COMING AND GOING

Duty Calls, Twice

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UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

Duty Calls, Twice

A tax on all flights from the United Kingdom is set to double Feb. 1. On long-haul flights, including returns to the United States, the tax will be about $ 78 in coach and $157 in premium class.

For flights within the European Union, the U.K. tax will jump to about $20 in economy class and $40 in premium. Although it's said to be an environmental tax, airlines complain it will simply fill tax coffers.

The tax must be paid even if you bought a ticket before the tax was announced. Airlines can charge you or pay it themselves; decisions have not yet been made how to proceed, several airline representatives said.

Look for more environmentally related airline price hikes. The European Union is slated to unveil on Wednesday a program to include airlines in an "emissions trading scheme" that already exists for land-based companies. Industries that produce carbon dioxide are allocated a quota. A company that exceeds its cap must buy emission permits from a company that doesn't use its full quota. The hope is that economic penalties will create incentives for companies to reduce their emissions and combat global warming.

Anthony Concil of the International Air Transport Association says a leaked copy of the report shows that the plan would cost airlines operating in Europe about $4 billion a year -- about $12 per passenger per flight. Concil says it's unclear how much of that the airlines will pass on to consumers because they have to balance recouping costs against losing customers.

The E.U. plan applies to all carriers flying to, from or within the E.U., although foreign carriers are sure to fight inclusion.

CRUISE NEWS

Three Times, You're Out

The largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, was out of commission for two days last week to be disinfected under the supervision of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Why? On three consecutive sailings, passengers and crew got sick from norovirus.

So far this year outbreak s have been reported on 2 8 cruises that used U.S. ports, compared with 19 last year and 36 in 2004."It's cyclical," says David Forney, head of the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program. "We could have two or three more outbreaks in the next couple of weeks, because we're hearing a lot more land-based reports. The trends we see on ships are the trends we see on land."

The International Council of Cruise Lines, a trade group, says chances of contracting a norovirus are much greater on land than on a cruise. Since there is no reporting requirement for gastrointestinal illness on land, says Forney, it's hard to know for sure. It is clear that the virus thrives in any environment with people in a confined space.

Norovirus symptoms usually last only a day or two, but victims are contagious from the moment they first feel ill until at least three days after recovery. Best defense: Wash your hands.

TRAVEL TICKER

Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., will close Thursday. The site will reopen in 2009 as a resort and second-home community, says Robert E.Marggraf, a vice president of Carl M. Freeman Cos., the new owner. . . . Loews Hotels is banning trans fats in food sold at its U.S. and Canadian properties. The change will be complete by June 1. . . . Find info on new passport rules at http://www.getapassportnow.com/. The site was created by the Travel Industry Association, which is concerned some fliers don't know that passports are needed for all foreign flights as of Jan. 23.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

Hungary for Travel

Austrian Airlines has sale fares to several cities in Europe for travel Jan. 10-Feb. 15. Round-trip fare from Washington Dulles to Budapest, for example, is $400 plus $115 taxes. Fare on other airlines starts at $651. Purchase tickets by Jan. 31 at www.aua.com.

Reporting: Cindy Loose, Anne McDonough

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