2 Quakes in Spain Kill 10, Injure Dozens

Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings, officials said. Read more

Mississippi Flood May Be "Large-Scale Disaster"

Thousands of people are being warned to prepare for the worst tonight as the Mississippi River swells to historic flood levels. Heavy rain is pushing the river's basin to its limits. Read more

OTHER NEWS

FAA Proposes Major Revamp of Airline Pilot Training

Airline pilots and flight attendants would have to learn how to respond to "real world" scenarios and demonstrate those skills in flight simulators and in emergency drills under proposed FAA rules. Read more

People-Screening Explosives Detection Canines Introduced at LAX

The new K-9s are specifically trained to detect a plume of air emitting from a person, whether the person is moving or stationary. This is the first such program at a U.S. airport. Read more

British Airways and United, the Cabin Crew Trade Union Reach Agreement

British Airways, on behalf of its customers, is very pleased that United, the cabin crew trade union, has agreed to recommend a settlement to the dispute and remove the potential threat of industrial action. All flights continue to operate as normal. Read more

Business Travel Doesn't Have to be Bad For Your Health

"I realized it can be hard to have good, healthy behavior while traveling," Rundle said, adding that the challenges present themselves every step of the way - from the airport to the conference to the hotel. Read more

Improvements Are On the Way to Amtrak Service From New York to Washington

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Amtrak $450 million in funding to upgrade its rail infrastructure to support more frequent and faster high speed rail service, and to improve reliability of current service between New York and Washington. Read more

Survey: Companies Prepared to Spend More on Business Travel

Companies are prepared to spend more to send people on the road for business, newly released survey findings indicate. Read more

Dallas Airport shuts Down One Third of Terminal A for Renovation

Although most of the concession space behind the security checkpoints has been closed off with a temporary barrier, American Airlines is still able to use gates A13 through A17 in that area, with only gates A9 through A11 affected. (There is no A12 at D/FW Airport.) American will also be able to use gates A17 through A39 which are not part of the closure. Read more

Survey Says...Face Time Important

In this digital age where professionals rely on technology for just about everything, the question remains - can apps, emails and video chats replace old fashioned face time with clients? Embassy Suites Hotels' Third Annual Business Travel Survey shows that face-to-face meetings are extremely important in business dealings, with 97 percent of business travelers surveyed feeling it is the most important part of developing and maintaining strong client relationships. More than half (53 percent) of business travelers reported having more in-person meetings with clients than in previous years. Read more

American and Qantas Seek Joint Partnership

AA and Qantas propose joint pricing and planning of flights between the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand, and beyond to other countries. The carriers want to include packager AA Vacations in the joint venture.

The airlines are promising an increase of flight frequency and an improvement in connection times. There also will be "increased opportunities" to earn and redeem frequent flyer points, said Qantas and American. Read more

Travelers Turn Back to Travel Agents

Vacations have become as hard to plan as the name of last year's traveler-stranding Icelandic volcano was to pronounce. Natural disasters cause flight cancellations. Revolutions put tourist destinations off-limits. Airlines and rental car agencies confound with ever-increasing fees. And the Internet spews so much information that it manages to hurt consumers as much as it helps them. Read more

US Hotel Construction Pipeline Down 12.2%

The total active U.S. hotel development pipeline comprises 3,053 projects totaling 322,423 rooms, according to the April 2011 STR/McGraw Hill Construction Dodge Pipeline Report released this week. Read more

Avoid Damage-Charge Dings on Rental Cars

If you don't want to get dinged for damage to a rental car you may not have caused, I have one piece of advice: Document everything. Read more

Death Becomes Them

For an industry that has been declaring itself at death's door for over 20 years, the car rental business seems remarkably alive. Read more