Ban on In-Flight Phone Calls Here to Stay
Posted on 04/14/2017, 12:00 AM
A proposal to relax the ban on in-flight phone calls has been dropped by the Federal Communications Commission, which since 2013 had been mulling over the idea of allowing more cell-phone chatter on planes. In a statement, FCC chairman Ajit Pai called the abandoned plan—introduced by a previous occupant of his job—"ill-conceived" and said that "taking it off the table permanently will be a v...
Media Stories About the Violent Removal of a Passenger from His Flight Have Overlooked Important Considerations
Posted on 04/13/2017, 8:00 PM
Arthur Frommer weighs in on airline overbooking—and why passengers should be compensated a lot more....
How to View Sea Turtles in Florida—Without Disturbing Them
Posted on 04/13/2017, 12:00 AM
Spring is the season when sea turtles start showing up on Florida beaches to nest and lay eggs at night—an annual ritual that carries into the fall. Baby turtles hatch after 60 days or so, whereupon they totter adorably to the sea. Much can go wrong: Nesting requires darkness and quiet, and many of the little ones won't be strong enough to make it to the water or they'll get picked off by pre...
Britney Spears Ending Vegas Run
Posted on 04/12/2017, 12:00 AM
After four years almost to the day, pop star Britney Spears will end her show at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Launched in December 2013, Britney: Piece of Me features more than 20 of the singer's hits, performed (lip synching is a kind of performing, okay?) amid a host of dancers and the collective goodwill of audience members who weathered the highs of "Toxic" and the lows of the 2007 MTV...
VIDEO: United Passenger Forcibly Removed from Overbooked Flight
Posted on 04/11/2017, 12:00 AM
What started as a routine flight overbooking turned ugly on Sunday, when United Airlines sought four volunteers to give up their seats in order to accommodate crew members who needed to travel from Chicago to Louisville for a flight the next day. No one accepted the offer of $800 in compensation for a seat, so United selected four unlucky passengers to remove from the flight. When one of the ...
VIDEO: United Passenger Forcibly Removed from Overbooked Flight
Posted on 04/11/2017, 12:00 AM
What started as a routine flight overbooking turned ugly on Sunday, when United Airlines sought four volunteers to give up their seats in order to accommodate crew members who needed to travel from Chicago to Louisville for a flight the next day. No one accepted the offer of $800 in compensation for a seat, so United selected four unlucky passengers to remove from the flight. When one of the ...
VIDEO: Europe's Fastest Roller Coaster Debuts at Ferrari Land in Spain
Posted on 04/10/2017, 12:00 AM
Ferrari Land, a theme park dedicated to celebrating the iconic Italian sports car, has opened within the larger PortAventura World in northeastern Spain. Visitors can get behind the wheel of racecar simulators and walk through an interactive exhibit recounting the Ferrari's history. But the main draw is Red Force, Europe's tallest, fastest roller coaster. Designed to give passengers a feel ...
After a Quiet Winter, the World of Travel Has Suddenly Erupted with Distinctive Developments
Posted on 04/09/2017, 8:00 PM
Arthur Frommer assesses how Trump's policies, European terror attacks, budget cuts, and a new kind of hostel could affect U.S. travelers....
Hamilton Tours at Thomas Jefferson's House
Posted on 04/07/2017, 12:00 AM
Thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit Broadway musical, Alexander Hamilton has stolen the spotlight from his fellow Founding Fathers. Now the ten-dollar Federalist is even making inroads at the home of his archrival, Thomas Jefferson. Monticello, the third U.S. president's neoclassical mansion in Charlottesville, Virginia, has begun hosting an after-hours Hamilton Tour Takeover on select Fridays...
Grand Canyon Celebrates 6 Million Visitors—Then Takes It Back
Posted on 04/06/2017, 12:00 AM
Back in December, officials at the Grand Canyon in Arizona honored a family of four from Las Vegas as the national park's record-breaking 6 millionth guests of the year. How can four people be one number? They can't. The park relies on traffic counters, permits, concessions records, and other figures to calculate visitor numbers. But since those who do the calculating determined that the 6 m...
