Greenland: No more nonstop flights from the U.S.

We've covered several topics about bad behavior on airplanes in the past few months. Is bad behavior ever acceptable? Editor Erik Torkells weighs in. Delta cracks down on folks who break the carry-on rules on international flights. Dress codes for passengers? Mis-behaving children on planes. The issue of obese passengers.

California's budget crisis might force the government to shut down dozens of state parks, thereby cutting off public access to many of the its beaches and recreation areas. (Federally managed parks, such as Yosemite, wouldn't be affected. Get more details on this story by reading this article at the website of The National Trust for Historic Preservation. The LA Times Real Deals Blog has also been covering this here and here.) The threat to California's parks is reminiscent of the 1995 budget standoff that shut down national parks across the country—but at least then the closures were temporary. A move like the one California is considering could reduce public access to state lands for years. Taking away access to parks seems like an immoral act, like kicking a puppy, but the fiscal situation for a lot of states, and the nation, for that matter, is pretty dire. How fundamental is it to have a state park system? Worth raising fees and/or hiking taxes?

There was a minor uproar in November when most cruise lines announced that they were adding fuel surcharges even to bookings that had already been made. (I may have contributed to the uproar during an appearance on Fox Business.) The Florida Attorney General's office started looking into the matter, and lo and behold, one cruise line--Royal Caribbean--has just announced that it won't tack on the surcharge to those passengers who booked before the Nov. 16 announcement. (UPDATE: I just learned that Celebrity has announced the same position as Royal Caribbean.) To check out Royal Caribbean's press release, click here. For some background on the fuel surcharges, keep reading.... • To cope with the rising cost of fuel, pretty much every North American cruise line has added a fuel surcharge of $5 to $8.50 per passenger per day. • Some cap it $70 per person per voyage, but others don’t. • Many cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, are applying the surcharge only to passengers who have yet to fully pay for the cruise, or for bookings made after the surcharge was announced. • On the other hand, Carnival Corporation’s cruise lines—Carnival, Holland America, Cunard, Princess, and Seabourn—are all adding the $5 per passenger per day surcharge to the bill of anyone cruising after February 1. People who booked a March cruise a month ago will see the surcharge added to their tab.