Blog

March 25, 2016: Don’t any one hold their breathe, but several members of both Houses of Congress are in the midst of launching hearings and legislation to look into and limit the current “free for all” in the way airlines are increasing fees. This could include checked baggage, ticket changes and traveler cancelations — basically some members of Congress saying this amounts to price gouging!  The current bill, titled “Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous Fees Act” — or the FAIR FEES ACT — follows a similar legislative move to set minimum standards for seat size. Profits are good so the US airline are feeling feisty and want more revenue per passenger, smaller seat sizes to accommodate more bodies on board and, in many cases,  provide less customer services.

March 23, 2016: The Rickshaw Run — A race across India from Jaiselmar to Shillong (Pakistan Border to Myanmar Border). A two week, 2,700 km adventure with no set route and no way of knowing if you’ll make it — all in a 7 horsepower 3-wheel golf cart — the glorious auto rickshaw. From April 4th to April 16th three friends known as the up and coming adventure group, Always Be Epic, will take part in this chaotic race with no experience with either a rickshaw or the Indian landscape. There is no guarantee that they will win, or even finish for that matter, but one thing is certain — their full GoPro coverage of the event will be great for our viewing experience. Maybe if this takes off in the US, it could be as popular as NASCAR?

March 22, 2016: Consumer Advocate, Christopher Elliot, recently brought up a growing concern in the travel world — Flying liars! These people seek special treatment through airlines by faking a debilitating injury or lying about family emergencies. Granted, I think it’s admirable to find creative ways around the painful hurdles airlines have put in place in recent years — but if you pretend you’re injured just to get on a flight early, don’t be surprised if the other passengers decide to make it true.

March 21, 2016: Thank you Boeing for figuring out how to add an additional 14 seats to their current fleet of aircraft models — shrink the size of the already small uncomfortable bathrooms. Consumer action advocate Christopher Elliott — refers to todays airplane bathrooms as “already closet size” and does a grand job in his Washington Post column on the subject.  The column includes some expert insight into the most “germ hotspots” in the bathrooms — with the door handles taking top germ honors. The article goes on to comment that most airline flight attendants don’t think it’s in their job description to clean up the bathrooms — easier to just put an “out of order” sign on dirty bathrooms and send passengers elsewhere. One good piece of advice is to travel with your own antiseptic wipes — do your own clean up along the way.  All goes to support the airlines now making record profits and providing less services. Hopefully some planned moves in Congress in the coming months to take a good look at all this — including high fees for just about everything, shrinking seats and unrealistic ticket pricing!

March 15, 2016: If you’re wondering where to go on your next cruise, let popularity be your judge. Florida’s Port Everglades is the world’s busiest cruise ship port, recently breaking it’s own world record on Sunday, with more than 54,700 passengers coming in and out of the port in the same day. Although, any cruise in and out of Florida seems like a safe best with the top three busiest ports — Miami, Port Canaveral and Port Everglades—all found in the Sunshine State — as long as you don’t mind crowds!

March 12, 2016: Major Airport short or long stay parking — on or off lots — has become as expensive as some air tickets. And many off airport parking lots now require an advance reservation for space. But here’s a site you might want to look at: ParkSleepFly.com You book an over night stay most require only one night) at selected airport area hotels (the site lists dozens of US and Canadian cities that participate as well as hotel chains) and you receive free or reduced rate parking for up to 14 days — this is especially helpful if you have an early morning departure or long commute to the airport. Might be a good “non hassle” way to reduce pre trip stress and disorganization! (Note — advance booking, at least a week, is suggested — booking closer to departure day rates for both rooms and add on parking fees can increase. Make sure you ask if hotel free long term parking also includes taxes.)

Emirates Sets Another World Record (Or Two) — Now Flying the World’s Longest Air Route!

Dubai based government flagship air carrier Emirates has displaced Qantas to take the lead in flying the world’s longest commercial air route — non stop routes from Dubai to both Panama City and Auckland. The new routes log in at 8824 air miles — previous record — 8518 air miles — was the Qantas service from DFW to Sidney. Emirates is flying Boeing 777 ER aircraft on both routes. Actual time in the air is a little over 16 hours block time (estimated time from departure gate to arrival gate is 17 plus hours). Bring a book or 2 or 3!