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 Wed, Apr 1 1992 Date: Wed, 1 Apr 92 05:43:26 EST Message-ID: 04-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Travel USA TODAY Update April 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network VAPOR DETECTORS LOOK FOR BOMBS: The latest technology fighting airline terrorism is in the form of mechanical bloodhounds that inhale air from around travelers and their luggage and can pick up slight scents of hidden explosives. They don't have Federal Aviation Approval yet, but the $165,000 devices are sucking loudly in Europe and Asia. The machines do a computerized analysis of a traveler's aura. (For more, see special Bloodhounds package below.) SIMPLE VACATIONS FAVORED: Vacationers are picking up on the themes of the '90s: Keep it simple. No surprises. And make it worth it. Crusies and all-inclusive resorts, both prepaid getaways that include lodging, meals and programs at set cost, now are 58% of vacations being sold, says a new survey of 400 travel agents by Traveline Surveys. The survey was done by Travel Industry Indicators. DELTA ROUTE IS OK: The Department of Transportation Tuesday in a show cause order said it tentatively found that the transfer of a Cleveland-Detroit-London route from Pan Am to Delta is consistent with international policy goals and the public interest. Delta has been operating the route under exemption since December. USAIR DIRECTORS' PAY CUT: USAir Group, which has lost $760 million the past two years and is seeking deep concessions from its unions, disclosed Tuesday in its 1992 proxy statement that it is cutting directors' retainer fees 20% to $14,400 this year. The annual retainer paid USAir Chairman Edwin Colodny, who retired as CEO last June, is being cut from $200,000 to $169,500. CEO'S PAY IS CUT: USAir Group is cutting director's retainer fees 20% this year. But the company's top 12 officers received $2.8 million in salaries last year, $305,101 more than the top 13 got in 1990. USAir's proxy statement shows CEO Seth Schofield was paid $502,809 in 1991, including $35,982 in deferred pay. Under USAir's salary reduction plan, his base salary will drop 18% and he picks up stock options. OMNI PURSUES EXPANSION: Omni Hotels is taking advantage of the current hotel real estate market to pursue expansion plans announced last year. Its most recent addition: The Omni Berkshire Place at 52nd Street and Madison Avenue in midtown Manhattan. It was purchased from Aer Lingus, Omni Hotels' former parent, for $83.5 million. Omni has managed the luxury 420-room hotel since 1976. TEXAS PROPERTY ACQUIRED: Omni Hotels has arranged several acquisitions in the past five months. In addition to purchasing the Omni Berkshire place, the company in November assumed management of the Omni Houston Hotel, formerly the Four Seasons Inn on the Park, after the property was acquired by Harbour Centre Development Limited, an affiliate. Harbour expects to acquire the Marriott Mandalay Hotel in Dallas. WATCH FOR TIME-SHARE `DEALS': Beware of travel agents bearing gifts. The American Society of Travel Agents says a lot of cut-rate vacation deals actually are from companies who want to sell time shares. ASTA representatives suggest would-be travelers ask if they'll be spending vacation times inspecting any properties. High-pressure sales tactics usually accompany these presentations. AIRPORT DECISION NOT MADE: A decision is expected before summer on which of two sites the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority will approve for a new airport in northwestern Arkansas. A three-month study recently given to the authority did not cite either as a preferred location. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON BLOODHOUNDS: TERRORISM IS COSTLY: Airline terrorism costs U.S. carriers $750 million per year. The latest weapons in the war on terrorism, mechanical bloodhounds, check fliers' aura for scents of explosives. They're so sensitive that - if so tuned - can tell if a traveler has eaten a hot dog, even after he's brushed his teeth. Vapor detection equipment likely will hit the USA in a year or two, says the FAA's Paul Polski. TECHNOLOGY NOT PERFECT: Nitroglycerin patches worn by people with heart ailments trigger false alarms, and vacuums are too slow to be used on every person and stick of luggage during peak airport times. The pioneer in high-sniff tech is Thermedics Inc. Its bomb sniffer, Egis, operates at 15 airports. It will be used at the Summer Olympics in Spain, where it is already fighting that country's epidemic of mail bombs. SECURITY ADDS TO AIRFARE: The $750 million spent each year on security already amounts to $1.28 for every $100 collected in fares. That means of a $650 roundtrip ticket, $8.30 is to keep the flier from hijackings and bombs. Egis' chief vacuum-style competitor: Ioscan by Barringer Instruments. It's not in airports yet, but the company was started four years after Egis' Thermedics Inc., says Barringer. (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