On course: Travel briefs

TRAVEL Q&A Cheap route to Salt Lake City Q How can I find an inexpensive way to get to Park City, Utah, for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival (beginning Jan. 21)?

A I'd suggest starring in an indie film and having the producers send you out. Too late for that? Then look to Southwest Airlines, which may be your best bet. Earlier this year, the carrier added direct flights between Minneapolis and Denver, where it originates flights to Salt Lake City (the closest airport to Park City). Southwest also flies to the Utah city via Chicago. Be sure to check an aggregator to see what Southwest's entry into the market has done to the cost of direct flights. I like www.kayak.com, which links you to the website of your selected airline for booking. But note that the prices for flights you find at the site won't reflect a carrier's fees, including cash for checking luggage. Southwest allows passengers two free bags.

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

KERRI WESTENBERG

Reduced tarmac torture Spurred in part by the six-hour grounding of a cramped regional jet in Rochester in August, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Monday that U.S. airlines must let passengers deplane after three hours of being stranded or face big fines. Airlines also will be obliged to offer food and drinking water and working lavatories after two hours on the tarmac, according to the new rules, which will go into effect in mid-April. From January to June this year, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours. Under the new regulations, airlines would be fined $27,500 per passenger for each violation of the three-hour limit, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Airline passengers have rights, and these new rules will require airlines to live up to their obligation to treat their customers fairly," he said. A statement by the Air Transportation Association, a trade group representing U.S. airlines, said, "We will comply with the new rule even though we believe it will lead to unintended consequences -- more cancelled flights and greater passenger inconvenience."

KERRI WESTENBERG

Air passenger artwork Artwork collected by a Delta flight attendant who started handing out crayons to passengers after the Sept. 11 attacks is on display at the Palm Springs Air Museum. "Plane Art -- Connecting People" runs through Jan. 25. Several dozen pictures are hanging at the museum, and others are available for visitors to leaf through in folders. The pictures were collected by Delta flight attendant Jewel Van Valin, who started handing out crayons when the airline substituted paper for linens as tray table covers. "It was a way to reconnect after 9/11," she said. Van Valin says that when the crayons come out, passengers start laughing. She keeps all the artwork and estimates she has 3,500 drawings. For more information, go to www.palmspringsair museum.org.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Disney with disabilities The website www.diz-abled.com helps travelers with disabilities and health conditions plan a trip to Walt Disney World. The site gives confidence and information to special-needs families, including those with members who have special diets, use oxygen or a wheelchair/scooter, or who have mental challenges. Users can research by park and issue.

MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE

Pine City's Winter Frolic A day of outdoor family fun will draw visitors to the Winter Frolic Jan. 16 at the North West Company Fur Post in Pine City, Minn. Attendees are invited to try snowshoeing or curling on ice and to learn what traveling in winter was like during the fur-trade era. Visitors also can take a ride on a dogsled (weather-permitting). Hours are noon to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and college students, $5 for ages 6 to 17 (1-320-629-6356; www.mnhs.org/nwcfurpost).

COLLEEN A. COLES