A "live test" of e-passports that contain computer chips with biographic and biometric information began last week at terminals 2, 4 and 7 of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and at Sydney Airport in Australia. The live test, that started off on June 15, will stretch out until September 15. "This live test of e-Passports is an important step forward in a larger effort to enhance security and facilitate travel through international cooperation," said Jim Williams, Director of US-VISIT, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program.

With the continued growth of the Internet´s popularity, Independent hotels have their best chance ever to truly compete with their franchise competition. For many years, hotels have chosen to flag their hotels in order to cash-in on franchise loyalty and popularity and the resulting reservations contribution. Although franchise contributions to reservations vary greatly by brand and by hotel, buying a flag almost always provided a hotel with a base of business to ensure successful sales numbers. The franchise flag provides big budget advertising, promotions, reservations services, and, in some cases, group sales services; a combination unavailable to most independent hotels. But, thanks to the Internet, all that is changing. Internet marketing is still affordable and effective. The Internet provides little known hotels with unprecedented exposure to millions of travelers. It allows smaller independent hotels to advertise their hotels to the traveling world, finally at rates they ca

Global airline alliance Oneworld has introduced new and improved online timetable by releasing an upgraded flight-planning tool on its Web site: www.oneworld.com. The tool enables customers to download the timetable of the Oneworld network to their PCs or PDAs, or in PDF format for printing Innovata, a source for travel and hospitality content and integrated distribution services, supported Oneworld on the project. In addition to schedules of the eight carriers and their affiliates, the timetable also includes flights operated by other airlines under codeshare arrangements with the Oneworld partners, expanding still further the network covered by the timetable.

The U.S. is losing billions of dollars as international tourists are deterred from visiting the U.S. because of a tarnished image overseas and more bureaucratic visa policies, travel industry leaders have warned. "It´s an economic imperative to address these problems," said Roger Dow, chief executive of the Travel Industry Association of America, tourism´s main trade body, which concluded its annual convention this weekend in New York.

Brazil´s Gol is flying high. Since it took off in 2001 with just half a dozen planes and seven destination cities, Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes airlines is proving itself a worthy emulator of celebrated budget trailblazers elsewhere. Brazil´s first low-cost, low-fare airline, which flies planes with a distinctive orange fuselage and is known as Gol, now boasts 30 jetliners and travels to 40 destinations in Brazil and one in Argentina.

The merger of US Airways and America West, aimed at creating a national low-fare airline, will debut with some baggage, including an abundance of hubs. US Airways comes to the table with Charlotte and Philadelphia, and ample flights out of Washington and Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, America West has a main hub in Phoenix and a very busy schedule out of Las Vegas.