CELEBS FAVE TRAVEL SPOTS - WHAT, NO IOWA?

James Taylor prefers to be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Jerry Seinfeld likes to stay close to home and hang out in Central Park. And Natalie Portman prefers Jerusalem.

In a blatant ripoff of the Star travel section's "on the road" feature, in which we regular ask celebrities about their favourite travel spots (okay, not really, he's been doing it for years and we don't really mean it and we apologize if he's consulting a lawyer as we speak), author Jerry Camarillo Dunn Jr. and National Geographic have put together a book called My Favorite (sic) Place on Earth, which has all sorts of well-known folks divulging their optimal vacation spots.

It looks like it should prove interesting when it comes out on April 21. For now, you can at least peruse the list by going to his website and reading the basic information.

In addition to the above, we find out that Will Ferrell likes his summer cottage in Sweden (who knew?), that Josh Groban is big on South Africa and that Tom Brokaw likes Tibet. Also, both Brian Wilson and Carrie Fisher love London and that golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. lists his favourite spot as the Moscow Country Club, and raise your hand if that was your guess.

Shockingly, nobody seems to have listed Omaha or Mississauga (just kidding, Hazel).

TOUGH MEDICINE FOR AIR CANADA?

Wow, anyone check out the advice doled out to Canada's biggest airline on Thursday by Jacques Kavafian of Research Capital Corp.? Yikes.

In an interview with the Star's Chris Sorensen, Kavafian said AC needs to slash its routes BY MORE THAN HALF and get rid of 6,000 workers in order to save the $2 billion it needs to keep going.

"Air Canada must make a decision as to what it wants to be: a profitable company or an airline that will fly everywhere. It cannot be both,'' he wrote in a report.

LIkely results: dumping Jazz, getting rid of some 155 of Air Canada's 334 jets, cutting Canadian routes by 57 per cent and U.S. routes by 53 per cent.

Wow. Other than that I guess it would be business as usual.

FAIRMONT ON THE MOVE

Mike Taylor at Fairmont tells me the Fairmont Pacific Rim in downtown Vancouver should be open by January of next year; just in time for the Olympics. And a welcome addition it will be. Some 80 per cent of rooms in downtown Vancouver have been booked by Olympic organizers, and folks who plan to travel are having to check out hostels and B and B's.

Taylor also says Fairmont is adding properties in Mecca, Cairo and Pittsburgh, among other places. They'll be re-opening the legendary Savoy in London in late summer or early fall, as well.