Articles About Travel

Air Travel is Not Easy Since 9-11

If you think you have problems with air travel these days, here is part of a story from the POLITICO NEWS by DANIEL LIBIT & RICHARD T. CULLEN

Serving in Congress has its privileges, but avoiding the perils of modern air travel isn't one of them.

Just ask the three senators who are running for president.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) have both missed campaign events because of flight delays; when a radar problem grounded flights in September, Clinton phoned in a planned appearance at a union convention in Chicago from the tarmac of the airport in Little Rock, Ark. Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's plane landed at the wrong Iowa airport in November and ran into another plane at Chicago's Midway International Airport in January.

They aren't alone. While the candidates spend more time on the road than most of their colleagues, members of Congress, especially those from the West, do a pretty good job of racking up the frequent flier miles themselves.

They've got the horror stories to prove it.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)

The country's busiest airport is named in honor of his brother, but neither that, nor the fact that he is a sitting U.S. senator, could save Sen. Edward M. Kennedy from existential airport torment in March 2004.According to a story in The Washington Post, the senator was stopped five times in airports that month because his name had been placed on a Homeland Security no-fly list after a terrorist suspect had been found to be using the alias "T. Kennedy."

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in August 2004, Kennedy described the Kafkaesque scene as an airline ticket counter agent told him he wouldn't be allowed to buy a ticket to Boston. "Well, why not?" Kennedy asked.

"We can't tell you," the agent replied.

Kennedy ultimately got on a flight, only to endure the same rigmarole when he tried to return to Washington. "I went up to the desk and said, 'I've been getting on this plane for 42 years. Why can't I get on the plane?'"

Kennedy got his name removed from the list and got an apology from then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, to boot.

It didn't matter. Shortly thereafter, a different airline agent tried to stop him.

Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.)

On a good day, when he flies back home to the tiny town of Gering in westernmost Nebraska, Rep. Adrian Smith can depart from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by as late as 6 p.m. Eastern time and still make it to his doorstep by 9:45 p.m. Mountain time. For living in a rural area, Smith says he feels quite fortunate for this.

But fortune often turns against Smith when he flies to the eastern part of his district, a journey that requires him to stop over at one of the vertices of the Heartland's Bermuda Triangle: Minneapolis, Chicago or Kansas City, Mo. The worst came last February, when Smith was destined for some speaking engagements in Lincoln but wound up stuck at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for 12 hours. "The short weekends, when it looks like you're going to miss the main event, you wonder whether you should even continue the trip or just go back to D.C.," he said.

Because of his traveling travails, Smith has become both an admirer of Capitol Hill schedulers, whom he's come to regard as "artists" and a proponent of the federally funded expansion of America's second-busiest airport. "First opportunity I have to help expansion of O'Hare, I want to do it," he said. "I think it's a national issue."

And a Nebraska issue, as well.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)

Perhaps there was no better place to be in Alaska on March 27, 1964, than in the air. That's where Sen. Ted Stevens was when the state was rocked by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in North America.

Stevens, who was just getting started in electoral politics, was on an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks when the earthquake struck. Late that night, Stevens and a cadre of doctors flew back to Anchorage on a chartered F-27. He says everyone was "really worried about landing."

"When we approached the regular field, it was blown out," Stevens said. "It was a hairy night."

The plane was forced to touch down at Elmendorf Air Force Base. With the roads fissured by the quake, the passengers had to get into town by foot. Stevens made it home at 2:30 a.m., only to discover that the part of town where he lived had suffered serious damage in the earthquake.

It wasn't the senator's only plane-related scare. He had a rough landing onto Mt. McKinley in a bush plane in 1969, and he remembers a trip out of Hawaii on a military transport plane that had to return to the airport because of mechanical complications.

When asked whether any of these experiences have made him hesitant to fly, the 85-year-old senator harrumphs. "Oh, hell no," he said. "I flew in World War II. I've flown through all sorts of danger. I don't have any problem with that."

For tips on how to avoid your major problems with travel and make it an enjoyable experience, go to http://rcbenterpriz.com/travel

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Discount Air Carriers And Discount Air Travel Transforming The Air Travel Industry
Why the Discount Carriers are Winning

CSA Travel Protection Spotlights Travel Insurance, New Passport Rules, Ski Season and Wave Season
CSA Travel Protection encourages consumers to "travel well and travel wisely," and in that spirit, offers up its Consumer TraveList, a periodic roundup of important travel notes and seasonal happenings. Equally important, the Consumer TraveList identifies how travel insurance enhances and safeguards vacations.

Squaremouth Travel Insurance Comparison Site Features New Travel Insured Product Enhancements
Squaremouth, the fastest growing travel insurance comparison site, today unveils a trio of travel insurance plans from Travel Insured International.

Travel Insurance When Pregnant Or Traveling With Children
There was a time when pregnant women would avoid traveling altogether, but these days women don't let pregnancy stop them from going abroad and having fun. Only you can decide whether the pros outweigh the cons when travelling while pregnant or with small children.

Journeys Travel Insurance Announce Partnership with The Global Travel Group
The Global Travel Group have appointed Journeys Travel Insurance, the parent company behind insuremore.co.uk as their preferred supplier for international travel insurance. Amongst other reasons, they were said to be impressed with the automatically included terrorism insurance and the ability to settle a claim over the internet for an instant decision. The partnership follows Journeys Travel winning the coveted "Best travel insurer" at this year's Globe Awards.

Traveling by Train a Great Alternative to Ease Air Travel Frustration
IgoUgo.com: "2008 'The Summer of the Train'"

Travel Tours And Travel Insurance
If you are thinking of taking a vacation but you are not sure whether to take out travel insurance or not then this article is for you. Here you will find out the reasons why travel insurance is often an essential for every vacation that you take which will hopefully help you to understand whether or not you need it.

1 Cover Travel Insurance: Five Ways to Choose Best Travel Insurance for Your Holiday
Travel insurance is one of those areas that mean nothing to you until you decide to hit the road - or the air - then suddenly every ad is for travel insurance and everywhere you look another company is touting for your business. So how do you choose the best insurance company and the best travel insurance for your unique traveling needs?

Squaremouth Announces Travel Agency Partner Program for Travel Insurance
Squaremouth announces travel agency partner program for travel insurance. Online travel insurance comparison site offers agencies commission & personalization.

FASTAFF Travel Nursing Offers Travel Nurses Rental Cars
For traveling nurses being able to explore their surroundings while on assignment is not an option, it's a requirement. For this reason rental cars are being offered on most FASTAFF travel nursing assignments.

TRAMS Expands Product by Adding Squaremouth as First Travel Insurance Comparison Solution for Travel Agents
Squaremouth, a leading online travel insurance comparison site, today announced its technology solution has been added to travel industry software provider TRAMS' product offerings. Travel agents using TRAMS Live Connect will now realize a greater product selection, increased sales, preferred supplier customization features, real time reports, saved customer quotes and more.

Travel Insurance - Gap Year And Backpacker Travel
There are many hazards and dangers that gappers can encounter if they don't do their homework and plenty of research before setting off. Many of us wish we could blaze a trail across new frontiers, but the reality is that someone has already been there, done that, and got the tee shirt. Nevertheless, it's a good idea to network with those who've gone before you and take advantage of their knowledge.

Cheap Travel Insurance: Why You Need to Be Covered When You Travel
If you travel often or book family holidays, youýll have been offered travel insurance Maybe you didnýt see the need at the time to pay for the extra insurance, and maybe you made a good call

Journeys Travel Insurance Win "Best Travel Insurance Provider" at Travel Bulletin's 2007 Star Awards Ceremony
Journeys Travel Insurance have won the "Best Travel Insurance Provider" at this year's Travel Bulletin Star Awards for the fourth time. The company attribute their continued success to their new initiatives not only to Journeys but also to Insuremore, their commercial worldwide travel insurance company. Both are continuing to innovate with new measures recently introduced including terrorism insurance and instant web travel insurance claims. For more information about Insuremore, please visit http://www.insuremore.co.uk