Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.travel From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: travel Fri, Mar 27 1992 Date: Fri, 27 Mar 92 05:43:21 EST Message-ID: 03-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Travel USA TODAY Update March 27-29, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network AMERICANS GO TO EUROPE: The European Travel Commission is forecasting that 6.9 million travelers will visit Europe this year, despite weak exchange rates, high costs and expensive gasoline for rental cars there. That is 500,000 more visitors than in 1991. "High prices? Bad exchange rates? Those don't scare Americans away," according to Bill Sertl of Travel & Leisure magazine. (For more, see special Europe package below.) BETTER DE-ICING METHODS SOUGHT: A House subcommittee Thursday adopted a proposal to find better de-icing methods for commercial planes at U.S. airports in the wake of Sunday's crash of USAir Flight 405 at New York's La Guardia. Investigators haven't identified ice as the cause of the crash, but lawmakers worry over parallels between the crash and other fatal crashes attributed to ice. EUROPEAN METHOD WOULD BE USED: The proposal by Rep. Dan Glickman, D-Kan., would require the Federal Aviation Administration to issue rules telling airports to adopt the European method of removing ice from planes. That means U.S. airports would have to use portable de-icing equipment at the end of a runway just before takeoff. Now, planes are de-iced before lining up to depart and can wait up to 30 minutes before takeoff. AIRLINE TICKET COSTS DROP: Average airline ticket costs dropped from the third quarter of last year to the fourth quarter, according to Runzheimer Reports on Travel Management. In its airline ticket cost survey, Runzheimer found that domestic tickets averaged $514 in the third quarter compared with $492 in the fourth quarter. International costs climbed slightly, from $1,902 to $1,906. COMMONWEALTH FLIGHTS ADDED: Lufthansa will add flights to the Commonwealth of Independent States beginning Sunday. The German carrier will add flights to Minsk, Belarus; Tallinn, Estonia; and Vilnius, Lithuanua. There will be three flights per week. Last year Lufthansa began flights from Frankfurt to Riga, Latvia, and Kiev, Ukraine. RUNWAY STATEMENT OK'D: The Federal Aviation Administration has approved a final environmental impact statement needed for the construction of two runways at Dallas:Fort Worth, according to the April Frequent Flyer. The eastern strip would be 8,500 feet; the western one, 9,760 feet. AIR FRANCE DROPS FLIGHT: Air France is reducing its service beginning Friday. The French carrier is scheduled to drop its once-weekly flight between Kennedy International Airport in New York and Nice:Lyon, France, according to industry reports. DON'T FEED THE ALLIGATORS: Tossing food to alligators in the wild would be illegal under a proposal being considered in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Two alligators repeatedly fed by humans had attacked people in 1982 and 1987. Tour guides say the proposal will hurt business. A vote will be held on April 22. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON EUROPE: TERRORISM ONE DETERRENT: The only things that keep American travelers away from Europe, according to Travel & Leisure's Bill Sertl, are "threats of terrorism and a recession at home." Tourism in Europe dropped from a record-high 7.5 million visitors in 1990 to 6.4 million in 1991, the year of war and recession. Many segments of the travel business are offering deals to get the industry back on track. VOUCHERS CAN MEAN BARGAINS: Prepaid vouchers and discount books can cut European hotel rates by about 50%. Consumer Reports Travel Letter likes Holiday Inn's Travel the World vouchers ($50 to $130 per night at 91 locations) and Entertainment Publication's "Half-Price Europe" discount book ($42 for access to discounts at more than 500 hotels). Airlines also are extending winter bargains. EURAILPASS PRICES CLIMBED: When getting around Europe, travelers should note that Eurailpass prices climbed 8% to 20% this year. Five days of unlimited travel in a 15-day period now cost $280. But sales still are strong, says Michele Topper of Rail Europe. Best deal: A first-class pass to Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, five days within a 15-day period, $160. (End of package.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Weather Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Travel Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM