-- Bishop International Airport in Flint, Mich. "One of the best-kept aviation secrets in this part of the country,'' a London traveller writes. In three years of flying from Flint "I have yet to experience anything bad.''
He finds it much cheaper than flying through Detroit. In October, for example, he says Northwest/Delta quoted him $683 for flights from London to Birmingham, Ala., via Detroit, not including airport improvement fees and taxes. The fare from Flint was $321. Even adding the cost of gasoline and parking, "it was still half price.''
The drive takes him two hours and 15 minutes, but he cautions that extra time should be allowed for border formalities at Sarnia/Port Huron.
He compares Flint's airport to London's, so there aren't big lineups. Northwest/Delta, Continental, American, Mid-West and Air Tran fly from there. There's an economy parking lot nearby that charges $25 per week and has a shuttle bus. Visit www.bishopairport.org.
-- Jet Airways. A reader who flew with it from Toronto to Brussels in September said the price was "fantastic," the plane was roomy and the food good. He said he found out about it on www.cheapoair.com
I hadn't heard about Jet, but a Belgian tourism contact I queried told me her boss had given its food and service "excellent reviews.''
Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) is based in India; Brussels is its European hub. It flies daily from Toronto to Brussels, using an Airbus 330-200.
More leisure travel news:
-- KLM has unveiled a new Economy Comfort zone where seats have up to 10 centimetres more legroom than a standard seat and recline twice as far. The service and meals are the same as in economy. The airline says it has more than 1,500 Economy Comfort seats available daily, priced from $118 to $221 for a one-way trip.
Airlines offer what is commonly called "premium economy'' -- roomier than economy but not as comfy as business-class. I'd ask a travel agent's advice before deciding whether to spend the extra and which airline to spend it on.
-- Porter Airlines will begin seasonal service between Toronto City Centre Airport and Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 28, with twice-weekly round-trips until May 30. One-way fares will start at $179, plus taxes.
It's downtown location means passengers avoid going through Pearson. They also enjoy free in-flight wine, beer and snacks. Besides Myrtle Beach, Porter serves Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, St. John's, Thunder Bay, New York (Newark), Chicago (Midway), Boston (Logan), and has seasonal flights to Mt. Tremblant, Que.
-- Air Canada will launch non-stop service March 7 from Toronto to Great Exuma, in the Bahamas, where Air Canada Vacations is selling what is touted as the world's first all-butler resort, Sandals Emerald Bay, formerly the Four Seasons Emerald Bay.
-- Former Londoner Paula Skinner Gaul and husband Kieren are in their fifth season of operating Big Red Cats, a skiing and snow-boarding business in Rossland, B.C. An e-mail from Paula says they operate four snowcats and have 7,500 hectares of terrain, "which is pretty much all accessible, and offers fresh tracks, all day, every day.'' Visit www.bigredcatskiing.com.
Mail can be sent to Doug English, c/o London Free Press, P.O. Box 2280, London, Ont. N6A 4G1; faxes to 519-672-1824.
Security lineups differSaving Lives Through Innovation
