Rules could saddle airlines with more bags
Carry-on rules could saddle airlines with more baggage — As a result of new carry-on baggage rules, which have forced more passengers to check their luggage, the air carriers’ already thinned-out, stressed-out ranks of baggage handlers have seen the number of bags they must load into the bellies of planes rise by as much as 30% in some locations. (USA Today)
Airlines’ recovery on rocky ground — Demand for air travel is softening, and that’s threatening the still-embryonic financial recovery of the battered airline industry. More worrisome is growing evidence that the slowdown began well before the Aug. 10 breakup of a terror plot that led to the current ban on liquids and gels in carry-on bags. (USA Today)
Delta, Northwest eye exit on bankruptcy anniversary — Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are still hacking away at costs and searching for the means to exit bankruptcy, a year after they put themselves under Chapter 11 protection. (Reuters)
When irate guests pounce, should hotels have a blacklist? — Hotel staffers routinely take abuse. Guests scream at front-desk clerks when a reservation has gone astray or the upgrade they demand isn’t available. They collar the general manager to wheedle extras or rudely try to get the bill reduced. Some wonder if it’s time for a national database of abusive guests. (USA Today)
Tropical Storm Lane heads toward Baja — A strengthening Tropical Storm Lane roared toward the hurricane-battered tip of the Baja California Peninsula early Friday, lashing Mexico’s Pacific coast with winds and rain. (AP)
Judge: Mesaba can’t impose concessions — Mesaba Airlines, a regional feeder carrier for Northwest Airlines, can’t impose concessions on its unionized workers, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. (AP)
Virtual ‘Tribe’ takes the leap — On Vorovoro Island, a speck in the 322-island Fiji archipelago, a new online community called Tribewanted and a handful of others are there to create an eco-friendly vacation paradise. (USA Today)
Star chefs from abroad flavor Big Apple — Salivating over the bountiful crop of restaurants that make their debuts during the prime fall season has become an annual ritual in the nation’s dining capital, but this year the tradition will take on an unusual flavor. (USA Today)
Carrie Charney, Christopher Elliott, John Frenaye, Charles Leocha, Marge Purnell, Valerie Schneider, Mary Staley, Stephanus Surjaputra, Richard Wong.