Fliers

The Transportation Security Administration rolled out PreCheck, the expedited security program for pre-screened fliers, this week at Los Angeles International Airport, the sixth airport in the nation to participate in the pilot program since it started last year. In an announcement Wednesday, the TSA said the program at LAX so far is available only to American Airlines frequent fliers at two checkpoints in Terminal 4. Here's how it works: Fliers who are U.S. citizens provide personal information and undergo background checks to qualify for traveler programs approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, such as Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS.

When it comes time to trade in your frequent-flier reward points for seats on an airplane, low-cost airlines do the best job of getting you in the air. That was the conclusion of a study released last week by IdeaWorks, a Wisconsin consultant to the airline industry. In March, IdeaWorks submitted nearly 7,000 booking requests through the frequent-flier websites of 23 airlines. Seats were requested for the airline's most popular routes in June through October. The study had a 93.5% success rate of finding available seats on low-cost airlines around the world, including U.S. carriers such as Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways and JetBlue Airways.

Whitney Houston, I don't know exactly what happened on the Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta on Wednesday as you were en route to begin filming "Sparkle. " TMZ cites "multiple sources" (none named) who say you had a kerfuffle with members of the flight crew and refused to buckle your seat belt. Eventually, TMZ reports, a flight attendant buckled it for you. Really? OK, I'm not going to judge. But for everyone, celebrity or plebe, who might be unaware of the potential consequences of their behavior aboard a plane, consider this: It's illegal to interfere with the duties of an in-flight crew member.

There are frequent fliers, and then there are people like Steven Rothstein and Jacques Vroom. Both men bought tickets that gave them unlimited first-class travel for life on American Airlines. It was almost like owning a fleet of private jets. Passes in hand, Rothstein and Vroom flew for business. They flew for pleasure. They flew just because they liked being on planes. They bypassed long lines, booked backup itineraries in case the weather turned, and never worried about cancellation fees.

With airfares on the rise and airlines cramming more fliers per plane, it's no surprise that passengers are feeling increasingly unhappy about the service they get from U.S. carriers. And well-heeled passengers ? who presumably spend more on airline flights ? feel even worse about the service they get, according to a survey released last week. Fliers with annual household incomes of $100,000 or more are nearly twice as likely as travelers from households making less than $50,000 a year to have negative feelings toward their airline, according to an online survey by the Connecticut marketing research firm PhoCusWright.

Sheriff's deputies passed out fliers Thursday to warn residents that a twice-convicted sex offender has moved to town. The fliers picture Kristian Eric Rosbold, 39, and his car. Rosbold moved to Niguel Road from Marin County, where he was convicted of sex crimes against children in 1987 and 2000. Police are permitted to distribute such fliers under California's "Megan's Law." The fliers state that Rosbold is not wanted by police and that any harassment of him will not be tolerated.

Palmdale High School junior Garrett Anderson says he started distributing underground fliers on campus after learning about the radical press of the 1960s in history class. Now, Anderson and his stepbrother Michael Kinnon, both 16, are serving their second three-day suspension in two weeks for handing out hundreds of the one-page publications. The fliers complained about dirty bathrooms and the school yearbook's focus on popular students. They also used profanity, compared a campus security guard to a Nazi and referred to the principal as "a tad queer."

George S. Musulin, who led the daring airlift of hundreds of downed fliers from Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia during World War II, has died at age 72. Musulin, who received the Legion of Merit for his actions, died Monday in Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland of unreported causes. Musulin was the leader of a three-man team from the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency) which parachuted into Yugoslavia on Aug. 2, 1944. With the help of Serb resistance Gen.

Three signs described by authorities as anti-Israel and pro-Hamas were posted on and near the Beth Jacob Congregation synagogue Tuesday morning in an incident police are investigating as a hate crime. Three 8 1/2 - by 11-inch signs written in marker were posted on a rear door of the building, on a metal utility box in front of the building and on another signal box a few hundred yards down the street, said Irvine Police Lt. Rick Handfield. Police declined to say specifically what the fliers said.

Adrienne Ferguson had retribution on her mind as she made her way along West Jefferson Boulevard clutching a stack of papers. She wasn't reacting to a perceived injustice done to her. She was taking action for a stranger who claims to have a beef with the C&H Auto Center, a small automobile body shop down the street. Ferguson and a partner operate Alibis & Paybacks, a Los Angeles firm that describes itself as "the ultimate revenge" service, offering paybacks both large and small.

The midair meltdown of a JetBlue pilot last month confirms what I try to deny while flying: Hurtling 30,000 feet above the Earth in an aluminum tube is indubitably nutty. JetBlue passengers tackled the pilot on the New York-Las Vegas flight, the airline said, when he stormed the cabin, rambling, due to a "medical situation. " While I sympathize with the captain's medical situation, I wonder if he was acting out what the rest of us are thinking when we're on a plane: I want off. I tried recently to become a fearless flier.

Frequent-flier miles clearly have value — why else would people want them? But do they also represent taxable income? Citibank seems to think so. It's sending tax forms to people who received thousands of miles as a reward for opening a checking or savings account. Those forms value each mile at about 2.5 cents and list the total dollar amount as miscellaneous income. This is news to tax pros. "I've been practicing for 25 years and I've never had an instance where miles have been treated as taxable," said Gregg Wind, a West Los Angeles certified public accountant.

A traveler who uses frequent flier miles and used American Airilnes and Japan Airlines on a round-the-world trip asks: What is the point of the airlines "stressing out" the loyal customer? Regarding "Not Feeling the Reward of Frequent Flier Miles" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Dec. 25]: Recently, I returned from a round-the-world business and pleasure trip. I used a combination of frequent flier miles and revenue for ticketing 14 flights. As Hamm's article stated, it is getting increasingly more difficult to use frequent flier miles whether it's one carrier (American and Delta are my preferred airlines)

The Transportation Security Administration rolled out PreCheck, the expedited security program for pre-screened fliers, this week at Los Angeles International Airport, the sixth airport in the nation to participate in the pilot program since it started last year. In an announcement Wednesday, the TSA said the program at LAX so far is available only to American Airlines frequent fliers at two checkpoints in Terminal 4. Here's how it works: Fliers who are U.S. citizens provide personal information and undergo background checks to qualify for traveler programs approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, such as Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS.

When it comes to the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, everything is up in the air. That's because their quarterbacks have thrown for a combined six miles this season. In fact, their playoff game is the first featuring two 5,000-yard passers. There were three of those this season: the Saints' Drew Brees — who broke Dan Marino's NFL record with 5,476 yards — New England's Tom Brady (5,235), and the Lions' Matthew Stafford (5,038). So the Stafford-Brees game Saturday will set the record for the matchup with the most combined passing yards (10,514)

A great city for any season I enjoyed the story about Bethlehem, Pa. [" ' Christmas City' Filled With Holiday Tradition," by Karl Zimmermann, Dec. 25]. It's an amazing place any time, and especially at this time of year. I live near there and know the Historic Bethlehem area well both at Christmas and at other seasons of the year. The Moravians have a marvelous, continuing tradition. Donald S. Heintzelman Zionsville, Pa. His own trip globetrotting I howled with glee when I read David Lamb's Dec. 18 story, "A Gift of the World.

Residents in the Kanan Road area of Agoura reported receiving anti-Semitic fliers in their mailboxes earlier this week, said Capt. Bill McSweeney of the Malibu-Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, said Lt. Ken Fowler, commander of the station's detective bureau, adding that no suspects have been identified. He said he did not know how many fliers were received. Fowler said the one-page, typed information looked as though it was downloaded from the Internet.

Regarding Christopher Reynolds' Travel Insider ("Fliers' Complaints Against Airlines Rise," Feb. 26): The airlines should not wonder why travelers are complaining about their service. Published reports have described how airlines are using narrow-body aircraft and are reducing the seat space in coach even more. We are not "frequent fliers" but "regular fliers" and feel that we are the ones upon whom the airlines depend for their survival. It seems to us that there should be some efforts made for our comfort.

Question: When are airline tickets that are paid for with frequent flier miles not free? Answer: Almost never, but some tickets, booked on certain carriers, are almost as expensive as a trip to the North Pole. This question, a composite of three recent letters, including one in today's Letters column, highlights a growing concern among travelers who pay for tickets with awards points: They do the work to accumulate enough for a ticket, and when they book it, they discover some amazingly high fees, sometimes under the label of a fuel surcharge.

I enjoyed the article about snowshoeing in the Travel section ["Hey, Waffle Feet, Mom Knows Best" by Sara Lessley, Dec. 11]. Organizations have found that by holding a snowshoeing activity, a nonprofit can organize a successful fundraising event. The participants walk over white flakes rather than walk or run over hard ground. Sue Chehrenegar Los Angeles Pasadena history I am a mystified that Christopher Reynolds failed to mention the Pasadena Museum of History in his close-up on Pasadena ["Marvelous Magnitude," Nov. 27]