ADVISORY

SOUTHWEST'S NEW JETS

Southwest Airlines is rolling out new, larger planes. The Boeing 737-800 holds 175 passengers, has higher ceilings and more overhead bin space than other Southwest planes and will be equipped for wireless Internet access. The first plane will join the fleet on April 11. The airline plans to add 33 of the planes this year, 41 next year. -- AP

D.C. DAY TRIPS BY BUS

Gray Line New York is running guided day bus trips from New York to the nation's capital for sightseeing during the Cherry Blossom Festival. The 12-hour trips cost $149 and include round-trip bus transportation from Manhattan, admission to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in D.C. along with visits to the Air and Space Museum, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Details at graylinenewyork.com.

HOTEL ROOM COSTS

Trivago, a website that compares the hotel rates of more than 100 booking sites, has discovered a bump in European hotel prices between February and March.

The highest spike was in Istanbul (29 percent), Rome (23 percent), Vienna (20 percent) and Amsterdam (19 percent). In London and Paris, the increase was a milder 7 percent. For bargains, head to Athens, Berlin or Budapest (Hungary), where you can bunk for an average $82 a night. -- The Washington Post