The good, bad and bizarre from the world’s best travel media
AIRFARES — TO INFINITY, AND BEYOND?
If you’re planning on traveling anywhere distant this year, especially if it involves flying, you need to be looking into purchasing your air tickets now, regardless of when you actually plan to take your trip.
The reason? You’ve been watching the reason on the evening news for the last couple of months — political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East, the regions that produce most of the world’s crude oil.
The oil companies are using that unrest as a pretext for raising the price of crude, and they’re raising it through the proverbial roof, which means that any fuel made from crude will be going up along with it.
A barrel of Brent crude oil that cost $80 a year ago is orbiting around $112 right now. You already know what those numbers mean to you at the gas station. What we tend to overlook is that airlines don’t get any more of a break on fuel prices than we do.
In the last year, the cost of of Jet A, the fuel that airliners run on, has shot up almost 40 percent (SOURCE: International Air Transport Association)
I have no idea who “Brent” is, but when I see numbers like those, I want to slap him upside the head. So too, probably, would the average airline executive.
There’s no way the airlines are going to swallow major increases in fuel prices. Those costs are going to be passed on to you and me — most likely through increases in those infamous add-on fees at first, then by raising the cost of base airfares themselves.
That’s why it would be wise to examine your travel plans and see if it would be worth your while to buy your tickets now, before airfares really take off.
If you haven’t already done, start using Web sites that let you track the rise and fall of specific airfares. Yapta, AirfareWatchdog and FareCompare are two good examples.
Also, sign up on sites that alert you by email when the airfare you want has dropped or risen to a certain amount.
Use your judgment. Airfares rise and fall with the seasons. Pulling the trigger too soon on your air tickets could end up costing you as much money as buying them too late. If you think yours might be cheaper as you get closer to your travel dates, it might be worth it to wait.
These days, however, that’s seldom the way to bet.
And now, here this week’s Digest:
AIR
from Smarter Travel
I turn my back on the airline industry for a couple of weeks and look what happens: United grounds its entire Boeing 757 fleet, more than 90 planes, because of failures to inspect a critical onboard computer system upgrade. “Friendly skies?” Don’t get me started…
from Smarter Travel
When it comes to using those frequent flyer miles, the term “free flight” is a relative concept — and may be one you won’t like.
from Smarter Travel
On the other hand, Delta Air Lines is no longer letting your frequent flyer miles expire. your miles are your forever — or until the Delta execs change their minds again. Given that Delta is positioning itself to be America’s air bridge to Africa, those of you interested in visiting the Mother Continent should take note.
from Smarter Travel
The good news: there are three frequent flyer programs out there that will let you exchange your accumulated miles for cash. the bad news: You’ll only be getting pennies on the dollar. Still, if you’ve got a bunch of miles that don’t quite give you a flight somewhere, and you could use the money, it’s better than nothing.
from CNNGO
Ranking the “world’s hottest airline crews?” Has it really come to this? Has the airline industry run out of interesting topics for folks to write about? Then again, that Etihad stewardess is pretty cute…
LAND
from USA Today
How to score that perfect vacation rental, without your wallet getting scarred for life.
SEA
from USA Today
We told you this would happen: The glut of new cruise ships out there is making Caribbean cruises really…really…affordable. One of the reasons is that, unlike the airlines, the cruise lines aren’t rushing to pass on their added fuel costs to their passengers.
from USA Today
Meanwhile, the cruise situation along the Mexican Riviera just keeps on getting worse. Comes now word that cruise ships are either skipping Mazatlan or pulling out of that port altogether following the shooting death of two men (not tourists) in a hotel parking lot. This follows a spate of muggings of cruise passengers and crew members in Mazatlan back in January.
AFRICA
from the New York Times
The rest of Egypt may be scrambling and struggling to rebuild their tourism in the wake of the the country’s revolution, but there’s one spot to which visitors are already starting to flock: Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the movement that ousted Hosni Mubarak.
from the Toronto Sun
An ancient statue of an Egyptian pharaoh, one of eight irreplaceable treasures stolen from the Egyptian Museum during anti-government protests in Cairo, has been found. Two others also recovered. Five still missing.
AMERICAS/CARIBBEAN
from USA Today
Are you a fan of “Deadliest Catch?” Ever wonder what it would be like to be out there yourself on the Bering Sea — without having to face death? Well, there’s a tour for that.
from USA Today
Tourism in Chile is still trying to dig out from the impact of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the nation a year ago — and killed some 500 people.
ASIA/PACIFIC
from the Toronto Sun
Are you a daredevil, an adrenaline junkie? Need to feel the rush? forget skydiving, bungee jumping or caving underwater. Just go driving in India.
from the Toronto Sun
Taiwan is trying to drum up interest in the island as a tourist destination, even to the point of allowing visitors from its political arch-rival, mainland China. Non-Chinese have reasons to visit, too, though.
EUROPE
from the New York Times
There are reasons to visit the French Alps that have absolutely nothing to do with skiing. With or without snow, French mountain towns have more than their share of charm.
from the Guardian (London, UK)
Istanbul, a city with one foot on two continents and one foot in two cultures. A city that defies pigeonholing, stereotyping and maybe even description. But you can have a blast trying.
from the Guardian (London UK)
An online walking tour of Kensington Gardens, with literature and poetry as its theme. Not the largest of London’s public parks, but definitely my favorite, even had Princess Diana never spent a minute in its palace. Take a spring stroll along the Broad Walk as the sun sets and you’ll understand why.
from Lonely Planet
A look at the back-alley bars of Venice. On your first visit to Venice,the whole city may seem like a giant collection of back alleys. These are the ones where you won’t be part of the herd of streaming tourists. That alone makes them worth exploring.
