This Week In Travel – Episode 178

This week we are joined by Mara Gorman of Passports With Purpose and blogger at MotherOfAllTrips.com and author of The Family Traveler’s Handbook. This Week’s News: Hotel fines guests who left scathing review Eurostar’s new trains: will Wi-Fi ruin the experience? Skift Business Traveler: Gogo Just Won the In-Flight Wi-Fi Wars The New JetBlue Will [...]



from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/12/01/week-travel-episode-178/

Please Keep Perspective: Air Travel Isn’t Everything That’s Wrong With Society

Frank Bruni packs a ton of complaints about aviation into a single New York Times column, which really is meant as an allegory for his complaints about society as a whole. He packs a lot of disparate complaints into one column! lack of infrastructure investment poor manners inequality The ‘rich get richer’ theme doesn’t especially […]

The post Please Keep Perspective: Air Travel Isn’t Everything That’s Wrong With Society appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/please-keep-perspective-air-travel-isnt-everything-thats-wrong-society/

Last Call: 50,000+ Southwest Points

For the past month or so Chase has been offering a 50,000 point sign-up bonus after spending $2,000 within three months on their co-branded Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Cards.

Both the Southwest Airlines® Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Card are offering 50,000 points after spending $2,000 within three months, provided you haven't received a bonus on a given card in the past 24 months.

Anyway just a quick heads up that this offer will be expiring Tuesday afternoon, so if you’ve been eying it you’ll want to apply very soon. In fairness, Chase has run this offer with at least some frequency the past year or so, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see it return fairly soon. So this isn’t a total “use it or lose it” offer, since this is their “standard” increased sign-up bonus.

However, if you're making a play for the Southwest Companion Pass (which is hands-down the best deal on domestic travel), you'll want to take advantage of this offer sooner rather than later.

The post Last Call: 50,000+ Southwest Points appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/last-call-50000-southwest-points/

Itineraries: For Uber, Airbnb and Other Companies, Customer Ratings Go Both Ways

Hotel, restaurant and car service companies are now frequently using sophisticated systems that allow them to identify their best, and worst, patrons.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/4105dd3c/sc/36/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A20Cbusiness0Cfor0Euber0Eairbnb0Eand0Eother0Ecompanies0Ecustomer0Eratings0Ego0Eboth0Eways0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

This GoPro bear chase is terrifying

Who knew bears were actually licking their chops behind some bushes waiting for someone to pass by to snack on some tasty piece of meat?



from Matador Network » Matador Network http://matadornetwork.com/life/fake-gopro-bear-chase-awesomely-terrifying/

British Airways Trials New Avios Upgrade Scheme

In theory British Airways has an extremely generous upgrade program.

For example, you can upgrade from business class to first class for the difference in cost between a first and business class award. A discounted business class ticket between New York and London would only require 20,000 Avios to upgrade one-way, with no co-pay. That's a pretty darn good deal, if you ask me.

The catch is that there needs to be award space in the cabin you're trying to upgrade to. And there's no way to waitlist an upgrade. In the past British Airways was great about releasing award space last minute, though they've been getting stingier and stingier lately. In other words, even if 100 people are waitlisted for upgrades, they'll let the premium cabin go out with empty seats if there's no award space.

The post British Airways Trials New Avios Upgrade Scheme appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/british-airways-trials-new-avios-upgrade-scheme/

Pursuits: Casting for a Big Fish on the Big Island of Hawaii

Ulua can weigh well over a hundred pounds. So how, exactly, do you haul one in from the shore?

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/41053234/sc/10/l/0L0Snytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A70Ctravel0Ccasting0Efor0Ea0Ebig0Efish0Eon0Ethe0Ebig0Eisland0Eof0Ehawaii0Bhtml0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

In Transit Blog: Rio, Real Early

The Belmond Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro is offering a sunrise picnic with sweeping views of the city.

















from NYT > Travel http://rss.nytimes.com/c/34625/f/642561/s/410564c3/sc/8/l/0Lintransit0Bblogs0Bnytimes0N0C20A140C120C0A10Crio0Ereal0Eearly0C0Dpartner0Frss0Gemc0Frss/story01.htm

New Newark – London Service Coming Offering Business Class for the Price of Coach

La Compagnie, the all-business class airline flying Paris – Newark with angled seats and just 3 flight attendants for a 74 passenger cabin, will use its second 757 that’s about to be delivered to fly from a London area airport to Newark. No details are announced yet as far as whether they’ll serve Gatwick, Luton, […]

The post New Newark – London Service Coming Offering Business Class for the Price of Coach appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/new-newark-london-service-coming-offering-business-class-price-coach/

Oman Air Introduces New (Worse) Business Class Product

Oman is near the top of the list of places I want to visit. While the Middle East in general fascinates me, a lot of the "culture" seems to be list in cities like Doha and Dubai, which are all about building the biggest/newest/most expensive of everything.

Oman, based on what I've heard from everyone that has been there, is a gem of the Middle East. Here's a short tourism video about Oman.

But what fascinates me almost as much as the country itself is their airline, Oman Air. When we think of premium Middle Eastern Airlines we often think of the "big three" -- Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar -- which are most well known.

But Oman Air is arguably at least as cutting edge as they are. Their Airbus A330s are configured with a business class product that's in a 1-2-1 configuration, the same as most airlines have in first class. And they've had that product for years.

The post Oman Air Introduces New (Worse) Business Class Product appeared first on One Mile at a Time.

from One Mile at a Time http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/oman-air-introduces-new-worse-business-class-product/

Seeing the World in a Weekend – Budapest, Hungary

The weather in Budapest was uncooperative during my one full day in this delightful city. The city was, however, one of the most architecturally stunning I have ever seen, so not even the bad weather could keep the sites from shining through the rain and fog. As usual, I make the very best of the […]



from Frugal Travel Guy http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/12/seeing-the-world-in-a-weekend-budapest-hungary.html

I Hate Thailand – reverse psychology clip goes viral, but will it work?

Tourism bosses in Thailand are no doubt extremely pleased that a quirky marketing campaign has captured the attention of many. The Tourism ...



from Tnooz http://www.tnooz.com/article/i-hate-thailand-viral-clip/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hate-thailand-reverse-psychology-clip-goes-viral-will-work

Just Back: Provence

Barbara A. Noe oversees the creation of National Geographic’s travel books—and every now and again has the opportunity to write them. She recently returned from a trip to Provence and the French Riviera on assignment to update Nat Geo Travel's guidebook to the region. Here are some of the high points of her trip, in her own words.



from Intelligent Travel http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/01/just-back-provence/

December 2014 Desktop Wallpaper

This month’s photo is of Devil’s Tower, Wyoming 1920×1200 | 1920×1080 | 1600×1200 | 1680×1050 | 1600×900 1440×900 | 1280×1024 | 1280×800 | 1024×768 iPad | iPhone 6 | iPhone 6 Plus | iPhone 5 | iPhone 4 2560×1600 (MacBook Retina 13″) | 2880×1800 (MacBook Retina 15″)



from Everything Everywhere Travel Blog http://everything-everywhere.com/2014/12/01/december-2014-desktop-wallpaper/

The Worst Security Line Ever? United’s Worst Twitter Fail? And Buying Avios Via Magazine Subscriptions

News and notes from around the interweb: TSA Line at Chicago Midway Stretched Over a Mile Long 12,000 Avios for £155 with best-ever Iberia / Economist offer Does Washington Dulles — IAD — stand for Inside a Dump, I Advocate Demolition (of the C/D terminal), Incompetent AirLounge Dragons, or International Arrivals Disaster? I pay for […]

The post The Worst Security Line Ever? United’s Worst Twitter Fail? And Buying Avios Via Magazine Subscriptions appeared first on View from the Wing.

from View from the Wing http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2014/12/01/worst-security-line-ever-uniteds-worst-twitter-fail-buying-avios-via-magazine-subscriptions/