| JetBlue's pullback stokes fears over fares
When JetBlue Airways pulled its daily evening flight to Boston this week, business traveler Denise DiPasquale began fretting about the reaction from US Airways. The region's dominant air carrier historically has slashed fares when competitors arrive, only to raise them once they back out again. Sure enough, when Ms. DiPasquale tried to book a new Boston trip around the same time of day, the price on US Airways was suddenly more than $400 one way, more than doubling what she had been paying on JetBlue. Flights at other, less convenient times might have been cheaper but required 14-day advance purchases -- part of a new widespread sale Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways has launched to keep up the pressure on the much-smaller JetBlue and other rivals . "I fear this sale is an attempt to run JetBlue out of the market," Ms.
Travel Tips for the Washington, DC Tourist
Spring is here at long last. After weeks of hiding behind chilly-to-freezing winds, and the sounds of drunken singers from Ohio at the hotel next door to my office, I have my strongest confirmation yet: it's that time of year in D.C. - tourist season. This surely isn't a secret to anyone who regularly (or irregularly) visits big cities, tourist destinations, or big-city tourist destinations, but we don't like you. We feel like we're in an ant farm that exists for your benefit. You're gawking and crowding the sidewalks of our home, which, yes, we love, and that's why we made it part of our life. Hence, it is our life you're turning into a spectacle, asking us to take pictures of you, and stumbling around with no idea where you are – and may I add, asking us the same banal and annoying questions over and over again.
Japanese travel agencies offer more China tours
TOKYO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- With tourism peak "Golden Week" in May drawing closer in Japan, Japanese travel agencies are staging their turf battles, among which one was fighting in a market expected to boom soon -- China. "I went to China five years ago in a two-week tour, to Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and other cities," a Japanese woman surnamed Takahashi said. "I plan to go there again next year, to watch the Olympic Games." The need of Takahashi and others are closely watched by the travel industry. A selection of tour lines to a number of cities in China have already been offered for the May holiday, an annual tourism peak season. Several factors are behind the expected boom, including interest sparked by the 2008 Olympic Games and the just-beginning mass retirement of baby boomers in Japan, the latest Nikkei Weekly newspaper said.
Student who took prescription released from Methodist
Another of five Hoyt Middle School students treated after taking prescription pills at the school Friday has been released from the hospital.
One student was treated at Iowa Methodist Medical Center, and that student was released Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Perry said.
Also Saturday, at least one of the students treated at Mercy Medical Center was released. Calls on Sunday to Mercy regarding the condition and patient status of the other students were not immediately returned.
Police were called to Hoyt, 2700 E. 42nd St., before noon Friday after teachers noticed some students were acting oddly. The school nurse called an ambulance for the children.
It later was determined an eighth-grade girl had brought some type of prescription medication to school and distributed it to other students.
Tourism and Gaming
Travelocity.com, one of the big boys among the travel Internet sites, has introduced a beta version of a new component for making vacation choices and is using Las Vegas as its guinea pig. ExperienceFinder was unveiled earlier this year on the site and company officials believe it is the next generation of content to help travelers make decisions on where they stay, how they get there and what they do once they're there. "We've received some amazing feedback and by the middle of this year we hope to refine it even more," said Troy Whitsett, vice president of design for Travelocity. Most travel sites list airlines, hotels and ticketing for certain activities with a few opportunities for packaging. Under ExperienceFinder, a list of travel experiences is offered under four categories, adventure, indulgence, romance and entertainment.
Kidnapped Texas Infant Reunited With Mom
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A newborn kidnapped from a Lubbock hospital by a woman wearing hospital scrubs and a hooded jacket was found safe Sunday in New Mexico and returned to her mother. Four-day-old Mychael Darthard-Dawodu was found in a home in Clovis, N.M., by police following up on tips, a day after she was taken from Covenant Lakeside Hospital. "It's a joyous time," Gwen Stafford, senior vice president of Covenant Health System, said at a news conference Sunday. "This has been a roller coaster of emotions. Today there's not many happy stories; this is certainly one in Lubbock, Texas." Rayshaun Parson, 21, of Clovis, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and jailed in Curry County, N.M., where she had been interviewed by Lubbock and FBI investigators, authorities said.
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