LAPA, the Argentinean domestic airline went belly up a while back but the name LAPA is to be revived by new owners who rescued it from receivership. It has been operating as AIRG since the Aeroandina group raised capital in both Argentina and Bolivia to put it back in business. Plans are afoot to start regional services to Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Chilean cities of Santiago and Puerto Montt and to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, by the end of this year.

Due to the dreadful and unpredictable event in Bali, the new Bali based airline Air Paradise, which was due to start flying in October 2002, said it was delaying its launch indefinitely and refunding tickets it has already sold. The airline was due to make its first flights to the Australian cities of Perth and Melbourne.

According to union sources, a one-day strike planned by Air France unions for October 24 has been switched to November 5.

Workers are protesting over French government plans to privatise the French flag carrier and reduce the state's controlling stake.

Expanding Australian budget airline Virgin Blue plans to add flights to New Zealand to its schedules and will cause a few ruffled feathers in the Australian flight market, largely operated by Air New Zealand and Qantas. Virgin Blue was launched in August 2000 with a single route between Brisbane and Sydney. It now serves thirteen Australian destinations. Now, Virgin Blue plans a code share arrangement with United Airlines so that it will be faster and easier for booking flights from Brisbane to San Francisco and Los Angeles and beyond.

Meanwhile, back in the US, Boston Logan Airport is to introduce security scanners that can make immediate checks on driving licenses and passports against government databases or “watch lists.” Despite concerns expressed by civil liberties groups, the airport said it will go ahead with the system. Initially, it will only be used to check around 10,000 people who work at Logan. However, the airport's operators, Massachusetts Port Authority, say they would like to see the system extended and in tests carried out during the Summer discovered a number of passengers flying out of the international departures on forged passports.

Passengers due to fly into or out of Stansted (the Beetle's most HATED airport, ever) near London may want to alter their travel plans if this involves early morning or late evening flights.

Due to alleged rail improvements, from Sunday 29th September 2002 through to Spring 2004, all Sunday train services to and from Stansted Airport will be replaced by a slow coach service.

Incidentally, the last coach leaves Stansted at midnight on Sunday for Liverpool St station and 11pm from Liverpool St. First coach to Stansted from Liverpool St is allegedly at 4.30am and 5am from Stansted to Liverpool St. You have been warned, and allow plenty of time – preferably around 2 hours journey time! Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport is closing down international services from Terminal 2 at the end of October week due to reduced numbers of passengers. The decision, by the Israel Airports Authority, is part of a series of cost-cutting measures, according to daily newspaper Haaretz. If international passengers start to increase the Terminal 2 facility may reopen.

The Beetle knows that a lot of readers are interested in tracing their ancestors, and come to the UK and Ireland to do just that, so this piece in BritainExpress.com caught her little Beetle eye.

Everyone from amateur historians, genealogists, students and teachers through to tourists and parents will be able to gain something a new website dedicated to British history, history.uk.com

History.uk.com has a dedicated editorial team ensuring that the site is updated daily and showcases regular online features.

Source: britainexpress.com

Overland in Africa

New Globetrotter Renate would like to make contact with others who share her interests: overlanding in Africa, archaeology, anthropology, natural history and the environment, conservation, and, others who have travelled in the following countries in North and South Africa: Libya, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Sahara desert, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and, S Africa: North Cape Province, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kalahari Desert, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola. If this is you, please contact Renate on desertfox@freeuk.com

Advice and Travelling Companion(s) wanted

Bengt from Gothenburg, Sweden is looking for a travelling companion(s) for a road trip around June/July/August 2003 to join him in full or in part for a 6-12 month trip overland in the USA, Canada, Alaska and down through Central America to Panama. He/she must speak decent Spanish as whilst Bengt speaks good English, he is not so good with Spanish. They must also be able to drive as he is shipping his own Toyota Landcruiser over to the USA, probably to Jacksonville (Fl). In addition, if any Globetrotter out there can help Bengt with any advice about driving around, where to visit, car documents etc, he would be very grateful. He also asks if anyone knows if it's still exist a boat carrying vehicles between Colon Panama to Cartagena Colombia? If you can help Bengt with travel advice about specific countries or is interested in being a travel companion, please e-mail him or phone Bengt on: +46(0)31403327

UK Winter Break

Simon from the UK asks: I wondered if you could help me. I am looking to get away for a winter break in the UK and want to rent an isolated cottage without neighbours or developments just the cottage and the elements. I have searched extensively for this but can't seem to find it anywhere.. Do you know of such a company that can help me out with this.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid

Under 30? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Extract from The Star (Johannesburg): “The situation is absolutely under control,” Transport Minister Ephraem Magagula told the Swaziland parliament in Mbabane.

“Our nation's merchant navy is perfectly safe. We just don't know where it is, that's all.”

Replying to an MP's question, Minister Magagula admitted that the landlocked country had completely lost track of its only ship, the Swazimar:

“We believe it is in a sea somewhere. At one time, we sent a team of men to look for it, but there was a problem with drink and they failed to find it, and so, technically, yes, we've lost it a bit. But I categorically reject all suggestions of incompetence on the part of this government. The Swazimar is a big ship painted in the sort of nice bright colours you can see at night. Mark my words, it will turn up. The right honourable gentleman opposite is a very naughty man, and he will laugh on the other side of his face when my ship comes in.”

A passenger on a Virgin Atlantic flight has won a GBP£13,000 (USD$20,000) award after being injured by an obese woman in the next seat.

Barbara Hewson, from Swansea in Wales, was travelling economy class from London to Los Angeles, 11 long hours when the incident happened. She suffered injuries to her chest, torn leg muscles and developed sciatica after being crushed by the oversized passenger.

The woman next to Ms Hewson, was so large she had to raise the armrest to fit into the seat and because the flight was full there was no alternative seat so the woman's arm rested on Hewson's chest for much of the journey. Ms Hewson is only 4 feet 11 inches tall. When the flight arrived in Los Angeles Hewson was admitted to hospital.

Source: airnews.com

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

Where is Europe's largest and most active volcano? Answer: Mount Etna on Sicily. Mount Etna has had four major eruptions in the last 309 years and it has just erupted once again – the last time was 1992.

Although lava flows have reached the tourist areas and the airport in Catania has closed and some hotels have been evacuated, the mayor reassured Catania's 330,000 residents that they were in no danger.

“The situation in Catania is completely under control and our city is not threatened in any way,” Mayor Umberto Scapagnini said.

The heaviest lava flow descended towards Piano Provenzana, a popular area for tourists to take mountain walks in summer and for skiing in the winter. The flow pushed over ski-lift pylons, knocked down power lines before surrounding an empty mountain hotel and lodge. No one was injured. See Murray's article on Sicily in the main part of the e-newsletter to see what Sicily has to offer!

Flight Log Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints by QANTAS pilots and the corrective action recorded by mechanics.

By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident. P – stands for the problem the pilots entered in the log, and S – stands for the corrective action taken by the mechanics.

Here's a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

1. AMS
2. MCO
3. CDG
4. YYZ
5. HND

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

A note from our webmaster:

To change your email address, you will need to unsubscribe the old address at Unsubscribe

and then subscribe with your new address at Subscribe

Unfortunately, as a computer runs this list, we are unable to manually process; subscribe, unsubscribe and address changes requests.

A Beverly Hills scuba diving store has resisted a federal grand jury subpoena demanding that they identify everyone who had taken, but not finished, recreational dive classes over the last three years.

The subpoena was based upon far-fetched fears that an underwater terrorist attack could be accomplished by partially-trained divers. Apparently the FBI has already obtained information about every certified diver in the United States through the certification organisations PADI, NAUI, and SSI.

Ken Kurtis, co-owner of Reef Seekers, stated: “The scenario the FBI was painting–of divers swimming into a harbor with explosives to blow up ships–is extremely difficult and far-fetched for even the most skilled and experienced diver, and would be next-to-impossible for a newly certified diver, let alone one who had dropped out of a class and never completed training.”

They have got to be the most annoying junk mail that the Beetle receives….ever! You must have received one at least: you know, it's a long e-mail bemoaning the death of a supposed husband, father, uncle etc. who has millions of $ trapped in a bank account. In exchange for a small investment – and you have been chosen for this very exciting opportunity (not!) to receive a commission for helping to release these funds by transferring a few thousand dollars of your own to a named bank account and in return, you receive 30%, or some variation on the theme. But have you ever wondered who these people are, that send out these blatant scams? And why? And do people really respond?

Frank from the US sent the Beetle a piece called The Nigerian Nightmare – Who's sending you all those scam e-mails by BrendanI.Koerner.lnk. In this, the author explains that the e-mailers behind these e-mails are almost always Lagos-based con artists looking for people greedy enough and stupid enough to spend thousands in pursuit of nonexistent fortunes. “They aim to lure you to Nigeria or to a nearby nation where you'll be cajoled into ponying up endless fees to secure the “riches”-$30,000 for a “chemical solvent” to disguise the money or $50,000 for “customs duties”. When you eventually wise up, faux police barge into your hotel and demand massive bribes in exchange for your freedom. Tapped out? Expect to be held for ransom or murdered”.

This is a scam known as a 419, named after the penal code making it illegal. According to the anti-spam software vendor Brightmail, 419 scams are the Web's second-most common form of junk mail, (ranking behind only those “herbal Viagra” ads). Believe it or not, an estimated 1 percent of recipients actually respond. Of that number, enough people fork over enough cash to sustain an industry that ranks in Nigeria's top five, right up there with palm oil and tin. The U.S. Secret Service has estimated-conservatively, by its own admission-that the scammers net $100 million per year.

So, just don't……..

You would have to be living in a world with no access to the radio, newspapersor tv not to hear about the recent bombing in Bali. News reports say that around 75 percent of those who died (around 200) in the blasts were Australian nationals.

But let's not forget the local people of Bali and other nationals too, who lost their lives in Bali. A further 300 people were injured in the attack. As investigations start into Saturday's nightclub bombings on Bali, Australian airline Qantas is laying on extra flights to bring tourists and injured victims back from the Indonesian island. Singapore Airlines has also been carrying additional passengers.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australian police and intelligence services are helping in thesearch for the bombers.

The governments of Australia and the United States are advising against travel to Indonesia and the US State Department has asked all American citizens to leave the country. All US government personnel, apart from those in key positions, are being withdrawn.

The UK has also issued a travel warning, advising the cancellation of non-essential visits to Indonesia.

Despite some expected cancellations, Singapore Airlines says it is continuing to operate four daily flights to the area.

The airlines say they will not impose penalty charges on passengers who change or cancel their flight reservations. Those without tickets wishing to leave Bali are being offered discounted fares.

Kevin, our membership secretary likes this one!
theangkorguide.com

A recent UK survey for the Department for Education found that of over 1,000 adults found 30% felt unable to compare rates in exchange bureaux. A similar proportion said they were not comfortable converting foreign currency into sterling. Over a fifth of those surveyed admitted they had wrongly calculated how much they spent on holiday, with 12% saying they had run out of money.

The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:

The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies
The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

There are three galleries offering a change of photographic exhibitions from photographers around the world.

Admission is free and the small gallery can be found at 5&8 Great Newport Street WC2H, tel: 020 7831 1772, website: www.photonet.org.uk From 4^th October to 16^th November, there is a great exhibition called Brixton Studio which looks at local photographer Harry Jacobs and four other contemporary artists. There's a great bookshop too.

The nearest tube is Leicester Square, so you could combine this with a visit to the great National Portrait Gallery that is close by, followed by a Chinese dinner in China Town, or a film in Leicester Square.

Airlines in Europe will have to pay increased compensation to passengers who are stranded by cancellations or overbooking on flights if new legislation is approved.

At present, passengers who are forced to take a later flight because of overbooking – a common practice among carriers – or find their flight has been cancelled get between EUR150 and EUR300.

The new levels of compensation are lower than figures first proposed by the European Commission that were proposed at between EUR750 and EUR1500 depending on length of flight. Travelers on short haul services that are “bumped” from a flight or are affected by a cancellation, can now claim EUR200 (USD$195).

Those on longer flights can be compensated by up to EUR600 (USD$586). Some low cost carriers have warned that the proposals, passed by the European Parliament on Thursday, could mean a rise in fares unless carriers are willing to accept lower profit. The low cost airlines are unhappy about this and believe that the level of compensation should be adjusted to the price of the passenger ticket, rather than a flat rate covering every airline.

Not covered by this new compensation are events outside the direct control of carriers, including poor weather, long running strikes and security matters.

The US carrier Horizon Air, based in Seattle, is set to equip its entire fleet of 60 regional aircraft with defibrillators and medical kits to deal with in-flight heart attack emergencies.

Horizon is making the move two years ahead of a US Federal Aviation Administration deadline requiring any US commercial plane of at least 7,500 pounds and carrying at least one flight attendant to install the life-saving equipment.