Airlines and Haiti Relief Efforts travel

Relief contributions by commercial air carriers' and a cruise line -- and a cruel hoax

American Airlines' last commercial flight took off from Port-au-Prince shortly after Tuesday's devastating quake. The carrier immediated scheduled three relief flights for Wednesday and three more for Thursday. Each carried 10,000 pounds of supplies for the airline's 100 employees in Haiti, as well as materials for local hospitals. It has also set aside American is also giving AAdvantage frequent flyers a one-time 250-mile bonus who make a minimum $50 donation to the American Red Cross 500 bonus miles for a $100 donation.The donation must be made online here by February 28.

Spirit Airlines is prepared to add up to 1 billion miles into its frequent flyer program to members who donate $5 or more to the Red Cross, UNICEF or Yele Haiti. Click here to link to the carrier's relief contributions.

The United Airlines Foundation is matching up to a total of US$50,000 to the American Red Cross for monetary donations by United customers and employees through the International Response Fund at united.com. Also, Mileage Plus members and employees can donate miles to the airline's nonprofit relief partners as part of its Charity Miles program. According to the communications department, "United is also working with relief agencies to determine how we can best support air lift humanitarian efforts, including transporting aid workers, food, and water."

Continental Airlines permits its OnePass members to donate miles to relief workers through the American Red Cross and other aid organizations through an existing program that does not seem to be speficially linked to Haiti relief.

Two EL AL aircraft, one jumbo 747-400 and one 777, flew to Haiti yesterday with 80 tons of supplies and 229 passengers (medical personnel, search-and-rescue teams and a K9 rescue squad).

Commercial cargo and package carriers like FedEx and UPS are not yet able to land in Haiti, but UPS is said to be donating $1 million to help the people of Haiti through relief agencies. This is just the beginning of the process, and I'm sure that others will participate as well.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is reportedly ready to continue sailings to its resort at Labadee, a private port of call on the north coast that escaped quake damage. The cruise line will carry humanitarian supplies on regular voyages.

And on the ground (or on the snow), Utah's Brighton Resort is donating $1 from every ticket sold tomorrow (Saturday, January 16) to relief efforts.

Horrible Hoaxes in the Twittersphere

According to a CNN report, "Twitter was buzzing Thursday morning with news that several airlines are flying doctors and nurses to Haiti free of charge to help with relief efforts there in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake....The rumors are false...'[The] hoax on Twitter about American and JetBlue flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free was just that -- a hoax. We don't know who is responsible, but it's a very low thing to do,' airline spokesman Tim Smith said in e-mails sent Thursday.Twitter users also circulated a rumor that UPS would ship for free any package under 50 lbs. to Haiti. In a blog post Wednesday on UPS's Web site, a spokeswoman debunked the rumor and said that destruction of Haiti's roads and communications networks 'means our own shipping services to Haiti are on hold.'"