Roundup: Readers’ top Your Scene photos; cheap holiday airfares; JetBlue pet perks; Mumbai, India, attack update

Good morning, travelers, and if you’re out on Southern California roads, be careful. Storms hit this a.m., causing dozens of traffic accidents, closing some schools and prompting wind and flood warnings. On the bright side: Local ski resorts say the snow is piling up. Other news:

“Your Scene” best photos: We’ve put up a super gallery of the best shots submitted by readers in 2008, leading off with this beauty (above), a view of wind blowing snow off Alaska’s Mt. McKinley by Ron Drake of Santa Barbara. Do you see your photo in there?

JetBlue pampers pets: Flashy new carriers for cats and dogs and e-guides to fur-friendly hotels are part of the new JetPaws program at the stylish discount carrier. Here’s the best feature: You earn two bonus frequent flier points for flying with Fido. (Of course, you still get dinged $100 in pet fees.)

Falling holiday fares: Looking for a last-minute ticket home for the holidays? You’re in luck. My colleague Peter Pae reports that airlines, stuck with slumping traffic, are slashing some fares to the lowest levels in years. Just don’t count on cheap prices if you want to go on the most popular dates, Dec. 19 and 27, when planes are expected to fly 90% full.

Taj Mahal hotel coming back: The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, which terrorists attacked last month along with other Mumbai, India, tourist sites, plans to reopen tower rooms Dec. 21. The quick recovery “shows our resolve to commemorate all the innocent and brave people who lost their lives during the recent attacks,” said Raymond Bickson, managing director and chief executive of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces.

—Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

Photo: Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Credit: Ron Drake

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 15, 2008 at 7:56 am by Jane Engle and is filed under Airline travel, Alaska, Asia, Business Travel, Frequent Flier, Global, Good Morning, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice, Ski & Winter, Winter. 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.