Flights

Even if you're not yet ready to retire, San Miguel de Allende is perfect for a vacation or long weekend getaway. Getting there United and American airlines offer connecting flights (via Texas) to San Miguel's two closest airports, Leon/Guanajuato (BJX), 90 minutes away, and Queretaro (QRO), one hour away. Round-trip airfares start around $600. Multiple airlines offer flights to Mexico City, which is three hours from San Miguel. When to go January may be the sole inclement month to travel, and even then it's nothing compared to a typical Baltimore winter.

SEATTLE - As a veteran of eight minor league seasons, right-hander Zach Clark has endured plenty of excruciating bus rides during his career. He had never been on a cross-country flight, however, until he flew to Seattle on Tuesday. The five-hour airplane ride seemed even longer knowing what was on the other side: The Safeco Field clubhouse and his No. 64 Orioles uniform hanging in his first big league locker. "I've never been on a long flight, so five hours on a plane was crazy," said the 29-year-old Clark, who was added to the Orioles' 25-man roster Tuesday as bullpen insurance.

Interesting story about the tarmac delays and cancelled flights, which I read in The Baltimore Sun ("Canceled flights climbing," July 21). The airlines "warned" us that many flights would be cancelled if this regulation was passed. I wonder if some of the airlines are being over-zealous in cancelling these flights in the first few months of implementation to show the worst-case scenario. Even so, I am surprised that the writer did not question the math of aviation consultant Darryl Jenkins, who may have had a vested interest in the study.

What does it require to get members of Congress to take action quickly and decisively on an issue of federal spending? Now we know. The possibility that they will be delayed in an airport terminal somewhere waiting for a flight out of town is apparently so abhorrent that the usual gridlock and party politics just don't apply. That's the take-away from last week's lightning-fast, lopsided bipartisan votes that transferred more than a quarter-billion dollars to the Federal Aviation Administration budget so that the agency would no longer have to furlough air traffic controllers.

Cape Air said Monday that it is adding evening flights from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Hagerstown and Lancaster, Penn. The airline began offering $100 round-trip flights from BWI to the two destinations about a year ago. It is expanding the number of flights because of customer demand. The new schedule will include five round-trip flights on Mondays and Fridays, four flights Tuesday through Thursday and three flights on weekends. The new schedule begins Thursday.

A week after heralding the arrival of two airlines to the fold, BWI Marshall Airport is dealing with the loss of Southwest Airlines' three daily nonstop flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport. The airline announced that it will shift those flights to two LaGuardia-Nashville daily runs and add a sixth LaGuardia-Chicago Midway flight. The adjustment, the airline said, "really enhances LaGuardia's access to our midwestern, southern and western network. " The service between New York and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will end Jan. 5. Southwest and AirTran, which have merged, are responsible for about 70 percent of BWI's commercial passenger traffic.

Plans to begin weekly flights to Cuba from Baltimore have been pushed back to October because of lack of demand, the head of the travel company offering the service said Tuesday. The flights were to begin next month. William Hauf, president of Tampa, Fla.-based Island Travel & Tours Ltd., said his company delayed the start of the service to Havana from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to allow more time to market the flights to eligible groups, such as university and religious organizations.

Southwest Airlines is offering members of its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program double points on flights to/from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Travelers must register for the promotion before booking their flights and traveling by Nov. 7. Southwest's promotion also offers double points for travel to Denver and Phoenix. BWI recently announced that the airport had its best July ever, in terms of the number of passengers, serving some 2.2 million fliers.

Southwest Airlines plans to add three new daily nonstop flights between Baltimore and Newark, N.J., as part of 10 additional flights the airline will offer from Newark Liberty International Airport starting in June. In addition to flights to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the new daily nonstop flights out of Newark will include routes to Denver International, Houston Hobby and Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Southwest announced Wednesday. Those cities join previously announced nonstop service from Newark to Chicago Midway and St. Louis starting in March.

Most flights out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were canceled Monday evening and night because of thick fog across the region, according to an airport spokesman. The "extensive flight cancellations," including arrivals and departures, forced many holiday travelers to begin reorganizing their schedules. It was the rare flight that wasn't canceled at the airport, said Jonathan Dean, the BWI spokesman. The Federal Aviation Administration at times imposed air-traffic restrictions, Dean said.

Sequestration is starting to frustrate air travelers. About 400 flights were delayed Sunday because of air traffic controller furloughs, the Federal Aviation Administration said, and a few more interruptions were reported Monday, though the nation's air travel system operated without serious problems thanks to light traffic and good weather. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw departure delays up to 75 minutes for a time on Monday afternoon, according to FlightStats.com.

Not every play strives to deliver profound insights into the human condition. Marc Camoletti's "Boeing Boeing" only seeks to prove that the human condition is silly. Judging from the laughter at the Rep Stage production, the audience gets the point. This French play neatly fits within that culture's tradition of farce, in which the complications of amorous misbehavior reach ridiculous extremes. Set in an apartment near an airport in Paris, "Boeing Boeing" has a classically farcical premise.

A Baltimore-bound United Airlines flight was diverted and a local family removed from the plane after the parents complained about the content of an in-flight movie. The February incident resulted in the passengers being escorted off the flight by police at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the family said, relaying the experience anonymously in a response to an article about air rage posted on The Atlantic Monthly's website . In a statement released to The Sun, United Airlines said Flight 683 from Denver to Baltimore was diverted to Chicago after the crew reported a disturbance involving a passenger.

The runway at Martin State Airport fell away as the distant Baltimore skyline popped into view. A hint of turbulence jittered the pilot's seat during a banking maneuver that filled the cockpit windshield with the vast blueness of the Chesapeake Bay. After a quick series of adjustments and a moment of indecision came the satisfying thump of wheels touching down. It felt mighty good to be back on the ground. But then again, the student never left. At Middle River Aviation, instructors can teach the fundamentals of flight in an airplane or in a new full-motion simulator that pitches and rolls in every direction - even straight into a death spiral.

A 26-year-old Naval Academy graduate from Howard County who realized a long-held dream of becoming a Naval aviator was killed when the jet she was piloting crashed into a field outside Spokane, Wash. Lt. j.g. Valerie Cappelaere Delaney and her two crew members died Monday morning when the EA-6B Prowler crashed during training, the Navy said Tuesday. The incident remains under investigation. Friends and family described Cappelaere Delaney as a focused, athletic and caring young woman whose career was shaped by conversations with her grandfather, a retired Air Force pilot.

The plan to substantially expand the Harford County Airport at Churchville in terms of runway capacity and number of flights per day has resurfaced, though in a more subdued form than had been pursued a little more than a decade ago. In short, the plan involves roughly doubling the width of the main runway to 75 feet and extending it by 1,000 feet to 3,200 feet, while closing two ancillary runways. Buildings on the property would also be upgraded. With a substantial portion of the airport on agricultural land, the Harford County Council made changes to the zoning regulations for agricultural districts to facilitate planned changes - thus allowing the airport owners to avoid the costly and oftentimes contentious process of having major upgrades approved through the county zoning appeals process.

Someone will benefit from this sale. Just not sure who. (Let me know if it hits the sweet spot for you!) Nonetheless, when Southwest offers a 50 percent discount on flights, you kinda take notice. But then you see it's only for travel on four, very specific - and very unlikely - days. But, if you've got some downtime in the middle of the week at the end of January, this sale is for you! Passengers can save half off Southwest flights when they travel between Jan, 24 and Jan. 25 or between Jan, 31 and Feb. 1. You must book your ticket today!

Ever since a friend snagged a $200 round-trip ticket to Paris, including taxes and the like, I've been decidedly unexcited by the typical airline promotional deals. (I've also been green with envy.) But yesterday when Travelzoo sent info about a British Airways sale offering $150 off the lowest published fare for flights anywhere in the world, I felt a little tingle in my leg. The 96-hour sale - for travel April 15-June 11 - boasted flights from Baltimore starting at $226 each way, after the discount.

With the BWI Marshall Airport terminal as a backdrop, Democratic members of Maryland's congressional delegation took turns Friday bashing mandatory federal budget cuts they said could harm not only air travel but local businesses that rely on passenger traffic. "Sequestration is no way to run a country," thundered Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore, his words echoing off shiny floors and windows as people with suitcases scurried by. "I told my staff this morning, 'I didn't come to Washington to throw my constituents under the bus.' " The U.S. Department of Transportation is facing a $7 billion cut, with $600 million of that money coming from the Federal Aviation Administration.