Travel Advisories

BOARDING PASS ADS In an effort to raise cash to help offset soaring fuel costs, most major U.S. airlines will begin displaying ads on boarding passes for customers who check in from home. Sojern Inc., which is selling the ads, said Delta Air Lines Inc. was to begin using the ads this week and will be joined in the coming months by carriers including American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, US Airways, Continental Airlines and United Airlines. (7/20/08)

HOMETOWN VIDEO SHORTS. Do you think your neighborhood makes as good a travel destination as any place out there? GOOD magazine is looking for a few great places to visit, and the editors are looking for videos created by regular folks about what there is to see and do in their hometowns. Deadline for entries is Aug. 11. Videos must be less than two minutes long and smaller than 100 megabytes. Details at goodmagazine.com. (7/2/08)

ORBITZ PRICE GUARANTEES. Orbitz will begin offering refunds to customers if the price of their air ticket goes down before they fly. The new Orbitz Price Assurance promises to notify customers via e-mail when the same flights are booked at a lower price by another customer. A refund (between $5 and $250 per traveler) will be issued for the difference. Flights must be booked at orbitz.com, and the site charges a fee of $7 to $12 per ticket. (6/27/08)

DOUBLE-DECKERS. Megabus, the U.K. company that recently launched discount bus service (starting at $1, plus service charge) between Washington and New York, unveiled its double-decker bus this week. The vehicle will travel the same corridor as the operator's other buses and seats 79 passengers. It also comes with free Wi-Fi, flicks and headphones you can take with you. Details at megabus.com. (6/27/08)

SRI LANKA ALERT. The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning advising citizens to "evaluate carefully the risks of travel to Sri Lanka," specifically the northern and eastern areas of the country. Details at travel.state.gov.

NEW CRUISE PORT. Carnival Cruise Lines plans to begin weekly sailings from Baltimore in September 2009. The line announced that the 2,124-passenger Carnival Pride will offer seven-day trips to destinations such as the Turks and Caicos islands, the Bahamas and Florida, through August 2011. (June 13, 2008)

FORD'S THEATRE. Ford's Theatre, where John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, is on track to reopen in February for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. The museum will include touch-screen displays where people can look at Civil War dispatches, speech drafts and other documents. More details at fordstheatre.org. (June 13, 2008)

PAPERLESS PASSES. Air travelers whose cell phones get e-mail have more airports where they can use paperless boarding passes for Continental Airlines flights. The program is available for flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport, Boston's Logan International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Boarding passes that Continental e-mails to passengers' cell phones and other handheld devices will display an encrypted bar code along with passenger and flight information. Transportation Security Administration officials will use handheld scanners to validate them. Users must be flying alone to a domestic destination. (6/6/08)

STUDENT AID. The Web site Studentsabroad.com has been launched by the State Department in recognition of the growing number of young people traveling overseas. Among other things, the site offers advice on who to contact in case of emergency, tips for safe travel, country-specific information - basically a one-stop reference guide. (6/6/08)

LOW ON LODGING. Until recently, visitors to U.S. national parks have been able to land last-minute reservations with relative ease. Taking advantage of the weak dollar, international travelers have been descending upon the most popular parks, according to park lodging officials. And many Americans are opting for close-to-home getaways instead of heading overseas. That means more competition for the rooms at the park you want to visit. Make reservations now, if you can. (5/30/08)

TESTING How would you like to go for a nice swim at a beach that fails half of all tests for fecal contamination? No? See how local beaches have measured up. At the Natural Resources Defense Council Web site (oceans.nrdc.org/beachgoers/map), a map shows how often water at 100 popular U.S. beaches failed to meet federal health standards (in 2006, the latest available rounds of tests). The map was created by the council, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. Five percent of the water samples from Zach's Bay at Jones Beach State Park violated health standards; the bay at Ocean Beach had a 1 percent violation rate; and Beach 126th-149th at Rockaway Beach had a 9 percent rate. The council also named six "beach bums" that often exceed EPA bacterial standards. Find a state-by-state list of test results at nrdc.org /water/oceans/ttw/titinx .asp (5/23/08).

BUMPED FLIERS' MONEY When airlines deny you a seat you've reserved because they've oversold the flight, they typically offer you a voucher for the inconvenience. But there are two things you need to know: Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to insist on money instead, and as of May 19, airlines must pay you up to twice as much as the DOT previously required. If you are involuntarily bumped from a domestic flight and the substitute flight offered is scheduled to arrive one to two hours later than your original flight, you soon will be entitled to a refund of your one-way fare, up to $400. If the new flight is scheduled to make you more than two hours late, payment jumps to as much as $800. For international flights, the airlines are given more time: You can claim up to $400 if the substitute flight is scheduled to arrive within one to four hours of the original time. If it's more than four hours, you get $800. (5/11/08)

DIAL-AN-INTERPRETER. Visiting China, but your Mandarin is, frankly, flawed? No problem. Just dial up an interpreter. Boston-based Fone-In Inc. offers over-the-phone interpretation services with live operators. You speak with them in English, then hand over the phone and they explain your needs to Chinese-speaking locals. Fone-In isn't limited to just English and Chinese. The company offers access to interpreters in more than 80 languages and charges $57.99 for a one-year membership plus $2.23 a minute; 877-988-3556, fone-in.com. You also must pay your regular phone charges on top of these fees. (5/4/08)

SPIRIT RETURNS TO LONG ISLAND. Beginning May 1, Spirit Airlines returns to MacArthur Airport in Islip with two daily flights to Ft. Lauderdale. Details at spiritair.com. (4/18/08)

KENYA TRAVEL. The U.S. State Department says threats of violence have "dramatically receded" in Kenya following a political power-sharing deal. However, the agency advises travelers to be on alert for spontaneous protests if the arrangement does not hold. Info: travel.state.gov. (4/11/08)

SPEEDY AIRPORT SECURITY. Travelers who pay $128 to enroll in Verified Identity Pass' Clear program can speed through security lanes at JFK (terminals 1, 4A, 4B and 7) and LaGuardia (B gates), as well as 14 other airports. Details: flyclear.com. (4/11/08)