Mark talks Washington, DC this week, to lobby on behalf of the travel industry. Delta Airlines decides to reduce conflict over reclining seats with a simple solution…reduce the amount of recline for their seats. And American quietly introduces a new plane. You know, the one with 15 more seats stuffed into the same sized cabin. Last week, United Airlines announced they are dropping their award chart. Tuscan Women Cooking is the name of a small company, offering first class full-immersion culinary experiences. Each summer in the Sonoma Valley, wonderful outdoor theater is presented at Jack London State Park by the Transcendence Theatre Company. This year’s schedule is unveiled on the show, beginning with A Chorus Line.

United has become the latest airline to blow up its award ticket chart. Airbnb is under fire after a vacationing family found a live streaming camera in a Cork, Ireland home. A young South Carolina woman was found murdered after waiting for a ride share. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we talk about how to be safe when ride sharing. Matthew Felix wrote a book called Porcelain Travels, focusing on adventures involving porcelain…use your imagination. Rob Palmer claims to be the world’s first travel blogger. He made a living at it long before many of the current bloggers were born.

Nearly 500 people off the Viking Sky cruise ship off the coast of Norway Saturday and Sunday. 20 passengers were injured in the daring rescue after the ship lost power in extremely rough seas. The ship has now regained its engines and is heading to Nolde Harbor to disembark. Some Las Vegas resorts are selectively reducing or eliminating resort fees to attract more business, and a nationwide fast food chain which specializes in chicken sandwiches has been banned from the San Antonio airport. Mark talks about his own experience in having his email hacked this week, He offers some preventative wisdom. Listeners were asked to call in and give us the Five Things You Should Take With You On a Flight. Prizes were awarded. Mark answered questions from the Mailbag.

The Max 8 airplane has dominated the news this week. After its second fatal crash, the planes were pulled from the air all over the planet. American Airlines is bragging about the new benefits on its branded credit card…while failing to put the benefits you are losing anywhere in the copy. You can now ship banned items home from some airports at a reasonable cost and we share big news from Broadway, involving Hugh Jackson and something involving the “River City!” If you think someone is watching you, you’re right. Especially if you rent from Thrifty Car Rental. And be careful you don’t get “Bonvoyed.” The new name of Marriott’s frequent guest program is being used against them in most creative ways. Chris Elliott joins us to talk about some of the hidden challenges of Airbnb/Home Away type rentals, and Gwen Duncan talks about some cities where you can get free tours if you have a long layover.

A grandmother posed for a picture on a small iceberg….which was grand, until…grandma floated away! A man threw coins in the engine of a Lucky Airlines plane for good luck. What happens if you don’t get back to your cruise ship on time. It leaves without you! Clayton Whitehead was a guest in January before we departed with a group on a cruise in Australia and New Zealand. We asked Clayton for his tips on that kind of grueling travel, A brand new commercial airport is opening north of Seattle Monday. Las Vegas is constantly adding new things to do as it pivots away from just being a gambling Mecca. The Cannibition Cannabis Museum is the latest.

Princess is upgrading the wi-fi on their ships and New Jersey is creating the Anthony Bourdain Food Trail, Mark has a rant about the weird designs in new hotel rooms, Plus, his ideas on how to solve airline overbooking, the writer of a book on the Coca-Cola Trail, a compilation of Coke landmarks around he country; and a San Francisco-based travel writer you had to rely on Uber and Lyft to get around for two months.

Britain has declared war on resort fees and other “add-ons,” we tell you whether it’s best to use soap and water or hand sanitizer in the airplane restroom, And there’s a flight attendant who went out and walked on the wing. While the plane was in the sky. No kidding, Gwen Duncan of Cordially Yours Travel is in house to talk about cruise, airfares and why you might want to have a travel advisor, Paul Robbins (remember Paul & Phil on Y92 FM for years…) is back on the radio and back from New Zealand. He talks about his trip and his new afternoon show on his old station, 92.5 FM.

We’ll tell you how you can win a cruise while you are watching the Super Bowl, why the super cold weather they experienced in the east last week is really bad for your phone, and a British newspaper issues a warning about a possible eruption at Mt. St. Helens. But the warning is 15 years old, Mark explains why the first flight of your outbound trip should be the longest flight, a new list of the most ethical places to visit. The Travel Morality Index, found here, is the subject of the conversation.

The shutdown is over and it was a crack in the air travel system which finally brought it down, Mark made his annual visit to the New York Times Travel Show, and he has interviews from Provincetown, MA; the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound; and Tahiti, Mark introduces a company which has a broad array of light weight backpacks.

Bed bugs continue to plague popular destinations. We tell you where they are, we take a look at the number one current compliant from vacation share/Air B&B fans…..the rising cost of cleaning deposits, as the partial government shutdown continues, it is having more and more impact on travel, Dale Keller and Sid Hanna, our local TSA leaders, are in studio to talk about how the shutdown is impacting Sacramento, Clayton Whitehead, one of our road reporters, is about to embark on a flight to and cruise around Australia (and New Zealand). It’s a long flight and a long cruise, and we want to know from Clayton, what are you taking with you? Carol Channing, forever knowns as "Dolly" passed away.