This week's highlights ...

Clear Celebrates Three Years of Travelers Flying Through Security
July 18, 2008 - Clear,(R) the fast pass for airport security, will celebrate today its three-year anniversary in Orlando, the site of its first lane launch. Since the program's start in 2005, Clear has delivered a seamless, hassle-free airport experience more than 750,000 times in Orlando alone, its busiest location (over 1.3 million times nationwide). In just the last six months alone, Clear lanes have seen nearly a 300% increase in monthly usage. Clear now has more than 190,000 sign-ups nationwide -- more than 40,000 of them in Orlando. And, the service has a 90% membership retention rate. An additional benefit to members: children under the age of 12 who are accompanied by an adult member can access its lanes for free.

Airlines sell ads on boarding passes
July 17, 2008 - Six U.S. network airlines will place ads and destination information on online boarding passes printed by passengers at airline websites. American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways have partnered with Sojern, an Omaha, Neb.-based company that will use its proprietary technology to place the ads.

TSA Announces Launch of Expedited Screening for Flight Deck Crew Members
July 17, 2008 - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today launched crewPASS, a test program designed to evaluate expedited access to secure areas of airports for properly credentialed commercial flight deck crew members. The program is a mandate of the 9/11 bill and will be evaluated at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Pittsburgh International Airport and Columbia (S.C.) Metropolitan Airport.

For Now, Delta to Stay First-Bag-Fee Free
July 18, 2008 - For now, Delta seems to be sticking with its position not to charge passengers $15 for their first-checked bag, a fee many competitors have already put in place.

Hotels look to a boom without the frills
July 18, 2008 - Pity the status-conscious executive reduced by the downturn to staying in budget hotels. No attentive bellhop grabs his case as he checks in - he must lug his own luggage. Next morning, he is elbowed at the self-service breakfast bar by tradesmen and sales reps. When he leaves, he takes away no souvenirs in the form of towels, bathrobes or shampoo. There was simply nothing in his tiny room worth pinching.

Why High WiFi?
July 17, 2008 - A decade ago we were complaining about the cost of calls from hotel-room phones. Why, we wondered, did cheap hotels give us free calls, but fancy, five-star joints ding us even for toll-free numbers? Who made more sense: The general manager who insisted that telephone calls were an integral part of the nightly rate, or the one who claimed he wouldn't think of charging a guest for a service he or she didn't use, so anyone who used a hotel's telephone system had to pay inflated, à la carte prices?