On Course: Travel Q & A

Q My wife and I want to get away -- preferably overseas -- but we are interested only in nonstop flights. What countries beyond North America can we fly to direct from Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport? A Melissa Scovronski of the Metropolitan Airports Commission offers a short but sweet list. You can fly nonstop from MSP to Amsterdam, London, Paris, Tokyo and Reykjavik, Iceland. The destinations may be limited, but they collectively offer a world of opportunity, from touring Buddhist temples in Tokyo to basking in the parks of Paris to scaling an active volcano in Iceland (see Travel next week for a story on doing just that).

Answers to travelers' questions appear every week in Travel and at startribune.com/escapeartists; send your question by e-mail to travel@startribune.com.

KERRI WESTENBERG

AIR TRAVEL

Steep decline in flight delays U.S. flights delayed three hours or more have declined dramatically over the last year, with the latest report showing a drop to only four this April from 82 flights in April 2009. Airline representatives say the industry has been working to reduce such delays for some time. Passenger rights activists believe the decline has something to do with the new fines imposed by the Obama administration against airlines that leave passengers sitting on the tarmac for three hours or more. The fines of up to $27,500 per passenger were adopted in December and took effect April 29.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

CRUISE NEWS

Single fee waived Picasso Tours & Cruises is waiving the single supplement on select cruises to the Greek Islands and Turkey. Discount applies to more than 20 sailings on five itineraries. For example, a three-night Aegean Legends cruise round-trip from Piraeus, Greece, with departures August through November, now starts at $320 per person (plus $70 port charges), single or double occupancy; single fares usually start at $480. Book by June 30. Info: 1-800-995-7997, www.picassotours.com.

WASHINGTON POST

NEW ATTRACTIONS

The Intimidator and others Across North America new and "re-themed" amusement parks have opened. A sampling: The Intimidator, which opened in March at Carowinds, in Charlotte, N.C., is named after Dale Earnhardt and designed to evoke the racecar driver's No. 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo; Legoland Water Park in Carlsbad, Calif., is designed expressly for the 2-to-12-year-old set; the Wildebeest, a cross between a roller coaster and a water slide, is the latest addition to Holiday World, a small, family-owned park in Santa Claus, Ind., known for its three outstanding wooden roller coasters

NEW YORK TIMES

HOTEL NEWS

An app for your key Many hotel companies are investing in ways to make the check-in process faster. The InterContinental Hotels Group, one of the world's largest hotel companies, plans to test a digital application that can turn your cell phone into your room key. Beginning this month, guests at two hotels, one in Chicago and one in Houston, will be able to test the app.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

SIDE ROADS

Air show in St. Cloud Watch the Navy's famed Blue Angels and other aerial acts from around the country perform during the Great Minnesota Air Show Saturday and next Sunday at the St. Cloud (Minn.) Regional Airport. The inaugural event includes an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, the Miss Mitchell B-25 and the P-51C Tuskegee Airmen, plus the Franklin's Flying circus, skydiving teams and more. Visitors can also check more than a dozen ground displays and exhibits, hot air balloons and more. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available online only for $10 to $20 (plus $1-$2 service fees). Due to the uncertainty of the weather, appearance schedules can change. Call the hotline for updated information (1-320-229-8011; www.thegreatminnesotaairshow.com).

COLLEEN A. COLES