Boarding Pass

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 385th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. We’re beginning our 32nd year of publication. . . and not slowing down!

This is the first March issue of ITN since 1986 that has not contained a Reference Index listing all of the articles, letters and news items printed in the magazine during the previous year or, since, September ’03, half year. Instead, we are devoting those pages to more of your articles and letters.

As I announced last month, we still compile a Reference Index, but it will appear only on our website (www.intltravelnews. com), which, many of you will be happy to learn, has been redesigned and now is fully searchable!

On the homepage, simply type in a keyword — for example, “Australia” or “travel insurance” — and up will come a list of posted items on that subject.

Not only that, but we are beginning to post whole years’ worth of essentially entire issues of ITN, taking care to remove readers’ personal contact information. Currently, we have posted all of the issues from 2006, and we will continue revising the site and adding more text from previous years over the coming months.

ITN continues to be the “go to” place for trip planning and travel information!

The future arrived yesterday!

At several U.S. airports, arriving foreign travelers now are subjected to having all 10 fingers digitally scanned.

Since 2004, each nonresident traveling internationally has had to have his or her two index fingers scanned. By the end of 2008, the new 10-finger scanners will be operating at all international airports in the U.S. as well as at seaports and border stations.

The scanning devices can, within seconds, match prints with 3.2 million fingerprints of criminals, terrorist suspects and immigration law violators in FBI and Department of Defense databases. The additional data from more fingers increases the certainty of a match.

A possible consequence of this — in a tit for tat, as happens occasionally, some other countries may begin running similar scans on U.S. citizens.

ITN subscriber David Hjortnaes of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, felt it important to share his experience with you.

He and his wife flew from Minneapolis to Frankfurt, Germany, and back in May ’07. His wife is handicapped, and a week before the trip they purchased a scooter for her for more than $2,100.

Mr. Hjortnaes wrote, “We had no problems in Germany other than that the German authorities wanted us to dismantle the scooter before we flew home. They finally agreed to let us disconnect the batteries and send the scooter in one piece.”

Upon landing in Minneapolis and retrieving the scooter on May 24, they found that it couldn’t be put into gear and part of the frame had been broken off. They filed a damage claim with the airline, Icelandair. A home medical supply store later determined the scooter would cost more to repair than to replace.

On Aug. 15, a representative of Icelandair sent Mr. Hjortnaes a settlement check for $1,524, stating that that amount is the airline’s “maximum liability according to the terms set forth by the Montreal Convention*, which governs airlines’ responsibilities regarding baggage damage or loss.”

Mr. Hjortnaes wrote to ITN, “We can understand it taking a couple of weeks, because of the need for an estimate of damage and delays in the mail, but nearly three months seems like an extremely long time for them to withhold reimbursement for loss. My wife can use a walker for short distances but is otherwise confined to the house without her scooter.”

He also cited the following from the U.S. Department of Transportation (visit www.dot.gov and search for ‘14 CFR Part 382’): “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel. . . . (Subpart C) 382.43 Treatment of mobility aids and assistive devices.

“(a). . . Wheelchairs and other assistive devices shall be returned to the passenger in the condition received by the carrier.

“(b) With respect to domestic transportation, the baggage liability limits of 14 CFR part 254 do not apply to liability for loss, damage, or delay concerning wheelchairs or other assistive devices. The criterion for calculating the compensation for a lost, damaged, or destroyed wheelchair or other assistive device shall be the original purchase price of the device.”

Mr. Hjortnaes added, “While this refers to domestic travel, I am using it as an example of what the airline could have deferred to when it considered the case.”

Mr. Hjortnaes had purchased insurance for the trip, and the insurance company ended up sending him a check for $400, which, along with Icelandair’s check, made the purchase of a new scooter possible.

He wrote, “I would advise other passengers who use a wheelchair or other assistive device to take out additional travel insurance in the event they suffer the same loss we did.”

*Search online for “Montreal Convention.”

The sinking of the M/S Explorer, the Little Red Ship, off Antarctica in November sparked an info request from Jean Saulsbury of Mariposa, California.

She wrote, “Not to alarm people but to help us all make a few simple preparations ahead of time in packing or in our cabins that would facilitate a smooth transition in the event of a rescue at sea, I would like anyone who ever has had to abandon ship during a cruise to write in with advice.

“I’m not looking for an exposé of ‘We were/were not told this and that’ or ‘The crew did/did not do this and that’ but the practicalities, such as ‘These are the things I took.’ For instance, on tropical cruises one would want to be sure to have sunblock in their ‘abandon ship bag.’

“What did you save? What did you wish you’d saved? What was needed?

“How does one carry passport, money, credit cards, return tickets and medicines for a few days? If these were in a money belt, was it an around-the-neck type or an underarm pouch?

“How did the passengers get home?

“What did trip insurance pay/not pay?

“I know what I shall do/pack/carry on our next cruise, but I sure would like to hear from others, whether they are experienced in an ‘abandon ship mode’ or not.”

If you have advice or experience to offer Jean, write to Abandoning Ship, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (include the address at which you receive ITN). We’ll print responses in the magazine.

Lastly, I’m very pleased to introduce in this issue a new Contributing Editor, Yvonne Horn, and her column, The Garden Path.

Yvonne, who is “on the road about a third of the time,” told ITN, “I travel to wander gardens. I dearly love them. I’m not so much interested in grand gardens or famous gardens. Rather, I search out gardens that reflect a personal passion, gardens with a historical tale to tell, gardens with a bit of ‘whacky’ embedded in their beauty, gardens that could exist in no other place than where they are.”

You may recognize her name, as she has had several feature articles printed in ITN since 2001 and is a member of several writers’ organizations.

I think you’ll like this addition to ITN. — David Tykol, Editor