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Good deals abound for the traveler willing to take a Taipei pit stop. Not only will the usual $100 landing fee surcharge be lifted, but if you stay two nights you can get a $79/night deal at participating hotels. The "I Land Paradise" promotion (which applies to any Asia-bound China Airlines or EVA Airways flight departing from a U.S. airport) starts Oct. 1 and runs until June 30.
The main problem with the promotion is that there are no direct flights from Taipei to China's mainland except during the Lunar New Year. So if you're on your way to China and want to take advantage of the deal, you'll need to go through Hong Kong and then catch a flight to the mainland. I've stopped in Taipei several times en route to Southeast Asia, but I've never left the airport. The lifted surcharge could certainly convince me to lengthen my stay.
Attractions include the Shilin Night Market (see The Kozy Shack's photo) and the National Palace Museum. For more stuff to see and do, check out AOL's Taipei site.
So much of my travel time in an automobile is spent fiddling with the radio dial looking for some audio entertainment. Or, if a get a phone call, chatting on my cell.
As everyone knows, such activities are hardly conducive to good driving. And yet, we continue doing them. Why? Because there are very few hands-free alternatives in today's automobile.
This is all about to change, however.
Ford has just announced that it will be installing a new system in many of its automobiles that finally solves this problem. Sync is hands-free based software that syncs with all your electronic doo-dads in a manner in which you can keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.
Sync, priced as a very reasonable $395 option in the States, not only communicates with your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, allowing you to talk hands free, but it also reads text messages to you. In addition, you can tell the onboard computer which songs (or even which genre of songs) you want played from your digital music player.
Now, if it will only drive for me as well, I just might consider buying a Ford.
Several of the major carriers are currently in a frequently flyer mile fare war among short hop tickets. As many of you know, a normal frequent flyer ticket costs 25k miles or more. But as many more of you know, most of us have far less than that in our accounts.
In this case, many tickets (depending on the carrier) are about 15k miles. I just booked a ticket from Detroit to New York for a grand total of five dollars in taxes.
If you know your plans well enough in advance, book early. American Airlines, for example, charges an extra $50 in fees if you book inside of a 21 day window prior to departure. You'll also want to check the market price for your ticket; since the price of mileage tickets has gone down, so have the cash tickets. It may be better worth spending the $130 on the airfare and earning the miles against blowing your load on a cheap mileage ticket.
But for those of you who earn miles at a snail's pace or have 15k stranded miles in a random frequent flyer account, take this opportunity to get away for the weekend and visit some friends in New York for dinner.
American's fare sale is here while other carriers have similar pages. Travel between September 1 and February 29th.
Another week already? The weather shifts have me wondering what season we're in exactly. It was 93 degrees in Columbus on Monday. Today it's in the mid 50s and I've hauled out my jacket. Pumpkins started appearing at the local grocery stores and farmers markets a few weeks ago. At Gadling, you've probably noticed that Halloween posts are beginning to appear. Catherine, Kelly and Martha have their thumbs squarely on the Halloween what's happening pulse. There's more coming as the rest of us join in. Besides Halloween, there's a lot more on our minds.
And, Willy has spent time this week musing about the world's best places to live. No wonder these places rate; they're gorgeous. Check out the galleries photos and you'll see what I mean.
Have a great weekend whatever the weather is like where you are.
I wonder what Jason Lewis did today? Did he plop in a recliner three days ago and not get out? That's what I would have done if I had spent the last 13 years going 46,505 miles with nothing but my own muscles as the juice to propel me along. (The laws of physics helped a bit, but not enough.) Lewis just finished his around the world journey using nothing but a kayak, pedal boat, bicycle, in-line skates, a canoe and his own shoe-clad feet. Jason also swam a bit. After starting off in Greenwich, England on July 12, 1994, he arrived back on October 6th--as in a few days ago.
The trip wasn't all that easy to put it mildly, and would make a dandy movie. It has all the ingredients--crocodile attack, shark attack, getting hit by a car, civil war, being arrested by the Egyptian police, a friendship gone sour, lack of funding, etc. At first, Jason had a traveling partner, Steve Smith. Steve dumped the journey in Hawaii after five years of daunting travel. At Expedition 360, the Web site that was set up to chronicle the journey, are a series of videos that begin at the point before the trip started when their pedal boat was going through its sea-worthy trials. By the way, Jason also had a team of folks who went along on various legs of the trip, although some of them didn't complete their portion.
I find this story quite heartening. Not only did Jason not quit, he also raised money for charity--$60,000 worth. Here's the page from the Web site that gives an overview of various aspects of the journey including the mishaps.
October 8th marked five weeks now that Steve Fossett has been missing. Though the search continues for Mr. Fossett and his Bellanca Super Decathlon, the efforts have been greatly scaled back and experts are now predicting the worst.
Steve Fossett held over 100 records in five different sports from sailing to flying to (most notably) ballooning. Arguably his best achievement was circumnavigating the globe solo in The Spirit of Freedom, over the course of thirteen days in 2002.
In his disappearance, Fossett joins the likes of other aeronautical figures such as Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan and Antoine de Saint Exupéry who were lost in the clouds and never seen again.
Stories swirl and theories rage around the disappearance of each respective pilot, from rumors of spying to new assumed identities. And through these stories the explorers live on, a ghostly air of mystery to each adventure we recount.
Perhaps it is best that we never find Steve Fossett. For those of us who knew you and followed your accomplishments, you will always be exploring.
As our colleagues over at Engadget reported earlier this week, it looks like cell phones are going to stay in the off and stowed position in aircraft for at least the near future. Apparently, the several proposals that were on the table were shelved after a considerable ruckus was stirred among people who enjoy their quiet time up in the air.
And I totally agree. It's bad enough to be sitting next to some schlub in Panera talking about how many used cars he sold this week -- I don't need to listen to it in an enclosed aluminum tube 30,000 feet in the sky. Wireless might be a reasonable alternative, as Catherine, Neil and Justin pointed out earlier this year, but if I hear any of you guys Skyping at from three rows away I'm dumping my seven ounces of cranberry-apple juice on your lap.
Alas, the long awaited 787 Dreamliner has been delayed, citing "challenges" in assembling the first products. Earlier this year, Justin reported the rollout of the first complete prototype, but even that was rushed to look nice for the media. For example, small gaps remained in the fuselage that the company glossed over for the purpose of the initial media blitz.
For those of you unaware, Boeing's 787 is slated as the next generation of aircraft: lighter, faster, eco-friendly and more efficient than its 20th century counterparts. To date, its been the fastest selling widebody ever before its entry into service and expectations are high.
As we've learned from the Airbus A380 and its repeated delays, however, numerous suppliers, production issues and bureaucratic tomfoolery come into play when producing a new airplane. EADS has already been through numerous management changes due to scheduling tiffs while shareholders are screaming bloody murder.
What we don't want to happen here is for Boeing to repeat these mistakes. More missteps and carriers will start dropping orders, more delays could occur and Boeing would take a hit on sales. And as one of the primary exporters in this country, our economy and the American people are counting on the 787 and Boeing's success. Cross your fingers.
My dad LOVES flying out of Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York. Once he found out he could get out of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York without heading to Newark, JFK or La Guardia and the hassle that comes with mega airport travel, he heads to Stewart if he can find the connections.
This summer when I landed at the airport in Bellingham, Washington and found the Hertz car rental counter so close to baggage claim that I could pick up my bag and rent the car at the same time, I was hooked on the simpler life. I'm not alone. According to Gary Stoller's article in USA Today, business folks often prefer smaller airports without all the amenities that the bigger ones do.
Convenience is the reason. There isn't as much traffic to get to them, car rentals, as in Bellingham, are closer, gates aren't miles apart to get to or for connections between flights and security lines are generally shorter.
Not all small airports are equal, however. Some lack in speed when it comes to uniting passenger with bags. Austin-Bergstrom airport in Texas is one of the culprits. This slower than molasses in January approach landed it on the bottom of the ratings. Texas generally does airports right, though. It has the highest ranked airport as well, plus a few high ranking others. William P. Hobby airport is number one. Dallas Love Field is number two. San Antonio International Airport is three and El Paso is number four. I found it interesting that Port Columbus International (in AP photo, Jay LePrete) is ranked number 17, only two higher than Austin-Bergstrom. If it's not one of the best, I have to say, it's not bad. As a helpful hint, Wendy's has $1 meal options, but you have to go there before you go through security.
Large airports still have a large fan club in tact. If you miss a connection, it's more likely you'll get another flight fairly quickly. Plus, there's more to do to pass the time in airports geared for keeping the masses entertained while they wait.
If you happen to live in a city where the airline market is dominated by one carrier (Minneapolis: Northwest Airlines, Houston: Contintental Airlines, etc), you've probably been subjected to the semi-monopoly that they can impose. It irritates me how they can complain about rising fuel and air traffic control costs while they charge 350$ for a one way flight from Detroit to Columbus Ohio. Yes, that's 161 miles.
The thing to remember is that the price of tickets is dictated by the number of open seats and the demand for them; unfortunately demand is higher in hub cities where you have little choice of your carrier. But if you can get to a small feeder city where demand is lower, the price will often go down.
Take Detroit and Flint. The price for a DTW-SEAttle flight between October 15 and 22 is 716$. Plug in FNT-SEA though and you'll get 536$. Often times, the leg from FNT will connect in Detroit anyway and you'll get on the exact same flight that was 200$ more departing from Detroit. Sure, Flint is an extra 30 minutes away and you have to connect, but I'd do it for the extra money and frequent flyer miles in my pocket.
Another thing is, you don't have to fly all the way back on your return trip. If your flight is from CDG-MSP-STC (Saint Cloud, MN), you can just get off the plane in Minneapolis and have your buddy pick you up from there. Be careful though, bags will check through to your destination (domestically) and the airline will cancel the rest of your itinerary. Just be cautious, plan well and more of often than not you can work the system to your advantage. And you didn't hear that tip about skipping flights from me.
If you happen to be flying Northwest on or near a transatlantic (TATL) route in the near future, keep an eye out for the 757 with a UPS rudder. Looks like Northwest needed a replacement part and the only thing they could find was from a UPS jet. I guess if it comes to operating with a ridiculous looking plane for profit versus a broken plane with no profit you have to go with the money; but its also easy to see here how high of a priority aesthetics are.
A plane like this reminds of driving around in my hometown in West Michigan seeing the beat up junkers with off-color fenders and hoods. Heck, for a couple of years I even drove a '93 Ford Ranger that was tarp-blue with black quarter panels. And from my past experiences with these type of vehicles, well, it makes me kind of feel like this plane is kind of jerry-rigged.
But hey, it flies, right? Off the top of my head, the TATL 757 flies between Detroit, Hartford, Amsterdam and Dusseldorf, so if you're in those areas, stay alert. Here's another picture.
Believe it or not, there are other places to go on vacation besides Cabo San Lucas. Heresy! Heresy, I know, but give me time to redeem myself.
The three main factors in getting away for the weekend are budget, time and location. Sure you could get away for the weekend to Hoboken, but it really doesn't have the charm. And we'd all like to go to Fiji, but ticket prices aren't too competitive right now.
What Farecompare has done is created a tool that factors those two variables into one that displays the lowest price of tickets in a region against a Google map. It's called a Getaway Map; you know you want to get away at some point this fall, you know you've got three hundred bucks and you know you want to go somewhere in Central America. Plug in your hometown to the root Getaway Map page, click on the Central America page and you're set.
If you find yourself in New York any time over the next month, take some time to stop by the SKY360 Lounge that Delta opened up last week. Occupying an expensive piece of real estate on 57th street and 6th avenue, this new storefront is supposed to showcase the new changes happening at Delta over the coming months.
Among the cadre of activities for the public to experience within you'll find:
A (complimentary) coffee and soda bar, serving cocktails in the evening, with little pods in which to sit and enjoy them. Bring your laptop for free wifi as well.
Samplings of the new, exotic menu items inspired by Delta's celebrity chef. As dear Catherine and I pointed out last week, this is becoming the hip thing to do among airlines.
And my favorite, examples of the new leather coach and premium seats to be installed in the new 777 livery (pictured), integrated with the new Audio/Video On Demand (AVOD) system for your Sopranos fix.
Additionally, if you can manage to get your "friend in PR" to get you an invite, a variety of private events are happening in the evening, from an Esquire party to random hotties dropping in. I'm still trying to get there for a corporate event -- keep an eye out for me.
What happens when flight attendants do their own traveling? That is some of what you'll see if you live in Australia and have access to the new documentary Going Places, a creative marketing tactic from the folks at budget carrier Jetstar. While it's not exactly an Aussie version of Flight Attendant School, the eight-program series (which premiered today on Channel Nine) will follow eight Jetstar cabin crew members during training maneuvers and travels to several Asian countries and Hawaii. (Of course, these are all destinations where the carrier flies.)
Promotional material for the series claims that Jetstar is going behind the scenes at it "moves into the highly competitive international market." As Neil noted earlier this year, the airline was named Best Low-Cost carrier by Skytrax. The Australian-based airline runs dozens of flights within OZ and to destinations throughout Asia, including Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia and others. They also fly to Honolulu from Melbourne and Sydney. (I recently flew them round-trip on a short hop from Melbourne to Hobart and was satisfied with the service and budget price - US $170.)
You can view an intro and clips from episode one -- looks like your standard reality-TV without too much excess drama. Will it make you want to fly Jetstar on your next vacation or sign up to work for the young company?
Everyone, at least one time in their life, should fly around the world.
This may sound like a very expensive option, but it can be surprisingly affordable when you consider the distance that will be covered.
One of the cooler round-the-world websites I've seen recently, AirTreks.com, allows circumnavigators the ability to plan their trip by simply clicking on various cities on a world map. It's very easy. In just a few moments, I was able to put together my own dream trip: Los Angeles – Reykjavik – Moscow – Bangkok – Hawaii – Los Angeles. The site quickly determined the necessary stopovers I needed to make and then estimated tickets prices as $2533 to $3343. Another click would have sent my request off to an agent who would then fine tune the itinerary and get back to me.
Good deals abound for the traveler willing to take a Taipei pit stop. Not only will the usual $100 landing fee surcharge be lifted, but if you stay two nights you can get a $79/night deal at participating hotels. The "I Land Paradise" promotion (which applies to any Asia-bound China Airlines or EVA Airways flight departing from a U.S. airport) starts Oct. 1 and runs until June 30. .jpg)
Another week already? The weather shifts have me wondering what season we're in exactly. It was 93 degrees in Columbus on Monday. Today it's in the mid 50s and I've hauled out my jacket. Pumpkins started appearing at the local grocery stores and farmers markets a few weeks ago. At Gadling, you've probably noticed that Halloween posts are beginning to appear. 
What happens when flight attendants do their own traveling? That is some of what you'll see if you live in .jpg)
