Hawaiians check for quake damage
Hawaiians check for quake damage — Officials fanned out across Hawaii early Monday to inspect bridges and roads following the strongest earthquake to rattle the islands in more than two decades, a 6.6-magnitude quake that caused blackouts and landslides, but no immediate reports of fatalities. (AP)
Airline for smokers will fly by March, founder says — A German entrepreneur wants to create a nostalgic smokers’ haven above the clouds by starting a nicotine-friendly airline offering Cuban cigars, caviar and flight attendants in designer uniforms — as well as smoking allowed in every seat. (AP)
Madrid airport wins architecture award — Madrid’s new Barajas International Airport terminal, featuring vast, light-filled halls, was honored Saturday with the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize — Britain’s most prestigious architecture award. (AP)
Air travel: Little wiggle room for XXL passengers — Fliers are increasingly finding themselves in tight quarters in the air. The culprit is not just the ever-expanding waistlines of Americans. It’s also the fact that the major American carriers are flying closer to capacity — nearly 86 percent full in July, according to the International Air Transport Association. (The New York Times) (Registration required.)
Alleged insurance fraud is a reminder: Buyers, beware — Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi last month ordered a Tennessee-based travel insurance company to stop doing business in the state, saying the company was defrauding the consumers it was supposed to protect. (The Los Angeles Times) (Registration required.)
Routes to the best deals may not always be direct — The promise of travel search websites such as Kayak, SideStep and Mobissimo is that they help with some of the heavy lifting of finding the best travel deals online. But they are not yet perfect. (The Los Angeles Times) (Registration required.)
Temporary lounges for LAX fliers — Angeles International Airport last week opened temporary lounges for first- and business-class passengers using its Tom Bradley International Terminal while the building is renovated. They replace 16 former lounges operated by airlines there. (The Los Angeles Times) (Registration required.)
Hotels think pink to fight cancer — If you need a good excuse to plan a girls’ getaway, here’s one: October is breast cancer awareness month, and several hotel packages benefit efforts to fight the disease. (The New York Times) (Registration required.)
Delta slammed for high fares by airport chief — A blistering letter from the head of the Piedmont-Triad Airport Authority complains that Delta Air Lines charges inflated rates for travel from the airport and is driving down the number of passengers there. (AP)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.