Amtrak Expects Summer Ridership to Rise This Year

Sure, when you think Nevada, you think Las Vegas. After all, it's one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S. But of course you know there's more to Nevada than casinos, cocktails, and kick lines, right? The Nevada Commission on Tourism launched a new campaign (Nevada: A World Within. A State Apart.) to raise awareness of the state's natural beauty and culture. With a new website, travel app, and advertising campaign, the state is targeting two demographics you don't typically associate with glitz and glam: families with young children and people for whom the word vacation means outdoor activities and adventures. A television advertising campaign starting next week in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix is centered around Cole Porter's classic song "Don't Fence Me In" performed by the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. You can check out the video and by the end you'll possibly be singing along. ("Oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above / Don't fence me in!") Nevada's new tourism website, travelnevada.com, sets a new standard for state tourism sites and will certainly enjoy the sincerest form of flattery in the coming months and years as other states learn to package their travel and hospitality assets in beautiful and engaging new ways. Here, visitors can assemble their own vacations, learn about destinations, and share their findings via social media. The site also puts an emphasis on accessing partner sites for additional information, travel deals, and even trip booking. A new free iPhone app will launch on April 15, allowing visitors to build custom itineraries, explore peer-to-peer info sharing, and even access important data when visiting some of Nevada's remote off-the-grid areas, where cellular access is not available. TALK TO US! What do you think of Nevada's new tourism site? Are you planning a trip to the state in 2013?

These next few words may come as a shock: Starting April 25th, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow passengers to bring small knives on airplanes for the first time since the September 11th attacks in 2001. Not just any knives are included, only those that measure less than 2.36 inches long and less than half an inch wide—box cutters and razor blades are still not allowed to be packed in carry-on bags. The new move also allows previously forbidden sports equipment items like golf clubs (up to two per person), wiffle-ball bats, ski poles, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, and billiard cues to be taken onboard as carry-on items. In short, the TSA believes this would be a more efficient way for agents to focus more on locating explosives and other dangerous devices in passenger carry-on bags and spend less time searching for tiny pocket knives during the security line process. According to this article by CNN, the Air Line Pilots Association appears to be onboard with the switch, adding that it will bring U.S. security measures up to par with those of the international community. So far, the response from flight attendants and air marshals has not been as optimistic. Head of the air marshal department of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association George Randall Taylor told CNN, "It's as if we didn't learn anything from 9/11. Flight attendants are going to be sitting ducks." He is not a fan of the announcement and said he has received more than one hundred calls from other air marshals who are upset by the decision. Flight attendants are also concerned when it comes to their cabin safety. In an interview with Today, flight attendant Sara Nelson explained how less flight attendants, unruly passengers, and now, small knives, could be a dangerous combination. She added that putting potential weapons within arm's reach unnecessarily puts both flight attendants and other passengers at risk should anything get out of hand. Personally, I have to agree with the flight attendants on this one. While you probably wouldn't be able to do much damage with a 2.36 inch knife, it still seems like you could do enough damage to disrupt the flight and potentially risk the well-being of the other passengers. The TSA doesn't always get things right either, so who says a slightly longer or wider knife wouldn't accidentally find its way into the cabin? In my humble opinion, the fact that knives played a part in the terrorist attacks at all should be reason enough to keep things as they are, even if it is a minor inconvenience (you can still pack other, larger knives in your checked baggage, after all). Frankly, if the TSA really wanted to cut time at security lines, wouldn't nixing the whole shoe removal process be more time efficient for everyone? What do you think about all this? Is the TSA right to allow small, seemingly harmless knives back onto airplanes, or have they gone too far? Sound off below!

If you've bought a plane ticket any time recently, you know all about the fees. How much is it to check a bag? Get more legroom? It all gets a little confusing. Thankfully the number crunchers over at TravelNerd did a full analysis and the findings were fascinating (hat tip to Travel Weekly for reporting on this). TravelNerd's study found that airlines made 52 changes to their fees in 2012, breaking down to 28 baggage fees, 19 service fees, and five in-flight fees. Low-cost carriers Spirit and Allegiant were responsible for 18 of the changes (including Spirit's crazy $100 carry-on fee). The surprising thing was that only 36 of the fee changes were increases, and most were in the $5 to $10 range. One big decrease came from United, which significantly lowered their fees for overweight bags (from $200 to $100 for bags weighing 51 to 70 pounds and from $400 to $200 for bags weighing 71 to 100 pounds). Moral of the story, if you have a lot of baggage, fly United. If you are just as confused by all these fees as we are, check out TraveNerd's airline fees comparison and search tool. You can select which services you will think you'll need (checking bags, bringing a pet, etc) and the site tells you what those fees are from different airlines. You can also select a specific airline at the beginning and get a breakdown of the fees you can expect. It doesn't take away the annoyance of paying $60 to check two bags, but at least there will be no surprises when you get to the airport. 

With so much competition, airlines and hotels have had to get creative to keep customers coming back. So it makes sense that an airline and a hotel group would band together to foster loyalty to both. Starting March 1, Starwood Preferred Guest elite and Delta SkyMiles Medallion members will get Crossover Rewards, which means both miles and points when you book flights or hotel rooms. More specifically, Delta Medallion members earn one mile per dollar when staying at a Starwood hotel, plus the Starpoints. They will also get perks like priority check-in, late checkout, and that all-important free internet access. And Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum members who fly Delta get a free checked bag and priority check-in and boarding, plus one Starpoint per dollar spent on top of the usual miles.  To join the program, register your accounts through either Delta SkyMiles or Starwood Preferred Guest. What do you think of these programs? Would they keep you loyal, or do you always go with the lowest price, no matter what?