The most interesting travel story of this week was definitely that more people will be paying attention from now on to that part of the safety demonstration where the flight attendant says “in the unlikely event of a water landing…” Kudos to the crew of US Airways Flight 1549.

US Airways Plane Lands in Hudson River

US Airways Flight 1549 descends on its way to an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York Jan. 15, 2009. The Airbus A320 bound for Charlotte, N.C., had reportedly struck a flock of birds immediately after takeoff minutes earlier at LaGuardia Airport. The birds apparently disabled the engines. The pilot maneuvered the crippled jetliner over New York City and ditched it in the frigid Hudson River. All 155 onboard were pulled to safety as the plane slowly sank.)

This story caught my attention because on this week’s Amateur Traveler episode on Cuba (Travel to Cuba) I made the prediction that the restrictions on travel to Cuba would be lifted within the year. The next day I saw this story which is a step in that direction.

Clinton Says Obama Wants to Lift Travel Ban on Cuba

Sen. Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday the incoming Obama administration wanted to lift travel restrictions on families wishing to visit relatives in Cuba and urged Havana to make its own concessions.

Non-smoking travelers will rejoice that one more country has gone smoke free. In this case the country is Taiwan which is surprising given the smokey nature of countries in that area.

Taiwan bans smoking in hotels, restaurants, airports

Taiwanese authorities on Sunday banned smoking in all indoor public places in what anti-smoking activists say is a ‘milestone’ in turning Taiwan into a smoke-free island.

Smoking had previously been banned in public areas including hospitals, schools, theaters, libraries, office buildings and elevators.

Is this a new model for airlines? It is certainly an unusual one and it would be interesting to see if it catches on but I would bet against that.

Pay-As-You-Go Airline Charges by the Minute

Taking a cue from the cellphone industry, an upstart South African airline is selling flights by the minute and allowing customers to buy tickets and book flights via text message.

Airtime Airlines takes to the sky later this month, offering three flights a day from its base in Durban to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Passengers purchase minutes much like they would for a prepaid cell phone and redeem them for a ticket. Fees are assessed according to the length of the flight — say, 75 minutes for the run from Durban to Johannesburg — and could save as much as half of what competing airlines charge.

If you stop the average man on the street and asked whether birts or yanks were more polite you would probably be told that the brits are more polite. Apparently if you take that poll on a sinking ship you would get the same results.

‘Polite’ Britons died on Titanic

More British passengers died on the Titanic because they queued politely for lifeboats, researchers believe.

A behavioural economist says data suggests Britons in that era were more inclined to be “gentlemanly” while Americans were more “individualist”.

Other Stories that caught my eye this week:

• Castro Praises Obama In Blog, Alludes To Waning Health
• Seven affordable, under-the-radar beach destinations
• Amazing US Air pilot saved 155 lives

Get Your Photo on the Cover of a Lonely Planet Guide

Pikeo is yet another web 2.0 photo sharing site but this one s having a contest that will place the photos from four of their users on the cover of a new Lonely Planet Guide. The winners will also win a trip from Intrepid Travel. You can bet i will enter my photos from Istanbul, Barcelona, London and Paris.

Author of 100 Things to Do Before You Die, Doesn’t

Dave Freeman, the man behind the famous travel guide 100 Things to Do Before You Die, has died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. The 47-year-old writer passed away in his Venice home, said his father, Roy.

Airplane Crash in Madrid Kills 153

The budget airline Spanair has defended its decision to clear a passenger jet for take-off despite aborting an earlier attempt because of a technical problem.

One hundred and fifty-three people died in yesterday’s air crash at Madrid’s Barajas airport. Witnesses said the plane’s left-hand engine burst into flame as it lifted off the runway and the aircraft broke up and crashed back to earth in flames. Only 19 people survived the disaster.

FAA Software Glitch Delays Flights

The software program in Atlanta failed about 10 a.m. Pacific time. When that happened, a similar facility in Salt Lake City took over. But users continued to try to refile their flight plans, bogging down the system. At its worst, flight delays (mostly departures, but some arrivals) were as late as 90 minutes in some areas of the country. Hardest hit: Chicago (O’Hare and Midway), Baltimore/Washington International, Boston and Atlanta.

National Parks and “Sites” to be Featured on Quarters

On July 9, the US House of Representatives unanimously approved the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (H.R. 6184). The proposed new commemorative coin series was inspired by, and unabashedly capitalizes on, the tremendous popularity of the 50 States Quarter® Program.

What about poor Delaware, which has no national park? Not to fear, folks. You see, the proposed legislation – a copy of which you can see at this site — doesn’t require a state to actually have a national park in order to qualify for an America’s Beautiful National Parks quarter dollar coin

Crete mayor has had enough of British drunks

The mayor of a Crete town has grown so exasperated with the rowdy, drunken behaviour of British tourists that he has demanded action from the British government.
“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” said Konstantinos Lagoudakis, the mayor of Malia, in an interview. “It’s only the British people - not the Germans or the French.”

Chinese Airline Official Sentenced to Death

No, it is not because of flight delays but because they have been found guilty of embezzlement that China has sentenced an official of China Southern Airlines Group to death.

United Airlines to charge up to $9 for snacks

While capital punishment might be overkill it might occur to some passengers of United Airlines when they find out how much the airline will be charging for snacks.