If an airline suddenly goes bust and leaves you stranded, that travel insurance policy you bought may not offer you the protection you think it does. Low-cost airlines in Scandinavia are having their problems these days. When Primera Air abruptly belly-flopped financially last October, the unexpected collapsed stranded flight crews and passengers alike throughout the […]
Read MoreGet ready for ETIAS
Come 2021, the days of North American travelers being welcomed into Western Europe with just a passport and a nice smile will be over. You’ll need to be registered. One of the joys of traveling to Western Europe as an American is being able to breeze through immigration and customs on arrival at European airports. […]
Read MoreAIRLINES: Southwest going at both ends
Southwest Airlines is experimenting with letting passengers board through the front and rear of their planes at the same time. Will it help speed up boarding and improve on-time departures and arrivals? We’ll see. Some of us are old enough to remember the Boeing 727, a three-engine workhorse airliner with a built-in ramp in the […]
Read MoreAIRLINES: Who’s safe?
The crash of a brand-new Boeing 737 off an Indonesian island revives doubts about regional air safety in that part of the world. For the traveler, there’s a different question: How to tell which airlines are safer? When it comes to international travel, Indonesia is an uneasy contradiction. It’s one of the most beautiful and […]
Read MoreGERMANY: Planes & Trains
Germany’s national airline is teaming up with the country’s national railroad to create and air-rail net across the whole country at a bargain rate. Hopefully, someone on this side of the Atlantic is taking notes. In the seemingly eternal death struggle between airlines and passengers trains, Lufthansa and Deutsche Bahn (DB) are trying something different: […]
Read MoreAFRICA: Ghana tries to return to the skies
For the third time since gaining independence in 1957, Ghana is moving to create its own airline. There are major implications for West Africa if it succeeds. Ghana is taking a third shot at establishing a national airline. A member of the government’s aviation ministry went public with that word last week at Kotoka International […]
Read MoreMore African wings to the US
Rwanda’s national airline is due to begin flights to the United States by the end of 2017. That’s good news for Americans wanting to visit East — and West Africa. If it happens. At present, seven African nations have airlines making direct flights between the Mother Continent and the United States: Angola | SonAir/Houston Express […]
Read More