Airport Check-in: San Francisco may add hotel in terminal

— -- WHAT'S NEW

Travelers in Europe and Asia are familiar with hotels in airport terminals, but the trend has been slow to take off at U.S. airports, where non-aviation real estate is mostly dedicated to shops and restaurants.

Now San Francisco International says it'll explore the idea by possibly building a new sleeping facility in the international terminal. It has issued a request for proposals from vendors that specialize in small sleeping units, similar to pods found in Japan or hourly rental capsules in Europe.

Targeted at international passengers with ample layover time, the airport's proposal calls for a 900-square-foot facility with units offering a work surface and electrical outlets. Officials hope to open the hotel by January 2010.

Europe's Yotel chain operates capsule hotels at London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports and AmsterdamSchiphol.

Seattle-Tacoma International is turning to local resources to help combat laser-pointing at aircraft, an illegal and potentially hazardous prank.

Port of Seattle Police Department has partnered with local citizen group Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound and a local TV show to aid the investigation into finding those responsible for pointing lasers at aircraft. Since Feb. 26, at least 30 arriving aircraft have been targeted with lasers, including 14 in one half-hour period. The red and green lasers can temporarily blind pilots.

Crime Stoppers will offer a reward for information that leads to an arrest, and the investigation has been highlighted on a recent segment of Washington's Most Wanted. Punishment for pointing a laser at an aircraft is up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

The average domestic airfare in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $347, the highest for any October-December period on record, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Fares generally rise in the winter from the third quarter due to holiday travelers. But with the economy slowing rapidly in the fall of 2008, fares in the fourth quarter actually fell 3.7% from the record average fare of $360 in the July-to-September period.