Amtrak boosts security, Alaskan dog races, more news

From the Associated Press
09:48 AM PST, February 20, 2008

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Airline traffic report

U.S. airlines carried fewer passengers in November, the first time in 2007 that traffic declined compared with the same month a year earlier.

The airlines carried 59.9 million domestic and international passengers in November, down from 60.3 million in the same month in 2006 and from 64.2 million in October, according to data released Feb. 14 by the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Through October, traffic had risen every month last year compared with 2006.

Still, domestic carriers served 706.6 million passengers in the first 11 months of last year, a 3.2 percent rise from the same period in 2006, and remained on pace to carry a record number of passengers for the year. Domestic and international flights were a record 80.3 percent full in the first 11 months of 2007, according to government data.

Playing to a full house, the airline industry kept its audience waiting and waiting. More than 26 percent of commercial flights in the U.S. arrived late or were canceled last year, the second worst showing since comparable data began being collected in 1995, trailing only the results from 2000, the Transportation Department said last week.

Southwest Airlines Co. remained the top U.S. carrier in November, flying nearly 8.3 million domestic passengers. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines was next with about 8 million passengers on domestic and international flights.

Delta Air Lines Inc. came in third with more than 5.7 million domestic and international passengers, followed by UAL Corp.'s United Airlines with about 5.3 million and US Airways Group Inc. rounded out the top five with nearly 4.5 million passengers.

Amtrak security

Amtrak plans to increase the visibility of its security measures, including more random screening of baggage, to confront the public perception that the passenger rail system is an easy target for terrorism, officials said on Feb. 18.

The effort will begin on Amtrak's busiest route, the Northeast corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston and later expand to the rest of the nation, officials said.

Officials said the plan centers on setting up baggage screening areas near boarding gates.

Explosive-detection devices capable of identifying traces of bombmaking materials will be used to screen the baggage and carry-on items of passengers selected randomly, according to Amtrak. The screening personnel may open the baggage for a hands-on inspection if the detection devices indicate a problem, officials said.

Amtrak increased security after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and again in recent years in the wake of terrorism carried out against rail systems in Spain and Great Britain. But limited security resources on the part of the federal government and Amtrak, and the open nature of the interstate rail system that makes it difficult to protect, have resulted in weak links remaining.

Unlike at airports, where all passengers and all checked baggage are screened for weapons and explosives, commuters traveling on local buses and trains, on interstate buses and on Amtrak trains do not undergo close scrutiny. Amtrak does, however, maintain passenger manifests that are run through the government's terrorist watch lists.

Bomb-sniffing dogs, under the control of either Amtrak police or the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, also periodically patrol train stations that the passenger railroad serves.

Amtrak officials said there have been no recent threats against the system that sparked the new security measures. Instead, it is the result of feedback from Amtrak passengers that security is lax.

Amtrak will continue its security regimen of using plain-clothes officers and randomly screening checked baggage behind the scenes, officials said.

'Open skies' deal

Australia and the United States have reached a bilateral "open skies" aviation agreement, the countries announced on Feb. 15, clearing the way for increased competition on one of the world's most lucrative and protected long-haul routes.

The bilateral agreement abolishes all restrictions on U.S. and Australian air services for carriers of both countries, ending a virtual duopoly on the route held by Qantas and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines. Qantas controls 75 percent of the market share on the Australia-U.S. route, from which it derives around 15 percent of its net profit.

The deal will allow Australian carrier Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. to begin flights to the United States by the end of the year -- but leaves Singapore Airlines Ltd., which has long coveted the route, still without access.

It would also "provide certainty" for Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. and its budget offshoot Jetstar, allowing them to widen the network of American cities they currently serve, Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

The agreement comes after three days of negotiations in Washington and will take effect once formal approval from the U.S. and Australian governments is granted.

"Airlines from both countries will be allowed to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand, without limitations on the number of U.S. or Australian carriers that can fly between the two countries or the number of flights they can operate," a U.S. Department of Transport statement said.

"The agreement also removes restrictions on capacity and pricing, and provides opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including code-sharing, between U.S. and Australian carriers," it said.

The agreement only applies to American and Australian carriers.

Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline by revenue, wants to fly 10 Boeing 777-300ER services a week to the U.S. West Coast through its new international carrier, V Australia.

The airline last year got approval from the Australian government to add trans-Pacific routes, but an agreement with the U.S. was still needed.

Iditarod dogs

Each year, 30,000 to 40,000 people from around the world gather in Anchorage to watch the ceremonial start of the Iditarod sled dog race. Thousands more turn out to cheer the winner at the finish line in Nome some 10 days later.

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