Winter sports fun in the Adirondacks

The winter Olympics may be taking place in Italy this year, but US sports fans can warm up for the event a little closer to home.

Lake Placid in New York State has hosted two Olympic Games, most recently the Winter Olympics in 1980. The Olympic village has left the area with an impressive legacy for providing high quality winter sports entertainment, with tourists flocking every year to its ski and snowboarding facilities.

The village of Lake Placid and the lake itself are both huddled in the Adirondack Mountains, which stretch across New York State. Described by locals as the great winter playground of the northeast, the region boasts a huge number of winter sports and outdoor attractions for intrepid travelers.

Hawaii: mid-winter tropical hotspot

Bargain-loving travelers bored with the winter's cold weather should consider taking a trip to Hawaii in the New Year.

As the southernmost state, Hawaii is also the only one that can claim to lie entirely in the tropics, guaranteeing a warm climate all year around. Granted the 2500 miles of ocean between the islands and the mainland make it a slightly longer hop than Florida, but with an increasing number of airlines offering good value fares to the island it need not stretch the wallet.

Ideally travelers should aim to hit the islands for March, when the annual Honolulu festival takes place (March 10-12, 2006). Now in its 12th year, the festival aims to promote cultural understanding, foster economic cooperation and ethnic harmony.

Hailed as one of the premier cultural events in Honolulu's calendar, the event attracts visitors from the US mainland, Japan and other Pacific Rim countries. An immediate success, the festival attracted almost 90,000 visitors at its launch, a figure that has now swelled to more than 300,000 and shows no signs of stopping.

Independence Air flies into trouble

Low-fare airline Independence Air's days could be numbered, with a shutdown imminent unless a buyer is found for the Chapter 11 carrier.

That's the gist of a report in USA Today.

The Washington Dulles-based carrier sent out furlough notices recently telling employees that the discount airline will, “permanently cease operations and separate all employees at all locations sometime during the period January 7 though 21, 2006 … if the company is unable to secure significant external investment, or a sale of all or substantially all of the operations by January 7.”

While not a death notice, the letter's tone is not reassuring. The employee communication notes that Independence Air can, “amend or rescind this notice of furlough.”

In early December, FLYi, Inc., the parent company of the low-fare airline, said it had “received a number of expressions of interest from parties interested in participating in its court-supervised auction process. The various expressions of interest include proposals to acquire the company as a going concern.”

Sea-Tac the sublime?

It's a bit of a stretch to call any airport sublime, but some are more flier-friendly than others. One of the best is Seattle/Tacoma International.

As most airlines no longer serve breakfast (unless you're sitting in first class) rumbling stomachs may be the most prevalent sound emanating from boarding areas early in the morning. At Sea-Tac there are a number of places to break your fast including Ivar's Seafood Bar and Sbarro.

The aroma alone should lead you to Seattle's Best Coffee. It has moved from a small kiosk in the south end of the main terminal to a large new store with lots of seating. The new location is just behind the Northwest ticket counter, and it opens at 6am.

Check in for your flight from Waikiki

Aside from clearing security, the worst part of the trip is check-in especially if you have a lot of luggage.

Hawaiian Airlines is easing the process for passengers staying at the select Outrigger and Ohana hotels in Honolulu’s Waikiki area. Now, you can check in remotely from the comfort of a hotel lobby, rather than a crowded airline terminal. Better yet, you can check in your luggage.

The set-up allows travelers to check in bags online at hotel kiosks, as well as print boarding passes. Those bags still have to be run through screening devices at the airport, but the Hawaiian/Outrigger/Ohana arrangement saves significant hassle.

AirTran scales back flights to Florida

Low-cost operator AirTran Airways is to cut back its Florida-bound flights from Richmond, Virginia, the Richmond Times-Despatch reports.

From February 18, 2006, the discount airline will fly on Saturdays only to Fort Meyers, Florida.

When AirTran launched its Florida services from Richmond last spring, officials had hinted that they were aiming to introduce daily services.

However, last week Kevin Healy, the low-fare airline's vice-president of planning and sales, admitted that these plans had always been "up in the air".

Furthermore, he claimed that the airline always intended to scale down its Florida service, saying that it planned to introduce a Saturday-only service by April 2006.

Northwest cuts Richmond routes

Northwest Airlines is to cut three flights a day out of Richmond Airport, Virginia.

From January 3, 2006, the airline will operate just four daily flights from the airport.

Northwest intends to cut all direct flights to Minneapolis and cancel one of its nonstop flights to Memphis, Tennessee. Following the cuts, the airline will fly three times a day to Detroit and once daily to Memphis.

The move will leave Richmond without a nonstop service to Minneapolis. The airline recommends that Minnesota-bound passengers fly with Northwest to Detroit, where they can connect to a Minneapolis flight.

The Nashville nexus

When American Airlines closed down its Nashville International Airport (BNA) hub in the 1990s, it suddenly became harder to fly nonstop to the Music City. Travelers were forced to make connections from places such as Atlanta, Memphis, or Dallas/Fort Worth.

But nature abhors a vacuum – even an air service vacuum. Slowly, low-fare Southwest Airlines has blossomed as Nashville’s dominant carrier, fielding nonstop services to both the east and west coasts. The emergence of Southwest gives BNA some of the lowest discount airfares in the country.

Catering for the nine million passengers that pass through Nashville International Airport each year are a number of new services, shops, and diversions.

Aside from the traditional bars, restaurants, and bookstores that populate most airports, Nashville now sports non-traditional vendors as well. Nashville Nails Salon recently opened up, the Massage bar has just expanded, and an Ernest Tubb Record Shop is attracting country music devotees as they wait for flights. In addition to this, the airport now offers Wi-Fi access, and enhanced valet parking.

Ticketing wars predicted

The New Year could see battle lines drawn over the sale of cheap airline tickets, Business Week reports.

The magazine predicts that airlines will try and cut costs this year by squeezing the companies that sell their tickets – and the knock-on effects could be good news for consumers.

One of the major costs incurred by airlines is the technology used to process ticket reservations and sales, operated by Global Distribution Service (GDS) companies.

GDS costs can add up to 2.5 per cent of some airlines' revenue, for example Continental Airlines pays around $160 million a year, while American Airlines shells out $500 million to the companies, which charge between $12 and $13 per round-trip ticket.

Continental claims back jets

Continental Airlines has reclaimed 69 jets in a bid to lower costs.

The airline has taken back the regional jets operated by ExpressJet Holdings, claiming that ExpressJet was charging above the market rate.

The move will be a blow for ExpressJet, which had been the sole regional operator for Continental, operating 274 regional jets in total.

"We didn't want to take this action, but we were not able to reach an agreement with ExpressJet to lower our costs," said Mark Erwin, Continental‘s Senior Vice President of Asia/Pacific and Corporate Development.