique in the Banff area: slopeside lodging.

Sunshine is celebrating its 82nd season -- quite a history in the ski world, where many areas date back to the '50s and '60s but hardly any others on this continent reach even the most rudimentary operations back to the 1920s.

When the transport gondola from the valley below stops operating at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 on Fridays), Sunshine Village becomes as self-contained as a ship afloat in a pure white sea. Dining, entertainment, socializing and activities for adults and children are concentrated in the Sunshine Mountain Lodge. The lodge's just-opened new wing features suites and rooms that are compact but complete. "Cozy" rather than "spacious" would be the word. All three ski areas are within the boundaries of Banff National Parks, which meant that the new wing had to replace an old one so as not to extend the building's footprint. The lodge's location just steps from the lifts is unsurpassed.

Space in the rooms and loft suites is tight, especially when guests have their clothing and gear scattered around, so public rooms like the one below are well used for games, socializing or just relaxing.

The loft suites have one regular queen-size bed and one queen-size Murphy bed on the lower level and a second large bed upstairs in the loft. When a family or group of friends share a suite, Sunshine Mountain Lodge accommodations don't provide much privacy, but I do love these duvet covers...

...and the convenient location and the mountain views can't be beat.

Reservations: 87-SKI BANFF (877-542-2633) or 403-277-7669.

Boarding Passes: Printed or Not

Paperless boarding passes: the way of the future?

Once upon a time, airline boarding passes were booklets (often hand-written multi-pagers for connecting or roundtrip flights). They had built-in carbon bars and pages of lengthy small-print legalese about airline and government policies and, if I remember correctly, passengers' rights. They were inserted into a sleeve with the baggage claim checks stapled onto them. Then came machine-printed cards, the envelopes went away (not a bad thing, because it did represent a lot of wasted paper), and now checked-bag receipts are usually stick 'em stubs still attached to the backing that I always hope I don't misplace in case my bag doesn't get off the same plane that I do.

Now, I am reading in "Upgrade: Travel Better" that "Paperless Boarding Passes Increasingly Widespread: Have You Used Them?" They are reportedly in greater use overseas than in the US, where only Continental is using them for inbound flights from Frankfurt and San Juan. According to Upgrade's Mark Ashley, "In lieu of a printed boarding pass, paperless passes are sent to your mobile phone. (Standard text message rates apply…) The pass contains both a barcode and text, identifying the passenger and flight. The square barcode gets scanned twice, once at security, and once at the gate." The TSA must enable security screening operations to accept this technology.

I have the cheapest, simplest cell phone on the planet, with a T-Mobile pay-in-advance plan, and I'm not about to pay for the privilege of having my boarding pass appear on that cell phone. Bad enough for passengers to pay for inflight food, checked bags, preferred seating and assorted surcharges that escalate even the most economical ticket. But I'm probably the Luddite minority here, and people who bond with their Blackberrys and iPhones and all that will jump on this as soon as it becomes available.

"Cat Cam" Reveals the Secret Life of Cats

When you're away, does your cat play?

What does your cat do when you're traveling or even just away for the day? Many people think that cats most of the time -- some would say the better to be lively at night. Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist, was tasked with finding out for Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies cat food. (As an aside, I still thought that Ralston-Purina made pet food and that Friskies was a separate brand -- and that Nestle wasn't necessarily involved at all. But I was wrong. Turns out that Nestle has owned Purina for quite some time and bought Friskies in 2001.) Anyway, this company, which has its own research center in Lausanne, Switzerland, to study human nutrition and other food-related issues, hired Villarreal to discover the corollary to, "When the cat's away, the mice will play."

Villarreal outfitted 50 housecats with cameras on their collars that took pictures every 15 minutes and then studied a total ot 777 photos. According to a widely published report, based on these pictures that Villarreal analyzed, here's how cats spent their time:

• 22 percent looking out of windows
• 12 percent interacting with other pets in the household
• 8 percent climbing on chairs or "kitty condos"
• 6 per cent sleeping
• 6 percent watching a television, computer or other screen
• 6 percent hiding under tables
• 5 percent playing with toys
• 4 percent eating or looking at food

Now I'm no math whiz, but those percentages don't add up to 100  percent. I want to know what they did the rest of the time. I think it might be trying to get cat cam off their necks.

Calgary Builds on Its Olympic Legacy

With Canada poised to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, the '88 Games have not been fogotten

When you visit a city that hosted the Summer Olympic Games, you might be shown a stadium that was used for track and field, a pool complex built for swimming and diving or watercourse used for rowing. But by and large, summer host cities are so huge that the Olympic legacy dims with time. Not so with the Winter Games, where ski runs in use all winter, bobsled tracks that snake down mountains and ski jumps that punctuate the sky like explanation points are enduring landmarks of the Games. I've seen it in Innsbruck, Lake Placid, Cortina d'Ampezzo, St. Moritz, Salt Lake City and environs and also now in and around Calgary.

Calgary hosted the Games in 1988, and in addition to being friendly neighbors with British Columbia, the province directly to the west which is hosting the 2010 Games two months from now, Calgarians are vicariously sharing the Canadian pride and joy of the Games -- and also reminiscing publicly about their own a generation ago.

Case in point: Dale Alward (below), who came to Calgary as a young man with intentions to return to the Maritimes but who was so captivated by the Olympic spirit and energy more than two decades ago that he has never left. He is a guide at the 627-foot Calgary Tower and enjoys nothing more than to point out Olympic venues, share his encyclopedic Olympic information and talk about the Games. Even if I weren't already an Olympic nut myself, I would have found his enthusiasm contagious.

The indoor Olympic Oval is still in use, both for speedskating training and for top-level compeitions like this weekends men's and women's World Cup. Skaters blaze around the oval in a combination of fluid motion and athletic power. This World Cup weekend features three days of speedskating competitions on ice known to be fast. In the lobby area are glass cases displaying speedskating trophies and sculptures. Our itinerary included a Friday visit to the Oval for three races. Weekday attendance was modest, but several school groups were seated in a section at one of the turns. The kids had been given noisemakers, which they used enthusastically, and also cheered every competitor -- especially the Canadians. Outside, a mini-Olympic-style torch blazes for special events -- even in the midst of a blizzard.

Nothing is more symbolic of the 1988 Games than Canada Olympic Park right on the western outskirts of Calgary. In 1988, this small hill within sight of the Rockies hosted ski jumping, bobsledding, luge and the demonstration sport of freestyle skiing. Since then, COP has added a 22-foot snowboarding halfpipe, the Canada Olympic Museum, the Canada Winter Sports Institute (called WinSport), the Ice House (a refrigerated facility where bobsledders and lugers can practice their starts), and for summer, mountain bike trails and a zipline. Planned for the near future, an ice complex with three NHL-size rinks by December 2011.

The Alpine skiing events in 1988 were held at a nearly mountain called Nakiska, still in use as a day-trip ski area fom Calgary, and the cross-country skiing in a former mining town called Canmore. The afteruse and Calgarians' pride after all this time is a fine and inspiring Olympic legacy.

SWISS to Inaugurate San Francisco-Zürich Service

Airbus 340 slated for long-haul flight; SWISS service will make the time pass

SWISS just announced a new non-stop between San Francisco and Zürich, and I cheered, both for European skiers heading for North American mountains and for U.S. skiers heading for the Alps. The service is scheduled to begin on June 2, so skiers from both continents will have to wait until the winter of 2009-10. There will be six flights a week, and flight numbers and timetable are already in place:

San Francisco-Zürich (SFO-ZRH) LX 39 dep. 7:25 p.m. arr 3:40 p.m + the following day

Zürich-San Francisco (ZRH-SFO) LX 38 dep. 1:15 p.m. arr 4:30 p.m.

Deep-pocketed flyers will travel in the incomparable luxury of a SWISS First class cabin or the enhanced comfort of SWISS Business class with a new fully reclinable seats innovative air seat cushions that can be individually adjusted. Even for the rest of us, the carrier promises "a more comfortable SWISS economy experience."

And I don't doubt it. A lifetime ago, I worked as a sales promotion writer in New York for Swissair, the predecessor to the current SWISS. In those days, the airline's North American gateways were New York, Boston, Chicago, Montreal and Toronto. Today there are seven (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, and Montreal), and come June and the addition of San Francisco, there will be eight.

Two Denver Museums, Two Special Exhibits

Denver Art Museum and Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Museums exert a magnetic pull on me. Whenever I travel --whether to a significant city with world-class museums or a small town with a tiny museum filled with local teasures and memorabilia -- I visit as many as I can. We are members of several local museums, including the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and I visit but not often enough. In the last 10 days, I went to the DAM when I had time in downtown Denver between scheduled events and then to Nature & Science with friends visiting for Thanksgiving. I spent most of the time in both museums seeing special exhibits, and I recommend both. FWIW,  I went to the art museum on an uncrowded Wednesday afternoon, and four of us visited Nature & Science on the busy Friday of Thanksgiving weekend.

Charles M. Russell at the Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is showing the first major retrospective of the works of Charles Marion Russell, who depicted a Wild West that had already been considerable "tamed" by the time he documented it between the mid-1880s until his death in 1926. More than 60 important artworks of this self-taught artist are shown, including oil paintings, bronze sculpture and mixed media, plus a selection ofletters and personal objects that portray the artist in his own words and images. Russell was a Western artists but not a "cowboy painter." He actually painted more Native Americas than gringo cowpokes. The entrance to the exhibit, where no photography is permitted, is shown below.

I joined a docent tour, and although many works came from Tulsa's renowned Gilcrease Museum which I have visited. Still, I learned a lot about the artist whom I had often lumped into a pair, "Remington and Russell." Iin truth, these two renowned Western artists overlapped only slightly and corresponded during that time. The Russell exhibit, which hangs through January 10, is included in the museum admission: adult admission, $10 for Colorado residents, $13 for others. Click here to see all admission prices.

Genghis Khan at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
                  
Genghis Khan, his sons, his grandsons and their Mongol hordes galloped into the Denver Museum of Nature & Science with a multi-faceted exhibit that enlightens us about this 13th century warrior and ruler. The Mongol Empire was the most extensive the world has ever known. "The Two Faces of Genghis Khan: Warrior and Statesman" explains his humble beginnings from which he rose to become both a feared warrior and a revered statesman and leader.

The exhibit includes horsemanship, military and governing strategies and tactics, nomadic culture, domestic life and craftsmanship. Lots of interactivity, numerous video presentations, informative maps and docent demonstrations help bring the time and place of this distant ruler with the frightful reputation to life. The entrance to the exhibit, where no photography is permitted either, is shown below.

Genghis Khan will be at the museum through February 7. Many of the 200 objects have never been seen outside of Asia or Russia. The Denver area has about 2,500 Mongolian residents, and members of the Mongolian Cultural Center for the Arts present music and dance traditions of their native country in brief performances. Genghis Khan ickets, which include general admission to the museum, are $20 for adults. Click here for all other admission prices.

Denver-DIA Rail Line Construction to Start in '10

Major news for metro Denver travelers, but train linking London and Madrid will be operating first

The week has been hectic, and my newspaper reading was minimal, so I missed a brief Associated Press report in Wednesday's Denver Post indicating that "construction of a $1.3 billion train from downtown Denver to the airport is expected to begin this summer." Other reports indicate that it should be finished by 2015.

Regional Transportation District acting chief Phillip Washington reportedly made an announcement on Tuesday night about a public-private partnership to construct the line and its "hopes" for $1 billion in federal dollars. Work is expected to start in August. According to the Post, "RTD officials have said the airport train isn't dependent on getting federal funds because it can be built with RTD funds and $950 million in financing expected from the public-private partnership.

Curiously, the  fourth of five news items on RTD's website (following promoting holiday service via SkyRide buses, announcing the temporary unavailability of the online TripPlanner on Monday and promoting use of public transportation to next weekend's Parade of Lights in downtown Denver) covered this really big news.

Here's the RTD announcement:

RTD's East and Gold Line FasTracks Corridors receive major stamp of approval by Federal Transit Administration.

Major milestone marks the end of environmental processes and the start of transition to Eagle P3 Project.

RTD's East and Gold Line FasTracks Corridors receive major stamp of approval by Federal Transit Administration. Major milestone marks the end of environmental processes and the start of transition to Eagle P3 Project.

RTD celebrated a major milestone for the FasTracks transit expansion program at a special ceremony on Friday, November 20 at Denver International Airport – the completion of the environmental processes for the East Corridor and Gold Line projects. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has signed the Records of Decision for each of the projects signifying the formal environmental approval of the projects.

The two projects will now become part of the Eagle P3 Project, RTD’s public-private partnership to deliver some of the FasTracks projects, including the East Corridor and Gold Line.

RTD plans to select a team of private partners in June 2010 to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the $2.3 billion Eagle P3 Project. Construction-related activity is expected to begin on the East Corridor later in 2010.

The East Corridor is a proposed 23.3-mile electric commuter rail line that will run from Denver International Airport to Denver Union Station. The Gold Line is a proposed 11.2-mile electric commuter rail line that will connect Denver Union Station to Wheat Ridge, passing through northwest Denver, Adams County and Arvada.

East Corridor and Gold Line Record of Decisions

"This milestone speaks volumes to the progress we are seeing on the FasTracks investment initiative,” said Phil Washington, RTD Interim General Manager. “This is a great vote of confidence by the Federal Transit Administration that keeps us on track to pursue up to $1 billion in federal funds for FasTracks.”

“We are excited to celebrate today’s event with RTD and with representatives from our surrounding communities,” said Kim Day, Manager of Aviation for Denver International Airport. “Having a direct rail link between downtown Denver and the airport is crucial for our passengers and our employees and the addition of FasTracks at DIA will help us stand out as a truly world-class facility.” FasTracks is RTD’s voter-approved transit program to expand rail and bus service throughout the RTD service area.

I can hardly wait for this -- and also for a FasTrack's light rail line finally to be built to Boulder.

London-Madrid High-Speed Train Being Built

Meanwhile, even as we congratulate ourselves for what seems to be implementation this project, travelers will be able to take a new high-speed train between London and Madrid in eight hours. Renfe, the Spanish government rail operator, and SNCF, its French counterpart, are jointly building the new train, which was probably inspired by the successful EuroStar, which makes the Paris-London trip in 2 1/4 hours. 

Asian Airports Top Traveler Satisfaction Survey

Seoul's Incheon International number one once again

On Monday, I wrote a post about The Daily Beast's take on 27 US airports, the best of which isn't all that great when compared with others on the world stage. The Beast called its post "Airports From Hell." Thanks goplantit.com for calling attention to a Business Week story called. "Why Asia Has the World's Best Airports." It reported on the results of the latest annual Airport Service Quality Survey  of some 200,000 international travelers conducted by Geneva-based Airports Council International. The top five are Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong and Halifax. Four in Asia, none in Europe and one in North America.

"Seoul's Incheon International Airport snagged first place in the ranking for the fourth straight year," wrote Business Week's Moon Ihlwan. "Two years before opening the $5 billion airport in 2001, airport administrators set up a task force that analyzed what some of the world's best airports were doing right. The task force looked at Singapore, Hong Kong, Denver and Atlanta. Then planners set about figuring out how the new Seoul airport could offer services that would outdo those hubs. The airport, which last June completed the $3 billion addition of a passenger terminal and runway, has earmarked $120 million for further upgrades in parking and other amenities this year."

Beyond improvements that run into the millions, Ihlwan wrote, "airports in the U.S. are widely viewed as public facilities, while those in Asia are seen as service-oriented businesses....To attract airlines and travelers, Incheon airport has cut down on waiting times. Administrators reassigned terminals for planes making a brief stop and reprogrammed computerized baggage handling systems. The result: Last year the airport reduced to 45 minutes from 55 minutes the minimum connection time for passengers who are traveling through Seoul to other destinations. The airport authority also spent around $7 million on a new 240-seat lounge, which opened last June for departing passengers and offers free showers, Internet connections and movies on giant-screen TVs."

State-of-the-art technology, efficiency and facilities to make travelers' experiences as seamless and pleasant as possible are the winning combination. The Business Week story and passengers' comments are illuminating. If US airport authorities could put just a fraction of these into practice, fewer American airports would be "from hell." Interestingly, even though Denver ranked far down on The Beast's list, it is one that Seoul officials deemed worth looking at.

Happy Thanksgiving

"What's the biggest problem facing the travel industry?"

Chris Elliott wants your thoughts

That's the question traveler consumer advocate Christopher Elliott is asking readers of his award-winning website. He has declared today as "open-mic Tuesday," and he wants to hear from you. If you've got a gripe or, more productively, a practical suggestion on how to solve a general industry problem that you have identified, drop him an E-note at elliottc@gmail.com, including your full name, occupation and city/state. Besides the opportunity simply to vent, something might come of this, because when Chris Elliott speaks, the travel industry listens.

Daily Beast's New Airport Rankings

The Daily Beast studied, rated and ranked 27 US airports

The Daily Beast's provocative headline, "Airports from Hell," is affixed to an analysis of 27 top airports in the US in eight specific areas, including on-time arrivals/departures so far in 2009 and a separate evaluation of holiday arrivals and departures, which is oh-so timely. The subtitle is "first to worst," which means they can't all be "from hell."

The best, according to The Beast, is Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH) 

On-time departures 2009: 86.19%
On-time arrivals 2009: 84.73%
On-time holiday departures: 90% (ranked first)
On-time holiday arrivals: 86%
Average security wait time: 6.1 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 22nd out 27
Safety: 5th out of 27
Amenities: 8th out of 27

The worst is Newark International Airport (EWR)
On-time departures 2009: 73.76%

On-time arrivals 2009: 64.14% (ranked last)
On-time holiday departures: 70% (ranked last)
On-time holiday arrivals: 75%
Average security wait time: 7 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 23rd out of 27
Safety: 25th out of 27
Amenities: 15th out of 27

Denver International Airport (DIA) ranked 17th
On-time departures 2009: 79.23%

On-time arrivals 2009: 80.84%
On-time holiday departures: 84%
On-time holiday arrivals: 80%
Average security wait time: 11.3 minutes
Tarmac nightmares: 9th out of 27
Safety: 23rd out of 27
Amenities: 24th out of 27

According to The Beast, getting through DIA's security lines took several minutes longer than at the speediest airports, on average, and its "Safety" was downgraded significantly after an incident last year when a Continental plane skidded off a taxiway into a shallow gully (often described as a "ravine," making it seem far deeper than it is), injuring 30 people. A hotel at the terminal, fancy Gucci-esque shops and a better selection of more interesting restaurants might have elevated it in the Amenities category. The Beast quoted Matt Daimler of Seatguru.com who said, “It’s one of the better airports to experience.” As for on-time arrivals and departures, IMHO, when there are delays in Denver, more often than not they are due to delays elsewhere in the country's obsolete air-travel system. The Beast's  report is accompanied by a gallery of airport pictures three screens, nine airports to a screen, or as a slide show.

New Denver Sheraton Downtown is City's Largest Hotel

Former Adam's Mark reborn after $70 million renovation

The gleaming hotel straddling downtown Denver's Court Place place is a new Sheraton, but it's not a new hotel. The tired Adam's Mark is now the Sheraton Denver Downtown following a year-long, $70 million total renovation from the parking garage to the roof. It was officially dedicated yesterday with a champagne reception and ribbon cutting (below) that brought out Mayor John Hickenlooper, business leaders and executives from the hotel's owner (Chartres Lodging Group of San Francisco) and  management (Starwood Hotels & Resorts) group. Chartres purchased the hotel for $176 million in early 2008, so a lot of coin is represented in these interconnected buildings.

The hotel  is Colorado's largest with 1,231 guest rooms, and Hizzoner noted that when it is fully occupied, its "population" is greater than Breckenridge or Telluride (about 2,400 each). The mayor and tourism leaders praised it as a key to attracting large convention groups, but IMHO, it's also a great location for people who come to Denver for arts and culture. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is a short walk to the west. The Denver Art Museum is a short stroll across Civic Center Park to the south, and when it opens in 2011, the Clyfford Still Museum will be there too. The galleries of the Golden Triangle Museum District are nearby as well, and the free Mall Shuttle stops right outside the door for a quick ride to the restaurants, shops and nightspots of Larimer Square and the Platt River Valley attractions too.

I haven't seen any of the guest rooms yet, but if the classy, spacious lobby is an indication, they are lovely. The new lobby is bright and attractive, contemporary and yet warm. I particularly like its newly welcoming pedestrian approach from the 16th Mall. The old Adams Mark design, like many newer downtown Denver hotels, is so vehicle-oriented that people coming in on foot after shopping, sightseeing or attending an off-site meeting often felt like afterthoughts.

Once inside, the square columns and the coffered ceiling are about all that is recognizable from the lobby's previous incarnation. Some people might miss the horse sculpture in the old lobby (top image, below), and while I have no particular attachment to it, I do sort of wonder where it went.

Above, the old Adam's Mark lobby

Above, the new Sheraton Denver Downtown lobby

1550 Court Place, Denver, Colorado 80202; 303-893-3333 or 866-716-8134 (reservations).

Winter Park Ski Train Poised for Return

Train-only and train/lodging packages are options for this ski season

The Rio Grande Scenic Ski Train seems "this close" to finalizing operational agreements for the 2009-10 ski season. The newest incarnation of the inconic ski train between Denver and Winter Park is ready to roll on a three-month winter timetable from December 27 and March 28, according to a report in today's Denver Post. All that remains a sign-off from Amtrak, whose crews will run the train. The train will operate up to four days a week, making about 50 roundtrips this winter and using cars from its summer excrusion train in the San Luis Valley.

The new 17-car trains will have a capacity of 2,000 seats, more than double that of the former ski train. Ed Ellis, president of the San Luis Railroad that will operate the revived ski train, told the Post that the "typical run will have 17 cars — two dome cars that seat 140 each and a mix of club cars and standard coaches." Click here for images of the cars.

Advance tickets are available online and are being purchased, according to the Post. If for any reason that last signoff is not accomplished, full refunds are promised. Regular roundtrip fares will be $49 in a coach car seat, $99 for a premium upper-level seat in a dome car or $600 for a season pass (purchase before December 24). Other early-season values include a 10-ride pass forr $290 and a one-day $79 roundtrip train ticket/lift ticket package (use by February 7). For more information, call 800-726-RAIL.The Winter Park Resort is also packaging a roundtrip train ticket, overnight lodging at the resort base and a lift ticket starting at $139 a day per person. Book that one through the resort, 800-453-2525.