News, Tips & Bargains : Put It in Park at LAX

If parking at Los Angeles International Airport is the worst part of your trip, you may be interested in Airport Valet, the only parking service of its kind at LAX, according to a spokeswoman at the L.A. Department of Airports. On your way to the airport, you pick up a valet driver at the company’s offices on Sepulveda or Century boulevards and head for your departure terminal. Once there, the valet takes the wheel and returns your car to Airport Valet’s facilities. Upon your return, a call to Airport Valet produces your car curbside at baggage claim. Rates are $8.45 per day for stays of seven days or more; $13.20 for stays of one to six days. Information: (800) 32 VALET.

Amtrak Offers Holiday Discount

Amtrak will knock from $5 to $25 off rail fares between Jan. 9 and March 31 for travelers who ride the train through the end of the year and save the discount coupon in the ticket jacket. Information: (800) USA-RAIL.

New Limits for Lost Luggage?

The Department of Transportation has proposed increasing the limit on compensation for lost or damaged luggage from $1,250 to $1,850 per passenger for domestic trips.

Compensation rates have not been changed since they were set 10 years ago, according to Transportation Secretary Federico Pena. He said the limit is intended to balance the amount necessary to cover the value of most passengers’ baggage while allowing the airlines to protect themselves from excessive claims.

Foreign carriers all face the same liability--$9.07 per pound of lost or damaged luggage, up to 70 pounds, or $634.90, as established by the provisions of the Warsaw Convention, a treaty on international travel.

Face Lift for Queen Elizabeth 2

Cunard Line launched a $45-million overhaul of the Queen Elizabeth 2 last week by donating 1,500 pieces of used furniture--mostly elegant tables and chairs and leather love seats--to the Salvation Army in New York. The luxury liner is headed to Hamburg, Germany, where it will undergo a 30-day refurbishment, the first major overhaul since 1987. It will return to its home port of Southampton, England, next month.