Destination Brazil: The airline network Star Alliance has announced the introduction of a new Varig Brazil air pass that will make travelling around this vast and fascinating country easier and more affordable, Reuters reports. The air pass, available for sale from January 1, provides access to 77 destinations in Brazil served by approximately 5,300 flights a week. Foreign nationals and Brazilians residing abroad can buy this new product, which contains four to nine coupons, at fares ranging from US$399 to US$899, excluding taxes and other applicable fees. 'Our new air pass offers an extremely affordable way to travel through Brazil,' said Rainer Dittrich, Star Alliance director of revenue management. 'A nine-coupon itinerary may cover more than [20,000km] of travel in Brazil and customers can choose from more than 15,000 flights within a 21-day timeframe. At US$899 plus applicable taxes, this is definitely value for money.' The Star Alliance Varig Brazil air pass is sold only in conjunction with a confirmed international Star Alliance flight to and from Brazil, or it can be purchased in South America under the condition that travel begins in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. The air pass is valid for travel on Star Alliance member Varig Brazil Airlines and its regional affiliates Rio-Sul and Nordeste.
Fewer laptops: Because valuable possessions often pile up haphazardly at airport security checkpoints, some business travellers have been leaving their laptops at home, industry experts have noticed this year, The New York Times reports. The 2002 National Business Travel Monitor by the US consulting and research firm Yankelovich Partners notes a statistical drop in laptop-toting that it defines as significant, based on personal interviews with 2,500 business travellers. Last year, 40 per cent of respondents said they carried laptops on business trips. This year, it's 36 per cent. On the other hand, 77 per cent now carry mobile phones, compared with 68 per cent last year. And beepers are losing ground, down to 19 per cent this year from 26 per cent last year.
Tighter security: Air travellers could lose the option of checking in at the gate under a plan to cut down on gateside security screenings, The New York Times reports. The United States Transportation Security Administration is requiring travellers using certain areas of six airports around the nation to pick up their boarding passes in the main terminal, before they pass through the security checkpoint. The agency wants to expand the programme to another 38 big airports early next year. The goal is to reduce gateside security screenings by subjecting passengers to extra searches right at the checkpoint. Most passengers picked for gate screenings are identified by their boarding cards. That is why the tranportation body wants passengers to have their cards before they go through security. Gate check-in is a favourite tactic of hurried travellers who do not have to check luggage because it enables them to bypass ticket counter lines.
Singapore safety: Singapore men travelling overseas are to be given 'safe-sex' packs from next year in a new initiative to stem the rate of HIV infection in the city state, Agence France-Presse reports. The packs, to be handed to males heading to 'high risk' countries, will include information on the dangers of casual sex and could also contain condoms and toiletries. Details were released at a weekend Aids conference after health authorities said most HIV sufferers in the city state were infected during casual sexual relations or sex with prostitutes in Singapore and overseas.
