What Fresh Hell Is This? Standing Airplane Seats
Posted on 04/20/2018, 12:00 AM
Just when you thought the aviation industry couldn't possibly find a way to cram more people onto an airplane—short of stashing passengers in the cargo hold or overhead compartment (like there's any room up there anyway)—some evil genius has devised the abomination pictured above. What you're looking at is the Skyrider 2.0, which was introduced by Italian company Aviointeriors at the Aircraft In...
TSA to Make You Remove Snacks from Your Carry-On—Except When It Won't
Posted on 03/29/2018, 3:00 PM
The next time you go through airport security, you could be asked to remove all food from your carry-on luggage, along with all the other stuff that gets removed—your shoes, your laptop, and, should you be selected for an invasive pat-down, your dignity. Then again, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) might let you keep that Snickers bar or bag of Cheetos in your bag as it slides al...
Arthur Frommer: Recent Tax Cuts Will Force Reductions in Travel Services
Posted on 03/23/2018, 5:15 PM
Some commentators have rejoiced over the recent reduction in federal taxes enjoyed by American corporations and the wealthy. Fewer of those pundits have pointed out that those reductions have been achieved in part by reducing our government’s expenditures for programs that improve our quality of life. The U.S. travel world—and especially our trains and passenger aviation—has suffered in parti...
Singapore Airport Named World's Best for Sixth Consecutive Year
Posted on 03/23/2018, 2:45 PM
In its well-regarded annual ranking of the world's best airports, Skytrax has named Singapore Changi Airport number one for the sixth time in a row. Relying on millions of customer surveys filled out by travelers around the globe, the terminal trackers found the Asian city-state's airport exceptional in its cleanliness, service, shopping, dining, security and customs processing, transit options,...
Arthur Frommer: A Major Softening of Transatlantic Airfares Seems Underway
Posted on 03/23/2018, 1:45 PM
When my 15-year-old granddaughter was asked where she wanted to spend her springtime school break, she quickly answered “Paris.” And my daughter and her husband, not wanting to discourage the young one’s travel urge, set about to study the cost of transatlantic airfare. To their surprise, they quickly found a round-trip fare of only $400 between Newark and Paris. Now it is true that this ...
American Airlines Adding Basic Economy Fares to Transatlantic Flights
Posted on 03/02/2018, 12:00 AM
Starting in April, American Airlines is selling bare-bones "basic economy" tickets on some flights to Europe. The move seems an obvious effort to compete with low-cost transatlantic carriers such as Norwegian Air Shuttle, Iceland-based WOW air, and Level, a recently launched Spanish entrant in the cheap-flights-to-Europe race. Closer to home, Delta Air Lines has also begun selling no-frills ba...
This New Budget-Priced Transatlantic Airline Is Probably News to You
Posted on 02/22/2018, 5:45 AM
Most everyone by now has heard of Norwegian Air Shuttle, which flies the Atlantic at rock-bottom prices. Although Norwegian suffered a loss in 2017, it has struck fear into the hearts of the so-called “legacy carriers,” like British Airways, Iberia Airlines, and others. Result: A consortium of established airlines—British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and others—have recently created a brand-new ...
Italian Airline Now Offers Free Stopovers in Rome
Posted on 02/06/2018, 10:45 PM
Rome remains a destination that rarely lacks for tourists. In 2017, more than 14.5 million of them visited the Eternal City—a nickname that might as well refer to the wait times in line for the Vatican during summer. But even more travelers could soon begin queuing up for trips to the Italian capital thanks to a new initiative from state-owned national carrier Alitalia. From now until the end o...
Why Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Have Cheap Airfare
Posted on 01/27/2018, 12:00 AM
It was a blip in the headlines last week, barely noticed amid a circus of political stories: United Airlines stock plunged 6%. At the same time, Delta dropped 5.4% and Southwest went down 4.8%. In fact, all the major airlines dipped. Investors were displeased for some reason. Why? Because United announced that it would be increasing capacity by 4 to 6% over the next three years. That's righ...
Pop-Up Marriage License Office Opening at Vegas Airport for Valentine's Day
Posted on 01/22/2018, 4:00 PM
Around 80,000 couples get married in Las Vegas each year, and about 80% of them are tourists. For obvious reasons, the nuptials biz is especially brisk around Valentine's Day, when the Clark County clerk's office tends to issue twice as many marriage licenses as usual. This year, even more lovebirds are expected to tie the knot around the holiday because the Chinese New Year—considered an auspic...
The Travel Services That Close in a U.S. Government Shutdown
Posted on 01/19/2018, 11:00 AM
As the wheels of Washington threaten to grind to a halt yet again, another United States federal government shutdown is a concern. Travel, by and large, is considered a "non-essential" function—and non-essential functions either dim or go dark. Generally speaking, here's what is not available during a federal government shutdown: Passport services Visa processing National parks and...
San Francisco Airport Can Now Send Emergency Texts to Passengers
Posted on 01/18/2018, 8:00 AM
San Francisco International Airport has become the first in the nation to receive approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send emergency text messages directly to any cell phone onsite—devices belonging to passengers included. The warning system will work something like Amber Alert notifications used in response to child abductions: In the event of an emergency, travelers will re...
New York City's Airport Dentist Looks Back on 30 Years in the "Smile High Club"
Did you know there are dental offices at New York City's LaGuardia and JFK Airports? Dr. Robert Trager has been tending to the smiles of airport personnel and passengers for three decades.
Now You Can Fly Round-Trip to Europe for €399—with a Catch
Posted on 01/11/2018, 12:00 AM
First, U.S. domestic airlines introduced Basic Economy fares so their rates would appear more competitive with low-cost carriers in Web searches. Now the transatlantic airlines are stripping down their benefits to compete with low-cost airlines. First it was Icelandair, which came up with Economy Light, which only allows for a single carry-on up to 22 pounds (10kg)—no checked bags permitted. TAP ...
No More Airline Miles for Hotel Stays Among Changes to Hilton's Loyalty Program
Posted on 01/10/2018, 11:30 PM
Hilton Worldwide is making changes to its 70-million-member hotel loyalty program, Hilton Honors. Among the most consequential of the updates: Starting April 1, members will no longer be able to earn airline miles from stays at Hilton hotels. Though it will still be possible to transfer loyalty points to the airline of your choice, the move makes it even harder for ordinary travelers to gain mile...
Arthur Frommer's Travel Resolutions for the New Year
Posted on 12/28/2017, 12:00 AM
Because they often seek to regulate all of human activity, I find most New Year’s Resolutions to be rather unsatisfying. Here’s an attempt to limit these rules to the world of travel, which—to me—is badly in need of a little moralizing at this moment in our history. So here goes. In the year ahead: I shall fight, as a citizen and as a voter, to preserve the right of every American...
New App Helps Visually Impaired Travelers Navigate Airport
Posted on 12/26/2017, 3:30 PM
American Printing House for the Blind's "Nearby Explorer" app—a GPS-enabled mobile wayfinding service developed specifically for visually impaired users—has a brand-new feature to help blind travelers get around Louisville International Airport. And the app's developers hope that's just the beginning. Dubbed "Indoor Explorer," the new tool uses Bluetooth connectivity, OpenStreetMap data, and mo...
Our Top Tips for Surviving Holiday Air Travel this Year
Posted on 12/13/2017, 2:45 PM
The airlines are expecting 51 million passengers to fly in United States in the final two weeks of December, a figure that’s up 3% from last year’s record number. Break it down and that means some 80,000 more passengers a day than fly during an average day during the rest of the year. If you will be among the masses, you'll want to carefully strategize. Here are our suggestions: Check in 2...
U.S. Government Won't Require Bag Fee Disclosure in Airfares
Posted on 12/11/2017, 1:00 PM
An Obama administration proposal designed to protect airline passengers from hidden fees has been discarded by the current Department of Transportation. Under the proposed rule—released near the end of President Obama's second term—airlines, travel agents, and websites that sell tickets would be required to disclose fees for checked and carry-on bags right from the start, so that passengers woul...
An Airline Perk for Ugly Holiday Sweaters
Posted on 12/07/2017, 5:00 PM
Alaska Airlines passengers will want to raid their closets for brightly colored, snowman-bedecked, jingle-bell-festooned sweaters on December 15. In honor of National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, the carrier is offering early boarding to all customers who show up for flights on that date wearing "festive holiday sweaters." Alaska announced that the one-day promotion will be celebrated across the ...
Airlines Limit Smart Bags Allowed on Flights
Posted on 12/06/2017, 3:30 PM
The supposed next big thing in luggage just hit a snag. Several U.S. airlines have announced bans on technologically sophisticated "smart" suitcases with lithium-ion batteries that can't be removed. The high-powered batteries help make possible such wonders as suitcases with the capacity to charge cell phones, make their locations known via GPS, and even follow their owners around airports. B...
In Denver You Can Dine in a Former Air Traffic Control Tower
Posted on 12/05/2017, 4:30 PM
Although Denver's old Stapleton International Airport has been closed for more than 20 years, the air traffic control tower recently reopened. There won't be any flight coordinating going on inside, however. The tower, which is the only remaining structure of the city's primary airport from 1929 to 1995, has been converted to an "eatertainment" venue by Punch Bowl Social, a Denver-based chain tha...
