The expansion is part of the TSA’s efforts to spend less time scrutinizing low-risk, frequent passengers to free up resources to stop travelers who pose a serious threat to airline safety. TSA Administrator John S. Pistole said the PreCheck program and a similar effort for international travelers, called Global Entry, will help make the TSA screening process more efficient.

“We are pleased to expand this important effort, in collaboration with our airline and airport partners, as we move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more intelligence-driven, risk-based transportation security system,” he said.

Travelers who already submit background information to participate in a frequent flier program with American and Delta airlines may be invited by those airlines to participate in PreCheck. If passengers agree, the airlines would share the background data with the TSA.

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Flights by U.S. airlines have hit a 10-year low

The Transportation Department said major airlines, their chief low-cost competitors and the biggest regional carriers, recorded 6.08 million departures last year. Takeoffs were not that low since 2002, when they totaled 5.27 million.

Reduced operations and good summer weather, especially in the East, helped airlines post a 79 percent on-time rating in 2011, unchanged from the previous two years.

The overall number of flights by U.S. airlines have steadily declined since 2008 when the recession dampened travel demand. Most recently, stubbornly high fuel prices have prompted airlines to further cut capacity to reduce costs and maintain higher fares.

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Australian carrier Qantas will stop flying between Los Angeles and Auckland

Qantas flights between Los Angeles and Auckland have been put on the chopping block following its latest profit results.

Australian airline Qantas will also be axing around 500 jobs after a review of its maintenance and catering businesses, early retirement of aircraft and the abandonment of two major international routes.

As part of Qantas’ cost-cutting plans it will be scrapping its Auckland to Los Angeles services from May 6 following an 83% slump in half-year profits.

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A woman at DFW airport was subjected to repeated body scans because TSA’ers in the viewing booth thought she was cute

Terrell’s story was brought to light by the Texas station during its investigation into the treatment of female passengers by the TSA. The report aired earlier this month.

According to the station, Terrell and her husband, Charlie, were traveling out of Dallas-Fort Worth Airport when her ordeal took place.

Terrell told the station she was “randomly selected” for a scan. The agent, she said, was communicating by microphone with TSA staffers in another room, whom Terrell alleged were trying repeatedly to record a better image of her.

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A physician group has found that economy class seats do not cause blood clots

Travelers should instead focus on getting a seat on the aisle on long overseas flights, he said, so they can get up and walk around from time to time to reduce the small risk of developing blood clots in their legs.

The guidelines for preventing and treating blood clots, published today in the journal CHEST, reviewed hundreds of studies to outline the best practices for lowering the risks associated with deep vein blood clots in the legs that have the potential to break off and travel to the lungs, causing a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.

Research suggests that economy class travelers have no greater risk of developing blood clots than those in business or first class.

“At a time when TSA airport searches are unpopular among many air travelers, civil liberties groups say VIPR’s joint participation with local police in “warrantless” searches have been “flying under the radar” in violation of constitutional protections. Transit police say it helps them better guard against attacks like those that have hit Madrid, London and Moscow since 2004.

VIPR teams join local authorities for many of their operations aimed at searching passenger bags. Authorities say officers include plainclothes and uniformed team members — some of them armed — who arrive without telling passengers in advance.”

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The Internal Revenue Service has determined that frequent flier miles given as a “gift”, i.e. for opening a bank account, are taxable

“Frequent-flier miles are taxable? Really?

That sentiment sums up the reaction from readers — and particularly accountants and lawmakers — to last week’s column on Citibank sending tax forms to customers who received thousands of airline miles in return for opening a new account.

Citi is notifying the Internal Revenue Service that the miles represent miscellaneous income, leaving customers on the hook for paying related taxes or possibly facing a greater risk of being audited.”

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American Airlines will lay off about 13,000 employees as part of its Chapter 11 restructuring

“The airline and its unions will now negotiate over the company’s cost-cutting plans, but management can seek to have the bankruptcy court impose the changes if it can’t win concessions at the bargaining table.

Horton wouldn’t say how long the airline will wait before taking that step or when it wants the layoffs to begin.

“Given all the uncertainty out there, I think it will serve our company and our people best to get the changes made as quickly as possible,” Horton said on a call with reporters at the end of the day.

But union officials showed no eagerness to agree to the company’s plans.

“The negotiating team expected this to look ugly, yet it has exceeded all of our expectations,” said Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants in a statement to its members, who called the proposal “despicable.”

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 Spain-based Spanair has collapsed, stranding thousands of travelers

“In 2010, Spanair reported an operating loss of 115m euros.

The collapse comes after Qatar Airways stopped takeover talks, ending the prospect of further financing, and also reflects weak demand for air travel in Spain.

In 2008 a Spanair plane was involved in Spain’s worst aviation disaster in 25 years, when it crashed on takeoff as it tried to leave Madrid’s Barajas airport, killing 154 people. The aircraft’s wing flaps were incorrectly positioned and a warning system failed to alert the pilots.”

Virgin America has named one of its planes in memory of Steve Jobs. The plane has a well known Jobs quote emblazoned across it from his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”.

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Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was detained by the Transportation Security Administration for refusing a pat down

After he was first stopped, Paul told The AP in a telephone interview that he asked for another scan after setting the scanner off but refused a pat-down, after which he was “detained” at a small cubicle and missed his flight to Washington.

Paul, a Republican, was traveling to Washington, when he was detained. He noted earlier on his Twitter that he was planning to speak at the March for Life.

“Today I’ll speak to the March for Life in DC. A nation cannot long endure w/o respect for the right to Life. Our Liberty depends on it,” tweeted Rand Paul at 9:49 A.M.

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Facing increasing customer complaints, Alaska Airlines will end its tradition of placing prayer cards on meal trays

The cards began as a marketing ploy 30 years ago to differentiate the regional airline from its competitors. The company admits the idea was borrowed from another airline.

The cards offer a short except of a psalm from the Old Testament printed on a beautiful photograph. One current example includes this excerpt printed over a beach scene: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love endures forever.”

A card with a mountain scene says, “I will be glad to rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name O most high.”

Since 2006, when the airline stopped offering meals to customers in the main cabin, the cards have only appeared on meal trays in first class.

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Some airline flights have been rerouted due to an intense solar storm

US carrier Delta Air Lines said it had adjusted flight routes for transpolar journeys between Asia and the United States to avoid problems caused by the radiation storm, a spokesman said.

NASA confirmed the coronal mass ejection (CME) began colliding with Earth’s magnetic field around 10:00 AM (1500 GMT) Tuesday, adding that the storm was now being considered the largest since October 2003.

Radiation storms are not harmful to humans, on Earth at least, according to the US space agency. They can, however, affect satellite operations and short wave radio.

“The announcement comes two weeks after tiny cracks were first reported in the wings of the 525-seat, double-decker aircraft, which entered service just over four years ago.

“Airbus confirms that some additional cracks have been found on a limited number of non-critical brackets … inside the wings of some A380s,” the planemaker said in a statement.

“Airbus emphasizes that these cracks do not affect the safe operation of the aircraft.”

The European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) confirmed it would issue a bulletin Friday mandating precautionary checks.”

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Virgin America will begin serving Philadelphia in April

“The airline will offer three daily non-stop flights between Philadelphia and Los Angeles on April 4 and two daily non-stop flights between Philadelphia and San Francisco on April 10.

Virgin America is partly owned by Richard Branson, the founder of the British airline Virgin Atlantic. The airline will offer introductory fares between Philadelphia and California starting at $129 each way.”

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Virgin America’s focus is on building for the future instead of short-term earnings

“It’s a cool and hip style that has won over many devoted young passengers and helped beat out bigger and more established airlines for top awards from Condé Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazines in the past four years.

The airline’s loyal customers, however, were quick to jump on Facebook to complain last fall when its reservation system went haywire.

Analysts wonder when the accolades will produce steady profits.

“It’s kinda time for them to start making money,” said Seth Kaplan, a managing partner at Airline Weekly, a trade publication.

Then again, other industry experts say, the upstart airline could be a gamble that is about to pay off big.”

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Reports suggest that the TSA may begin testing its employees for radiation exposure

“News of the test leaked out after the TSA issued a request last month to government vendors to provide wearable, personal dosimeters, devices that measure exposure to radiation.

“TSA is dedicated to the health and safety of its employees,” TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said. “We continuously test our technology to ensure it is safe for both passengers and our officers and post all results to our website.”

Critics of the TSA support the idea of testing TSA workers. But they continue to call on the TSA to perform independent studies of the full-body scanners to ensure that airline passengers are not being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

“We still have no idea how much radiation is being imposed on travelers by a properly functioning machine,” said James Babb, co-founder of We Won’t Fly, a consumer advocacy group. “A malfunctioning machine could be particularly nasty.”

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US Airways has purchased new technology that will help it track its planes on the ground

“US Airways Group Inc. said it purchased technology from defense and security company Saab Sensis Corp. of East Syracuse, N.Y., to track planes on the ground at the carrier’s hubs in Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix. Financial details were not disclosed. The software shows a map of the airfield on a screen and provides the airline with real-time visibility of where planes are.

Until now, ground operations have relied on binoculars and radios to know the location and status of flights at gates, ramps areas and on runways, said Saab Sensis spokesman Rob Conrad. This system should help reduce delays and better manage arrivals and departures by “giving us real-time insight into our ground operations,” said US Airways chief operating officer Robert Isom.”

Hilton HHonors

1,000 bonus points per night, and an additional 5,000 points for any weekend stay of two or more nights.  Promotion runs through March 31, 2012.  Register here.

Marriott Rewards

Marriott is already about a month in to their Megabonus promotion.  The offer varies by user, and is a variation of bonus points or free nights.  Check your offer here.

Far more enticing is Marriott’s MegaMiles offer with several airline mileage programs.  Beginning with your second stay you will earn 2,000 miles per stay, up to 50,000 miles.  Runs through April 30, 2012.  Register here.

Starwood Preferred Guest

Earn up to triple Starpoints with the Better by the Night promotion, through April 8, 2012.  You will receive double Starpoints for a stay of two nights, and triple points for three or more nights.  Register here.

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On balance I’d go with either the Marriott or Starwood promotions.  Starpoints remain the most flexible and valuable currency in the loyalty industry, and the chance to rack up many thousands of bonus Starpoints should not be missed.

UPDATE: There’s video of Erin Langworthy’s failed jump, including an interview with the survivor.  Lucky girl!

Life is full of risk.  The key is to differentiate effectively between risks that are worthwhile and risks that are unnecessary.  Having done a bungee jump once before, I hold the opinion that an occasional rush of adrenaline can be just what a person needs to break out of the hard-to-escape patterns and habits that dominate our daily lives.

The drop from the Victoria Falls Bridge plunges adventurers about 300 feet toward the quickly moving Zambezi River below.  I waffled a bit, mainly because of the $120 cost at the end of a month-long trip around Southern Africa.  In the end I decided that embracing the mixture of fear, joy an adrenaline would be a good way to start a new year, especially one for which I have significant hopes and plans.

Having confirmed the jump for the next morning, I headed out for dinner in Livingstone.  About halfway into town, my friendly cab driver Owen started talking – unprompted by me – about an accident that had taken place three days earlier at the Victoria Falls Bridge jump site.  A 22-year old Australian girl had made a jump, rebounded normally, and then found herself in a free fall toward the Zambezi when the bungee cord gave way at the apex of the second bounce.  She fell about 60 feet into the fast moving river and managed to swim to the Zimbabwean side, where local police rushed her to a clinic for medical treatment.  She was later evacuated to South Africa for further treatment.

I’m not a big believer in fate, but I also couldn’t ignore the new information.  I was determined to continue with my jump until I read an article in the local newspaper about the incident.

Said the Zambian Post:

“The rope bungee code [sic] cut whilst going down but she managed to swim to the Zimbabwean side. She was treated at Victoria Falls clinic in Zimbabwe and evacuated to South Africa,” Muntemba said.

And a National Heritage Conservation Commission source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said NHCC, the custodians of the Victoria Falls and the bridge, had difficulties getting the truth from the bungee jumping expedition management.

“The incident happened on Saturday and the female Australian was saved by quick action by Zimbabwean policemen who have access to the bottom of the gorge using a staircase. It’s like these people bungee management don’t want the incident to leak out to the public. But I have heard that bungee management has been ordered to report to Victoria Falls police station to give a statement,” the NHCC source said.”

Without much sensitivity, the tour operator then released a statement titled, “Bungee cord breaks but no damage done”.  Apparently their investigation into the incident lasted a whole 24 hours, after which jumps resumed as if nothing had happened.

Activities like bungee jumping are fundamentally about trust.  I don’t know a thing about bungee cords, but I expect that – as my life is in their hands – the bungee operator does, and will apply that expertise to every single jump they oversee.  I found it disturbing that Safari Par Excellence did not cooperate fully with the investigation by Zambia’s National Heritage Conservation Commission.  This is an instance where full disclosure and cooperation would have benefited the company far more than an attempt to suppress news of the incident among foreign tourists.

Without the trust promoted by an open, transparent company, I lost the faith that Safari Par Excellence would put my safety above its financial interest.  The risk of the jump therefore became an unnecessary one, and I cancelled my booking.  To their credit, the company refunded my money immediately and without hesitation.

I hope Safari Par Excellence conducts a thorough investigation into the incident and adapts its safety procedures to ensure safe jumps every time.  In the meantime, approach the Victoria Falls Bridge bungee jump with care.

“The Transportation Security Administration isn’t just in airports anymore. TSA teams are increasingly conducting searches and screenings at train stations, subways, ferry terminals and other mass transit locations around the country.

“We are not the Airport Security Administration,” said Ray Dineen, the air marshal in charge of the TSA office in Charlotte. “We take that transportation part seriously.”

The TSA’s 25 “viper” teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams in 2012.”

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2011 was a very safe year for airline travel

“About 7,000 aircraft are buzzing in the skies over the United States at any given moment, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fortunately for the people aboard those planes — at least the big commercial kind — as Travel went to press late last week, 2011 was on track to have the best-ever safety record for commercial passenger flights.”

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A Canadian man was able to use a digital scan of his passport on his iPad to enter the United States and return to Canada

“He told the officer he was heading to the U.S. to drop off Christmas gifts for his friend’s kids. He said that true story, the scanned passport and his driver’s license helped him get through last week.

He said the officer seemed mildly annoyed when he handed him the iPad.

“I thought I’d at least give it a try,” Reisch said. “He took the iPad into the little border hut. He was in there a good five, six minutes. It seemed like an eternity. When he came back he took a good long pause before wishing me a Merry Christmas.”

Reisch said the officer made an exception.”

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TSA-free airline SeaPort has dropped its signature Portland-Seattle route, and will make other changes to its network

“The Portland-based carrier’s namesake route will end Jan. 27, three and a half years after it launched the service from Portland International Airport to Boeing Airfield. It touted the 90-minute route as a fast alternative for travelers.

Company officials announced last week that it would end.

“Changes to our overall business model, including a shift in our fleet strategy, necessitate the need to end Seattle service,” the airline’s president Rob McKinney said in a written statement.”

Promotions for bonus qualifying miles are fairly rare.  Book now to ensure status for 2012 or get a jump start in January for next year’s qualification.

Register here.

The PreCheck participants — who must be invited and agree to background checks — often keep their shoes, belts and light coats on at designated checkpoints, Pistole said in an interview today at Bloomberg’s Washington bureau. Those fliers also can keep laptops and liquids packed in carry-ons, he said.

Better information about travelers helps the TSA “to say ‘no, we don’t have to treat each person as a putative terrorist,’” Pistole said.

More than 120,000 fliers have used PreCheck since the program started Oct. 4, Pistole said. Airports in Dallas, Miami, Detroit and Atlanta have the checkpoints. Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Los Angeles airports are scheduled to have them in the next few months.

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Alec Baldwin was tossed from an American Airlines flight for refusing to comply with FAA rules regarding electronic devices

Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines flight Tuesday in Los Angeles after a confrontation with flight attendants over playing a cellphone game after being told to shut it down.

The incident became a social media sensation after the star of NBC’s 30 Rock tweeted about the incident and American took to Facebook to respond, saying “an extremely vocal customer” was removed after being “extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language.”

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FAA director Randy Babbitt has resigned after an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol

Randy Babbitt resigned Tuesday following his arrest over the weekend on charges of drunken driving. The former airline captain and pilot union leader had been FAA administrator since 2009. An appointee of President Barack Obama, he was about halfway through a five-year term.

Now Huerta will serve as acting administrator. Industry officials and lawmakers said they expect him to continue in the post through next year since the White House probably will want to avoid a possible nomination fight before the Nov. 6 presidential election.

UPDATE: A second woman in her 80s has come forward claiming she was also strip searched at a JFK security checkpoint recently.  TSA at JFK is apparently the Herman Cain of airport security.

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On Tuesday, November 29, 85 year old Lenore Zimmerman was traveling from New York to Florida.  At the security checkpoint at JFK airport she declined to enter one of TSA’s naked scanners, fearing it would interfere with her defibrillator.  She was then taken to a private room and strip searched by TSA agents.  During the course of that search her walker collided with her shin, causing a cut and significant bleeding.

Zimmerman – obviously not a terrorist – is furious and thinking about suing the TSA.  She should.

If you can stomach it, here’s what a TSA spokeshole had to say about the incident:

“Our screening procedures are conducted in a manner designed to treat all passengers with dignity, respect and courtesy”.

At the risk of rhetorically impaling myself upon Godwin’s Law, that kind of propaganda is better suited for the Third Reich than for a modern democracy, especially one with supposedly accountable institutions.  Once again the TSA has shown itself to be tone deaf, ignorant of Americans’ civil liberties, and totally uninterested in replacing its security theater with effective, noninvasive screening protocols.

The story gets better.  The TSA claims to have investigated the incident, and boldly asserts that no strip search took place.  Zimmerman fired back via the media; in her words, “Why would I make up this story?  In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t think of such a thing happening.”

At what point do we reject this agency in its entirety and rise up against the security deep state that has profited so handsomely since September 11th?  While the feckless Occupy movement blathers on about banks and bailouts, we allow a government agency to virtually (and sometimes physically) strip search us, degrade us, and spit on our constitutional rights.

Why are we not occupying airport security checkpoints?  Why are we not demanding this rogue agency and its leaders be held accountable for their un-American actions?  This story hits close to home, as I have an aging mother who travels.  While I have taught her how to avoid and opt out of the naked scanners, if she were treated like Mrs. Zimmerman my reaction would be swift and damning.

Imagine your own mother manhandled and assaulted by TSA agents.  How would you react?  Today Mrs. Zimmerman is the mother of everyone who cares about restoring sanity and dignity to airport security.

Gary I. Rothstein for New York Daily News