Effective Jan. 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens (19 and older) will be required to present proof of citizenship, such as 1) a passport or 2) a birth certificate or naturalization certificate supported by a government issued photo ID, when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry from Canada. Children ages 18 and under are only required to present proof of citizenship (without ID), such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate or passport. If a birth certificate is presented, it must be a certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state. A photocopy of a birth certificate will only be accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) if the original has been sent to the Department of State in support of a passport application. In such case, the traveler must obtain and provide proof of passport application. These changes are significant as compared to the current and long-standing policy that allows CBP officers to accept oral declarations of citizenship from U.S. and Canadian citizens seeking entry into the United States through a land or sea border. Effective Jan. 31, 2008, oral declarations will not be accepted.

People traveling by land or sea to Canada need to take either a valid passport or a government issued birth certificate and photo ID beginning Jan. 31, 2008. All travelers by air should be reminded to bring a passport. The passport requirement for air travelers entering the U.S. from Canada has been on the books since Jan. 8, 2007. Please note that travelers holding NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST cards will continue to be accepted for cross-border travel.

Please check with us as this remains subject to frequent and intense governmental review and, oh yes, manipulation.......

Congress delays new passport rule until June 2009
A little-noticed provision in the gigantic omnibus spending bill passed by Congress on December 20th will affect millions of travelers next year.

It pushes back the deadline to require passports at land borders from June 2008 to June 1, 2009. It means travelers driving between Detroit and Canada would not need to have a passport or its equivalent next year.

The president is expected to sign the omnibus bill.

"This issue is important to Michigan," Dave Pollock, spokesman for Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, said.

Members of Congress in border states like Michigan have fought for a delay, concerned about a repeat of last summer's passport processing problems that overwhelmed the system.

However, the Department of Homeland Security has argued that it needs to phase in the new rules for security reasons in 2008.

"There is no ambiguity about the need to correct a major security vulnerability," said DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa.

Northwest Airlines will begin daily, nonstop service to London’s Heathrow Airport from Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Seattle next spring.

The Minneapolis service will begin March 29, the Detroit service May 1 and the Seattle service June 1. Northwest will continue to offer daily service from Detroit to London Gatwick.

Northwest becomes the fourth U.S. carrier to firm up its entry as a new competitor in the Heathrow market. US Airways will begin service from Philadelphia, Continental from Houston and Newark, and Delta from New York and Atlanta -- all on March 29.

The entry of new U.S. airlines into the Heathrow market is possible because of the U.S.-European Union open-skies deal, part of which lifts restrictions that currently limit U.S.-Heathrow service to United, American, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

Commercial airline pilots no longer will be required to retire at age 60 under legislation signed into law in December by President Bush.

Under the new law, the current mandatory retirement age for commercial airline pilots, moves from 60 to 65 years old. The law became effectively immediately.

The new retirement age is the result of the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (H.R. 4343), legislation approved by Congress on Dec. 11 and supported by Air Line Pilots Association, a union representing more than 60,000 airline pilots.

Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House transportation Committee, indicated that as many as five pilots that turn 60 each day are forced to retire.

Oberstar said that "given the FAA's forecasts that airlines are expected to carry more than 1 billion passengers by 2015, and that retirements among airline pilots are up 173% from 2003 to 2008 compared with 1993 to 1998,"there will be fewer commercial pilots available at a time when more people are traveling by air.

For the third year in a row, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has retained its title as the nation's busiest airport in terms of flights, according to preliminary government data released January 2.

The Atlanta airport logged 994,466 flights in 2007, up 1.8 percent from 976,447 flights in 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Flights include takeoffs and landings.

Its rival, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, was listed second busiest, with 935,000 flights in 2007. That number was down 2.4 percent from the 958,643 flights it had in 2006, the FAA said.

The FAA only released preliminary data for what typically are the nation's top three busiest airports — Atlanta, Chicago's O'Hare and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, said spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

Atlanta and Chicago have run neck-and-neck in recent years to claim the title of the nation's — and therefore, the world's — busiest airport. Atlanta already claimed to be the world's busiest airport in terms of passengers, with 41.35 million passengers in 2006, the latest data available from the FAA. Chicago was second busiest with 36.82 million passengers in 2006.

Atlanta airport officials said Hartsfield-Jackson's increased flights in 2007 came from growing demand for air travel in the metro Atlanta area and efforts to increase flights by Delta Air Lines Inc. and AirTran Airways, which both have large air travel hubs at Hartsfield-Jackson, said airport spokesman Herschel Grangent.

In recent years, O'Hare has faced limited flight capacity because of federally-mandated flight restrictions. But a new north runway and runway extension expected to open in November —when the federal restrictions will be lifted — will add to the airport's ability to handle new flights, said spokesman Gregg Cunningham.

Delta, which represented more than 70 percent of the total scheduled passenger flight volume at Hartsfield-Jackson in 2007, plans for more growth at the Atlanta airport this year with new international routes, said spokeswoman Chris Kelly in a statement.

Tad Hutcheson, spokesman for Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran, said the Atlanta airport's large passenger market within the metro Atlanta area and its ability to handle connecting flights help Hartsfield-Jackson retain its top ranking each year.

"What makes Atlanta work is ... you have the world's largest hub in Delta's Atlanta hub. AirTran operates the world's largest low-cost carrier hub," Hutcheson said. "That's what makes Atlanta the world's busiest airport."

U.S. airlines are expected to carry extra food and water on flights from New York as they deal with the state’s “passenger rights” law that took effect Tuesday.

The law may also force airlines to cancel more flights if they exhaust supplies of food and drink during the first three hours when planes are stuck on runways, said David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association trade group. The carriers plan “to be in full compliance,” he said in Washington.

The New York law requires carriers including AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Continental Airlines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. to provide food, drinking water, waste removal, fresh air and lights on planes stuck on tarmacs for more than three hours before taking off.

“I don’t think it will be a hassle at all” because airlines already are equipped to handle passengers during long delays, Jon Ash, president of Washington consulting firm InterVistas-GA2, said of the state’s measure.

New York lawmakers acted after JetBlue and American delays late in 2006 and early last year that stranded dozens of flights on tarmacs for more than four hours. Airlines lost a bid Dec. 20 to block the law and have appealed U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn’s ruling that the state has authority to regulate carriers.

The Air Transport Association filed a lawsuit in November, saying the statute is “invalid and unenforceable” because the federal government regulates the carriers. The group’s appeal is pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

Airlines are mostly concerned that the statute will be a precedent for other states to enact similar laws, forcing carriers to abide by a patchwork of regulations nationwide, Ash said.

American’s own policies already call for adequate food and water during long flight delays, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier. The only change American will make is to hang posters near customer-service desks informing passengers of the New York law, he said.

JetBlue “won’t have to do anything different” because its own requirements for meeting customer needs go further than the state’s, said Alison Eshelman, a spokeswoman for the New York-based company.

New York is the first state with a passenger rights law, according to a Dec. 20 statement from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office. Cuomo may seek penalties of as much as $1,000 a passenger for violations of the rules.

Airline service has improved in New York, thanks to attention the law gets, said Kate Hanni, executive director of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights.

The Air Transport Association is forecasting U.S. airlines will again post a cumulative profit of $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion in 2008, which, as ATA vice president and chief economist John Heimlich put it, would give the industry its first profitability "three-peat" since its positive run from 1998 to 2000.

The forecast, released Jan. 4, included both passenger and cargo carriers. The airlines have not yet reported their fourth quarter results for 2007, several of which may show losses, but it's a safe bet the industry will still post a profit for the full year.

Heimlich made his 2008 prediction in spite of crude oil prices close to $100 a barrel and uncertainty about the U.S. economy.

Heimich said he is forecasting an average crude oil price of $80 a barrel for 2008. He also is counting on ongoing revenue growth, particularly on international routes, to help offset a sizeable increase in fuel expenses, and no big economic dip this year that would significantly dampen demand.

Heimlich also noted that airlines have moved aggressively to redeploy their aircraft -- primarily for a shift to more profitable international routes, but also to some extent domestically -- as well as to trim unprofitable flying and adjust aircraft utilization.

Join Passageways’ Bonnie Pintozzi on this 9-day trip which will show you the highlights of Italy, covering all the notable features from St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and the Forum in Rome to Michelangelo’s David in Florence and St. Mark’s Basilica and Doges’ Palace with the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.
Local Guides in these cities will answer all your questions.