Rumored Carry-On Charges Wean Travelers from Airlines

Newspaper poll indicates many travelers crying "uncle!" over airline surcharges

Today's Denver Post website included a non-scientific but enlightening reader poll regarding the rumor that airlines, already charging most travelers for checked luggage, might be introduce fees for carry-ons as well.

The question is, "Some airlines reportedly are considering charging passengers for their carry-on bags. Read story. If this happens, what will you do?" The as-of-now answers, which should be required reading for airline execs, are:

"I'm still taking everything in my carry-on" - 17.13%
"I'll still check bags and take a carry-on" - 26.12%
"I will wear multiple layers of clothes; no checked bag and no carry-on" - 7.28%
"That's it; I'm through with the airlines" - 49.46%

Perhaps another option should have been, "I'm only flying Southwest from now on." I flew Southwest to and from Oklahoma City last week. I was only gone for three days, so I did fit everything into a carry-on, but if I had checked bags, there would have been no charge. There was likewise no charge for non-alcoholic beverages, and every passenger on both packed-full flights was given two (2!) little bags of peanuts.

International Travel is a Reality Check in the Name of Sanity

Despite past terrorist attacks, Europeans haven't succumbed to continent-wide paranoia

The Rocky Mountain News' Mark Brown returned from a two-week vacation overseas, where he appreciated being far removed from incessant, excessive, simplistic media coverage of politics starring "screaming talk-show hosts" and, more important from a traveler's standpoint, observed the absence of the post-9/11 fear-mongering and paranoia that has engulfed domestic travel. Despite higher air fares, reduced flight schedules and the pathetic dollar, international travel provides a welcome blast of sanity. In his column titled "Believe it or not, there's a land where cool heads prevail," he wrote:

"No one seemed to be living in fear. We were allowed to take bottles of
liquids on trains on the continent that saw bloody train bombings in 2004,
killing 191 people. We rode London's underground with unsearched backpacks and
suitcases less than three years after the July 2005 subway bombings that killed
52 people, the deadliest terrorist attack in London's history.

"No one made me take off my shoes at the airport on the continent where shoe bomber Richard Reid boarded a plane in 2001 with the intent to blow it up. Had to
take them off over here, though.

"Daily life in London means sitting next to Arabic-looking people on the
subway a couple of times a day, carrying backpacks and other items. Nobody
blinks an eye. The biggest threat to the London Underground that particular week
was a World War II mortar that was found to still be live under a main track.
Commuters were simply rerouted for a few days as it was disarmed and
removed.

"Meanwhile, back here a doughnut advertisement was pulled because the
woman in the commercial was wearing a scarf with tassels. And a fist-bump by a
presidential candidate was characterized as a 'terrorist fist jab.'

"As we seem to become more paralyzed with fear over here, life goes on over
there. It may be too late (and, let's face it, naive) to go back to a notion
that our fellow man isn't a threat but someone we need to cooperate and
communicate with for the good of all of us."

Thank you, Mark Brown, for your words of sanity. I hope that people will continue to travel beyond our tightened borders and that at least, your column is taken to heart by some of those who continue to be wrapped in fear -- but, I am "afraid" that they won't be.

United to Drop Denver-London Non-Stop

Carrier to slash route after just seven months of operations

When United inaugurated its nonstop to London a few months ago, my husband and I jumped on the early fares and went to England and Scotland for eight days. That flight will go bye-bye on October 25, less than seven months after it started (March 30). I vowed to write some enthusiastic posts about something other than bad airline news on this blog, because I do love to travel, but find myself sucked in by one downbeat bit of news after another.

Offsetting higher jet fuel costs by eliminating some flights and charging for services that used to be free comprise United's strategy of "aggressive action to reduce our capacity, retire aircraft and eliminate the least-profitable markets from our fall schedule," the Rocky Mountain News quoted company spokesman Jeff Kovick as explaining -- again. It has become United's mantra.

The Renaissance of an Oklahoma City Landmark

Oklahoma City's grand old hotel restored as a raving beauty. Is it still haunted?

When the Skirvin Hotel was opened in 1911 by oilman William B. Skirvin, it initially had 224 rooms in two 10-story towers and was one of the first buildings in Oklahoma City with air conditioning, then called “iced air.” I'm assuming that Oklahoma City summers were as brutal then as they are today, so iced air was welcome innovation. The luxurious hotel also had running ice water in each room, a ballroom that seated 500 and imported Austrian chandeliers that cost more than $100,000 each.

In 1930, just before the Depression really hit, the Skirvin gained a third wing and a couple of more stories for a total of 525 rooms, making it one of the city's biggest as well as one of its most opulent. The hotel was reportedly the site of one of the city's biggest scandals too. According Legends of America, it is haunted --or at least was until its renovation:

During Prohibition, "W.B. Skirvin was said to have had an affair with one of the hotel maids. According to legend, the maid soon conceived and in order to prevent a scandal, she was locked in a room on the top floor of the hotel. The desolate girl soon grew depressed and even after the birth of her child; she was still not let out of the room. Half out of her mind, she finally grabbed the infant child and threw herself, along with the baby, out of the window. The maid’s name remains unknown, but her ghost continues to haunt the Skirvin Hotel and she was nicknamed 'Effie' by former employees.

"Though the old hotel closed in 1988, former guests would often report not
being able to obtain a decent nights sleep due to the consistent sounds of a
child crying. Effie was apparently a woman of loose morals and many men who have
stayed in the hotel have often reported being propositioned by a female voice
while alone in their rooms. Others have seen the figure of a naked woman
with them while taking a shower. One man even claimed he was sexually assaulted
by an invisible entity during his stay.

"Other strange noises and occurrences were reported by staff and
guests including things seemingly being moved around by themselves, such as the
maid’s cart being pushed down the hall when no one was there."

There is even a Skirvin footnote to 20th century American political-social history. Skirvin’s daughter, Perle Mesta, later became ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a traditional plum ambassadorship for those with more social standing than diplomatic credentials, and later nicknamed Washington’s "Hostess with the Mostess." She was so prominent that she was featured in a Time magazine cover story in 1949. Her life was the basis of the hit Broadway musical, "Call Me Madam."

The hotel was listed on National Register of Historic Places in 1979, closed in 1988 and stood empty for nearly 20 years. It's back now, and it is glorious. Reopened in 2007, for the State of Oklahoma's centennial year, the hotel gleams, thanks to a $56.4 million restoration that included the original exterior, historically appropriate windows, guest rooms reconfigured to today's standards, a truly beautiful lobby (center right), restaurants, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, a fitness center and all the other accoutrement's demanded of a luxury hotel in the 21st century. Wherever possible, historical elements such as moldings, tiles and ceiling treatments were incorporated into the design. Each bed includes a custom coverlet with the story of the Skirvin and its city on it.

Doug Dawgz blog, one of several that focus on Oklahoma City history, wrote an illuminating post back in 2006 about the Skirvin with more background and also some wonderful historic photos.

People who believe in ghosts spectulate that the hotel might still be haunted. In my experience here, Room 1109 (lower right after evening turndown service) isn't haunted -- or I don't believe it is. Still, there was a voice message from the front desk when I returned to my room once evening asking whether "everything in my room was all right." Everything seemed just fine, but who knows?

The Skirvin Hilton is at One Park Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102; 405-272-3040.

Airline Woes Could Cripple US Economy, Study Shows

Bad news and dire predictions continue for air travel

"Oil-fueled catastrophe in the airline industry would cripple US economy and eliminate US jobs, study reveals" is a ponderous title for an Internet post, but it is the gist of a feature on a travel site called eTurbo News. It cited a Business Travel Coalition study equally ominously and equally ponderously called "“Beyond the Airlines’ $2 Can of Coke: Catastrophic Impact on the US Economy from Oil-price Trauma in the Airline Industry" that predicted the domino effect of rapidly rising oil prices on jobs, the supply chain for the manufacturing that still exists in this country, lower tax revenues, American competitiveness, communities, and tourism. These, according to the article, "are just some of the predictable results from airline liquidations that could happen as early as the second half of 2008 as a direct result of unsustainable fuel prices."

As a global community and as a nation, we continue to use oil at an undiminished rate. Public transportation ridership is up in this country, but for many people, it is not an option because it simply does not exist. So people still drive around -- often one per vehicle -- in cars that are considered to get "good" gas mileage if they approach 30 MPG.

"The study expands on the analysis released on June 13, 2008 by AirlineForecasts, LLC and BTC and points to the real news about the airlines’ fuel problems: how multiple liquidations at legacy US airlines – now a serious possibility – would have a wide-ranging impact on many facets of the US economy," wrote eTurbo News.

But what we can do as individuals -- whether we drive less, carpool more, ride our bikes, cancel our vacations or simply fork over 15 bucks to check a bag or $2 for an inflight soda -- pales compared to the government's fuel consumption. Oil Change International, which is promoting the "separation of oil and state," reports that the Department of Defense (or shall we return to its old name, the Department of War?) is the country's single largest user of oil -- 1.6 million gallons a day. And every gallon that is pumped into a heavily armored HumVee (4 MPG), a mine-resistant tank (6 MPG), a helicopter (a 1,500-pound Bell Ranger reportedly burns 65 gallons in four hours; a big troop carrier way more than that) or a military jet is unavailable for civilian aviation, automobiles, buses, taxis or to heat homes in Maine and New Hampshire next winter.

The monetary cost is staggering -- $153 million for the 1.2 million barrels of fuel the armed forces use each month at $127.68 a barrel, which only seems trivial in comparison to the $10.3 billion a month America's Iraqi adventure is costing. The total so far is something on the order of half a trillion deflated US dollars, according to the Congressional Research Service. Politics, morality and even economics aside, the environmental cost is staggering. The US military burns more fuel and leaves a greater carbon footprint than the greening of the travel industry and the home-building industry combined.

Centennial for Canada's Splendid Empress Hotel

Victorian landmark in Victoria, BC, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year

Victoria on the south end of Vancouver Island is a totally captivating city. Whenever I've been there I've thought that I could easily live there -- or at least spend a few nights in one of the Fairmont Empress Hotel's 476 rooms. It is one of Victoria’s most distinctive and beautiful landmarks, and another time, perhaps I will. Meanwhile, I have strolled through the gardens, wandered through the lobby and had a drink in the Bengal Lounge, where the word "colonialism" is a quaint and picturesque theme rather than an administrative system that is way out of favor these days.

I was just leafing through a 10-year-old copy of Victorian Homes magazine, which featured Victoria and noted that the Empress Hotel was then 90 years old. It was built in 1908, when the British Empire was the world's most widespread and powerful. By then, Canada, was already evolving from colony to independent nationhood, but English influence was still potent in Victoria. The Parliament building overlooking the Inner Harbour would not look out of place along the Thames in London, and neither would the nearby Empress, a splendid and opulent example of late Victorian/Edwardian colonial architecture.

The grandiose Empress is now part of the Fairmont group. The public rooms, which are all I have seen, have been immaculately restored. Many of the original features are still in place, including beautiful leaded glass, 12-foot windows and some dozen ornate chandeliers hanging from the high carved-mahogany ceiling.

The Bengal Lounge carries out the theme of India in the days of the British Raj. The Empress Dining Room is an elegant restaurant serving contemporary British Columbia cuisine, including wines from a commendable list.

I have only sat down in the Empress for a drink, but many day visitors come for afternoon tea. In fact, I read somewhere that more than 100,000 guests do so each year, nibbling on small crust-off sandwiches of various sorts, freshly baked scones, house-made preserves, thick Jersey cream and a cornucopia of other pastries, and sipping on the Empress's custom-blended tea from Royal Doulton cups. There is a suitable dress code and such 21st-century tattiness as ripped jeans, short shorts or running clothes are not seen.

I don't know which day, week or month during 2008 has been designated for the official centennial celebration (and being so English in flavor, I am guessing there must be an official celebration!), but there is a Centennial Bed and Breakfast package that includes the hotel's famous afternoon tea, breakfast in the Empress Dining Room and a new commemorative edition of The Empress, a book tracking its glorious 100 years in words and pictures. Rates begin at CDN$199 per person, single or double occupancy, and is offered all year -- with the usual "based on availability" caveat that hotels are so fond of. If you just want to have tea, a special Centennial Tea will be presented every Friday afternoon through the end of September. The cost is CDN$100 for a memorable tradition.

The Fairmont Empress, 721 Government Street Victoria, BC V8W 1W5, Canada; 250-384-8111.

United and Continental Expect to Be Bedfellows

Rivals are vowing cooperation -- and Southwest is implementing next-generation air-traffic efficiencies

The on-again, off-again romances, courtships, engagements and miscellaneous liaisons in the American air transportation industry are positively dizzying. The latest announcement involves a planned linkage of former rivals United and Continental in a bilateral agreement for domestic and international cooperation, in reality a cost-cutting measure by two struggling legacy carriers that have invidually trimmed costs and tapped new revnue sources, largely by charging passengers for services that were until recently free.

The new relationship, which is yet to be approved by regulators, is described as a "partnership" and not a merger. It is supposed to include code-shared domestic flights and also reciprocity between United's MileagePlus program and Continental's OnePass program, enabling to earn miles when flying on either airline and redeem awards on both carriers, including accruing miles toward elite status -- though whether they will be any easier to redeem is yet to be seen. Similarly, members of Continental's Presidents Club and United's Red Carpet Club will have access to both.

Continental has also been invited to join the Star Alliance, which has announced an "enhanced transatlantic partnership of the two U.S. airlines and Star Alliance member carriers Air Canada and Lufthansa" -- whatever that will turn out to be. This latest venture into airline togetherness is supposed to be implemented sometime in 2009. Forgive me for being a tad skeptical, but when it comes to airline coopration, several similarly optimistic plans have unraveled.

Meanwhile, go-it-alone Southwest seems to be stepping in to the tune of $175 million to help implement Required Navigation Performance technology that "allows the aircraft to fly more precise, direct, and accurate paths, allowing more 'lanes' to be built into the same limited airspace," an airline press release quoted executive vice president and chief of operations Mike Vande Ven as explaining. Within six years, Southwest expects to have RNP at the 64 airports it serves. Southwest calculated that every single minute of time saved on each flight, would reduce carbon emissions by up to 156,000 metric tons annually by 2015 and result in $25 million in fuel savings per year.

Southwest has partnered with Naverus, a leader in RNP development, and the Federal Aviation Administration since May 2007 to train the airline's pilots on RNP, equip the airline's fleet to be RNP capable to and to produce RNP-charted procedures. In other times, the FAA might have taken this responsibility upon itself, but Southwest appears to have provided the impetus to get fuel-saving and green procedures underway. Southwest's goal is to begin flying with RNP procedures in place by fall 2009 and have the entire fleet under such operations by 2013.