Flights

If all goes as planned, sometime this morning a spacecraft will blast off from its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and ride a fiery plume of contrails upward through the pre-dawn darkness to begin a two-week journey to the International Space Station and back. But the flight won't be just another NASA resupply mission. Instead, the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - SpaceX for short - will be the first commercially owned and operated vehicle ever to rendezvous with the station's orbiting astronauts.

If all goes as planned, sometime this morning a spacecraft will blast off from its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and ride a fiery plume of contrails upward through the pre-dawn darkness to begin a two-week journey to the International Space Station and back. But the flight won't be just another NASA resupply mission. Instead, the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - SpaceX for short - will be the first commercially owned and operated vehicle ever to rendezvous with the station's orbiting astronauts.

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 a flash-in-the-pan sale today only for some very specific travel dates, including July 4, and the deal has set off a frenzy that appears to have taken down booking on the airline's website. Travelers can save 35 percent off Wanna Get Away fares when they book a trip today for one of these dates: May 22, May 30-31, June 5-6 , July 4-5. Use promo code: SUMMER12 to get the discount. That's pretty good deal since you're saving off the lowest fares the airline offers online.

Southwest Airlines is offering a flash-in-the-pan sale today only for some very specific travel dates, including July 4, and the deal has set off a frenzy that appears to have taken down booking on the airline's website. Travelers can save 35 percent off Wanna Get Away fares when they book a trip today for one of these dates: May 22, May 30-31, June 5-6 , July 4-5. Use promo code: SUMMER12 to get the discount. That's pretty good deal since you're saving off the lowest fares the airline offers online.

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.

In anticipation of this weekend's winter storm, Southwest Airlines is canceling all flights to and from Baltimore Washington International Airport beginning Friday afternoon. Southwest spokesman Paul Flaningan said more than 100 flights will be affected by the halt in service at BWI. The airline is also canceling flights at Dulles International and Philadelphia International, beginning at about the same time. The airline will cease operations at BWI around 2 p.m. Friday and resume Sunday morning, provided that weather conditions allow.

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.

Southwest Airlines is significantly expanding its presence at BWI Airport - taking advantage of a region whose travel market remains healthy despite the recession, analysts said. The expansion could also be a defensive tactic by the airline as it faces increased competition from JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways, which have increased flights at BWI in recent months. Southwest, the largest carrier at Baltimore- Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, will offer 181 nonstop daily flights beginning May 9, up from its current 157. That will be the largest number of flights it has offered at BWI since it started service there with 10 flights on Sept.

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 woman from Columbus, Ohio, was charged Monday after a stun gun was found in her carry-on luggage at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. A Transportation Security Administration officer detected the stun gun, which was the size and shape of a smartphone, and contacted a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer, who confiscated the weapon. The woman was issued a citation and allowed to board her flight, the TSA said. Candy.thomson@baltsun.com Text TERPS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Terps sports text alerts

John Cusack didn't come to Baltimore when preparing to play Edgar Allan Poe in "The Raven. " In fact, he says he's never been here. But when asked whether this city, Boston, Philadelphia, New York or Richmond has dibs on the author's reputation, Cusack, 45, answers without hesitation. "Baltimore!," he said. "Is that even a question?" For Cusack, the only other city that comes close to having a hold on Poe is Boston. After all, he was born there. "But I think people generally would have to concede that Poe is a Baltimore guy," he said.

After two years of comfort-testing its new jets on human bodies of all shapes and sizes, Southwest Airlines was ready to let 153 of its most important bodies — paying customers — aboard Wednesday morning at BWI Marshall Airport. The maiden flight of the Boeing 737-800 series jet touched off a noisy celebration for the folks bound for Fort Myers, Fla. The ground crew was giddy with excitement at 7 a.m. as it laid out a spread of doughnuts and coffee for the first passengers, most of whom had no clue they were making Southwest history.

The Red Parrot is far from the first restaurant in Baltimore to mix Asian cuisines on its menu. But it might be setting a giddy new standard. The cuisines keep coming — and never seem to stop. Among the first listed appetizers are Japanese spring rolls, Malaysian roti, Vietnamese spring rolls and Thai golden calamari. Among the noodle dishes are Singapore rice noodles with ground pork, yaki udon, pad Thai and pho. Such a mix would be a stretch at many restaurants, but this newcomer in Locust Point's McHenry Row development handles its far-ranging menu with competence and panache.

"Top Gun: Hard Lock" Developer: Headstrong Games Publisher: 505 Games Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC Score: 6/10*   "Top Gun" is a film that, like many others, has never received the video game treatment it deserves. To be an American alive after 1986 is to have experienced, even if briefly, the chest-puffing, high-fiving jingoistic bravado that only an F-14 piloting Tom Cruise can deliver. This ethos hasn't translated well to a "Top Gun" game ever and there hasn't been a decent game tied to the film since the original Nintendo version.

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.

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!

The deadline for submitting sports copy is 9 a.m. on Mondays. We prefer email (howardcountysports@patuxent.com). We do not accept results by phone. When two Howard County teams play, players from both teams (first and last names) must be mentioned in the write-up. Questions? Call 410-332-6578. Gymnastics Top Flight Gymnastics Results for Top Flight Gymnastics' USAG girls from the Sting Meet, hosted by Silver Stars Gymnastics, in Bowie, Jan 22: Age 8: Julia Heiner: 1. bar (9.6)

More repercussions of the AirTran Southwest merger. Southwest said today  it'll end service to six additional AirTran destinations: Allentown, Lexington, Harrisburg, Huntsville, Sarasota and White Plains. That means BWI direct flights to Sarasota and Huntsville will disappear starting in August. I suspected that Sarasota was the more popular destination for Baltimoreans -- snowbirds. But BWI's Web site  says there are two daily Huntsville flights and one for Sarasota.