Travel&Vacation

A Travel Agenda for the Obama Administration What should the incoming Obama administration do about issues that affect travelers? What will it do? Since all the political pundits are trying to outguess the administration’s actions on everything from the economy to same-sex marriage, I can’t resist reviewing the travel outlook.Top Priority: Air Traffic ControlAccelerating air traffic control (ATC) modernization is both a “should do” and a likely “will do.” Current failure to modernize our creaking ATC system is a national disgrace—especially since we have the technology in hand to provide major improvements. Using available satellite-based equipment and systems, the FAA could implement new ATC installations that would reduce fuel consumption, speed flights, and increase the capacity
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I hate to be a nag, especially on vacation. The kids hate when I nag them about getting up early or posing for next year’s holiday card. But now I’ve got new motivation to nag, one that even my environmentally conscious gang won’t complain about—traveling greener. “If we turn out the lights when we leave home, why not in a hotel room?” asks Herve Houdre, the general manager of the historic Willard Intercontinental Washington in Washington, D.C., and an emerging leader in hotel environmental initiatives. In fact, Houdre says, his hotel donates energy savings to local community projects. Guests applaud their efforts, he adds. “We’ve never had any negative feedback.” (Download the Willard’s Pocket Guide to Going Green on the hotel website.) The same rationale applies for turning down
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Tips for a Safe Holiday Road Trip Before you go over the hills and into the woods, here are a few helpful tips to make your holiday drive a safe and enjoyable experience. Getting caught in a storm is a nightmare, but you can feel safer by preparing a winter emergency kit for your car, which includes a sandbag, shovel, blanket, first-aid kit, flares, flashlight, waterproof matches, chains, food, and water. On a similar note, be sure that your car is equipped with a spare tire and jumper cables. It’s important that your vehicle is in tip-top shape before you hit the (possibly icy) roads. Make sure to get the oil changed, add snow tires, and have a complete run-through of brakes, ignition, and battery systems. Check the interstate weather forecast on weather.com to avoid any possibly
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Giving Ideas for Those Who Can’t Pack Big Gifts Do all the new baggage fees have you wondering how you’re going to fly with gifts this holiday season? Then why not: Shop Online Buying online and shipping directly to the recipient frees up space in your bags, and can save you money as well. Not only can shipping items be cheaper than checking bags, but some websites offer free or discounted shipping. Buy Gift Certificates Yes, gift certificates are slightly impersonal, but with options from so many stores, you can still show how well you know someone with a well-chosen gift card. Plus, since budgets are tight for many people this holiday season, they may appreciate the chance to buy exactly what they want. Give an Experiential Gift Forget the wrapping paper and give the gift of
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Family Travel Tips for the Busy Holiday Season I wasn’t sure my sister would ever forgive me that Thanksgiving. We’d inadvertently left my son’s medicine on the bathroom counter where his younger cousin got into it and drank whatever didn’t spill on his shirt. My sister and brother-in-law spent much of that night in the ER with their toddler. (Memo to grandmas: Keep all those pill bottles out of reach.) Another Thanksgiving weekend, we got back to Chicago with our crew after visiting the relatives to discover that the battery in our minivan was dead—in the airport parking lot. We waited a long time that cold night for AAA. Isn’t holiday travel with the kids fun? At least gas prices have come down, though AAA just announced the first drop in Thanksgiving travel since 2002. They
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Last-Minute Passports and Visas New government rules mean more travelers will need passports, and you’ve probably seen horror stories about long delays in processing applications. Moreover, even if you have a valid passport, you might need a visa. You’ve probably also been hearing about great last-minute cruise and airfare deals. One reader in that quandary asks:”How do I get visas and plane fares at the last minute to take advantage of last-minute cruise bargains?”We cover the last-minute airfare part of that question every day through our homepage, so I won’t go into it any further. As to the visa part of the question, the short answer is that a handful of outfits process last-minute passport and visa applications within a few days— for a fee, of course. PassportsTypically,
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By now you’ve probably seen the news that the Department of Justice has signed off on the merger of Delta and Northwest. Although important interests still oppose the deal—including some of Minnesota’s congressional delegation and big user and consumer groups—I think that nobody will be able to derail it. And despite the propaganda you’ll be seeing and hearing from the airlines involved, the news for consumers is generally bad. Here’s my take on the winners and losers.WinnersDelta’s management and staff. Although presented as a merger, this is more like an acquisition. Delta will emerge as the dominant organization, the corporate headquarters will be in Atlanta, and Delta’s corporate culture will prevail. LosersAir travelers, generally. As far as I can tell, the fundamental
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Only a minority of us are truly disabled, in the legal sense of the term, but many of us have lost a step or two. Travel is tough enough even for the young, so the rest of us may need a bit of help now and then. Fortunately, it’s often available—if we just ask. Air travel is the worst. With its lengthy check-in and security lines, long walks to the gate, and hours stuffed into a seat designed to fit a jockey on a diet, travelers with even minor mobility problems face a daunting experience. If you’re in that position, here are some suggestions. AirportsWhether you’re leaving or arriving, at many big airports you can find electric golf cart-style vehicles to transport you through the check-in area, gates, and baggage claim. Some of these vehicles are operated by the airport, others
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Winner: SouthwestSecond Place: ContinentalHonorable Mention: Delta In our readers’ experience, they’ve gotten the most reliable baggage service from Southwest, followed by Continental and Delta. This differs somewhat from DOT monthly reports of mishandled baggage which have ranked Hawaiian, JetBlue, Northwest, and AirTran as having the fewest incidents in 2008 so far. Voting Breakdown: Southwest…………………………..34.16%Continental………………………….9.34%Delta………………………………….8.75%JetBlue……………………………….7.59%American…………………………….6.64%United………………………………..5.40%AirTran……………………………….3.78%Northwest……………………………3.76%US
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Winner: JetBlueSecond Place: DeltaHonorable Mention: Continental Nothing makes a six-hour cross-country flight pass quickly like watching a Project Runway marathon on Bravo! No domestic airline’s entertainment offerings can match JetBlue’s standard 36 channels of DirecTV and three channels of paid first-run movies ($5 each) in every seat back. The airline doesn’t even charge for headsets unless you want their higher-end models. Delta comes in second, thanks to the personal video units it offers on cross-country routes and flights to or from Hawaii and Alaska. Southwest has no in-flight entertainment and so was excluded from this category. Voting Breakdown:
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