Fear of flying

Hubbing arrangements in the airline industry could add many unwanted hours to international air travel. Instead of taking a direct flight to, say, San Francisco, you’ll have to stop over first in Japan, then enter the United States through Hawaii.

Coupled with delays due to security measures, air travel these days can be murder. To cross the Pacific, be prepared for travel times of up to 29 hours, including waiting time at check-in and layovers, from the moment your luggage enters the x-ray machine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the moment you spot the luggage on the airport carousel at your destination. At the NAIA all departing passengers are still being required to take off their shoes for an inspection before entering the boarding areas.

On my way to New Orleans last week I no longer saw uniformed National Guards with their long firearms or even K-9 bomb sniffers at the US airports. I guess machines and civilian personnel are back in full control of security at America’s airports. Reports said retrofitting US airports to cope with new security threats would cost the industry a staggering $40 billion.

I wonder if the NAIA is also upgrading its security equipment and personnel. Do we have money for adequate retrofitting?

As I prepared to leave the United States via Detroit there were so many departing passengers being selected for "random" thorough searches, greatly slowing down the line at the carry-on baggage check and metal detector.

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The hassles of air travel aren’t helping the airline industry. In the wake of 9/11, American carriers are naturally among the worst hit. The most financially stable among the US carriers, Northwest Airlines, won’t say how much it is spending for security, but says adding more checkpoints at US airports alone is costing the company $2 million.

"It’s been a tough year," Northwest vice president (international) Robert Isom told me last week. "We’re all hurting. We’re all losing money but Northwest is losing the least."

Northwest laid off 20 percent of its workforce worldwide shortly after 9/11. But even as the airline waits for the storm to blow over, it must remain competitive. Over a month ago Northwest inaugurated its spacious new terminal at Detroit international. A new business class seat will be introduced on its Airbus 330 in July next year.

To make up for time lost on security checks, the airline has introduced Internet check-in and self-service check-in devices at 900 sites across the United States, in partnership with Continental. Kurt Ebenhoch, Northwest senior manager for media relations, said a third of their passengers are now using Internet check-in. Express lanes will be introduced for passengers who have logged at least 50,000 miles of air travel.

"We’re seeing some encouraging signs (of recovery)," Ebenhoch said. But he noted that business travel is still down, and while traffic has steadily improved since October, yields remain low.

A controversial plan is to introduce "smart security" based on customer profiling. That must be in line with a plan announced by Washington to impose tighter security checks on visitors to the US from certain Arab countries plus North Korea and Cuba.

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With so much hassle in air travel, and with the hostage crisis in Basilan still unresolved, I can only wish our supersalesman Richard Gordon good luck in luring visitors to the Philippines.

In marketing our country, we can take some tips from New Orleans. Despite the terrorist threat, and despite the city’s high crime rate, New Orleans teems with tourists. As I’ve written, Cajun/French Creole cuisine is delightful, and you’ll love the music and energy in the French Quarter. But packaging also plays a major role.

New Orleans has guided tours of private homes representing French Creole architecture, which made me wonder — why not guided tours of tropical architecture in, say, Forbes Park? Also, New Orleans offers tours of above-ground cemeteries. True, many of the tombs are at least a hundred years old. But as far as I’m concerned, our mausoleums with air conditioners, toilets, second floors and verandas are more impressive.

And finally, they have elaborate voodoo tours of supposedly haunted houses and plantations, with a lot of hokey stuff about vampires (psychic and blood drinkers) and werewolves. The French Creole mansion of Anne Rice, author of those books on vampires, is as popular a tourist attraction as the tomb in the cemetery they call City of the Dead, where "voodoo queen" Marie Laveau is supposed to be buried. The voodoo queen is the New Orleans version of our mangkukulam, complete with voodoo dolls.

Some of you probably remember New Orleans from the movie Interview with the Vampire (unless all you remember are Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise). The Voodoo Museum even sells a voodoo cookbook, which offers recipes for such stuff as black cat meat. We don’t use cat meat for kulam, but we do use it for siopao (we do, believe me, I went to cooking school).

The Philippines’ own haunted tour can start at Malacañang, where Mr. Brown the kapre is said to inhabit the massive balete tree. The Palace, by the way, is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of presidents and governors-general. The tour can end with a stay in Siquijor, supposedly an island-province of witches, with a side trip to Capiz, traditionally associated with the mangkukulam.

Voodoo in New Orleans reminds me of our brand of religious worship — a curious blend of Catholic and animist lore, with a lot of superstitions and use of amulets to ward off evil and attract good luck.

New Orleans voodoo, however, has strong sexual undertones, which probably explains its continuing appeal. Even if you think voodoo is for crackpots, it can get your mind off terrorist threats and the rigors of air travel.

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FOREVER YOUNG AT HEART: Former National Police Commission official Romana Lopez del Castillo Noche, 81, went to The STAR main office the other day to inform me that she looks young for her age without the help of botox or invasive surgery. Her secret for staying forever young:

1) Always be fashionable, regardless of your age.

2) Maintain a good posture, never slouch.

3) It’s all in the mind; think positive and you’ll feel young. Then you’ll look young.

4) Take a hot then cold bath or shower as often as you can.

5) Interact with talented youth.

Mrs. Noche, a widow who still teaches at the Philippine National Police Academy, swears by Jergens lotion and Johnson’s baby products. She’s into ballroom dancing and went to our office in a colorful backless dress, a pink blazer and high-heeled shoes.