Still More Misc. Travel News: Lonely Planet, Continental, TSA, Unions

Lonely Planet Maps on Nokia Phones
Nokia phone users can download Lonely Planet maps to more than 100 “popular tourist locations.” The service costs 8 Euros per download.

Continental Leaving Dining Program
Continental Airlines is pulling out of the Rewards Network dining program, effective Oct. 31, 2008. Most other airlines still appear to be participating.

Dumb & Dumber Isn’t Just For Airline CEOs
Two exceptional news reports:
First, from the Dallas Star Telegram’s Sky Talk blog, comes the story that the TSA is defending a TSA “inspector” who damaged 9 American Eagle planes (and delayed 40 flights and hundreds of passengers) by climbing on the outside of the aircraft. The best part? The TSA is threatening possible action against American Eagle for “security lapses.”
The second Head-Up-The-Butt story comes from USA Today’s Today in the Sky blog, about Northwest Airlines’ unions slamming NW management after NW and Delta asked employees about ways to better integrate during the upcoming Delta/NW merger.

It Takes A Million (Names on the Terrorist Watch List)
According to Travel Babel, the ACLU has estimated that there are now 1 million names on the Department of Homeland Security’s terrorist watch list. That’s names, not people. And how many other folks have the same names as the ones on the list? Pretty soon, the airlines won’t have to worry about alienating their customers, because the TSA won’t let anyone fly, as everyone in America will be on the list. We feel so much safer now.