Articles

Air Travel

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Holiday Air Travel in 2020: Safety, Finding Cheap Fares, and More

If you plan to fly over the holiday season, let’s start with the good news: Your airplane ride may be the safest part of your trip. To be frank, I'm not convinced that holiday travel…

Article / Passportable

Ski Free If You Fly Alaska Airlines to the Slopes

Airlines and ski resorts have something in common: They're desperate to take customers to high altitudes this winter. Like all the major carriers, Alaska Airlines is doing everything…

Article / Passportable

New York Changes Entry Rules, Making Holiday Visits Easier

New York State, which used to mandate a vacation-unfriendly quarantine period of 14 days, has changed its entry requirements. The shift brings the state's system in line with what many…

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 / Passportable

Feeling Stressed? Watch These Soothing Aerial Videos of Icelandic Scenery

With coronavirus infection rates surging yet again and the U.S. presidential campaign nearing its nerve-racking climax, we could use something soothing for a change. Fortunately,…

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

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 / Passportable

Berlin's Long-Delayed Airport Is Finally About to Open—for Real This Time

Germany may still hold its reputation for punctuality and efficiency, but it's no thanks to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. That seemingly endless construction project began in 2006, when…

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 / Passportable

Flyers Pretend to Eat to Avoid Masking Up, So United Changed the Rules

One thing that has been unmasked in recent months is just how sneaky Americans are willing to be to get around the rules for face coverings. The issue came to the fore in July when…

Article / Passportable

Southwest's Sweet Deal for a Free Companion Ticket Ends Thursday, Sept. 24

This is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sale. Purchase tickets on Southwest Airlines by the end of the day on Thursday, September 24, for a flight between now and November 15, and you will…

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 / Passportable

The World's Most Scenic Airports: A Ranking to Send Your Wanderlust Soaring

At this point, we'd probably feel awe gazing upon strip malls and empty parking lots as long as we got to see them from an airplane window again. So we might just burst looking at the…

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 / 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 / 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…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Is Now the Right Time to Buy Holiday Airfare? The Answer is a Qualified Yes

If this were a normal year, I’d be penning a post right now about getting ready to scoop up holiday airfares at the end of September or early October. Traditionally, that's the sweet…

Article / Passportable

Are TSA Screenings About to Become Self-Serve?

Earlier this week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released information about a pilot program the agency has been testing at Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan…

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 / Arthur Frommer Online

United Airlines to Drop Change Fees Permanently on Many Types of Flights

Not long ago, Frommer's listed the things we don't miss about pre-pandemic travel. Paying big fees for making changes to airline tickets ranked right up there with buffets and dirty…