Articles

Jason Cochran

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

When Cruising Resumes, You Won't Be Allowed to Roam Ports Alone

Large cruises that depart the United States have been paused since mid-March, but we now know one thing about their return. Guests will no longer be able to wander ports of call on…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

United Is the First U.S. Airline to Offer Covid-19 Tests to Passengers

United Airlines will be the first airline in the United States to extend Covid-19 testing to passengers. The program will start small, rolling out only on flights from San Francisco to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Hotels Suspended Amenities But Are Keeping Resort Fee Cash. The Scam Must End

At this point, everyone knows that the travel industry has been forced to curtail its usual offerings. To satisfy social distancing and tight sanitary protocols, hotels have suspended…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Headlines Shout of Covid-19 Exposure on Flights, but Look Deeper—It's Worse

You might have seen a few headlines this week casting doubt on whether flying is safe. Here's one from the New York Post, dated September 21: "Woman spread coronavirus to 15 people on…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Hawaii Is Reopening! Starting Oct. 15, State Will Admit Tourists with Recent Virus Tests

Perhaps no American state's economy has been devastated by Covid-19 worse than Hawaii's. The state's isolation determines so much about its health. Nearly all tourists arrive to the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Morocco Reopens to Tourists—But Maybe That's Not Such a Good Idea

On September 6, Morocco's national air carrier, Royal Air Maroc, tweeted that "nationals of visa-exempt countries with an invitation from a Moroccan company or a confirmed hotel…

Article / Slideshows

See the "Air Liners" of the 1930s on These Rare Vintage Trading Cards

In the 1920s and '30s, all eyes turned skyward. Aviators were the heroes of the day, courageously testing the elements and wobbly technology alike as they pushed newfangled aircraft to…

Article / Slideshows

America's Rarest Old-Fashioned Amusement Rides

For well over a century, Americans have had a tireless love affair with amusement rides, from New York's Coney Island to the piers of Southern California. Few things seem to affirm the…

Article / Passportable

Welcome to Covid Island! Only Tourists Who've Been Infected Are Allowed

A popular Brazilian island is reopening to tourists even though Covid-19 continues to spread. The only catch is you have to have caught it. The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, 218…

Article / Passportable

This Airline Will Charge You More if You Use an Internet Ad Blocker

Here's an airline fee you surely never imagined would exist. Sean O'Neill at Skift reports the discovery of a brand-new airline fee: an extra surcharge for using ad suppression…

Article / Passportable

Ding Dong! Airline Change Fees Are Dead! Delta and American Copy United

Yesterday, in a huge win for travelers, United Airlines dropped change fees for many types of flights. We gave you the full rundown of the move in this earlier post. Now, as they…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Maybe It's Time to Say It: Flights and Theme Parks Aren't Making Us Sick

One of the most difficult aspects of managing this pandemic has been altering our own perceptions and fears as more information becomes available. The slow dawning of enlightenment…

Article / Passportable

Make Plans: National Parks Are Free on September 26

Each year, the U.S. national park system sprinkles a few days across the calendar during which the government collects no entrance fees. The next date comes on September 26, 2020.…

Article / Passportable

SFO Airport Opens Rapid Covid Testing Facility, but We Need More

Covid-19 has been with us for the whole year, and back in the spring, countries around the world began requiring negative test results from visitors, but the world's airports still…

Article / Passportable

In a Covid First, Family Kicked off Cruise for Leaving Shore Excursion

Cruises out of the United States are still banned, but in Europe, where Covid-19 infections are under much better control, cruises are just beginning to resume. MSC Cruises was the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Airlines Are Cutting Smaller Cities: Aren't We Tired of Having Two Americas?

American Airlines is threatening to cut flights to dozens of small and medium-sized American cities after September 30, when the conditions of the recent federal aid package…

Article / Passportable

Limited Sale: 2-for-1 on Roomettes for Socially Distanced Amtrak Travel

Travel with a companion you know is virus-free, and you can go anywhere you want. Amtrak, the USA's national rail carrier, is making it easy and more affordable to get out of the house…

Article / Passportable

Major Airfare Search Engine Now Includes Covid-19 Safety Ratings

Scientists are still piecing together evidence to figure out how dangerous airline travel is (judging by this study, it isn't) during the pandemic. But the fact remains: Consumers are…

Article / Passportable

The USA's Most Expensive (and Cheapest) Cities for Rental Cars

Every now and then, the rental car booking site CheapCarRental.net aggregates the price quotes it's been seeing and comes up with a list of the best and worst American cities for…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Cruising Is Back! It's Been a Disaster: Crew on Three Lines Test Positive

It's no secret that many countries are doing better than the United States when it comes to containing Covid-19 infections. A few of those places thought they might be able to extend…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Buyer Beware: Theme Parks Are Cutting Experiences but Not Prices

Despite headlines declaring that major theme parks have "reopened," that doesn't mean everything inside them has. We get it—some people would rather eat glass slippers than step foot…

Article / Entry Requirements & Customs

Prisoners in Their Own Country: Three Ways America's Government Is Betraying the Freedom to Travel

We hold these truths to be self-evident: By neglecting to ensure we retain access to our right to travel, we have lost it.

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

New Yorkers Can Have Global Entry Again (Because Homeland Security Lied About It)

After six months, residents of New York State are again allowed to apply for Trusted Traveler Programs, including Global Entry. Why? Because the Department of Homeland Security made…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Does This Look Fun to You? Vloggers Show What Travel Is Like Now

What's travel like these days? Now that things are reopening elsewhere in the world, are you missing out on the fun? You don't have to wonder. YouTube has the answer. The first…

Article / Passportable

JetBlue Offers BOGO Airfare for Autumn and Winter Travel

JetBlue, like all airlines right now, needs to boost both business and passenger confidence. So the carrier has announced a flash buy-one-get-one sale for 3-night air-and-hotel…