Airfare climbs 15% for Thanksgiving
Airfare climbs 15% for Thanksgiving — Thanksgiving 2006 is shaping up as an expensive, crowded holiday for air travelers. The average advance round-trip fare for Thanksgiving weekend travel has soared to $434, up 15% from a year ago, an analysis by consulting firm Sabre Airline Solutions for USA TODAY shows. (USA Today)
Airline programs: How your frequent-flier miles can disappear — There are more ways to earn miles these days, but shorter life spans for some accounts make it difficult to redeem them. (The New York Times) (Registration required.)
Buckingham palace to be lit every night, despite energy concerns — Queen Elizabeth II is lighting up Buckingham Palace every night for the rest of her reign. Starting Tuesday, the portico columns and gray stone exterior of the palace will be illuminated from sunset until 11 p.m. (AP)
Ed-ventures: Sort of like summer camp, but for grown-ups — Courses at the Desert Studies Center and other such facilities are a popular way to mix education, adventure. (The Los Angeles Times)
Most unwelcome traveling companions: flu and cold bugs — How can you dodge viruses on your next trip? Flu shots, Vitamin C, even hand sanitizers can help. (The Los Angeles Times) (Registration required.)
New Seattle tour slogan: ‘Metronatural’ — “Metronatural” is the result of a 16-month, $200,000 effort by Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, which included 60 people from the bureau, the mayor’s office and businesses. The bureau plans to spend $300,000 marketing the slogan, er, “destination brand position,” which was developed by a local marketing firm called Exclaim. (AP)
No more back seat navigators with GPS — This technology, first developed by the U.S. military four decades ago, has become widely available to drivers in the last five years, and the Consumer Electronics Assn., a trade group, predicts that more than a million navigation units will be sold this year, a 300% increase from 2002. (The Los Angeles Times) (Registration required.)
Cruise illness may be common virus — Passengers on an Ohio River cruise who complained of flu-like symptoms may have contracted a non-life threatening illness similar to the Norwalk virus, a Kentucky health official said. (AP)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.