AA cancels 850 flights; Olympic torch; smoke-free Mexico

Good morning, travelers!

Airlines | Let us know how your travel was affected by the American Airlines maintenance situation today. AA canceled 850 flights today, in addition to the 460 flights that were canceled yesterday. Watch the video and feel free to vent. One reader already asked, “Was American skimping on maintenance all along to save dollars at the cost of lives and safety, and now that Southwest got caught, it is now scrambling?”

Olympics | Will the Olympic torch make it through the full 19 countries and 85,000 miles in the face of the ongoing protests? San Francisco is readying itself for the torch relay. Last night thousands of protesters turned out for speeches by actor-activist Richard Gere and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. [SF Gate]

Mexico | Mexico City is now the largest city in the world to ban smoking in all public places. That means “no fumar” in bars, restaurants and offices. Parks, soccer stadiums and outdoor seating areas are exempt from this rule so far. Smokers face fines of $50-$300, and restaurants and bars could face closure for ignoring the rules.

Santa Barbara County | Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, have bought a 25-acre tract of ranchland in Carpinteria. Since they spent $4.7 million to convert the land into 25 privately owned estates, we thought we’d point them to our Santa Barbara travel section. Hey, Arnie, you don’t have to be so spendy, here are some fun things to do in Santa Barbara that are free (or cheap) & easy.

Travel Gear | This Just In has two great gear tips for travelers, under-$600 laptops and video uploading on Flickr.

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel Deal Blogger

[Photo: Golden Gate III, San Francisco, Chuckkuhn / Your Scene, Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:15 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Good Morning, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.