Roundup--July 9, 2012

I should call this European Roundup as all the stories pertain to that continent  or its vicinity.

All U.S. based carriers that fly nonstop from the New York area to Rome will not offer this service during the winter months. They will resume next spring. Alitalia will continue to fly that route all year.

The EU has a new smartphone app  explaining all your passenger rights while traveling by air or rail. It will be extended to bus/coach and marine travel next year. (Caveat—the app continually crashes on my Ipod Touch but there is a website with the exact same information. I just bookmarked it:)

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passenger-rights/en/index.html

Anyone who has flown through Heathrow the last few months knows the queue at passport control is ridiculous. The wait can be hours. However, the airport will  open new lanes for non-European travelers it deems “low risk.” That includes Americans, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Japanese—basically those who don’t need a visa.