A class action suit brought by a Seattle lawyer on behalf of a Tacoma couple and thousands of other British Airways customers who lost their luggage two years ago passed a critical test today.

A New York U.S. district judge denied the airlines' motion for dismissal of the suit and ruled it could move forward in the court system.

The airline had argued it was not responsible for damages beyond the $1,500 per passenger limit set in an international convention. But the plaintiffs claimed that the airline was potentially liable for more than that amount because it acted recklessly in handling baggage between September 5, 2005 and Sept. 5, 2007.

Reports claimed that the airline's backlog of misconnected luggage in March 2007 amounted to some 20,000 pieces. The suit contends that the airline's loss rate was 23 bags per 1,000 passengers , some 60 percent greater than the industry average.

Here’s a good look at Charles (Carlo) Ponzi, famous for giving his name to the scheme made most recently famous by Bernie “The Bent Billionaire” Madoff.

The image comes from Gerry Sullivan, a University Place chiropractor, who sends it along with a caption explaining that the man on the left is Thomas Mulrey, “my mother's uncle on her father's side. He was a member of the Boston Police Department from 1906 to 1944” and retired as a captain.

“Ponzi was in court in Massachusetts and in Florida,” Sullivan says. “My hunch is that this picture, having been taken in February, was taken at a train station and that Ponzi was either heading for Florida or returning to Massachusetts.”

That's Ponzi in the middle, and for those of you who know Sullivan - you'll be able to see the striking resemblance to Mulrey.

Sullivan came across the image after reading Dennis Lehane's "The Given Day," a fictional account of the Boston Patrolman's strike of 1919.

“I decided to inquire further into my great uncle's career,” Sullivan says. “One avenue suggested to me by Margaret Sullivan (no relation), the archivist for the BPD, was to request a search of old photographs at the Boston Public Library.”

The library holds the photo archives of the now-defunct Boston Herald Traveler, and provided Sullivan with three pictures of his great uncle.

That includes the image above.

“I am surprised that the Ponzi connection did not survive as a family legend. I'll just have to see that it does,“ Sullivan writes.

In the late '60 and '70s, the secret of scoring a cheap ride to Europe were Icelandic's flight from New York through Reykjavik.

With the proliferation of non-stop flights from other U.S. cities to Europe, and the deregulation of air fares, that route took a back seat to other discount routings.

Now, bargain fares are back with new service from Seattle to Europe via Icelandair's Reykjavik hub.

Consider these summertime roundtrip fares via the Icelandic city:
London -- $730
Stockholm -- $798
Copenhagen -- $798
Oslo -- $748

These fares are exclusive of taxes and security fees.

Here's an example of how these fares compare:

Seattle to London roundtrip via Iceland including fees and taxes: $874.

Seattle to London roundtrip nonstop via British Airways $1,197 including taxes.

The Icelandair fares must be purchased by April 14 for travel between July 23 and Aug. 30. Icelandair will fly to and from Iceland on Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Wondering about your credit - especially in these troubled times? Wondering about fitting yourself into a mortgage - and finding one that fits your particular needs?

Mark Swanson – a branch manager at Rainier Pacific Bank – will lead a pair of financial workshops at the South Hill Pierce County Library, 15420 Meridian Ave. E.

The first, “Understanding Your Credit,” will be held Monday, April 20 at 7 p.m. The second, “Which Mortgage is Right for You?” comes on Monday, April 27, also at 7 p.m.

According to a release today, Swanson has been involved in the mortgage and finance business since 1994. He has worked as a mortgage underwriter and finance company branch manager, in addition to buying and selling mortgage loans to various Wall Street companies.

The Friends of the South Hill Library are sponsoring the workshops. Admission is free.

Also, the Pierce County Library System announces that it is purchasing additional books about personal finance, how to prevent foreclosures and other economic issues.

The library has compiled Web sites offering local help and information. Click here for a look at several online resources, including information about employment assistance, skill training and making your way through the recession.

Known for dig-for-it deals, T.J. Maxx at 3216 S. 23rd St. in Tacoma just got an organizational makeover that should help customers better navigate the discount displays.

Updated checkout systems and dressing rooms, new light fixtures and clear signage throughout the store means customers can find the same clothing, beauty and home decor items with more ease, still at up to 60 percent off department store prices, according to the press release.

"We are thrilled to offer a fresh, new shopping experience thanks to suggestions from our customers," T.J. Maxx spokeswoman Sonya Cosentini said in the release.

The store's beauty counter has doubled the number of salon and hair and skin care products it offers as well.

T.J. Maxx's makeover comes a week after Gottschalks, a discount department store, shutters its 58 locations nationwide and announces liquidation sales now through July.

Alaska Airlines' on-time performance in March was the worst among the nation's major carriers as the Mt. Redoubt volcano in Alaska took its toll on the airline's flights.

New figures from Portland's Flightstats.com show Alaska's on-time record was 70.5 percent in March. A flight is counted as being on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of its schedule.

Alaska has been forced to cancel or delay hundreds of flights to Alaska last month and this because of ash spewed by the Mt. Redoubt volcano.

The airborne ash or ash on runways can contaminate and damage airline jet engines.

While Alaska's was nearly at the bottom in on-time performance among all of the nation's carriers in March, Horizon Air, its regional airline sister, was near the top, second on the list.

Horizon's flights were reported to by 85.68 percent on time in March, second only to Hawaiian Airlines with its 90.55 percent on-time record. Horizon doesn't fly to Alaska.

On-time percentages for other carriers with flights from Sea-Tac Airport:

Virgin America -- 83.48%
Northwest -- 83.07%
Southwest -- 83.02%
Frontier -- 81.08%
United -- 80.26%
US Airways -- 78.92%
JetBlue Airways -- 78.66%
Sun Country Airlines -- 77.30%
American Airlines -- 76.17%
Midwest Airlines -- 73.87%
Continental Airlines -- 73.71%
Delta Airlines -- 73.13%
AirTran Airways -- 73.13%

These figures are systemwide percentages, not just at Sea-Tac.

SeaTac's Alaska Airlines reported an 8.1 percent drop in passenger traffic in March compared with the same month a year ago.

But the airline's flights were fuller last month because the airline reduced its seats available by a greater percentage, 9 percent, during the month.

That translates to a percentage of seats filled of 81.6 percent on Alaska flights in March 2009 compared with 80.8 percent in March 2008.

At Alaska's regional sister carrier, Horizon Air, traffic dropped more steeply, 20.7 percent, during March. Available seats fell 15.9 percent during the month.

The percentage of seats filled with paying passengers at Horizon dropped to 69.5 percent last month compared with 73.8 percent a year earlier.

Alaska and Horizon weren't alone in seeing their business decline in March as the economy contracted and businesses slashed travel budgets.

US Airways reported March traffic was down 9 percent, and American Airlines said its traffic dropped by 10.9 percent.

American's traffic fell faster than its capacity.
American reported 5.6 percent less capacity in March than than the same month in 2008.