Travel Blog: News and Briefs
2007: Safest Year for Air Travel Since 1963
by Michael Yessis | 01.03.08 | 10:36 AM ET
So says the Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office. It reported yesterday that 136 accidents caused “severe damage” to aircraft last year, and 965 people died in air crashes, a 25 percent drop from 2006. Numbers are based on planes big enough to carry six passengers and a crew, according to Reuters. The AP also reports that the number of air passengers increased by 3 percent in 2007 to about 2.2 billion passengers. In that context, the drop in accidents and fatalities seems even more impressive.
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Yahoo! BuzzNBC News: The ‘Black Market in Fraudulent Passports is Thriving’
by Michael Yessis | 01.02.08 | 4:27 PM ET
It shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone who’s been paying attention to the news in recent years. False travel documents have helped enable plots ranging from the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 to the London bombings in 2005. Authorities around the globe are on the case, building databases and turning to biometrics and RFID chips, but as the Dateline NBC story—and this over-the-top video clip make clear—it’s currently quite easy to procure a fraudulent passport. (Via Gridskipper)
Related on World Hum:
* 2007: The Year in U.S. Passports
Spare Lithium Batteries Banned in Checked Baggage
by Michael Yessis | 01.02.08 | 10:40 AM ET
As of yesterday, the Department of Transportation no longer allows air travelers to pack spare lithium batteries in checked baggage. According to the AP, the move was made because “fire-protection systems in the cargo hold of passenger planes can’t put out fires sparked in lithium batteries.” Passengers will, however, be allowed to carry two spare batteries—packed separately, though—as carry ons, and continue to use laptops and other devices with batteries stored within.
World Hum Writers Win North American Travel Journalists Association Awards
by Michael Yessis | 12.31.07 | 4:48 PM ET
The 12-part World Hum Women’s Travel E-Mail Roundtable written by Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Liz Sinclair, Terry Ward and Catherine Watson was named a runner-up for best travel series in the 2007 North American Travel Journalists Association Awards. Peter Delevett’s The Distance from Dachau to Darfur finished runner-up in the historical travel category, and World Hum received an honorable mention for best online travel magazine. Congrats to all, and thanks for helping make 2007 a great year at World Hum. Here’s to an even better 2008!
Travel Warnings for Pakistan
by Jim Benning | 12.28.07 | 12:54 PM ET
Not surprisingly, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and ensuing violence and unrest have prompted new travel warnings for Pakistan.
The Mystery of Grandma’s Travel Photos
by Michael Yessis | 12.26.07 | 5:14 PM ET
Here’s a sweet tale to stoke any post-Christmas family travel buzz you might have: Inspired by three albums of cryptic travel photos her grandmother passed down, Patricia Morrisroe dives into her family’s past and traces the roots of her own wanderlust. “As for future generations,” she writes in Travel+Leisure, “if my grandmother had purposely set out to frustrate them with the photo albums, she couldn’t have done a better job.”
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: Booked for the Holidays
by Michael Yessis | 12.21.07 | 12:42 PM ET
Travelers are hoping for a white Christmas this year, or they’re just worried if they’re going to make it to their destination with minimal pain. Either way, they’ve found some great books to take along. Happy holidays to all. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Top Ski Getaway
TripAdvisor (current)
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
Ski Report: Smoothing Bumps for Boomers
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
15 Places to Visit to See the Real California
* The subhead “dare[s] you to disagree.” OK. Where are the California Missions?
Most Read Feature Story
World Hum (posted this week)
Travel Books We Loved in 2007
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph UK (current)
Airport Staff at Heathrow and Gatwick to Strike
Most Read Blog Post
World Hum (posted this week)
What’s Your Travel ‘Dealbreaker’?
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Airline Glitches Top Cause of Delays
* So it’s not all JFK’s fault?
Top User Video
TravelChannel.com
Christmas in Athens
In Defense of Hot Americans Botching Geography Questions on Television
by Eva Holland | 12.21.07 | 12:29 PM ET
Well, sort of. I’m not going to say that Miss Teen South Carolina’s near-incoherent ramble about education, maps, and “the Iraq” has been misunderstood, or that Kellie Pickler was actually referring to the recent expansion of the Schengen zone when she wondered whether Europe was a country. And I’m certainly not going to claim that I didn’t laugh out loud when I first saw those videos. But something about the vicious glee and satisfaction people around the world have gotten out of the two clips makes me want to go to bat for my fellow blondes in distress.
Uncensored ‘Lust, Caution’ Spurs Moviegoer Tourism in Hong Kong
by Michael Yessis | 12.21.07 | 12:17 PM ET
An Historic Day in Europe. Road Trip Time?
by Jim Benning | 12.21.07 | 11:46 AM ET
Photo of German autobahn by kwerfeldein via Flickr, (Creative Commons).,/div>
Nine additional European countries, most of them former Communist Warsaw Pact states in the east, joined the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone today. What does that mean? This sentence from the Globe and Mail put it into perspective for me: “This morning, for the first time in history, you can drive from the Russian border in Estonia to the Atlantic beaches of Portugal, across 24 countries, without encountering a single border crossing or having to show your passport at any point.” That’s amazing. The fine print: Not everyone is happy.
You With the Wheeled Luggage, Take Note
by Michael Yessis | 12.21.07 | 9:17 AM ET
Seth Stevenson has issues with you—valid issues, I’d say—and he’s aired them with readers of the New York Times. He would like you and your bag to stop your “wanton destruction” of ankles and airline seats. Also, he thinks your bag is ugly. He writes: “Your dorky rolling bag doesn’t say, ‘I’m embarking on a voyage.’ It says, ‘I’m going to a conference in Cleveland.’”
Related on World Hum:
* ‘If a Barefoot Man Can’t Walk Into Stuckey’s, Why Can he Sit Next to me All the Way to Sydney?’
* Armrest Seating, Anyone?
When Tourism Meets Nationalism
by Joanna Kakissis | 12.20.07 | 2:49 PM ET
It has in a big way in Yan’an, the prefecture in northwestern China that was the center of the Chinese communist revolution from 1935 to 1948. Mao Zedong and other communist leaders lived in caves and pagodas carved into the hillside, and Chinese communists celebrate it as the birthplace of the revolution. And as China has grown into a world power, its leaders are trying to boost national pride through “red tourism” that celebrates communist touchstones such as Yan’an, according to NPR. Of course, Mao’s pagodas are an obvious choice to muscle up nationalism: Today Chinese visitors from other regions visit Yan’an so they can dress up as revolutionaries and sing the communist ditty “The East is Red” with performers wearing traditional peasant clothes.
One Argument for Dressing up for Your Next Flight
by Jim Benning | 12.20.07 | 1:28 PM ET
“Most of us are stuck in economy class, but not all of us stay there,” writes Christopher Elliott this week. “How do people snag upgrades? Well, one of the secrets of frequent travelers is to look the part….I’ve spoken with several airline folks who have admitted they’ll pick someone who looks like he belongs in the forward cabin.” In other words, this guy probably isn’t getting the nod.
Related on World Hum:
* ‘Really Cool, Well-Traveled’ John Flinn on the Dorky Zip-Off Pant
* In Thailand, Pink is the New Black
Photo by crucially via Flickr, (Creative Commons).
U.S. to Cap Flights at JFK, Newark Liberty Airports
by Michael Yessis | 12.20.07 | 12:53 PM ET
Airline carriers and the United States government have agreed to limit the amount of peak-hour flights at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International, two airports where extreme congestion has caused ripples of flight delays and cancellations across the country. At JFK, only “82 or 83” landings or takeoffs will be allowed per peak-hour, down from as many as 90 according to USA Today; the limit hasn’t been set for Newark. Both limits are expected to be finalized by the time the caps take effect on March 15, 2008.
Related on World Hum:
* New York’s JFK vs. Frankfurt Airport
* JetBlue Apologizes for Stranding Passengers on Planes at JFK
What’s Your Travel ‘Dealbreaker’?
by Eva Holland | 12.19.07 | 3:09 PM ET
Not long ago I went for drinks with a few girlfriends and, of course, before too long we gave in to stereotype and turned the conversation to bad dates, bad ex-boyfriends, bad-boys in general. One friend told a story about a relationship that had been rolling along smoothly—until she suggested that the two of them visit Paris together. “I’ve been to Paris,” her soon-to-be ex said casually. “They have one in Vegas.”
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