Free Republic

...so some people aren't thrilled with the idea of a stand-up airline seat. How about a saddle seat that threatens injury to your private parts? That's what one Italian company has come up with, CNBC reports. It's developed what it calls the SkyRider, a seat with a 23-inch pitch or less. A 23-inch pitch means there's 23 inches of passenger space between the seats. That's at least 8 inches less than what you normally get in economy class, writes Jane Wells. But that's not the worst part. The company, Aviointeriors, says sitting in the seat is similar to riding on...

The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) Sunday filed comments with the U.S. State Department on behalf of government and private-sector organizations concerned that Americans would be required to have radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in their passports. BTC also wrote directly to Secretary Condoleezza Rice urging her to heed the concerns of experts and abandon further consideration of a deeply flawed policy. Nuclear engineers, security experts, intelligence officers, privacy advocates, academics, scientists and business travelers are among the 40 organizations and individuals who provided comments via BTC to the Department. (See BTC letter to Secretary Rice and Department filing...

<p>LONDON - Not so long ago, when the world seemed a safer place, Britons such as Julia and Paul Chattenton would hop on a plane to the United States with little concern beyond how awful the meal would be and whether the flight would be delayed.</p>

A Texas travel agency which organises clothing-optional holidays, is to run what it claims is the world's first nude flight. Houston-based Castaways Travel says sex won't be allowed on the flight from Miami to Cancun in Mexico. It has chartered a Boeing 727 for up to 170 passengers for the May 3 flight to the El Dorado Resort & Spa. The crew will be professionally dressed, and passengers must be fully-clothed for check-in and takeoff. Company owner, James Bailey, said more than half the seats on the flight and rooms in the resort have already been booked, reports the Miami...

Clothes on the Cancún flight will come off at cruising altitude. Miami passengers on a flight to Cancún won't be fretting about dressing comfortably. In fact, they won't be dressed at all. A Houston travel agency specializing in clothing-optional vacations is organizing the outing, which it claims is the first nude flight. But no hanky-panky, please. ''Inappropriate behavior is not condoned,'' said James Bailey, who owns Castaways Travel with his wife, Donna Daniels. ``This is not a Mile High Club, not a bunch of groupies or anything. It's just a fun flight.'' Castaways has chartered a Boeing 727 for...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Travel executives say the nation's $91 billion foreign tourism industry is in peril because of a growing perception overseas that the United States has become "Fortress America."</p> <p>In the year after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, 66 million fewer visitors tried to enter the United States, according to Immigration and Naturalization Service figures. And those who did try were sent back home at a higher rate than the year before.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) --  The nation's top immigration official said Wednesday he is willing to consider the economic impact on the travel industry of an administration proposal to limit how long foreigners can visit the United States.</p> <p>James Ziglar, commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, agreed in a House committee hearing to meet with industry members to address their concerns, as long as Bush administration officials approve and the law allows it.</p>

Get a great deal on a FL vacation by visiting www.flasusa.com! Gov Bush and FL Recognized by Tourism Industry for Post-9/11 Response -- Gov Bush Touts Florida's Tourism Rebound to International Tourism Industry in New Orleans -- For Immediate Release Wednesday, May 29, 2002 Contact: Elizabeth Hirst (850) 488-5394 or David Bishop (850) 487-2568 NEW ORLEANS -- Governor Jeb Bush today heralded the Florida tourism industry's major rebound following the terrorist attacks of September 11. Speaking at the Travel Industry Association of America's (TIA) 34th annual International Pow-Wow in New Orleans, the world's premier tourism gathering, Governor Bush received an...