American Airlines and JetBlue Become Partners
Posted on 07/20/2020, 5:00 AM
The first sign that something was unusual was that my cell phone rang, and it wasn't a scam. My friend Jill was on the other line, and she asked breathlessly, "Is it true?" When I said, "Is what true?" she replied, "Is it true that you could now think you were booking a JetBlue flight but end up on an American Airlines plane?" The answer is: only if you're not careful. But in a rare move, two ...
Mayflower Replica Soon to Sail Home to Plymouth—How to Track It Along the Way
Posted on 07/17/2020, 11:00 AM
As the Broadway musical Hamilton has shown us, the more we learn about the founders of the United States, the better equipped we are to wrestle with today's issues (though some critics argue that Hamilton doesn't contend sufficiently with slavery and its long-lasting damage). The importance of getting a full picture of the past applies to the Pilgrims, too. You might have heard that those buckle-...
What Escorted Tour Companies Are Doing to Keep Travelers Safe
Posted on 07/17/2020, 2:00 AM
We spoke with some of the biggest tour operators to learn what changes they've made to keep customers safe and happy during the pandemic era.
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Hawaii Extends Quarantine—What Will That Mean for Tourism Businesses?
Posted on 07/14/2020, 10:00 AM
In response to an uptick in coronavirus cases in Hawaii, along with surging infection rates on the mainland and testing shortages, Hawaii Governor David Ige announced late yesterday that the state will extend its quarantine requirement through the end of August. Toward the end of June, Ige had stated that the requirement would be in place only until August 1; after that point visitors would be abl...
Flight Attendants Are Finding That Policing Mask Usage Is Near Impossible
Posted on 07/13/2020, 7:00 AM
By the contract of carriage of every major U.S. airline, face coverings are now required of all passengers while in the air (with the exceptions of children under the age of 2 and passengers with medical conditions that preclude mask wearing). The task of policing this new rule is falling to flight attendants, whose jobs were already tough but have now become among the most difficult in the natio...
Three Countries Where Americans Can Escape And Legally Work Digitally for Up to a Year
Posted on 07/09/2020, 6:00 AM
What’s one of the biggest lessons to come out of this pandemic? For many, it was a revelation that they didn't need an office and they could, in fact, work from anywhere. That good news, of course, was tempered by the fact that for Americans, travel to many countries is discouraged, if not impossible. But recently the island nation of Barbados (pictured above) announced that it could be working o...
Airbnb Limits Home Rentals to People Under 25 to Combat House Parties
Posted on 07/07/2020, 3:00 AM
I wrote yesterday about the fact that Airbnb may be shrinking because of the current crisis. It looks like the hospitality giant is also intentionally shrinking its client pool in order to protect its property owners and public health. Stung by a spate of headlines linking Airbnb home rentals to house parties that illegally circumvent temporary bans on social gatherings, the platform has institut...
What a Shrinking Airbnb Could Mean for the Future of Travel
Posted on 07/06/2020, 6:00 AM
Like every other travel company, Airbnb was hit hard by the pandemic. In May, CEO Brian Chesky admitted that the company’s future was in doubt this spring. Airbnb reacted by cutting 25% of its workforce, canceling $1 billion worth of marketing campaigns, and refocusing on rural properties that were away from traditional tourist hot spots and therefore better suited for social distancing. It seems...
Will Love Find a Way? An EU Movement to Lift Bans for Unmarried Couples
Posted on 07/05/2020, 11:00 PM
In the era of Covid-19, Romeo still lives in Verona. But Juliet? She's a native New Yorker, and the course of their true love ain't running too smooth. When the world shut down in mid-March, many long-term, unmarried couples found themselves separated. And for those in the United States, the separation has no end in sight. Right now, Americans are banned from traveling to many parts of the world, ...
Miss Broadway? You Can Still Perform Safety Theater at the Airport
Posted on 07/01/2020, 7:00 AM
On Sunday, a family emergency required me to fly from Nantucket, Massachusetts, to New York City. As I was heading out of the secure passenger area toward baggage claim at JFK International Airport, a laconic guard muttered as I passed by, "You gotta go to that table." I'm a rule follower, so I went where he pointed. What I encountered will likely become more and more common for air travelers in t...
