booking rooms Discount lodging site Hotels.com (www.hotels.com) expanded to Asia, with reduced rates now available at 150 properties in cities like Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Melbourne • Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) overhauled its hotel search display, showing results in a matrix format for easy price comparisons among properties, including its special OrbitzSaver rates with deep discounts • Six Continents Hotels (www.sixcontinentshotels.com), which includes Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, now supports wireless access via RIM Blackberry and Pocket PC mobile devices.

checking in American Airlines AAdvantage members and US Airways passengers with electronic tickets can now check in for flights via the Internet at www.aa.com (go to the 'Reservations' tab and click on 'Flight check-in') or at www.usairways.com respectively. American's passengers can check in online from 12 hours to 60 minutes before departure. US Airways passengers can use Internet check-in from six hours to 90 minutes in advance. US Airways also added an online option for Dividend Miles members to book award travel. Meanwhile, ATA (American Trans Air) has enhanced its Web site (www.ata.com) by adding a hotel booking function.

going global The former LatinPass frequent traveler program has changed its identity to GlobalPass, and its Web location to www.globalpass.com, where participants can track and manage their accounts. The program includes more than a dozen airlines and 20 hotel and rental car companies. Although it started as a Latin America-based operation, "GlobalPass intends to attract travel industry participants and products and merchants from other regions of the world with this new concept in technology," a spokesman said.

copa copes Speaking of LatinPass/GlobalPass, longtime participant Copa Airlines, which flies to 29 destinations in 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries, dropped out of the program. Copa is still a member of Continental's OnePass, though, and it has just opened a new booking engine on its Web site at www.copaair.com. Besides buying tickets, passengers can use the site to sign up for OnePass membership, access OnePass accounts, and search flight schedules by fare or departure time.

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