United Express will begin daily, summer-only service between Denver and Traverse City, MI on June 5, 2008.
The service will be operated using CR7 aircraft configured for explus service and will operate through September 1, 2008.

Flights depart Traverse City at 12:57pm and arrive Denver at 1:47pm daily
Flights depart Denver at 12:37pm and arrive Traverse City at 5:16pm daily

Southwest Airlines grounded about 7% of its planes in the wake of last week's admission that the airline had missed required inspections of some aircraft for fuselage cracks. The groundings have resulted in flight cancellations on March 12.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Southwest notified the FAA that as part of an internal safety audit, the airline would ground 41 aircraft until it could verify with the FAA that it "had correctly followed inspection guidance stated in an airworthiness directive related to a specific area of the aircraft surrounding the windows on 737-300s and 737-500s."

Southwest said it took 38 aircraft out of scheduled service, out of a fleet of 526. Five more affected planes already were in maintenance for scheduled checks, and one affected aircraft already had been retired, said the airline.

The airline expects to have all of the aircraft inspected by early evening on March 12.

The aircraft groundings come a day after Southwest placed three employees on "administrative leave" after conducting an internal investigation into allegations that the airline violated FAA regulations in March 2007.

The FAA last week announced it was fining Southwest $10.2 million for operating 46 airplanes without performing mandatory inspections for fuselage cracks. Subsequently, the airline found that six of the 46 airplanes had cracks in the fuselage. Southwest said it will appeal the fine.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said he has "vowed to make any changes necessary to assure that the airline is in full compliance with FAA Airworthiness Directives and all of its own maintenance programs, policies, and procedures."

"Upon learning last month of an investigation with respect to our handling of this inspection and an Airworthiness Directive, I immediately ordered an independent and comprehensive investigation by outside counsel," Kelly said.

In addition to placing three employees on administrative leave, Southwest said it has "hired a respected outside consultant with proven experience to help review its maintenance program controls, especially Airworthiness Directive compliance." Southwest also said it has "fully engaged with the FAA on its current audit of Southwest, and committed to FAA leadership that it will investigate and address any deficiencies in its maintenance controls."

Robert Sturgell, acting administrator of the FAA, said he met with the senior leadership of Southwest, and that Kelly briefed him and top safety executives on the steps the airline is taking to ensure its aircraft comply with all airworthiness directives. The FAA is also conducting its own review of Southwest’s maintenance practices.

The Transportation Security Administration is experimenting with checkpoint lanes designed for families to ease the pressure on parents struggling through an airport with young children.

In one of the first efforts to ease airport security for infrequent travelers, "family" lanes are being tested at the Denver and Salt Lake City airports alongside "expert" lanes for travelers who know every nuance of security screening and lanes for "casual" travelers.

Screening is the same in each lane, and the program is voluntary. Segregated lanes could open around the country if the tests show the concept speeds up security lines.

"The principle is a good one, and I think it will be very effective in airports that want to roll it out," said Earl Morris, TSA's security chief in Salt Lake City.

Airports and airlines have largely focused on speeding up security for their best customers with exclusive lines for frequent and first-class passengers.

Jeremy Hirschfeld smiled as he and his wife, April, shepherded their children Rachel, 9, and Matthew, 3, through the family lane Friday in Denver. "It's a pretty good idea," he said. "You know what you're getting into when you get into the line."

Thirty feet away at the "expert" lane, road warrior Chris Pestak was equally happy to be separated from people such as the Hirschfelds. "I'm not behind somebody with a bunch of kids and a bunch of carry-on stuff," said Pestak, an engineer from Cleveland. "It's a good way to speed things up."

The Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines, supports the concept. Business travelers can "opt to the lane that allows them to move through the process quicker," spokesman David Castelveter said.

The concept is criticized by Steven Brill, whose Verified Identity Pass has been hired by 14 airports to speed up security for fee-paying customers. "Everyone who's traveling with a kid is ghettoized," Brill said. "Adding to the frustration of certain people so you lessen the frustration of others is not good public policy."

Airport consultant Gloria Bender said families could benefit from their own lanes if they have additional screeners to help them.

And, keep in mind, the Delta list is already a combination of the Delta and Western pilots. The Northwest list includes former Northwest (red-tail) and Republic (green tail) lists...even some from the combination that formed Republic- North Central Airlines, Hughes Airwest and Southern Airways. This may take awhile.

Also included: a special welcome dinner in a lively Roman restaurant, stops in Pisa to admire the Leaning Tower and stops in Verona to see Juliet’s balcony.
Scenic rides will show you the Tyrrhenian coast, the Lombardian plains, the flat Po area, the wooded Etruscan Apennine mountain range, and Tuscany’s Chianti wine country.
In Venice a private boat ride and a glassblowers’ demonstration are included.

Priced at $1750.00 per person.
Call your local Passageways Travel office or go to passagewaystravel.com