Travel Blog: News and Briefs
U.S. Air Travel in 2005, By the Numbers
by Jim Benning | 02.21.06 | 12:48 PM ET
It wasn’t always pretty flying the top 20 U.S. airlines in 2005, according to Department of Transportation statistics reported on CNN.com.
Lost or damaged baggage reports: 9,735 a day (up more than 20 percent from 2004).
Delayed arrivals: More than one in five flights (up 3 percent from 2004).
Flight cancellations: 366 a day (up almost 5 percent from 2004).
Airline with most lost baggage reports per customer: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, with 17.4 lost bag reports per 1,000 customers.
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzIt’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s…a Flying Cruise Ship?
by Jim Benning | 02.14.06 | 12:59 PM ET
In fact, “a sort of flying Queen Mary 2” is how writer Joshua Tompkins describes the Aeroscraft, a wild-looking airship now being developed by a California company called Worldwide Aeros Corp. The airship, which would dwarf most airplanes, would transport vacationing travelers across oceans or nations as they live the good life and take in the sights below. According to the company’s owner, Igor Pasternak, a prototype is scheduled for completion in 2010.
Eva Airways Harnesses the Power of Hello Kitty
by Michael Yessis | 02.13.06 | 12:09 PM ET
Oh, those toys do get around. While Barbie’s man Ken was off backpacking through Tibet, Hello Kitty was flying around Asia. Taiwanese airline Eva Airways recently painted an Airbus A330-200 with images of Hello Kitty and dressed up its flight attendants in Hello Kitty-themed outfits. It turns out the ever-popular cartoon cat sure can sell airline tickets. Since Hello Kitty made the scene, bookings are up 13 percent, the New York Times reports.
Tourist Architecture: Kitsch Curios and Vainglorious Monstrosities
by Michael Yessis | 02.13.06 | 10:02 AM ET
I think the proposed Grand Canyon Skywalk is unnecessary. Jonathan Glancey thinks it’s a travesty. And his criticism extends to other questionable developments in well-traveled spots around the world. In Saturday’s paper, the Guardian’s architecture correspondent listed his picks for worst additions to natural landscapes around the world. He pulls no punches.
Queen Mary 2, Meet Your Namesake
by Jim Benning | 02.08.06 | 1:36 PM ET
The Queen Mary 2 could use some good press after angry passengers threatened to stage a sit-in recently like anti-war protesters in the ‘60s. A little could come Feb. 23, when the Queen Mary 2 is scheduled to sail into the Port of Long Beach near Los Angeles and “greet” the original Queen Mary for the first time with a whistle salute. The event is being billed as “A Royal Rendezvous.” A Web site has details.
JT Leroy is…Laura Albert
by Michael Yessis | 02.08.06 | 12:22 AM ET
The saga of JT Leroy, the celebrated novelist and sometime travel writer who, it turns out, never existed, reached an end of sorts today. Warren St. John reports in the New York Times that a central figure in the hoax has fessed up. The author of the books Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things and one infamous travel story about Disneyland Paris is a 40-year-old woman named Laura Albert.
New Guinea: Paradise Found?
by Terry Ward | 02.07.06 | 12:43 PM ET
More than 20 new frog species, a rare tree kangaroo never before seen in Indonesia, four new butterfly species and five new types of palms are some of the astonishing findings reported by scientists during an expedition to a remote mountain jungle in the west of New Guinea. Predictably, it’s being likened to heaven on Earth. “It’s as close to the Garden of Eden as you’re going to find on Earth,” said Bruce Beehler, co-leader of the U.S., Indonesian, and Australian expedition, according to a Reuters report on CNN.com. Beehler said they “just scratched the surface.” Sounds like further evidence that undiscovered locales still await intrepid souls (or, at the very least, heavily funded scientists) in the world’s most far flung corners. Note to intrepid backpackers and Starbucks developers: According to the story, the area is now “off limits to most visitors.”
Where is That Pair of Scissors Security Confiscated From You at JFK? Check eBay.
by Michael Yessis | 02.07.06 | 12:31 PM ET
USA Today’s Gary Stoller reports that government agencies are making more than a few bucks by selling the prohibited items surrendered by travelers to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. Often, the items are put up for bid on eBay.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk: What Would Edward Abbey Think?
by Michael Yessis | 02.07.06 | 12:24 PM ET
We’re big fans of the land. Mountains. Mesas. Wide open spaces. All of it. So whenever we come across questionable development on Mother Nature’s fine works, we often find ourselves wondering, What Would Edward Abbey Think? In this first installment of our new recurring feature, we ask what the environmental advocate and author of Desert Solitaire and The Monkey Wrench Gang would think of the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The Hualapai Tribe plans to open a glass bridge—it looks more like a see-through horseshoe to me—extending 70 feet beyond the rim of the Grand Canyon, 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. It was scheduled to open last month, but its debut has just been pushed back until the end of 2006. Read all about it in this press release. An artist’s rendering is above.
Airbus A380 Makes North American Debut
by Michael Yessis | 02.07.06 | 9:43 AM ET
The world’s largest passenger jet, the double-decker Airbus A380, landed in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada Monday for cold-weather testing, according to a CBC news story. Built in Toulouse, France, Airbus’s 555-passenger plane—the CBC has an excellent graphic and slide show—has already been tested for high altitudes in South America and for high temperatures in the Middle East.
The $1 Billion Cruise Ship
by Jim Benning | 02.06.06 | 12:29 PM ET
Like passenger jets, cruise ships are getting bigger. Much bigger. The AP is reporting that Royal Caribbean International has ordered the construction of the world’s largest and most expensive cruise ship ever. When delivered in 2009, the ship is expected carry 5,400 passengers, which is 46 percent more than the current record holder, due out in April. It will be 1,181 feet long. According to Oslo-based Aker Yards ASA, which will build the ship, Project Genesis is “the most valuable ship ever ordered in the history of commercial shipbuilding.” USA Today has the details.
Disneyland’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” Ride to Close for, uh, Synergy
by Jim Benning | 02.04.06 | 10:54 PM ET
For Disney aficionados, “Pirates of the Caribbean” is not just another theme park ride. It’s a classic attraction, and the last one in the park to be personally overseen by Walt Disney himself. Talk of changes to the ride inevitably make news. Which is why the AP is reporting that the Pirates rides at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida will close in March so that characters from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” film can be added and special effects updated. Coincidentally, the rides will reopen this summer, just in time for the release of the film’s sequel, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Fans are discussing the plans at Theme Park Insider.
World Hum Reaches New Traffic Highs
by Michael Yessis | 02.04.06 | 3:15 PM ET
Thanks to everyone for helping make January the highest-traffic month in the history of World Hum. The stats: 405,891 page views, 139,020 visits and 37,980 unique visitors. We hope you’ll continue reading as we boost the frequency of our posts and add new features in the coming months.
Americans, Finns and Danes Have Most Freedom to Travel Visa-Free
by Jim Benning | 02.03.06 | 7:38 AM ET
I’ve been spending the week in Grand Cayman working on a story and chatting with travelers and ex-pats from around the world. Twice I’ve found myself struggling to explain the United States’ ban on travel to Cuba to people understandably baffled by it. When they ask what I think, I find myself saying that whatever you think of Fidel Castro’s government, and I’m not a fan, you should have the right to visit the country and make up your own mind. Besides, the policy has proved remarkably ineffective. The man is still in power. All this was on my mind when I came across this AP headline on CBC.com: Citizens of Denmark, Finland, U.S. have most freedom to travel without visas. It turns out that citizens of these countries can travel to 130 countries without having to get a visa, according to a landmark report. Germany, Ireland and Sweden tied for a close second place, with their citizens able to visit 129 countries without visas.
Whither the Future of Low Fares on Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity?
by Jim Benning | 02.03.06 | 6:18 AM ET
According to a Reuters report in USA Today, the major airlines are considering this year whether to renew their agreements with the big online booking agencies. Apparently airlines are having a tough time raising ticket prices to cover rising costs. Now, the report states, they are “scrutinizing their books for places to trim expenses. For some airlines, ticket distribution is a significant expense and may well fall into that category.”
