Traveler’s Notes ...

Matching a move by US Airways, American Airlines is requiring holders of nonrefundable tickets to make itinerary changes before or on the date of their flight. Such passengers will be charged $100 to fly standby on an alternate flight on their scheduled day of departure; after that day, the ticket will have no value. The change applies to tickets bought Aug. 30 or later for travel Oct. 1 or later.... America West passengers must check bags at least 30 minutes before departure except in Denver and Atlanta, where the cutoff is 45 minutes, under changes that took effect last week. They must also check in for flights at least 15 minutes before departure.... The number of visitors coming to Hawaii on cruise ships or for inter-island cruises climbed 53% in the first half of this year from the same period last year, state officials say. Nearly all were from out of state, including 56% from the eastern U.S. and 31.3% from the West, the Associated Press reported.