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See your bag in this dumpster, located behind a Houston pet store? If so, contact Continental Airlines.

The dumpster was filled with 68 bags, most of which were headed to international destinations. Fantastic.

Interestingly, one woman whose bag was found in the dumpster didn’t even fly to, from, or through Houston. At least she got her stuff back, and didn’t have to buy it again from the Unclaimed Baggage Center…

Related:
- Lost luggage doesn’t disappear, it just goes to Alabama

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Using frequent flyer miles to upgrade on American Airlines? The company is making those miles worth less by increasingly requiring cash co-payments.

For international routes, the co-payment goes up $50, but more importantly, they’re introducing a cash co-payment requirement for upgrades on flights between Hawaii and the mainland. This is something they never did before.

Here’s the official line:

Effective March 1, 2007, a nonrefundable co-payment of $150 will be required to claim Upgrade Awards used with most Discount and Deep Discount Economy fares when traveling between the Continental U.S. / Canada / Mexico / the Caribbean and Hawaii. Additionally, effective March 1, 2007, the co-payment that applies to Upgrade Awards between North America and Europe, India, Japan/Northern China, and Deep South America will be increasing to $300.

Even with a co-pay, Upgrade Awards provide AAdvantage members with exceptional value since they can be used with deeply discounted tickets. With fares so low, the disparity between Discount and Premium Class fares is too great to be offset by miles alone. Rather than limit Upgrade Awards to full-fare tickets only, the addition of a co-pay will allow members to continue to use their miles to upgrade even if they purchase discounted fare tickets.

Gary Leff expressed his disdain for this change, especially regarding the Hawaii fees, and I agree with him. American has been charging money for international flights for some time (boo, hiss) but they’ve been getting away with it, so it’s no big change. Sure, money is money, and $50 each way is not nothing, but the new fees for Hawaii are the bigger issue.

From the airline’s point of view, this is understandable, since there are bound to be plenty of people (say, honeymooners) willing to pay. But why stop there? Sure, demand outstrips supply for upgrades to Hawaii, but the same could be said of flights between L.A. and New York. Why not charge fees for those, too? Heck, charge for every upgrade!… Sadly, it could happen.

Full details of AA’s new upgrade policy are here.

French startup airline L’Avion, formerly known as Elysair, is offering 999 tickets between New York (Newark, actually) and Paris for $999 round trip. The first 999 buyers get the fare, so this is obviously limited.

And remember, this isn’t in coach. This is on board their all-business-class Boeing 757s. Travel much be completed by March 31, 2007, and there are no refunds.

Click here to book.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has ruled that Virgin America, the long-planned low-cost airline that shares the Virgin name with Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, is ineligible to receive an operating certificate in the United States. The reason: The regulatory body considers the airline to be under foreign control, and American law does not permit more than 25% of the voting stock of any airline to be in the hands of non-U.S. citizens.

This is all just silly, and it strikes me as anti-consumer protectionism, pure and simple. The other airlines don’t want the competition, and the government is letting them get away with it. For example, Continental Airlines argues that the Virgin America CEO is effectively a foreigner, even though he’s American. Why? Because he was the British firm’s choice.

But in an age of global capitalism, aren’t these citizenship tests and percentage calculations increasingly meaningless? And why is 25% some magical threshold? I might even understand the argument that you would want to require a domestic majority for some national interests, but why is a 75% supermajority necessary?

The whole thing smacks of greed, wrapped in the flag. And with airlines trying to merge, with the publicly stated goal of decreasing competition and pushing up airfares, we need all the competition we can get. Regardless of nationality.

Related:
- Will foreign ownership of airlines mean lower prices?
- US-EU open skies treaty dead in the water, so to speak

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Upgrade: Travel Better is officially taking a few days off. May your holidays be good ones, and may you maintain that slim and sexy figure you’ve had for so long, despite the end-of-year gluttony. If you’re stuck at an airport, thanks to Denver’s snow or London’s fog, good luck getting to your destination, and safe travels.

But before returning to the feasting, here are a couple considerations for travel in the new year:

- Traveling to America’s national parks in 2007? Consider the $50 National Park Pass, valid for one year, while you still can. In the new year, the price goes up to $80 and the name changes to the “America the Beautiful Pass.” Same pass, new name, higher price. Buy now to save thirty bucks. (via Tim Leffel)

- Traveling in low season is always a good way to save money. But when IS the low season? CheapTickets has compiled a short list of the lowest of the low seasons, with the average hotel stay discount, measured from the peak. Some aren’t that helpful — Phoenix in June? But others are good to know, such as Hawaii in May.

- Through January 3, Air Canada is selling all-you-can-fly “Welcome Aboard” passes for as little as $229 (Canadian) per month, depending on destination. Flight days are limited (e.g., Tuesdays and Saturdays) and the rate goes up as you include a broader geographic range. And unfortunately, you can’t use the passes to rack up miles — you only receive a fixed number of miles per month. But it may be worth your while if you’re traveling within Canada or to/from the United States. FAQs are here. (Thanks to reader Ian!)

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News for travelers who like to pick up a bottle of hooch or perfume at the duty-free shop:

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is trying to standardize airport rules around the world, making it universally legal for people who buy liquids after security. Benet Wilson reports:

ICAO recommends that member countries allow duty-free liquids that have been packed in a sealed plastic bag that is tamper-proof and shows proof of purchase at an airport shop or aboard an aircraft on the day of departure. And best of all? ICAO wants the new recommendations to cover departing and transferring passengers.

A good start, indeed. Anything that lets you buy things at an airport and then actually carry them on a plane is good in my book.

Related:
- Duty free liquids allowed on board, except when they’re not
- Update: Munich Airport responds to questions about its duty free policy
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Your baby is da bomb
Woman puts infant grandson through TSA security screening machine at LAX. But was the diaper considered a liquid?

Late flight? Ka-ching!
Flying to Delhi? The local consumer commission has imposed new rules on airlines, requiring them to pay fines of 10,000 to 20,000 rupees (US$225 to $450, approximately) per passenger for delayed flights. The catch? The fine is only payable if the flight is delayed due to poor customer service, including “poor maintenance.” Regular maintenance, such as a plane requiring a new tire, doesn’t count. Something tells me there won’t be too many payouts…

The winner isn’t me
I was not the 100 millionth passenger to pass through a New York area airport yesterday. Shucks. The winner, a Taiwanese woman, “was lavished with flowers and gifts including airline tickets, gift certificates, a Tiffany crystal apple, passes to city museums, cookbooks, tickets to Broadway shows, hotel accommodations and tickets to a New York Mets game.” Umm, the Mets aren’t playing right now. Maybe the airline tickets she won can be used to fly back for a game. They might have also considered buying her a suitcase for the extra crap she won. And maybe they should pay her excess luggage fee, while we’re at it.

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Two observations, as I’m looking at my boarding passes for my flight to Newark, just a couple hours away.

First, the 100 millionth passenger of 2006 lands at one of the New York airports (JFK, LGA, or EWR) today. Boy, I sure hope I’m the lucky winner. Imagine the perks!

Second, and more relevant to the boarding passes: I’m flying United today, but I’m reminded of a recent US Airways flight, and how those boarding passes differed. Those were also printed at home after online check-in, but they lacked a barcode. Here’s one:

I don’t fly US Airways much, so I honestly thought there must be some kind of error, and that the TSA or the airline would give me a hard time. I even asked a US Airways employee if the boarding pass looked okay, because it seemed so… half-assed. The image quality was crap, the print was tiny, and there was no barcode. Security? Ha! Anyone could forge this thing, even without Christopher Soghoian’s fake boarding pass generator. But she said it was fine, and she gave me one of those “is this guy nuts” looks. Good enough!

I suppose US Airways prefers people-power, manually entering passenger data into the computer to check passengers in, to technology.

Tim Winship stumps for United’s new points-for-discounts scheme, and he’s right to do so. (He’s wrong to once again advise cashing in miles for restaurant.com certificates, but that’s a horse I’ve flogged before.)

The new option allows Mileage Plus members to convert 1000 miles into a $25 discount e-certificate, usable only on united.com. The terms of the voucher are pretty broad, but your entire itinerary needs to be on United — no codeshares. Only tickets in G (government fares) and K (relatively rare ultra-deep discount fares) are prohibited. I’ve never had the pleasure of buying either one, so I don’t think I’ll miss the ability to book those fares.

Converting 1000 miles into $25 makes your miles worth 2.5 cents each. Very solid value, and thumbs up from me.

Converting 5000 miles only gets you $75 of credit — 1.5 cents per mile — so you’re penalized for wanting more of a cash discount. An okay value, but I’ll pass.

Now you have to hope that the certificate you buy can actually be redeemed at its face value. Since it’s an e-certificate, you should be alright. But beware the paper certificate option.

The irony is that your purchased ticket generates more miles. You’re not getting rid of that mileage balance just yet, tough guy!

In an age when airlines are toying with the idea of charging a fee for a seat assignment, it’s nice to see a hotel chain moving in the opposite direction.

Hilton’s Homewood Suites will be offering guests the opportunity to book a specific room in their hotels. You view a layout map, like the one below, and click on the room you want. No getting stuck next to the elevator again!

As USA Today’s Kitty Bean Yancey reports, the pick-your-room feature will roll out slowly:

Suite Selection will launch in phases in 2007. At first, it’ll be available only to Hilton Diamond and Gold HHonors members and only at select Homewoods. But the plan is to have all hotels online by the end of 2007 and open up the view-a-floorplan-and-choose-a-room feature to anyone who completes a profile.

It’s a great idea. And I hope other hotels follow soon. Heck, what took them so long?

The Technicolor Hulk of Hospitality
It’s official: It’s no longer just a multi-color assault on the senses. The Guinness Book of World Records declares the First World Hotel in Genting, Malaysia, to be the largest hotel in the world. The complex clocks in at 6118 rooms — blowing away the previous record of 5005 rooms held by the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Personally, I find nothing appealing about staying in a hotel the size of a small town. Bigger does not mean better. And the TripAdvisor reviews aren’t exactly stellar.

United Airlines is for the birds, literally
The Chicago Tribune’s headline pretty much says it all: “Bird flying south for winter … on United.” The lucky vulture is flying in cargo, though, unlike the turkey pardoned by the president at Thanksgiving, who flew first class (also on United, incidentally) on its way to Disneyland.

Airline penalized for cheap fares
The Chinese government fined budget startup Spring Airlines for violating price controls by selling tickets for 1 yuan (~13 American cents). No Ryanair for you, China!