Travel Roundup: Continental Crash in Denver, Snow Strands Seattle, Alaska Cancels 61 Flights and More

Continental flight crashes in ravine, dozens injured — A Continental Airlines flight at Denver International Airport caught fire Saturday night after take off. The Boeing 737 plane headed for Houston careened off the runway, caught fire and rose in the air before dropping quickly down, landing in a nearby ravine. Its 107 passengers and five crew members had to escape by emergency slides as flames licked the sides of the plane. About 36 were reported injured. The cause of the crash was unknown. [Source: Los Angeles Times]

Snow halts all travel in Seattle — Five inches of snow in Seattle stranded thousands in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, as well as its train and bus stations. On Sunday, Interstate 90, a mountain pass east of Seattle was closed leaving buses and cars waiting for it to reopen. All Amtrak trains into Seattle were cancelled and weren’t being rerouted to buses, a spokesman said, because weather prevented even buses from making the route. The temperature at Sea-Tac reached a low of 14 degrees Saturday afternoon. [Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Alaska Airlines cancels 61 flights – Severe Northwest weather conditions reportedly caused Alaska Airlines to cancel 61 flights, leaving more than 6,500 passengers stranded. All flights heading to or from Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, B.C. were dropped. More flights may be cancelled or delayed if weather conditions don’t improve, a spokesman said. The carrier reported that it would attempt to find flights for passengers once weather clears, hopefully in time for the holidays. Both Portland and Seattle reported snow and low visibility. [Source: Juneau Empire, Marketwatch]

Wynn Resorts’ Encore to open Monday – Encore, Wynn Resorts’ newest casino resort will open 8 p.m. Monday offering 2,034 suites, floor-to-ceiling windows, five restaurants, shops, a theater and nightclub. The $2.3 billion casino is opening at a time when gaming profits are down and consumers are less eager to part with cash, so many in the industry are watching its performance. Encore, will share back-of-house operations with its sister property, the Wynn Las Vegas. Wynn also began a national advertising campaign featuring commercials with its chairman, Steve Wynn, sitting on top of the casino. [Source: Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Review-Journal]