>>>it was one of the things you used to be able to count on when flying coach on continental. and that made it one of the last perks in the back of the plane. continental served free snacks, at least they did until tuesday. it's all over now. and they've actually made it sound like a good thing. in a statement continental, which is merging with united, said the snacks are going away, quote, in an effort to reduce costs and align ourselves with the rest of the industry. so in other words, to offer what the other carriers offer, which these days is notOn March 1, Continental Airlines stopped serving free snacks to domestic passengers flying coach. The new policy is designed to better align its in-flight snack and beverage service with its merger-partner United Airlines.Necessity may be the mother of invention, but in travel, frustration makes a pretty good midwife. Here are 12 products that aim to make life easier for travelers. [Read the full article]

Choosing to carry your luggage onto a plane instead of checking it with an airline might save you a few bucks at the ticket counter but it's costing taxpayers about a quarter-billion dollars a year.Necessity may be the mother of invention, but in travel, frustration makes a pretty good midwife. Here are 12 products that aim to make life easier for travelers. Full storyHomeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress this week that luggage fees have prompted more passengers to hold onto their bags, which means more items for Transportation Security Administration officers to inspect at security checkpoints at a cost of about $260 million annually."When you have to pay to check a bag it increases carry-on luggage and that means there is more to inspect at the gate and so forth for passengers to get on planes," Napolitano said during testimony before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security. [Read the full article]

The first time John Rodriguez tried to sail around the world a hurricane sunk his boat. His second attempt failed because of a scourge bedeviling mariners in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden: pirates.Rodriguez is among thousands of sailors who once steered their yachts across the warm Indian Ocean without a second thought, but are now rerouting, hiring replacement crews, packing their boats aboard cargo ships and contracting armed guards, or canceling their dream voyages altogether.With Somali pirates seizing vessels and killing hostages in an area as vast as the continental United States, boatyards, restaurants and other establishments among the yachters' routes have seen business fall, with some of their customer base scared off.Rodriguez, a 44-year-old Briton, sailed from his homeland to Florida with his wife and two children. [Read the full article]

Japan is set to launch at the weekend its next-generation high-speed train, featuring sleek green and silver cars with pink stripes and named for the peregrine falcon.The "Hayabusa," the first upgrade of Japan's bullet train fleet in 14 years, has sparked such excitement among railway buffs that one ticket for Saturday, when it debuts, sold for thousands of dollars on the Internet, media said.The train clocks in at a top speed of 180 miles per hour, making it the fastest train in Japan " and just short of China's Harmony Express, a cross-continental rapid transit line that hits a high of 217.5 mph."It is indeed a bullet train that represents the high level of our company and Japan's technology," said Tomoyuki Endo, manager of the Shinkansen Group at East Japan Railway Company.Necessity may be the mother of invention, but in travel, frustration makes a pretty good midwife. Here are 12 products that aim to make life easier for travelers. [Read the full article]