The Interactive Travel Services Association announced that a federal appellate court has affirmed the dismissal of a suit brought by Pitt County, North Carolina, which claimed that online travel companies, including Hotels.com, Expedia, priceline.com, Orbitz, and Travelocity are responsible for paying the county's hotel occupancy tax.The US Court of Appeals ...

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA),the world's airlines are expected to lose US$2.5 billion in 2009. Passenger traffic is expected to decline by 3 percent following growth of 2 percent in 2008. This is the first decline in passenger traffic since the 2.7 percent drop in 2001.Source: eTurboNews; ...

The two have been working on a project that allows people to zoom in on the gallery's main paintings. This is the first of its kind involving an art museum. The project involves 14 of the Prado's best paintings, including Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas, Francisco de Goya's Third of May ...

The Montana House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill that would limit the liability of the businesses, and shift it onto the shoulders of thrill-seekers involved in the risky activities. The bill states that recreation providers, such as whitewater rafting companies or backcountry ski guides, cannot be held responsible for ...

Taiwanese authorities on Sunday banned smoking in all indoor public places including hotels, restaurants and airports. Smoking had previously been banned in public areas including hospitals, schools, theaters, libraries, office buildings and elevators.Source: AFP; find article here>>.

According to rules proposed by the Department of Transportation (DOT), passengers may be able to sue airlines for breach of contract if flights are delayed too long on the tarmac,.If adopted, the rules would require airlines to develop contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays -- including time limits for such ...

According to Associated Press, Grenada began enforcing an indecent exposure law banning bathing suits away from the beach. While violators are usually just ordered to cover up, the law allows for a $270 fine or six months in jail.

Tanzania is looking at modalities and ideas from tourist stakeholders on best options that would help to grade tourist accommodation facilities and make them match with those in other countries in the East African bloc. In November 2006, the East African Community (EAC)'s Council of Ministers approved the EAC classification ...

Southwest is notifying passengers that it has agreed to settle a class action seeking the return of security fees and airport passenger facility charges that passengers paid for when they bought nonrefundable tickets that were not used.The proposal is to pay $4 to each eligible passenger for unused tickets purchased ...

Parliamentary questions 25 November 2008E-6327/08 WRITTEN QUESTION by Karin Riis-Jørgensen (ALDE) to the CommissionSubject: Revision of the Package Travel Directive More than 25 European airlines have gone bankrupt over the last year. In each case, the victims were consumers, who ended up paying for a product they did not receive. ...

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) on Jan. 13 introduced the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights in the Senate. The bill will give airline passengers legal rights by preventing them from being held indefinitely on planes, ensuring passengers' needs are met, and helping airlines coordinate with government ...

A passenger who was gassed with deicing fluid while aboard an Alaska Airlines flight on Christmas Eve has sued the Seattle-based carrier, claiming the blast of ice remover has caused persistent headaches. In an initial account, airline officials said passengers suffered from eye and respiratory irritation but did not require ...

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding travelers from all Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries that they are now required to obtain approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to traveling to the United States. This requirement applies to all eligible citizens or nationals traveling ...

The Los Angeles County Superior Court set a Sept. 21 trial date for California's lawsuit against the multilevel marketing/online travel company YTB.The state is accusing YTB of operating an illegal pyramid scheme and engaging in deceptive business practices.Source: Travel Weekly; find article here>>.TV news about the case can be forund ...

Seven major U. S. carriers, including American Airlines, Continental Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue and two smaller carriers, have joined in a lawsuit to protest stronger federal rules governing crew rest on longer international flights. The airlines alledge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had bypassed the usual rule-making process ...

AN AIR CARRIER MAY NOT AS A GENERAL RULE REFUSE TO PAY COMPENSATION TO PASSENGERS FOLLOWING THE CANCELLATION OF A FLIGHT ON ACCOUNT OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS IN THE AIRCRAFTJudgement to be published 5pm today!Compensation may however be refused if the technical problems stem from events which, by their nature or ...

Airlines are frequently sued for the acts of drunken passengers, typically by flight attendants or other passengers who suffered harm from an unruly traveler during a flight. But this time a husband and wife are suing United Airlines for "negligently" overserving alcohol during a flight from Osaka, Japan, to San ...

Case T-196/04 (Eighth Chamber, extended composition)Judgment as of Dec 17, 2008State aid regarding an agreements entered into by the Walloon Region and the Brussels South Charleroi airport with the claimantApplication of the private investor in a market economy test according to Art 87 ECTThe applicant, Ryanair Ltd, is Europe's original ...

The European Union and Canada have agreed to an open-skies planthat will make Europe-Canada one of the most liberal aviation markets in the world. When the plan is completely phased in, European nationals will be able to establish operations in Canada and freely invest in Canadian airlines, and vice versa. ...

The issue raised by German Supreme Court (BGH) once again relates to technical problems as a potential excuse for cancellation of flights. BGH asked European Court of Justice for preliminary ruling on1) whether technical defects can constitute "extraordinary circumstances" according to the Regulation,2) in case of affirmation, whether this would ...

Once again Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) had to deal with an accident at a water slide: 16 year old plaintiff used defendants' water slide by sliding down in a kneeling position. Due to the elevated barycentre in this position he tilted, fell and hurt his teeth. His claim for compensation ...

These two proposals based on Art 71 para 1 (transport legislation) respectively in connection with Art 80 para 2 (sea transport legislation) will be subject to the codecision-procedure.One of the mentioned proposals is available right now:COM (2008) 0817 final (bus and coach passengers):http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0817:FIN:EN:PDFthe second shall be available tomorrow:COM (2008) 0816 ...

The Commission adopted today two legislative proposals establishing sets of rights for passengers using bus and maritime services on both domestic and international routes. Rights include minimum rules on information for all passengers before and during their journey, assistance and compensation in the event of interruptions of journeys, measures in ...

Days after pirates shot at an Oceania Cruises ship, the United Nations renewed the authorization for countries to use military force against pirates operating in waters off Somalia. The 15-nation council unanimously voted to extend the right of countries' military forces to seize and dispose of “boats, vessels, arms and ...

According to the fourth edition of PhoCusWright's European Online Travel Overview, online sales growth for leisure/unmanaged business travel for 2008, projected at 19 percent, is significantly greater than the 3 percent rate expected for the European travel industry as a whole. Internet bookings of leisure/unmanaged business travel will represent 29 ...

According to the EU Press Room, "On the eve of a meeting of 27 national enforcement agencies and stakeholder groups in Brussels, Vice President Tajani, EU Transport Commissioner and EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva have stepped up pressure on airline companies selling tickets on the web to meet their legal ...

In a case of a plaintiff claiming damages for being injured when falling on the runway at Luxembourg Airport as she was about to enter the aircraft, on Sep. 1, 2008, a Luxembourg court has referred the following questions to the European Court of Justice:1. Does the Convention for the ...

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has opened an investigation into whether the European Commission is fulfilling its responsibility to ensure that EU rules on air passenger rights are properly applied in the Member States. This follows a complaint from a German traveller, whose Air France flight was cancelled. He ...

The 2008 season produced 16 named storms, ranking it as one of the more active seasons in the 64 years since comprehensive storm records began. The 2008 season ranks second in destructiveness, causing up to $54 billion in damage, and is the only season to feature a major hurricane (Category ...

Plaintiff wanted to do an online booking of 4 tickets for a flight from Stuttgart (Germany) to San Jose (California). By mistake he clicked San Jose (Costa Rica) as destination of his flight. As the booking confirmation he received just showed "San Jose" without specifying a country, he only realized ...