 |
|
Passengers at an airport in Chicago look at a carousel with baggage from 25 delayed flights. Photo: TheeErin / Flickr
When you drop off your baggage at the check-in counter, it sets off a modern Rube Goldberg-like system to keep your stuff on track. Bags are sent along conveyors, scanned, sorted and carried by humans to the right plane. Yet a recent article stated that 26 million checked bags go missing every year.
The story interviews several airline industry veterans, each giving conflicting pieces of advice. If you check in too late, your bags might not be loaded onto the plane in time. If you check in too early, the plane might not be ready yet. So your bags could be set aside and forgotten.
Have you ever lost luggage on an airline? What did you do? Please share your stories in the comments.
When it comes to planning a trip, whether it’s a one-week vacation or a trip around the world, looking for the best resources can be a time consuming endeavor. With today’s interwebs, there are countless websites to sift through, and many of the top sites that come through a google search are crap, SEO based sites that are there simply to make a few bucks, not actually provide any helpful information.
Over at BootsnAll we have been revamping our site to really focus on what we’re passionate about – and that’s indie travel. That’s why we decided to give our travel guides a much needed facelift, focusing not only on the essential information you need to know – like popular sites to see, places to stay, and information on getting there and around – but also on the information that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Here’s a few additions you can expect to find in our new and improved travel guides:
But the one we’re most excited about is that we want you, our readers, to get involved and make this a community effort. We understand that we don’t have an inside track on every place in the world, so we are giving you the opportunity to give your own indie rating and approximate costs to each city, state, country, and continent.
If you’ve perused enough travel guides and are ready to hit the road for a big trip, then check out BootsnAll’s monthly airfare deals. The following are good through July 31, 2012:
If you are looking for something a little different in your round the world trip, then start planning your trip of a lifetime with our RTW trip planner And don’t forget to sign up for BootsnAll’s RTW newsletter, delivering special deals, RTW trip planning advice, and resources via email every single month. We also have a Facebook fan page and Twitter page, so be sure to like and follow those to keep up to date on all your RTW travel needs.
I wonder what -besides an obvious desire to make a world’s Guinness record- is worth in Gunnar Garfors’ travelling 5 continents in a day. Please read the full story in this interview on CNNGo.
On Monday June 18th, this Norwegian man has flown to 5 continents (well… a very time limited chunk of them: Istanbul for “Asia”, Casablanca for Africa, Paris for Europe, Punta Cana for North America and Caracas for South America) in 29 hours – reduced to 24 when considering time zones’ changes.
Of course, I may compliment the idea and the endeavor, but the whole thing still looks a bit perplexing to a lover of slow overland travel like I am. And please allow me to run a bit amok over it…
According to Garfors’ statements appeared on CNN.Go, his idea comes from his previous visit to Instanbul. He affirmed that “If you can visit two continents in a matter of seconds, how many can you visit in a day?”
I am sorry, but being an overland aficionado into his fifth year of deep exploration of the Asian continent ALONE – still much to discover around here, folks -, I wanted to scream after reading such a naïve statement.
It made me question the whole concept of modern day travel: safe, fast, conducted in aseptic insulated plane cabins, with rolling wheels on shiny tarmac…
I cannot agree with such a travel experience: where has the adventure gone? How can someone even think to visit two CONTINENTS by crossing a line along a nonexistent border?
I wonder if travel still counts for an experience today, or if the whole concept feels more like an exercise in dining table conversation’s bravado: to what use people should say they ”have visited X countries”, when all they really did was vacationing to X different cities in X different countries?
This just sounds not too fair to dedicated travelers. Personally, as I modestly say around the same dining table that I have visited India or China, I am no frequent flyer to Delhi or Beijing. I have in fact visited, eaten, criss-crossed, tasted, slept, made love to 23 and 21 of each country’s provinces and states, and I count them as ONE COUNTRY in my “book of visits”!!
Without bragging, this is what I consider a fair travel experience to one location. Like, if you go to New York City, you CANNOT say you have visited the United States… as you simply visited NYC!!
Please wait, it is not finished yet, as there is more leaving me puzzled: Garfors affirms to be on a quest to visit all of the 198 countries in the world. “I’ve been to 174 of them and plan to visit more next year” he said to CNNGo. Well, dear Garfors, if your “been there” means having stepped off a flight for a few hours – according to the same article, Garfors’ shortest visiting time was 1 hour and 55 minutes in France, Europe – let me tell you: I am not impressed with any of your numbers.
I am plain worried that what I love – travelling, intended as deeply knowing the world around me –may slowly mutate into another quest for fame and coffee-table ego boosting. I have nothing personal against you, dear Mr. Garfors, but I think I may spare your way of travel. As far as I am concerned, if I keep going my present way, a lifetime will not be enough to visit even half of the continents you claim to have travelled in one day.
Do you readers agree with me or Garfors’ attitude? Please comment hereinafter.
Boarding passes from Fukuoka to Taipei. Photo: Tzushun Shu / Flickr
Whenever you buy something, you wonder what the seller knows that you don’t know. For anyone who’s bought a plane ticket, check out this IAMA thread: IAMA Delta/KLM/Air France reservation agent that knows all the tricks to booking low fares and award tickets AMA. If you’re unfamiliar with Reddit, IAMA stands for, “I am a [insert profession], ask me anything.” There are all kinds of interesting and bizarre threads on that site.
The nice thing about that discussion is that it wasn’t just the original poster that had good things to say. Many of the commenters had interesting tips and stories of their own. One good sub-conversation was how to get airline freebies/upgrades/benefits. Another was the fastest way to rack up miles.
Have you worked for an airline? Any insider tips to share? Please write your thoughts in the comments.
Sign of credits cards accepted. Photo: Phillip Taylor / Flickr
I stayed away from frequent flyer credit cards for a long time, because I wanted to avoid debt. The other reason was that since I lived in Asia, flights were relatively cheap anyway. Looking back, there were a lot of missed opportunities to earn air miles. Now that I’m back in the States, my situation has changed. Getting outside of North America can easily cost over $1,000. As a result, I researched into travel rewards cards to see how to earn flights.
Nomadic Matt had an interview with Brian Kelly, better known as The Points Guy. TPG is one of the best-known blogs for how to earn more frequent flyer miles. Kelly is like a real-life Ryan Bingham, the character memorably portrayed by George Clooney in the film Up in the Air (watch the air miles scene) Take this excerpt, for example:
For instance, while the current Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus offer is down to 40,000 Ultimate Rewards points from its high of 50,000, I still think it’s a great card because you get double points on travel and dining spending (basically all I do), and those categories are fairly broad so you can earn a ton of points. You could then combine those points with the Ultimate Rewards points you earn with the Chase Freedom card’s quarterly spending bonus categories where you earn 5 points per dollar spent on things like groceries, office supplies, gas stations, or specific merchants like Amazon. Suddenly you’re looking at a ton of extra points.
I will say that you absolutely must do your homework before applying for a credit card. Always look at the fine print and carefully read the terms and conditions. For example, many credit card promise big sign-up bonuses. However, if you read closely, they often require you to spend a large amount of money over a short time period. A common deal I’ve seen is spending $1,000 in three months. The card I picked offered 25,000 miles with your first purchase, regardless of the amount.
The other tip I can give is that if you buy stuff on the Internet, always check your card’s “shopping portal” first. Most credit cards have specific websites that link to the online merchants they’ve partnered with. Let’s say you want to buy new clothes from Nordstrom’s website and you have a credit card with United Airlines. You could earn more miles per dollar if you logged into the United Airlines Mileage Plus Shopping website, then clicked on Nordstrom there. MileagePlus would bounce you over to Nordstrom, and then you would make your purchase. You would get more miles then if you’d gone to Nordstrom directly.
Of course, sometimes you’ll find that your credit card doesn’t have an affiliation with a site you prefer to use like Amazon, and you have to go with lesser-known vendor like Buy.com. I encountered this recently when shopping for video equipment. Then there are times where you have to go for quality, regardless of how it affects your miles. I wanted a good-quality lapel mic for my videos, and the best reviews were for a small independent business called Giant Squid Audio Lab. The owner is an audiophile who makes his own microphones. Even though I wouldn’t get double or triple miles, I bought a mic from him anyway.
Do you use travel rewards cards? How do you get the most out of them? Please share your tips in the comments.
Airplane passenger hoisting a beer. Photo: aroid / Flickr
There was a post on The Economist‘s travel blog titled, Turning seatmates into SeatBuddies. It talks about how airBaltic is following the example of Dutch KLM in allowing passengers to link their social network profiles with the airline website. Then you could pick your seatmate as well as your seat. From the description, it sounds like you get potential candidates who have similar interests to yours.
This excerpt explains the process:
Passengers who want to participate in the scheme will select one of four flight moods before travelling. “Business network” and “easy chat” are for those who want to interact with their seatmate for commercial or social reasons; “work” and “relax” are for those whose approach owes more to Greta Garbo.
I can’t help but think how this feature might be abused. Maybe you could try to get a bigshot as your seatmate, to help secure a job or cut a deal. Or choose an attractive member of the opposite sex. On the other hand, you could use this to avoid passengers you wouldn’t want to sit next to. For example, a screaming baby.
Social networking seems to be creeping into everything these days. Do you think some serendipity is lost? Or would you welcome this level of control over your flight experience?
Would you participate in a service like this? Do you make new friends when you fly? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Boarding passes and luggage tags from airlines. Photo: Julia P. / Flickr
What would you rather have: a million dollars or a million frequent-flyer miles? Airline miles have almost become a new currency. They can be exchanged for hotel stays, car rentals, gift cards, and merchandise. The movie “Up in the Air” with George Clooney brought mainstream attention to “travel hacking.” This is how people use their ingenuity to build up as many frequent flyer miles as possible.
The Los Angeles Times had an article titled The frequent flyers who flew too much. It’s about how American Airlines offered to sell tickets for unlimited first-class travel. This excerpt reveals how these airpass holders acted:
Passes in hand, Rothstein and Vroom flew for business. They flew for pleasure. They flew just because they liked being on planes. They bypassed long lines, booked backup itineraries in case the weather turned, and never worried about cancellation fees. Flight crews memorized their names and favorite meals.
It’s fun to imagine what you’d do you if you fly anywhere, anytime and not worry about the cost. Going to another country becomes as easy as taking a bus. However, all good things must come to an end. The airline changed the terms of the deal.
What happened next is up for debate. Did the airpass holders take advantage of their privileges to the extreme? Or did the airline renege on the offer?
Have you earned free flights? How did you do it? Please share your tips in the comments.
Plane food doesn’t have the best reputation, and people love to complain about it. One family even sued American Airlines for killing their father with a chicken dish on a flight from Barcelona to New York.
photo from the infamous Virgin Airlines complaint letter
But don’t get too attached to your mystery meat and stale dinner rolls. Celebrity chefs have taken to the skies and hopefully their influence will trickle down to economy.
While we’re still lucky to get free peanuts in coach on most domestic flights, the front of the plane is experiencing a revival of aviation’s more glamorous past, when flying was only for the wealthy and passengers ate lobster with Christolfe dinnerware on the Concorde. Don’t worry, you’ll still get your bag of broken pretzels on airlines like Ryan Air and Air Asia, but if you occupy a first or business class seat on Air France, for example, you can expect something like Basque shrimp and turmeric pasta with lemongrass. Celebrity chef Joel Robuchon calls his onboard menu “a simple recipe, absent the superfluous, with a purity through which the full flavor of each ingredient is fully expressed.” That’s pretty fancy for a meal at 35,000 feet!
Air France is just one of the airlines backed by a celebrity chef. United Airlines enlisted famous Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, who created two menus, one for first class and one for business. Delta is working with Miami-based Michelle Bernstein, who is in charge of bringing 5 star cuban fare on flights over three and a half hours.
There are, however, some clear leaders in the in-flight food business. Singapore Airlines works with a team of eight world-renowned chefs, Qantas has an eight course prix-fixe option and Virgin Australia offers a three-course lunch and dinner menu for all classes – even economy!
Gordon Ramsay has made his own contributions by introducing the “Plane Food Picnic” out of London’s Heathrow airport. Passengers can choose from a starter, a main course and a dessert to take away in an insulated lunch box. A three course meal will set you back about thirteen euros, but to those averse to plane food, it’s well worth it. The roasted rump of Hereford beef has gotten excellent reviews.
Do any of you have plane food horror stories? Have you tried Gordon Ramsay’s picnic lunch or feasted on Michelle Bernstein’s braised short ribs on a Delta flight?
The start of a new year usually means resolutions. New beginnings. New goals. This is the time when many people finally take control of their lives and accomplish the things that they really want to accomplish in life. If one of those goals is to travel the world, then stop making excuses and do it. If you are sick of one week vacations and really want to get out and see the world, then it’s time to realize that you can be one of the few who take the plunge.
There are plenty of myths about traveling the world. It’s too expensive. It’s too dangerous. Now isn’t the right time. All these excuses are just that – excuses. You can always come up with an excuse not to do something that is challenging and difficult. No one said that deciding to go on a RTW trip is easy. It’s not, which is why so few people do it. But those who do take the plunge and decide to travel around the world never regret it. I have yet to meet someone who has done it and wished they didn’t. But I have met tons of people who dream and wish that they could travel the world but are too afraid to take the risk.
If you do decide to throw caution to the wind and travel the world, the first thing you’ll want to look at is airfare. Your options are many, but be sure to keep your eye on different deals around the web. BootsnAll has monthly deals that can take you all over the world, so be sure to check out the following deals, which are good through January 31, 2012:
If you are looking for something a little different in your round the world trip, then start planning your trip of a lifetime with our RTW trip planner And don’t forget to sign up for BootsnAll’s RTW newsletter, delivering special deals, RTW trip planning advice, and resources via email every single month. We also have a Facebook fan page and Twitter page, so be sure to like and follow those to keep up to date on all your RTW travel needs.
When you travel frequently, you become very familiar with the airline game: which days of the week are more likely to have lower fares, which airlines charge extra for checked baggage—even which airlines still give out free snacks. But when it comes down to booking your airline tickets, are low fares or airline loyalty perks more important to you?
Certainly, if money is your biggest concern, then you’re looking for the deals regardless of carrier. And if you have time to do the nitty-gritty comparisons, you’ll know that often the lowest fare isn’t really the lowest because of all the extra fees added on.
But if you travel a lot, especially in a particular region, being faithful to one carrier (and its list of friendly allies) can pay off. When the price is relatively comparable to the competition, being an “elite” or “premier” member can not only get your checked baggage fees waived, but also get you upgraded seats, extra miles, admission into those comfortable airline club rooms and free tickets for companions.
This recent Lifehacker article compares eight frequent-flyer programs, based on reader nominations. Did yours make the list?
What about you? Do you skip right to the lowest price, or do you think that some airline loyalty perks are worth doing the price comparison when you travel?
