The Swiss railroad system has banned smoking in all its cars, a welcome move for travelers. Previously, the rail line had seperate cars for smokers and non smokers, though often the non-smoking cars were filled while the smokers' havens were lightly used. This is the latest welcome step in a worldwide move to ban smoking in public places. - January 4, 2006

  

About 200 Radisson SAS hotels just eliminated the charge for guests using high-speed Internet access. Now, could the rest of the world's luxury hotels do the same? It's always been a mystery to me why the first hotels to offer free Internet connections were the lower and mid-priced chains while the expensive Big Boys, such as the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carltons, continue to charge more than $10 a day to customers paying $300 or more per night.

- September 2, 2005

  

Why can't every U.S. airline follow Delta's lead in allowing customers to cancel a reservation made at its web site within 24 with no penalty? That's the new rule from the struggling, Atlanta-based giant, and it's a good one for consumers. Oh, the same new rule also applies to Delta's sister airline, Song (at www.flysong.com). Basically, if you want to cancel a reservation for whatever reason--you found a better deal, you forgot to check the travel dates with your traveling partner--you can do so. And that's a big change from most airline websites that will hit you with a penalty to change a ticket.

Keep in mind, this only applies to tickets you buy directly from Delta or Song. Cancellation requests must be made by midnight of the date date after a ticket is purchased or midnight of the departure date of the first flight, whichever comes first.

- August 26, 2005

  

No less a personage than an executive vice president of the country's largest cellphone company, Cingular Wireless, has sent a letter to the head of the FAA saying maybe, in the interest of peace and quiet as well as "basic courtesy," allowing the use of cellphones in airplanes isn't a great idea. Federal regulators have sugggested they might lift a ban on cellphone usage on planes before the end of the year, a move that has sparked a lively debate on talk radio stations and newspaper opinion pages. New York Times business travel columnist Joe Sharkey writes today that Paul Roth, Cingular's EVP for external affairs, notes that on a crowded plane, folks jabbering on cellphones could be very annoying. This is not to say that Cingular is shooting itself in the foot too badly; presumably, text and data messaging will eventually be commonplace aboard commercial flights, and Cingular stands to profit from that. But I'm delighted to hear a cellphone industry executive vote for tranquility over immediate profits. Joe ends his column with a sensible suggestion by a reader who called for the revival of the phone booth--a place on board a plane into which anyone wishing to make a call can closet himself, thereby sparing the rest of us details of his personal and business life.

- June 28, 2005

  

Northwest Airline's decision to eliminate free magazines (except its own) as well as free pretzels is a sure sign of how close to the bone money-losing US airlines are trying to cut. The magazine decision, according to the airline, will save Northwest $565,000 in the coming year. Reminds me of the time former American Airlines president Robert Crandall eliminated the olive on top of first class salads to save money. Having said that, I am sympathetic to the plight of Northwest, whose labor costs are higher than the competition and who can't seem to raise fares high enough to turn a profit. Now, I bring my own reading material aloft, and I don't like pretzels. But if you're only going to have one magazine aboard your planes, make it a good one. Northwest until recently had the worst magazine of any airline; its decision to ask the city magazine in its corporate hometown, Minneapolis-St. Paul, to overhaul the magazine was a good one. But management has to let the editors do their work. Insistence on formulaic cover stories about people or places only related to Northwest destinations is a dumb idea. Let the airline be the airline and let a magazine be a magazine. The layout is better, the writing is better. But the subject matter could certainly be more interesting.

- June 27, 2005

  With no fanfare, Southwest Airlines disappointed its most frequent flyers by quietly ending the bonus it's extended the last eight years when passengers book on line. With about 60 per cent of Southwest's reservations coming from its web site, the airline apparently feels it no longer has to offer a carrot to passengers. What does that mean to you? With the bonus credit (Southwest gives passengers "credits" rather than "miles" toward a free trip) for buying a flight on line, it took just four round-trips to earn a free ticket for many years when the web site extended double credits for booking on line. More recently, Southwest diluted the offer to a single credit for booking on line. That meant it took just over five flights to qualify for a free round-trip ticket. But now, with no bonus for booking through www.southwest.com, it'll take eight round-trips to score a freebie. There are still details to recommend Southwest's frequent flyer program. And the main one is: As long as there's a seat on the plane when you want to redeem an award ticket, you're on. The only part of Southwest's program I don't like: Your credits expire one year after you earn them if they're not used. Having said all that, Southwest still offers one of the easiest web sites to use, with great fares, an increasing route structure, and a generally amiable army of employees. Oh, and it's also profitable. - December 31, 1969

  I'm as big an admirer of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as anyone, but do we have to name the Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) after him? The nice thing about airports named for the cities they serve is that the name tells you where you're flying to. In 1973, Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel signed legislation that created BWI, changing the name from Friendship International. He correctly noted that "Friendship" didn't mean much to someone in, say, Istanbul searching for an airport near Baltimore or Washington. Let's keep BWI the way it is. Surely there's something wonderful that would shine brightly bearing Marshall's name. - December 31, 1969

  A new Environmental Protection Agency survey of the quality of drinking water on planes during November and December found the H2O in one in six plans failed to meet federal safety standards. That's worse than the survey in August and September in which one in eight planes flunked. The EPA administrator, Thomas Skinner, pointed out that most planes were still within compliance. Give me a break. Five out of six isn't good enough. The EPA's next move? The agency said it doesn't plan any further tests. Thus giving airlines a huge incentive to obey the EPA's past order to clean up the condition of on-board water containers. My suggestion: Drink only bottled water or carry your own onboard. - December 31, 1969

  Las Vegas McCarran International Airport offers free wi-fi service throughout the airport, which means if you have a wi-fi enabled laptop, you sit right down and go on line without paying an hourly or daily fee. It's a great idea I think will spread to other airports and, eventually, entire cities. Philadelphia, for example, is planning to wire all of downtown for free wi-fi. - December 31, 1969

  Tired of driving 'round and 'round airports waiting to pick up an arriving passenger? Los Angeles becomes the first major airport with a designated "cell phone waiting lot" where motorists can wait for a cell phone call announcing an arriving passenger's . . . well, arrival. There are 79 parking places at the lot at 9011 Airport Blvd., about five miles from the airport and easily accessible from La Tijerra, Sepulveda, Manchester and Century boulevards. Two more lots are scheduled to be opened by summer of 2005. - December 21, 2004

  US Airways sent a letter to former executives and board members telling them that they could no longer fly free in first class on the airline. Given the problems US Airways is in and the sacrifices it's asking of its employees, I think this is a smart gesture. The former pooh-bahs will still be able to fly free in coach . . . but only on a space-available basis. In other words, if a revenue passenger shows up to claim the last seat, the former exec must wait for the next flight. Smart move, PR wise and employee-morale wise. - December 3, 2004

  Take the kids with you to San Francisco, check into the Fairmont with the "family fun" package, and your kids can play doorman for a day. They'll be issued a doorman's whistle and a hat (which they may keep) and they can help doormen greet and meet guests. The threee night offering, good through Dec. 30, is $189 a night and includes a $100 credit for activities at the hotel. Plus an afternoon tea for two in the hotel's Laurel Court. Details: 800-441-1414. - November 26, 2004

  Seven large, international wi-fi operators have joined forces to create a seamless roaming agreement that will allow customers of one service to sign on effortlessly to the other six systems. I say, "Hooray." There's nothing more irritating than having to repeatedly register to use new wireless-fidelity services while traveling, and this agreement will decrease the need to do that. The participating companies, all members of the 15-company Wireless Broadband Alliance, are: T-Mobile USA, BT Group UK, Telecom Italia, Maxis of Malaysia, Japan's NTT Db of DoCoMo, Singapore's Starhub, and Australia's Telstra. Now we need the other eight member companies to climb aboard. - November 13, 2004

  I know prices are inflated at some airport shops and restaurants, but $1.20 for a banana on United's Concource C at Chicago's O'Hare? Please. And it was a small banana. Who had it worse? The guy in line behind me who paid $2.20 for a 20-ounce bottle of Coke. - July 18, 2004

  I'm no fan of Big Government, but I have been impressed by how the Transportation Security Administration has managed to staff and run the security gateposts at almost all US airports. Yes, there are sloppy and rude employees, but the improvements over the private firms that ran things prior to 9-11 are obvious. The Bush Administration never did want the government to run airport security, which explains why there are moves afoot to permit airports to go back to hiring private contractors. This time, though, wages will have to be equal to what the government is paying, and vetting of employees is supposed to be more rigorous. But why mess with success? I'm not sure what the advantage of switching now is. This falls into the category of, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. - July 12, 2004

  Let's give a polite round of applause to Continental Airlines. Members of its domestic airport clubs will now enjoy free access to Wi-Fi service--most other airlines charge for access. The airline expects to equip its overseas Presidents Clubs with free Wi-Fi service, as well, by the end of the year. - July 12, 2004

  After sitting unused for three years, the former TWA terminal at New York's JFK airport will be rescued and renovated to serve as a terminal for JetBlue. When Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designed the modern building with its swooping rooflines in the early '60s, it was an immediate sensation. But with the demise of TWA in early 2001, the building was closed. Happily, it'll open again all spiffy and retro looking in 2008. - July 12, 2004

  Was most of America not paying attention during driver's ed classes when the part about "passing lanes" was explained? In Europe, if you overtake a car in the left (or passing) lane, that car in all likelihood will very promptly move to the right to allow you to pass. But in the US, a good percentage of drivers will sit as long as they like in the passing lane, no matter what the posted speed limit. Improve traffic flow--slide over to the right when you look into your rear-view mirror and see someone on approaching on a highway. - June 4, 2004

  American Airlines eliminated the $100 fee it used to charge if you wanted to make a change in an award ticket before travel. Now, if you wish to change the date or time of your flight (but not the destiation), you can do so with no financial penalty. Plus, you may stand by for another flight on the day you're ticketed, should you decide you're rather leave earlier or if you'd care to take a chance on getting an available seat on a later flight. Both of those are positive changes, and I hope other large airlines take a page from American's book. - May 22, 2004

  In early February, Northwest Airlines announced a promotion: Fly three round trips on the airline by June 15, and earn a free domestic ticket you may use (with certain restrictions) between Sep. 1 and June 15, 2005. A day or so later, some of the competition, including United and Continental, followed suit. About ten days later, an apparently reluctant American Airlines joined the pack. Let.s leave aside for the moment the mandatory pre-registration that was required for these promotions, by April 15th in Northwest.s case. I.ve always said that if airline computers can track your travel, they can surely track your round trips and determine if you.re eligible for the reward ticket. Northwest justifies the on-line registration (at nwa.com) because it will send the award tickets only as e-mail certificates. So the airline needs your e-mail address. OK. But here.s what I really think is cheesy: Not all these promotions are equal. In the case of United and American, you must read the fine print to learn that no fares requiring a Saturday night stay over are counted as qualifying flights under this offer. If you.re going to exclude Saturday-night stay over tickets, make it obvious. Better yet, take a page from Alaska Airlines. decision in February to eliminate the Saturday night stay over requirement for any tickets. - May 1, 2004