Travel briefs
TORONTO -- Air Canada's regional carrier Jazz is removing life vests from all its planes to save weight and fuel.
Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stuart said that government regulations set by Transport Canada allow airlines to use floatation devices instead of life vests provided the planes remain within 50 nautical miles of shore. Safety cards in the seat pockets of Jazz aircraft now direct passengers to use the seat cushions as floatation devices.
Stuart said Jazz is a transcontinental carrier that doesn't fly over the ocean. Jazz planes do fly over the Great Lakes and along the Eastern Seaboard from Halifax to Boston and New York.
Stuart said all of Jazz's flights operate within 50 nautical miles of shore. She said they operate 880 flights daily to 85 destinations in North America and that the number of flights operating over water are minimal.
Woody French, mayor of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, called it a cheap move. French has been advocating for an airline passenger bill of rights.
"A lot of these airlines say, 'Well, our passengers are our main concern.' That's a bit of a misnomer," French said. "We're a distant second. Profits are the first."
French is sending a letter of protest to Canada's transport minister, saying that the elimination of the life vests will result in minimal fuel savings.
Alison Duquette, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration based in Washington, said U.S. federal aviation regulations say that "if you are an airline and you fly an airplane over a body of water, you have to have a life preserver or an approved floatation means."
NEW YORK -- You've probably heard of Patricia Schultz's bestselling travel book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.
Travel + Leisure is offering a shorter list geared to pint-size travelers: 10 places to see before you're 10.
The list, in the magazine's online issue and in some print editions, is a mix of classics as well as a few surprises, starting with the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, probably the least-known place featured in the article. It's described as an "outsider-art showcase" of "riveting works" like a 6-foot violinist made of matchsticks and a car smothered in Noxzema jars.
The 10 must-sees for grade-schoolers also includes Chicago's own Sears Tower; Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia; Ellis Island in New York; the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Niagara Falls.
Details at www.trave landleisure.com/family.
NEW YORK -- Some 600,000 passengers are expected to sail to Atlantic Canada this year, a 40 percent increase over last year, according to the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership.
In previous years, there were only a couple of weeks of tours to Canada by major cruise lines as ships repositioned from their summer itineraries to winter destinations. But now a number of lines -- including Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Holland America -- are making numerous trips August-October. Carnival's trips to Canada now run June-October.
Other lines offering cruises to the region include Princess, Silversea, Cunard, Celebrity and Crystal. The additional sailings have led several Canadian ports to expect a major boost in visitors. Even Newfoundland and Labrador are seeing more port calls, although the ships tend to be smaller expedition vessels.
If you prefer to see your autumn color by land rather than sea, Globus tours offers a fall foliage trip by motorcoach that includes Quebec City and Montreal, Canada.
AP