Travel Roundup: Checked-Bag Fees Stay, Cruise Ship Investigation, Kansas Amtrak Study and More

Checked-bag fees likely to stay — The checked-bag fee was originally created to offset the price of oil, but now it’s being used to offset the economy. Despite passenger complaints, customers are still paying airlines around $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second. With an estimated $4 billion loss for the industry in 2008, airlines will continue to use the fee and others to gain revenue. An October poll conducted by IBM found that about half of frequent travelers preferred a lower-priced ticket in exchange for fee-laden amenities, but 82 percent called baggage fees a “rip-off.” The only airline not charging fees is Southwest Airlines, but a Southwest executive said in October that the airline wouldn’t rule out fees in the future. [Source: Associated Press]

Search for woman who fell overboard continues — FBI agents are investigating whether or not a crime occurred when a Florida woman reportedly fell from a cruise ship balcony on Christmas off the coast of Cancun. A Norwegian Pearl surveillance camera captured someone falling overboard around 8 p.m. Dec. 25. Passenger Jennifer Seitz was reported missing just before 5 a.m. Dec. 26 by her husband. FBI agents have interviewed the victim’s husband. A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said Monday that the Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard are continuing to search for Seitz. [Source: Associated Press, Palm Beach Post]

Kansas looks at study for Amtrak route – A $200,000 feasibility study will decide whether Kansas will pursue state-supported passenger rail service from Kansas City to Oklahoma City, where it would then join Amtrak’s daily Heartland Flyer. Communities being looked at for whistle stops are Topeka, Lawrence, Emporia, Strong City, Newton, Wichita and Winfield/Arkansas City. Oklahoma and Texas already provide state money for rail service, but Kansas does not. It would require a two-thirds vote from the state legislature. [Source: Lawrence Journal-World]

Two hotels planned in Glenwood Springs, Colo. — Two hotels slated for Glenwood Springs, Colo. would reportedly boost the region’s hospitality revenue and tourism. The city council unanimously approved a proposal for a 124-room Marriott Residence Inn and a 101-room Marriott Courtyards. Stonebridge Companies, which already owns a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn in Glenwood Springs, plans to build and operate the two hotels. The hotels are expected to make between $8 million to $11 million a year in the first five years of operation and the city could receive around $900,000 a year in taxes. Construction could begin on the hotels as early as spring. [Source: (Glenwood Springs) Post-Independent]