In response to heavy lobbying and a system that has not been certified, the passport requirements that were to go into effect at the end of next year have pushed it back a year. This will allow the systems to be set up properly, and give the lobbyists another year to spread their money all over Washington to the politicians.

The extension was added to the appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
Congress originally set Jan. 1, 2008, as the date that all travelers entering the United States from other countries in the Western hemisphere would be required to have a passport. The Department of Homeland Security proposed moving up that deadline to Jan. 8, 2007, for cruise ship and airplane passengers.
Now Congress has pushed back the passport deadline for land and sea travel to June 1, 2009. Passports or other secure documents could be required earlier than this date if the government makes a lower-cost identification option available and installs the technology to read these cards at entry points.
Congress didn’t change the passport deadline for air travel. Airlines already ask passengers for passports for international travel, even in the Western hemisphere, so the new requirement won’t disrupt air travel, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.  via the Dayton Business Journal

When renting a car at the airport, you are typically pressured to purchase insurance from the rental car company. The Columbus Dispatch has a very good article on what to look for, and what to avoid. My recommendation is to do your homework ahead of time and you can save a good deal of money.

When you rent a car, the scam you’re most likely to encounter is pressure to buy extra insurance.
Readers have asked whether sleazy rental agents target senior citizens. Not necessarily, but some agents do target renters who don’t know the ropes.
A basic rule is never to drive a rented car without two basic insurances: collision, which covers damage to the car you’re renting; and liability, which covers your financial responsibility if you hit someone else. Any other insurance you’re offered likely is to duplicate coverages.

The Columbus Dispatch - Travel.

When planning your dream trip, it always makes sense to book travel insurance in case of cancellation due to serious illness or other catastrophes. We so often expect all to go well, but when a crisis does arise it can save a great deal of grief and heartache if you have a policy that can help. The Houston Chronicle has an interesting article on travel insurance today. Here is an excerpt:

Travel insurance — specifically trip cancellation insurance, emergency medical assistance and medical evacuation coverage — can protect the costly investment a major trip can involve. It also can ensure that you and your family get good medical care if you get sick or injured while you’re away.
You aren’t likely to need travel insurance if your idea of a trip is piling into the car and driving 50 miles to grandma’s house. But if you’re planning a major jaunt, especially abroad, it’s something to consider.
“I think the longer you book in advance and the more expensive your trip, the more you should consider buying travel insurance,” said Tim Jarrell, publisher of Fodor’s, the guidebook company. “If it’s an expensive or once-in-a-lifetime trip, you should get travel insurance just in case the trip is canceled or something happens.” Read the rest at the  Houston Chronicle.

Another outgrowth of the tremendous damage that the past two hurricane season have caused is the new policy by some rental car companies of holding the renters liable for damages on vehicles caused by natural causes. This is a change in policy that has not been widely announced, and should make a car renter prepared to check with their insurance companies to make sure you are covered.

Car-rental giant Hertz has changed its contracts to make customers responsible for damage from acts of nature.
It told its best customers last month that they’ll be responsible for auto damage from natural causes such as windstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes. In the past, it was the rental firm’s responsibility. Avis and Budget are moving in the same direction.
Hertz informed its #1 Club Gold members of the policy after quietly implementing it last year for the rest of its customers. Hertz says it’s not the first company to make the change, which it says was underway before Hurricane Katrina.

USATODAY.com - Car renters stuck with storm damage.

A geeky tool, RSS, is entering the mainstream, and the travel industry is learning that it can be very useful for pushing out deals and bargains on specific cities and flights for travel.

Travel sites are, like many other Internet companies, stuck using the acronym RSS, which computer geeks have dubbed this process. The acronym stands for “Really Simple Syndication” - a term that is not particularly user friendly; “grabbing” is a more appropriate word.
Regardless, for now users must look for the little orange (usually) RSS box, as on the front page of Orbitz.com or Sidestep.com, or type in the Web address of the site’s RSS feature (for example, rss.travelocity.com) to which they want to subscribe.
From there, the process is often as simple as billed. On Orbitz’s RSS page, for instance, you click on the category of deals you want featured on your MyYahoo page, like flight deals or hotel and vacation deals to a specific destination. After signing into your personalized page once, those deals appear and are updated according to the schedule of the travel site. via New York Times.

If you are interested in  RSS, or using it already, do not forget  to click on the orange RSS logo on our sidebar to sign up for The Travel Bloggers Feed. We  put the whole feed into your RSS reader every day.

Atlanta Hartsfield Airport is developing a new car rental complex that will take some pressure off of the infrastructure of the airport. The authority will build an off site facility off of Camp Creek Parkway that  will consolidate the  car rental companies and build a people mover to get passengers to the terminal without  clogging the roads with vans.

Construction has begun on a Consolidated Rental Agency Complex (CONRAC) at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
ATL is the world’s busiest airport, and the fourth-largest rental car market in the U.S. “CONRAC will address the needs for space and growth here at Hartsfield-Jackson in the rental car market,” says Ben DeCosta, the airport manager, “as well as enhance customer service, especially for the business traveler, who accounts for half our passenger volume.”
What’s really interesting about the new car rental complex is its convenience. An automated people mover will transport passengers to and from the terminal, with an intermediate stop at the Georgia International Convention Center. Via  CheapFlights.com.

It looks like we are going to see a very busy day on Sunday on the roads.

 Unusually mild weather around most of the nation and the rarity of Christmas and the start of Hanukkah on the same date — Sunday — may boost holiday travel to record levels this weekend.

 The time between Christmas and New Year’s normally is the busiest U.S. travel period of the year. AAA estimates that 63.5 million Americans will go 50 miles or more from home this holiday season. That’s 1.8% more than last year’s all-time high of 62.4 million travelers.

Of those, 51.5 million are expected to drive, and almost 8.8 million are flying, said AAA spokesman Justin McNaull.

51 million on the roads, be careful with the eggnog and drive safely.

And Merry Christmas.

Travel is rebounding after the 911 attacks and the holiday season is showing the that even with higher prices for hotels and airline tickets, people are traveling in record numbers. Colorado is seeing the benefits in this article from the Denver Post:

record number of Coloradans will pack their suitcases this holiday weekend despite higher travel costs, according to a survey released Monday by AAA Colorado.

The auto club estimates that 31 percent more Coloradans will travel this weekend than did last year.

“The bottom line is people are finally rebounding from tragedies such as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks,” said AAA Colorado spokeswoman Alexa Gromko. “Plus, we’re seeing some of the best early-season snow we’ve seen in years. The hype is up.” Nationally, 63.5 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, a 1.7 percent increase over last year.

(more…)

With the combination of storms throughout the northeast and rising demand for gasoline, prices at the pump have gone up about 20 cents per gallon in the past week. With millions planning on driving long distances this will add to the costs of travel to visit the relatives.

According to the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) daily fuel gauge report, a gallon of regular unleaded gas is about $2.05, but can be as high as $2.19 at some gas stations.

But why the increase? AAA blames the increase on an increase in home heating fuel costs.

“Generally you’ll find that there’s an increase in home heating fuel and an increase in crude oil price as well,” said Garrett Townsend of AAA. The increase comes in the middle of the busy holiday travel season. Add winter weather to that, and experts aren’t sure how high prices could go.

“This is winter time, so you’re going to expect that there are going to be periodic storms. You can expect that there’s going to be an increase there. And of course, it’s a driving season. We just came out of Thanksgiving, and we’re going into the Christmas driving season. Hopefully, there will be a leveling-out,” Townsend said.

Until then, motorists are best advised to brace themselves. It could be a long winter. Via WXIA Atlanta