Flight Attendants object to exit-row pricing

Flight attendants object exit-row pricing plan — Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines are raising safety concerns about the airline’s program to sell exit-row seats with extra legroom to passengers willing to pay a $15 fee. The Professional Flight Attendants Association sent a letter released Wednesday to Northwest Chief Executive Doug Steenland calling the idea “ill conceived,” alleging it degrades federal safety rules about who can sit in the exit row. (USA Today)

DFW report allows for phaseout of Wright Amendment — Dallas/Fort Worth Airport would support phasing out the controversial Wright Amendment if its competitor, Dallas Love Field, is cut back to as few as 18 gates and a regional airport authority is created, according to a report drafted by D/FW Airport executives. (Star-Telegram)

More cruises than ever from Seattle — Get ready for the big white ships. Seattle’s cruise season begins later this month, and more ships and passengers than ever will set sail on weeklong, round-trip cruises to Alaska. What began small — with just six Alaska-bound sailings in 1999 and about 3,300 passengers — has mushroomed this year to almost 200 departures and an estimated 370,000 passengers. (Seattle Times)

Three ski patrol members killed at CA resort — Three members of the Mammoth Mountain ski patrol were killed on Thursday when the snow around a natural gas vent they were fencing off collapsed and sent the crew tumbling 21 feet into the opening. (Reuters)

Despite Net, travel agents can be useful
— A It was once a routine part of travel. If you wanted to book a flight, a rental car, a hotel or a cruise you went to your neighborhood travel agent, who punched up availability and price. (Seattle Times)

Bird flu reaches Britain — A swan found dead in Scotland tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. There is now a 1,000 square kilometre restriction zone in the area for poultry. Experts have put a three kilometres protection zone around the site in the village of Cellardyke where the dead swan was found. (Airline Travel News)

What happens if Delta pilots strike? — Delta Air Lines pilot union leaders say a strike could begin as soon as April 18 if a special panel rules the airline can toss out the existing contract and impose new wage cuts. Talks between union and management negotiators continue on an agreement that would avert the first strike to ever hit Delta — and one that could deal a fatal blow to its Chapter 11 recovery effort. With the potential strike date little more than a week away, many fliers wonder if a walkout will really occur and what it would mean. Some questions and answers. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Commercial pilot indicted on Federal charges — An American Airlines pilot has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Wichita on charges of impersonating a federal air marshal and making a false statement to a federal investigator, the U.S. attorney’s office said Wednesday. (Airport Business)

Aussie killed in shore excursion in Malaysia — A water scooter frolic by four tourists of an Australian cruise ship turned tragic when one of them was killed in an accident off Monkey Beach on Pantai Kerachut around mid-day.
Australian Kathryn Sheppard, 20, died at the scene and her friend, Mexican Carlos Gonzalez, 29, who suffered serious head and ankle injuries, was admitted in serious condition at the Gleneagles Hospital intensive care unit. The other two Australian women, known only as Rachel and Natasha, suffered soft tissue injuries and broken wrists and were treated at the same hospital. The four, all in their 20s, were on the Pacific Sky cruise ship from P & O Cruises, which had anchored along the Penang Channel off Teluk Bahang at 10am yesterday. They had come ashore and hired two water scooters from a water sports operator at the beach. (Sun2Surf Malaysia)

Carnival’s Sensation brings mixed reviews — To say the Carnival Sensation had an inauspicious start at Port Canaveral would be an understatement. A crew member apparently died of natural causes, six passengers were kicked off the cruise ship in the Bahamas over an argument, the first sailing was delayed by a failed Coast Guard safety inspection and a slew of passengers complained about conditions on the ship. Now the ship seems to have improved, as some passengers returning from a cruise Thursday said they had no complaints abou (Florida Today)