Travel Tips

FAA Fatigue Rules, Flight 3407, Air France, Swine Flu and Magic Italy

Locations in this article:  Barcelona, Spain Buffalo, NY Mexico City, Mexico

Orange SunsetThere are a lot of hot stories in the world of travel today.

So here’s a roundup of the main travel news stories from around the world.

FAA asking airlines to come up with new anti-fatigue rules

In the wake of a recent plane crash in Buffalo for which fatigue was a contributing factor, the FAA today imposed a September 1 deadline for airlines, pilot unions and federal officials to come up with new rules to fight fatigue.

Previous efforts in the 1990s to create a new set of standards failed to find a consensus among airlines and unions, which means that 50-year old rules are still in effect. Most experts agree these old rules do not protect the safety of crew members or passengers.

More news on the crash of flight 3407:

The head of the FAA has given the groups until July 15 to start meetings with federal officials, during which they will start formulating new recommendations.

In addition to the crash of flight 3407 in Buffalo on February 12, the NTSB has cited fatigue as a factor in several other recent crashes. New rules for combating fatigue have long been among the agency’s “most wanted” improvements.

American and United raising domestic fares again

A couple of weeks after several major legacy airlines hiked domestic airfares slightly, at least two of them are at it again.

American Airlines MD80Yesterday American Airlines raised fares on several significant U.S. routes by an average of $10 to $20, with some routes showing increases of $50 to $100. Several hours later United followed suit with its own increases, which means other major carriers may well continue the trend in the next few days.

Analysts say the move was necessary to counteract the downturn in sales volume that occurred recently. For several months sales were buoyed by aggressive discounting and highly-profile advertising campaigns, but demand seems to have bottomed out.

To compensate, airlines have been forced to raise fares to protect their bottom lines, especially considering their reduced capacity compared to last tear. The upward trend in prices is unusual for this time of year, which is when airlines normally reduce fares to stimulate demand during the slow post-Labor Day period.

Swine flu cases reported in cruise ship in Spain

Deck chairsTwo passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in Barcelona have reportedly tested positive for H1N1, also known as the swine flu virus, according to Spanish health authorities.

The two women, an Italian and an American, and their travel companions have been quarantined on the ship since Tuesday, when their illness was discovered. They will stay confined to their rooms on the Navigator of the Seas until the ship’s next port stop at Mallorca, where they will be examined by a doctor. No other passengers have come down with flu, though authorities say they will continue to monitor the situation.

The ship is the second in a week to report cases of swine flu. The first was Royal Caribbean’s Ocean Dream, on which 14 people came down with the illness last Wednesday. The ship was returned to its home port in Aruba after missing several scheduled port stops.

More Swine Flu News & Information:

Bodies of captain and flight attendant found in flight 447 wreckage

Birds flying into the skyAir France is reporting today that search crews have found the bodies of two crew members in the wreckage of the plane that went into the Atlantic ocean May 31 amid violent thunderstorms.

The remains of the pilot, Frenchman Marc Dubois, and a male flight attendant were among the 50 bodies that have so far been recovered from the debris, which is strewn across a large area of ocean about 400 miles of the northeast coast of Brazil.

Authorities say that 11 of the deceased have been identified, but they have not released any names yet. The cause of the crash is still unknown, but investigators speculate that a combination of bad weather and faulty instruments may have been a factor. All 228 on board perished in the crash.

Read More Air France Flight 447 Coverage:

Berlusconi wants to improve Italy’s image amid scandals

Naples trash pilesItalian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has reinforced his reputation for making bold (and sometimes head-scratching) decisions by announcing a new marketing campaign to restore the country’s image after a series of recent scandals – many involving himself.

The premier said that tourism had suffered in his country due to adverse publicity over garbage problems in Naples last year and widespread media reports of his own alleged infidelity.

Dubbed the “Magic Italy” campaign, Berlusconi hopes the new initiative will replace ugly images of garbage in visitors’ minds with scenes of the country’s beautiful monuments – and presumably distract them from his own personal problems.

He did not provide evidence that the negative coverage of his personal life had caused fewer people to visit Italy, but he did say that the media campaign against him “certainly hasn’t done any good to the country.”

By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related links: MSNBC, RickSeaney.com, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MSNBC, Associated Press