Teddy Bear Centenary in London: the centenary of the teddy bear is being celebrated with a major exhibition at London’s Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green (March 29 – December 31).
The exhibition features about 400 bears, from some of the oldest surviving examples to present-day models, plus ‘celebrity’ bears such as Winnie the Pooh, Paddington, and Aloysius from the TV series “Brideshead Revisited”.
The Museum of Childhood is a branch of the Victoria
& Albert Museum. It is open daily except Friday. Admission free (Some events carry a separate charge).
If you were thinking of travelling to northern Congo
to see the gorillas – don’t. At least 48 people are believed
to have died in a suspected outbreak of Ebola in the north of Congo-Brazzaville,
near the border with Gabon. Ebola is reported to have killed 43 people
in Congo and 53 others in neighbouring Gabon between October 2001 and
February 2002. The WHO says more than 1,000 people have died of Ebola
since the virus was first identified in 1976 in western Sudan and in a
nearby region of Congo. There is no cure for Ebola, which causes up to
95% of its victims to bleed to death.
The authorities were first alerted to a possible outbreak
of Ebola when a clan of gorillas in the region began to die in December.
Tests carried out on the bodies confirmed that the gorillas had died from
the Ebola virus, which has now claimed more than 80% of that gorilla clan.
According to on the scene World Health Experts, it seems likely that eating
bush meat such as gorilla, gazelle and antelope caused the human deaths.
Terminal
1 is for United and United Express flights plus Lufthansa departures.
Terminal
2 airlines include Air Canada, America West, Continental, Northwest,
United and US Airways.
Terminal
3 airlines include Alaska, American and Delta.
Terminal
5 is the international terminal for most non-US airline departures
and all international arrivals
Chicago O Hare is named after Lieutenant Edward O'Hare who was a
military hero, and flew planes in the Navy during WW2. He was awarded
the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1942.
The largest US troop and cargo carrying airplane, the Douglas C-54,
was built at a factory on the site and the base, known then as Orchard
Field, which was almost entirely then used by the military. When the war
ended, Chicago’s city Municipal Airport, later to become Midway
Chicago quickly established itself as the world's busiest civil aviation
operation. A far-sighted City Council saw the potential for air travel
and decided a second major facility would be needed so in 1946 they bought
Orchard Field from the US government together with another 7,000 acres
next door. Three years later $2.4 million was spent on acquiring more
land and Orchard Field was re-named in honour of O'Hare.
The airport was already busy before it was officially opened to domestic
commercial flights in 1955, but Midway was still the star attraction until
1962 when all scheduled operations were transferred from Midway to O'Hare.
When the airport was officially dedicated the following year, President
John F. Kennedy said, “it could be classed as one of the wonders
of the modern world”. He was right in one sense because O'Hare
preserved its title as 'World's Busiest' for over 30 years
until it was overtaken by Atlanta in 1998.
The London Meetings co-ordinator sent notice of this
wonderful exhibition to the Beetle: a major exhibition of internationally
acclaimed Brazilian photographer, Sebastião Salgado, chronicles
the human cost behind major political events. Featuring 350 haunting black
and white photographs taken from Salgado’s renowned Migrations
and Children series, it is a moving account of those displaced
by conflict.
Venue: Barbican Gallery Location: Gallery
floor, level 3 Open: 13 February – 1 June 2003Mon, Tue, Thu-Sat 10am – 6pm; Wed 10am – 9pm;Sun
& Bank holidays 12 noon – 6pm Tickets £7/ £5Please
support Amnesty International’s work. Purchase a special ticket
and £1 will be donated directly to Amnesty International. Tickets
£8/£6 Full price tickets can be booked online,
To purchase discounted tickets, please contact the Box Office on 020 7638
8891.
USA:
New Orleans Mardi Gras 4 MarchThousands take to the streets of
The Big Easy in a virtuoso display of fabulously colourful costumes and
magical floats.
Winter Party March 1st
to 10th March, Miami
1-10 March 2003 (every year) is the gay mecca that is
South Beach, Miami; this famed party benefits the Dade Human Rights Foundation.
Iris is a British lady of considerable character and pluck, on a 23
week overland expedition from Quito in Ecuador to Caracas in Venezuela.
After this, she plans to do a 3-month voluntary placement in Ecuador,
and then visit Central America for another overland trip between Panama
City and Mexico City, ending up with perhaps another 2-month voluntary
placement somewhere in South America again. This amazing journey will
take Iris one year. Here is an extract from Iris’ journey notebook.
30th November: The Journey to Cuenca
I sent my last emails from Baños, was there 3 days and it was
a lovely little town but, as I say, that volcano was brooding over it,
which made things a little scary! One of our number said he had read there
are evacuation arrows in the streets showing the population the way to
run should there be an eruption but he couldn't find them which rather
concerned him! But we evacuated from Baños without any trouble,
but my, what a journey we had to Cuenca – right through the Andes at a
minimum of 2,000 metres, sometimes going up to well over 3,000 metres.
Everywhere – mountains that seemed to be almost piled one on top of the
other, with the occasional narrow valley plummeting down to the depths
with hamlets nestled in them. Scary at times as the road was just cut
out of the mountainsides and there were some really incredible hair pin
bends – looking over the side I was thankful we were going so slowly with
no danger of going over the edge because we would have all been killed
if we had crashed over the side – probably drops of at least 300 – 1,000m
in places with nothing but rock to fall on!
We saw lots of local people – mostly shepherds in the traditional Andean
garb of trilby hat, colourful (often red) shawls and brightly coloured
skirts, minding their sheep, goats, donkeys, pigs, cattle or llamas. Unfortunately,
the cloud was low and obscured what must have been some very fine views
but every so often the scene (rather than the sky) would clear and we
would see some awesome sights – steaming volcanoes, two or three of them
in a line; sheer precipices and steep mountains with their tops obscured
in cloud.
We left Baños at 0745 (yours truly being the last on the bus,
not because I got up late, I was up at 0500 exercising and showering but
the restaurant which was supposed to open at 0600 was later opening and
then the girl who waited on table had to run off to the baker's to
get bread. But by the time we were all breakfasted (and some rolled in
in the early hours of the morning so had no breakfast as they were suffering
from hangovers) and I had collected my belongings and finished my ablutions
(the obligatory cleaning of teeth), I turned out to be the last on the
bus!
We then made our way slowly out of Baños to Cuenca some 366 kms
to the south but the terrain, coupled with the weight in our bus – full
water tanks as well as petrol tanks, and with two drivers and 22 people
aboard with all their luggage – we made slow progress up hills and all
sorts of vehicles were continuously overtaking us. We were ok on the straights
and downhills but on the downhill had to go slowly again because of the
weight being hurled down steep inclines and having to negotiate some hair-raising
bends.
We stopped for lunch on the roadside – our leaders/drivers (Heather
and Martin) had bought local produce at the market in Baños and
so we helped prepare a lunch of salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes,
avocado pear, onions) and rolls, butter, ham and cheese for us all. We
go through an elaborate process of disinfecting our hands, using a spray
disinfectant after using the toilet and then washing our hands again in
disinfectant water and rinsing them again in disinfectant water and shaking
them rather than wiping them dry. All table surfaces and pots and pans
are sterilised and then work begins at cutting up and buttering and putting
things on plates and in bowls on long trestle tables and canvas stools
are put out for us all to sit on. Meanwhile, the local dogs congregate,
sniffing out the food and looking longingly at us, as are the local shepherd
population.
In the site where we were there were a couple of shepherds (women) with
their children, and their donkeys and pigs. The children were wide-eyed
but rather suspicious urchins (suspicious of us) and refused all requests
to have their photos taken, but hanging around watching these strange
tourists in their shorts and long trousers preparing food they could only
dream about. We didn't encourage the dogs with any scraps and we certainly
did not stroke any of them (dirty little mutts), but they all seemed innocent
enough and quiet if not friendly, but after we had all finished eating,
the food over was handed out to the shepherds and their children in the
form of ham and cheese and salad rolls, and bags of lettuce and tomatoes,
and for the pigs, all the swill resulting from the lettuce and other vegetables
used in the salad. So everyone benefited, even the local hospice (just
a dirty brick building with a small shop and rather disgusting loos but
at least we were able to use them and rinse our hands under the tap, hence
the strict regime of disinfecting our hands every time we used the loos
when we stopped.
At one stage, we experienced the necessity of relieving ourselves without
the aid of modern conveniences. The men went one way in a small wooded
area and the women went the other. It is at times like these one wishes
one was a man and could just open our flies without having to strip ourselves
half naked and crouch in the undergrowth. Of course, yours truly had to
choose a place with some rather long stems of grass, which tickled my
posterior regions as I crouched so I made a rather ungainly spectacle
of myself jumping around every time something touched me in a rather intimate
place! Then the ceremony of the trowel – burying the tissue we used in
the ground so that we didn't pollute the local area of scenic beauty!
I am sure this is going to be the first of many occasions when we will
need to wander off, trowel in hand, to seek out similar places for similar
purposes.
If you’d like to contact Iris, whether to wish her luck with her
trip or to ask questions about her itinerary and places visited, I am
sure she would like to hear from you. She can be contacted on: irisej2002@yahoo.co.uk
#EndEditable
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#BeginEditable “sidebar”
Sidebar area
A new booklet from the London Tourist Board gives suggestions
on making your holiday budget go further and exploring the capital off
the main tourist trail. “Go Further in London” is available
free from British Tourist Authority offices overseas (in English, French,
German and Italian), or look on the website: www.visitlondon.com
Submitted by Frank from the US. Actual comments from US travel agents:
A woman called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description
on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to who?” I said, “No,
why do you ask?” She replied, “Well, when I checked in with
the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight,
is there any connection?” After putting her on hold for a minute
while I looked into it” (I was actually laughing) I came back and
explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just
putting a destination tag on her luggage.
I just got off the phone with a man who asked, “How do I know which
plane to get in?” I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied,
“I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes
have numbers on them.”
A woman called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola on one of
those computer planes.” I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola
on a commuter plane. She said, “Yeah, whatever.”
A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed
in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports,
I reminded him he needed a visa. “Oh no I don't, I've been
to China many times and never had to have one of those.” I double-checked
and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said,
“Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have
accepted my American Express.”
A woman called to make reservations; “I want to go from Chicago
to Hippopotamus, New York.” The agent was at a loss for words. Finally,
the agent said, “Are you sure that's the name of the town?”
“Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the customer. After
so me searching, the agent came back with, “I'm sorry, ma'am,
I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find
a Hippopotamus anywhere.” The customer retorted, “Oh don't
be silly, everyone knows where it is. Check your map!” The agent
scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You
don't mean Buffalo, do you?” “That's it! I knew it
was a big animal!”
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
If you find yourself at a loose end in Amsterdam’s
Schipol airport, you can now visit a branch of the world renowned Rijskmuseum
in the terminal after passport control on Holland Boulevard which connects
Piers E and F. There is also a museum shop.
The museum includes works by Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Peter
de Hooch and other painters from the Dutch Golden Age.
The joint initiative between the airport and the museum
has cost around EUR2.5 million (USD$2.54 million) to establish. The museum
is housed in a specially designed suspended area and is open between 7am
and 8pm daily.
It has certainly been an interesting month here in Mikindani, and also
in Dar es Salaam. One of Trade Aid’s new ideas for Mikindani is
to start up a local group who can produce Batik T-shirts. But what is
this I hear you ask. Batik T-shirt printing is the dying of a T-shirt
with certain areas left undyed, this enables you to produce a variety
of patterns.
It was at the beginning of December that the journey up to Dar began,
at the oh so sociable hour of four o’clock in the morning. After
a back breaking sixteen hours in one of the Trade Aid Landrovers, being
bounced and battered along a Tanzanian “road” we finally arrived
in Dar Es Salaam, oh what a relief. After a day to settle in, and make
extensive use of the bar and air conditioning at the Seaman’s mission
[where we were staying] it was down to work. My brief was to look into
the process of Batik T-shirt production, and to see if it would be feasible
in Mikindani.
The Batik T-shirt printing takes place in an indoor market/shopping
centre where the products are also sold. There I met the head of the organisation
that prints the T-shirts and the head of production, who oversees the
entire process.
The process begins when the parts of the T-shirt that are not to the
dyed are covered in a special sort of wax. This can be applied through
two methods, either using a brush or a wooden print. As far as Mikindani
and the Boma is concerned it is my opinion that the print method would
be the best, as it would produce work for the local carpenters.
Once the wax has been applied and dried the T-shirt is then dyed. A
mixture of hot and cold water (17 litres) dye, caustic soda and sodium
powder are then mixed together in a stone bath. The T-shirt is then repeatedly
lifted in and out of this mixture until the dye has fully soaked into
the material. After which it is then taken out of the water and hung to
dry. The wax then has to be removed; this is done by placing the T-shirt
into a vat of boiling water, where it is then stirred around until all
of the wax has been removed. The T-shirt is then finished and can either
be worn, or more colours can be applied by using the wax to cover the
previous dyed areas and any areas that need to be left clear. This should
certainly prove to be something that Trade Aid and the Boma can make good
use of, and it should also benefit the local groups who can get involved.
For more information on the work carried out by Trade Aid in Tanzania,
see their website www.mikindani.com
Win a Trailblazer Handbook on Trekking in Corsica by
David Abram who was a wonderful speaker at the London February Globetrotter
meeting. See http://www.trailblazer-guides.com
for info on Trailblazer guidebooks. They are an excellent series.
Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do
some research, try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.
Did you know, you can change the format of this e-newsletter?
This e-newsletter is available in 3 formats:
1. This format with 2 columns.
2. A single column print friendly version available
online, see the link in every e-newsletter (or click
here).
3. The text only version, if you'd like your e-newsletter
in plain text format, simply let us know – send a blank email to
The
Globetrotters Webmaster with “Text+Enews” as the subject
Globetrotters meeting on 1st February by
Padmassana
David Abram was up first and gave us a very interesting talk
on Trekking in Corsica. David has spent long periods in Corsica
in order to research his Trailblazer
guidebook. He told us that the cheapest way to get there is to take a
No-Frills cheap flight to either Marseilles or Nice and then take a ferry
across to the island. David first showed us the easier coastal walks;
we saw the azure seas and waves crashing on to rocky headlands. The main
route for Trekking/walking on Corsica is the GR20, which winds its way
170 Km across the islands roof. The route has an altitude change of 19,000
Metres. David explained that although his photos of the route looked daunting
to all but experienced mountaineers, including parts where it was necessary
to use cables and ladders, most reasonably fit people can manage the route.
The GR20 route is for the most part well marked with waypoints. It is
divided into 16 stages, which most of the 17,000 people who do the walk
each year complete in around 12 days. David finished up with some Corsican
music and some of his favourite photos of Corsica. In next month’s
e-news we are lucky enough to have one of David’s stories about
his time in Corsica – look out for it!
After the interval our second speaker was Peter Nasmyth whose
talk was entitled Caucasusadventure. Peter kicked off with
photos of snow-capped peaks like Mt Elbrus and hilltop churches, lit by
the intermittent electricity supply. This region has many surprises for
the visitor; it’s a place where the locals drink toasts to Stalin
(he was a Georgian) and to Adolf Hitler (he fought the communists). Other
surprises were a bubbling carbonated lake, surrounded by red mineral covered
rocks. Tblisi is the Georgian capital, we saw old areas where balconies
over hang the streets and a tower block that was once the best hotel in
town, but is now a home to many refugees from the wars in neighbouring
countries like Ossetia and Chechnya. Peter’s photos of the local
people included traditional dress that has built in bullet holders and
knives in the waistband of trousers. The Caucasus is an area where it
is possible to go heli-skiing, by renting a helicopter and heading up
into the mountains, very popular with German skiers. Peter finished by
telling us about his charity, which helps the local children, who are
bright and well educated, but have little to channel their energies into.
Peter also helped establish Prosperos bookshop. The first English language
cafe bookshop, which according to Peter sells the best coffee in the Caucasus.
Coming up: Saturday 1st March
Leslie Downer – “Sadayakko and her amazing
journey around the World.” Sadayakko was a geisha and Japan's
first actress. In 1900 she enchanted audiences around the World from san
Francisco, New York, London, fin-de-siecle Paris, Vienna and St. Petersburg.
Part II of Leslie's geisha adventures. Geoff Roy –
“Great Wall of China” is the longest man-made structure on
Earth- stretching from the Yellow Sea to Tibet (6,700kms.) Geoff's
talk covers walking on restored, as well as un-restored sections of “wild
wall”
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind
the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each
month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September.
For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44
(0) 20 8674 6229, , or register for email updates at at our website (click here)
North Americans will be pleased to learn that the UK's
tough animal quarantine regulations are being relaxed. From December 11,
2002 dogs and cats that meet requirements will be able to enter Britain
without going into quarantine for six months. These requirements include
having the animals microchipped and vaccinated by a veterinarian, together
with a blood test, at least six months before travelling.
Details of these conditions can be found on the Department
of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (DEFRA) web site: defra.gov.uk.
Anna and Magda wrote in asking for help with voluntary placements in
Australia: we are two girls living in Germany, age 19, just finished our
A-levels (Advanced school leaving certificate). Our reason for writing
is, that we would like to do a voluntary practical year in Australia.
WE would be very grateful if you could give us further help in this. Best
regards Anna and Magda.
The Beetle responds: As you are both under 30, you are most likely eligible
to apply for a working visa in Australia. So maybe if you contact the
Australian embassy in your country, they can advise you about this. Roughly
speaking, you are not allowed to do a “professional” job, so
you are only allowed to do casual work such as potato, fruit picking or
short term work. No one piece of work can be over 3 months either.
The Beetle suggests that you search on the internet using the words
“voluntary work Australia”. This is a good site to start with:
Volunteer Search in addition,
the April 2002 Globetrotter e-newsletter 2002 had an article by conservationvolunteers
email conservationvolunteers
about conservation volunteer opportunities. There’s also always
the WWOOF organisation, see: Wwoofing, which caters for people who
want to work on organic farms. There’s also:
ATCV (Australian
Trust for Conservation Volunteers) accepts Australian and foreign volunteers
for a wide range of conservation projects throughout Australia.
Australian Jobs Guide by Nomads World features visa information,
job packages, agencies and a harvest guide for fruit picking/harvest work.
Diving in Australia has an employment database.
Pelican Point Windsurfing in W. Australia has employment
opportunities for instructors.
Travel Jobs Network,
a service for Australian and New Zealand job seekers.
TNT Magazine
has an excellent section on finding temporary work in Australia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Beetle received an e-mail from the parent of a college student,
studying in L.A. They wanted to know where their daughter and two friends
could go on an inexpensive package for their spring break April 12-18,
2003. Hawaii maybe?
The Beetle agreed that Hawaii, (but not Oahu – which can be a
little touristy and expensive, when the other islands have far more to
offer) would be a great option. It is possible to buy reasonably priced
fly drive holidays around the Hawaiian islands, where our reader’s
daughter and friends could share a room at a very nice hotel at a good
price. With only 6 days, I would recommend either the Big Island alone
or alternatively split between Kauai and the Big Island. If a car and
swish hotel is too expensive, then it is possible to find moderately priced
accommodation on the Big Island, so this should cut the cost, but a car
is definitely a must!
Another global warning on terrorism has been given to
Americans travelling abroad by the US State Department. This one is dated
7th February.
The worldwide caution replaces a similar warning made
in November and reminds people to be aware of the dangers of a terrorist
attack.
It asks travellers to remain vigilant due to a heightened
threat of terrorist actions that may target civilians, including the possibility
of attacks by non-conventional weapons. It also reminds American citizens
travelling or living overseas to avoid demonstrations.
US citizens and interests are vulnerable to attacks,
including those by groups with links to Al-Qaeda, says the government.
Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations,
assassinations or kidnappings.
The State Department goes on to say that while conventional
weapons such as explosive devices pose a more immediate threat in many
areas overseas, terrorist use of non-conventional weapons, including chemical
or biological agents must be considered a growing threat.
These individuals and groups have proved that they do
not distinguish between official and civilian targets. Because security
and security awareness have been elevated within the United States, terrorists
may target US interests overseas. Private Americans should remain vigilant
with regard to their personal security and exercise caution.
Attacks on places of worship and schools, and the murders
of private American citizens and other westerners, demonstrate that as
security is increased at official US facilities, terrorists and their
sympathizers will seek softer targets.
These may include facilities where Americans or possibly
other foreigners are generally known to congregate or visit, such as residential
areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor
recreation events or resorts and beaches. Americans should increase their
security awareness when they are at such locations, avoid them, or switch
to other locations where Americans in large numbers generally do not congregate.
There is a possibility that American citizens may be targeted for kidnapping
or assassination.
Demonstrations in many parts of the world may have an
anti-American character. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can
turn into confrontational situations and possibly escalate into violence.
US citizens travelling or residing abroad should avoid demonstrations
and take commonsense precautions.
Seeds of Peace
is concerned with sowing the seeds of peace among children who have grown
up with the horror of war. They will be back for an encore presentation,
following their first visit to the New York branch of the Globetrotters
Club on January 4, 2003.
Speaking will be: Jeremy Goldberg and Rebecca Hankin of Seeds of Peace,
an organization that provides an opportunity for the children of war to
plant the seeds for a more secure future. The program focuses on Arab
and Israeli teenagers from ten nations in the Middle East but has also
brought youngsters from Cyprus, the war-torn Balkans, India, Pakistan,
Afghanistan and other regions of conflict to its unique coexistence program.
Seeds of Peace has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The
Washington Post, Time Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The Wall
Street Journal, People Magazine and on ABC, CBS & NBC network programs,
including “Nightline” (twice) with Ted Koppel, “60 Minutes”
with Morley Safer, “Sunday Morning,” “The Today Show,”
“Good Morning America” and on CNN, PBS and NPR. Jeremy Goldberg
is the Director of Corporate Relations at Seeds of Peace, Mr. Goldberg's
experience includes time spent on Capitol Hill, as well as at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington, DC-based
think tank. He is also the founder and former editor-in-chief of the Georgetown
Journal of International Affairs, a nationally distributed foreign affairs
publication. Jeremy is an honors graduate of the School of Foreign Service
at Georgetown University. Rebecca Hankin is currently Director of Media
Relations at Seeds of Peace, a position she has held since April 2002.
Since its founding, Seeds of Peace has graduated over 2,000 teenagers
representing 22 nations from its internationally recognized conflict-resolution
program.
For details of forthcoming meetings email newyork@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for email updates at click here
at our website.
New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher
Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness,
in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.
Courtney Love was arrested at London's Heathrow
Airport earlier this month after accusations of verbally abusing Virgin
crewmembers on a flight from Los Angeles. As she left Heathrow's police
station Love said: “I cussed at a lady – my daughter always said
I had a potty mouth.” She was later released with a caution for “causing
harassment, alarm and distress” after nine hours in custody. Love
said she had complained that staff did not let her friend sit in first
class with her. She later met Richard Branson, Virgin’s owner at
a party, who promptly offered her two first class tickets London –
LA return.
~~~~~~
Passengers on small US commuter planes may be asked
to weigh-in before they are allowed on board after intervention from the
country's Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA's new policy
asks airlines to weigh both passengers and baggage on planes that seat
between 10 and 19 people. The announcement came after 21 people were killed
at Charlotte, North Carolina when an Air Midwest plane crashed on take-off.
AT the moment, US regional carriers do not carry out weight checks on
passengers and cargo but work on estimates.
~~~~~~
Delta Air Lines, the third largest carrier in
the US has just promised the two minute airport check-in. Can this be
possible? They say they aim to significantly reduce check-in wait times
and lines at 81 of the airports in its system through a mixture of more
self service technology and better use of its people on the ground.
Changes will include a combination of airport lobby
redesign, increased self-service technology and new airport customer service
roles for employees. The airline is aiming to add more than 400 self-service
kiosks this year as part of the scheme. Rich Cordell, senior vice president,
Airport Customer Service. “Our goal is to ensure that no e-ticketed,
self-service customer stands in line longer than two minutes for any transaction,
even during peak times.”
~~~~~~
Ah…and Delta Air Lines again …….
passengers with tickets purchased on or after February 1 who are travelling
on Delta, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Atlantic Coast Airlines, Atlantic
Southeast Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines, Comair and SkyWest Airlines will
have to pay a USD$25 fee on any bag weighing more than 50 lbs. A new overweight
charge applies to bags weighing up to 70 pounds and rises to USD$80 for
those weighing between 71 and 100 lbs. Delta does not accept bags weighing
more than 100 lbs as checked baggage. But, if you are a member of Delta's
Platinum, Gold or Silver Medallion SkyMiles scheme or a passenger confirmed
in the forward cabin, you will be exempt from these charges. Additionally,
it does not apply to sporting equipment, musical instruments, live animals,
cabin baggage, media equipment or wheelchairs and devices which assist
disabled passengers, which may be covered by other baggage policies.
~~~~~~
America has taken the first steps to put civil aircraft
on stand-by for military duties in the event of war breaking out with
Iraq. Several major US airlines including American Airlines, American
Trans Air, Atlas Air, Continental, Delta, FedEx, Northwest, Southwest
and United are part of the nation's Civil Reserve Fleet which can
be called on to supply both passenger and cargo aircraft to move troops
and equipment to a conflict zone. Under the first phase only 47 aircraft
are to be on stand-by. If the Pentagon activated the second stage of the
plan up to 300 planes could be involved. The last time the plan was put
into action was during the operation that followed Iraq's invasion
of neighbouring Kuwait twelve years ago.