The Department of Transportation Is Getting Serious About Airlines Compensating Passengers for Damaged Luggage
Posted on 12/02/2015, 4:15 PM
If you think passengers are being treated disrespectfully by the airlines—what with ever shrinking seats and ever growing fees—consider what their luggage is going through. Recently, a series of video have gone viral, showing baggage handlers hurling luggage onto conveyor belts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and playing a rough game of "who can toss the bag the farthest" on the tarmac in San Jose, Ca...
There is Increasing Evidence that the River Cruise Industry has been Over-Built, and that Discounts are Now Widely Available from all the Usual Sources
Posted on 11/29/2015, 5:30 PM
Two years ago, the sudden popularity of European river cruises seemed to catch the entire travel industry by surprise. River boats, and their itineraries, became totally sold out. A travel activity booked almost wholly by elderly people, suddenly became a trip-of-choice for middle-aged people, and even for a few younger than that. Families remained unwanted by the operators of river ...
The Current Prices Charged for a Trip to Cuba Show that Neither the U.S. Tour Industry Nor the Cuban Government Has Yet Gotten Serious About American Travel to That Island
Posted on 11/29/2015, 4:45 PM
Tours to Cuba, offered by the nation's best-known tour operators, continue to be priced at outrageous levels, confirming that both the Cuban authorities and the U.S. tour operators, have yet to negotiate realistic terms for expanding the number of Americans going there. The latest outrage is offered by the well-known "CheapCaribbean.com", whose very name used to describe a policy of inexpensi...
Why I, Personally, Will Continue to Travel Abroad, Despite the Latest Global Travel Alert
Posted on 11/24/2015, 10:45 AM
This morning I told my daughter I was going to write about the worldwide travel alert and she gave me a worried glance. "Mom if you tell people to travel and then something happens, they'll blame you," she said. But it's not quite that simple because, realistically, something will ALWAYS happen, whether you're traveling or not. And as an American, I know it will more likely happen to me here ...
American Airlines Changes Its Frequent Flyer Program, Making It Near Impossible for Average Joes to Earn Miles Just from Flying Any Longer
Posted on 11/24/2015, 7:45 AM
And then there were none. Did you hear a loud groan last week? That was the members of American Airlines' frequent flyer program—well, all but the business travelers—reacting to the announcement that the last major carrier to be giving awards points for miles flown was moving to a points for cash system. It joins Delta, United and pretty much every carrier but Alaska, Spirit and Frontier in m...
A Controversial New Documentary Film Will Supplement American Travelers' Impressions of European Life and Politics, Both Pro and Con
Posted on 11/13/2015, 1:15 PM
Market, Helsinki, Finland We Americans travel to Europe primarily for cultural reasons—to view great art at famed museums, to encounter history in the form of monuments, cathedrals, structures and relics, to attend opera and ballet performances, to witness different lifestyles, and even to sample unusual cuisine. But a growing number of tourists are interested in the different solutio...
The Churchill Museum Has Now Joined the List of London Must-Sees
Posted on 11/11/2015, 2:00 PM
In a city whose major museums are among the largest and most impressive of all such places, the Churchill War Rooms were always a compelling exhibit but a secondary one. Why go to a narrow, twenty-yard-long attraction (the War Rooms) when the British Museum had the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles, the Victoria & Albert Museum had the Leonardo da Vinci notebooks and the first ...
25.3 Million People Will Fly Over Thanksgiving: 10 Airport Strategies If You're Going to Be One of Them
Posted on 11/09/2015, 5:15 PM
The industry group Airlines for America is predicting that 65,000 more people PER DAY will fly this year than last, between November 20 and December 1. That's an uptick of 3%, and the greatest number of air passengers since the recession of 2008. Be afraid. Be very afraid. And be smart about how you're going to handle your own travel plans. Here are our tips: 1) Avoid flying November 2...
French Polynesia's Fun New "Passenger Freighter" Tours the Spectacular South Pacific Islands
Posted on 11/05/2015, 3:45 PM
There was a time when it was relatively easy to take an around-the-world trip using nothing but freighter ships. Accommodations were never plush, but at least they took people to off-the-path ports. In recent decades, shifting economies and security concerns have put a damper on that delightful shoestring-travel underworld. One place where freighters are still a regular form of pa...
Airfares to Hawaii are Dropping Fast Thanks to New Competition in the Skies
Posted on 11/04/2015, 11:15 AM
Black Rock, Ka'anapali Beach, Maui It used to be that getting to Hawaii from the United States' West Coat required a major cash outlay. Even earlier this year, round-trip fares could consistently be well above $500 or $600. No wonder most people perceive the 50th State mostly as a luxury or honeymoon destination: It takes the price of a dowry to go. But this week, that's changed. Dras...
