Here are some travel news stories that have caught my eye over the last couple of weeks:

Cruise ship with 51 people on board grounds in Alaska

Cruise West’s (Cruise West was mentioned in Amateur Traveler Episode 21 - Cruising - Alaska by Small Boat) Spirit of Glacier Bay ran aground July 8th near Glacier Bay in Alaska. All passengers were safely evacuated.

Family: ‘Southwest Airlines kicked us off flight in Phoenix’

PHOENIX, Arizona — A Seattle family said they were left stranded at Sky Harbor Airport over the holiday weekend when Southwest Airlines refused to allow them to board a connecting flight because their children were disruptive.

First-class flier uses emergency exit to avoid coach-class riff-raff

A first-class passenger on a Delta flight apparently became so angry that coach-class passengers were able to exit his jet before he could that “he yanked open an emergency hatch and slid down the chute,” The Associated Press reports. The incident happened in the South American country of Guyana, where local police said the man �- identified as a Guyanese citizen �- appeared to be intoxicated after arriving on Delta’s flight from New York.

American Airlines Cancels Flight Due to Hostile Passengers

A flight from Florida to New York Sunday night never got off the ground. That’s because after the flight crew arrived late, angry and impatient passengers got verbally agitated and hostile. Apparently it was so bad, the crew wasn’t comfortable working the flight so they refused to take off.

Alaska Airlines goes cashless

Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines flight attendants will accept only major credit cards for onboard goodies. The flight attendants, who will be packing hand-held charging devices from Toronto-based GuestLogix Inc., will accept no cash.

Top 10 unusual places to stay

Why stay in a normal hotel when you could stay in a set from Star Wars, a former prison, a monastery etc.

U.S. Airports are Hotbeds for Laptop Loss

Flustered flyers leave behind an astounding 12,000 laptops in U.S. airports each week, according to a recent study (pdf) sponsored by Dell. But here�s the really scary part: The Economist�s Gulliver blog reports that less than 35 percent of those lost laptops are returned to their owners.

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