Practical travel information for practical travelers
Checked bags haven’t gone away, they’ve just become more expensive. Depending on your airline, your frequent flier status with the airline, what class of service you’ve booked, and how much you’ve paid for your ticket, the price for checking your bag can range from nothing on up to $50 per bag. And that’s not taking [...]
While travelers bemoan the loss of the kinder, gentler era of air travel, airline memorabilia fans know that they can enjoy a little retro moment with bags, accessories, and gifts from Pan Am One. Adorned with the original Pan Am logo, items can also be found at travel stores and air museums. Perhaps you had [...]
The problem with writing about airline rules when you’re not in the industry is that you’re always behind in knowing what the rules are. That means lots of speculation (much of which is erroneous), some humorous jokes and stories, and, unfortunately, lots of people getting spun up about something without all the information. In many [...]
Oh wait – I am traveling tomorrow. But tomorrow it’s a work trip, not a pleasure trip. Still, I will have to be facing the uncertainty of airport security changes, and how they will be implemented, just like everyone else. I reminded of the incident that led to the 3-1-1 liquids rule. I was flying [...]
Flight Attendants are required to attend an annual Recurrent Training – a combination refresher course and job-dependent testing process. The class, mandated by the FAA, can last anywhere from one to three days, depending on airline, variety of aircraft types, and curriculum. No matter how competent we may be at our job, no matter how [...]
It’s been a week of big travel news, although some of centered around flying hoaxes. That’s why you need to read these blogs posts that will give you real scoop! SoSauce (travel geek blog) an Indian cooking lesson, including Naan. Yummmmmmm! LA Times Travel compares and contrasts Halloween activities at Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal [...]
We’ll just consider this a little shameless self-promotion! Earlier today I was interviewed by Addison Schonland from IAG (Innovation Analysis Group), an airline industry consulting company. Addison and I talked about what it was like to travel these days, managing airport security and the TSA, dealing with potential confrontational situations on the airplane, and ways [...]
Bag charges. Fuel surcharges. Airport fees. Fees for premium seats in the cabin. Fees for overweight bags. Fees for security charges. Fees for food, pillows and blankets, and other inflight amenities. And we haven’t even gotten to the taxes yet. Is it any wonder that what starts out as an inexpensive airline ticket quickly creeps [...]
Today’s question comes from a PR representative that’s generously provided a number of prizes for contest giveaways in addition to being a great source of information in and about the travel and hospitality industry. I’ll keep the identity anonymous. Here’s the question – Q. Is there anything I can do (that might be more of [...]
As the search for debris from Air France #447 continues, there’s a lot of emphasis placed on finding the “black box,” believing that it will shed some light on the mysterious disappearance of this flight. In lay terms, “black box” refers to the the flight data recorder (a device used to record what’s physically happening [...]
In addition to traveling, Mary Jo likes lingering over a cup of coffee, wandering in a museum, sipping wine at a cafe, enjoying a relaxing massage, and sharing it all with friends and readers.
Her most recent travels were to Portugal and Italy.
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