Coming and Going

Gas Wars, Part 1

UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

Security Slip

Lee Cooper of Solomons had done the smart thing and signed up for e-alerts about flight delays. So, thanks to a United Airlines e-mail, he knew that his 7:25 p.m. flight from Knoxville to Dulles was delayed until 9:40 because of air traffic control backups. That should have saved him more than two hours of waiting around at the airport.

He did two more smart things: He printed his boarding pass and went to http://www.tsa.gov to check the average wait times at security checkpoints between 8 and 9 p.m. His diligence, however, was unraveled by the Transportation Security Administration, which closed the security checkpoints at 7:30 p.m.

The result? Cooper ended up on the wrong side of security and had to wait until the next day to depart.

This is not the first time CoGo has heard of this problem at Knoxville, but the TSA's Christopher White says he hopes it will be the last. The way it's supposed to work: A lead TSA officer usually must check with the airlines and make sure all passengers are accounted for before closing security gates. In fact, White says, the Knoxville officer "met with United reps at 7:15 and determined to close at 7:30."

So United said all of its passengers were accounted for? "That was his understanding," White says.

"That one got by us," he adds. "We are looking for ways to better coordinate with our airline partners in Knoxville to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Leaving on the last flight from a major airport and learn of a delay? Not to worry. Major airports stay open -- and have security lines staffed -- virtually around the clock. If flying from a smaller airport, however, make sure security lines will remain open before deciding to delay your arrival.

RENTAL WATCH

Gas Wars, Part 1

With gas prices going ever higher, travelers are nabbing what few hybrid rental cars are available. Interestingly, though, the number of SUV and van rental reservations for this summer hasn't dropped.

"We were kind of surprised by that," says Lisa Martini, a spokeswoman for Enterprise, which, with partner companies Alamo and National, has about 5,000 hybrids in its fleet of 1.1 million cars.

A roomier SUV still makes sense for families on road trips and for businesspeople traveling together, so numbers should be holding steady during peak travel times, including summer. Overall, however, big-vehicle rentals are down, according to Neil Abrams, a rental car industry consultant.

"There will always be a market for SUVs and minivans. But we're seeing car rental companies buying fewer of them," Abrams says. They're not necessarily buying more hybrids: Mostly, companies are adding standard vehicles with good fuel efficiency, which is what travelers are after, he says.

If you want to rent a hybrid while traveling: