Coup unlikely to dent Thai tourism
Coup unlikely to dent Thai tourism — Some travelers have canceled trips to Bangkok in the wake of a bloodless military coup, but the impact on Thailand’s lucrative tourist industry should be brief and small, travel agents said on Thursday. (Reuters)
Airbus A380 superjumbo faces new delay — Airbus revealed new delays for its troubled A380 superjumbo jet on Thursday, blaming a repeat of wiring installation problems which have already pushed the program a year behind schedule and hit future profits. (Reuters)
Air Canada bills unruly flier $1,350 — Air Canada has billed a passenger who verbally abused its employees $1,350 for delaying an overseas flight by 27 minutes. (Toronto Star)
FCC seen backing airline’s broadband at Logan airport — Boston airport authorities cannot stop Continental Airlines from offering wireless Internet service in its frequent flier lounge under a proposed Federal Communications Commission ruling, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. (Reuters)
D.C. sees growth in tourism, spending — Tourists and business travelers spent a record $5.05 billion in the nation’s capital last year — a gain of almost 5% over 2004 that officials said was helped by new sports and entertainment venues, mass transit improvements and a significant increase in spending by international visitors. (AP)
Tourists choosing Caribbean neighbors over Puerto Rico — More vacationers are choosing to wile away their Caribbean holidays in the Dominican Republic or Cuba, rather than the traditional top destination of Puerto Rico, as those nations increasingly focus on boosting their tourism offerings, an industry group in the U.S. territory said. (AP)
Promise, peril in cheap fares to Morocco — This year, Morocco became the first African country to join Europe’s flight zone. Loosened controls and slashed airport fees led budget pioneer Easyjet to start flights to Marrakech in July, and Irish rival Ryanair is set to arrive in late October. (AP)
How much? Many answers — For years, hotels have increasingly saddled their customers with nonnegotiable surcharges for everything from the use of an in-room safe to a general resort fee that pays for amenities that were once part of the room rate. (The New York Times)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.