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Arthur Frommer Online

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Disney Will Never Be the Same: A Litany of Layoff Devastation

This week, there was an employment cataclysm at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. In one day, the company axed nearly every worker with a speaking role in its U.S. parks. As part of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer: A Worthy Vacation Rental Search Aggregator Has Arrived

Fewer travelers may be hitting the road right now, but among those still traveling, the top accommodation choices have shifted dramatically from a year ago. As I wrote last week, more…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Get Ready: Travel Is Becoming More Expensive and More Exclusive

The warning signs are everywhere. You will soon be paying more to travel. The headlines are full of news about the airlines cutting capacity. In Europe, Ryanair will fly only 40% of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In a Trial to Rescue Travel, Canada to Test International Arrivals at One Airport

The multibillion-dollar problem for the travel industry right now is how travel will get back to normal. For many, the solution could be summed up in three words: easily accessible…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Southwest Airlines to Start Filling Every Seat Again, Despite Covid

Just in time for the holidays, Southwest Airlines announced it will no longer restrict ticket sales for flights, which will result in middle seats being occupied on full…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer: Thanks to 2020, Airbnb Isn't Always the Cheapest Option Anymore

The conventional wisdom used to be you’d save money by renting an Airbnb rather than booking a hotel room. That now needs to be revised in yet another reversal brought by the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Is This The Strongest Proof Yet Flying Is Safe? See These New Military-Grade Tests

If you ran an airline in 2020, how would you prove to the public that flying in your planes is safe? It's a tricky proposition in an age of document dumps, disinformation, and fake…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Oh, Great. Now That Icelandic Volcano Looks Like It Could Erupt Again

If you're old enough, you might remember that time in 2010 when a volcano shut down Europe. In March of that year, Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano (pictured above) erupted and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Panama Is Reopening for Quarantine-Free Visits, So Is This the Winter to Finally Go?

As Frommer's Panama author Nicholas Gill writes, "Panama is home to a staggering array of natural landscapes, each beautiful in its own way." That includes lovely beaches, perfect…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The QE2 Returns to Service as a Hotel While the Queen Mary's Prospects Sink

In a recent YouTube video about why and how ships get scrapped, maritime historian Chris Frame slipped in a striking fact. Comparing the remnants of Ancient Egypt with the golden age…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Department of Transportation Says It's Not There to Ensure Passenger Safety

In late July, members of 33 transportation unions—flight attendants, pilots, TSA inspectors, ferry workers, bus drivers, and others—filed an official petition with the Department of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Rare Good News: Venice's Long-Awaited Flood Protection System Works!

Venice's answer to Watergate had involved actual water and actual gates. The city's MOSE Project (the name is an acronym of the Italian initials for "Experimental Electromechanical…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Luxury Rock Star Tour Buses Become A Travel Option in This Pandemic

There’s a certain flavor of fear that comes from trying to do something potentially dangerous that you are in no way competent to do. I experienced that intense mix of panic and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

JetBlue Can Now Hook Up All Its Passengers with Saliva-Based Virus Tests

United, American, and Hawaiian airlines are gradually introducing Covid-19 tests for passengers who are headed to Hawaii, a state that now demands negative results. But JetBlue is…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Tampa Bay to Be First U.S. Airport to Offer All Passengers Covid-19 Test

Starting Thursday, October 1, Tampa Bay International Airport (TPA) will become the first airport in the United States to offer onsite Covid-19 testing for all passengers. "As a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Would You Travel for Beer? United Airlines Debuts Themed Flight Searches

On a recent episode of NPR's Marketplace, aviation history professor Janet Bednarek of the University of Dayton was asked to describe the current state of the airline industry. She…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In a Pre-Election Gambit, the Trump Administration Announces New Travel Bans for Cuba

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense," the Mad Hatter told Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. "Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be…

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

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

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

Colleges and Universities Are Canceling Spring Break in 2021

No need to practice your keg stand or to save up for a bikini smaller than the dollar bills you'll use to buy it. Some six months in advance, universities are announcing that because…

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 / Arthur Frommer Online

The Feds Want to Raise the Global Entry Fee, So You'd Better Apply Soon

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has signaled an intention to raise rates for its Global Entry program. In a "notice of proposed rulemaking," which will be open for comment until…