Travel Log: June 2003 Archives

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Online Travel Spending Remains High

According to Internet research company comScore, travel is "by far" the biggest category of spending on the Internet. MediaPost reports.

Rick Bruner | June 27, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

California Zen Vacation

Feeling stressed out by hectic work schedules, global conflicts, rain on the East Coast or anything else? How about a Zen vacation? The New York Times has a feature this week about retreats offered at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, a Buddhist monastery in the Ventana Wilderness of central California, some 25 miles east of Big Sur. Even if you can't make the trip, just reading about it is sublime.

Rick Bruner | June 24, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

W.H.O. Lifts SARS Travel Advisory to Beijing

The World Health Organization declared the Chinese capital free of the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on Tuesday and lifted its warning against travel to the city. Beijing had been the last city in the world subject to a WHO travel warning because of SARS. The city has gone 13 days without any new confirmed infections. Reuters reports.

Andras Revesz | June 24, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (1)

British Airways Refuses to Sell Concordes to Virgin

Sir Richard Branson, charismatic chairman of Virgin Atlantic, had offered to buy five of rival carrier British Airways Condorde planes, but BA has refused the offer, insisting that the supersonic jets will be retired commercially after this October. Travel Weekly reports.

Andras Revesz | June 24, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Cell Phones May Be Allowed in Flights After All

Ever wonder if the real reason airlines don't let you use cell phones on board flights is so that they can charge you astronomical fees to use their in-flight phones? Well, the Federal Aviation Administration is wondering the same thing, or at least they're wondering whether their rule against prohibiting in-flight cell calls is no longer necessary with today's advanced technology. The Washington Post reports that the FAA is conducting a study to determine whether the 15-year-old rule can be suspended amist growing demands from frequent travelers for the service and analysis from some technology experts who say that mobile phones do not actually present any danger to the flight instruments, as previously assumed.

Andras Revesz | June 20, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

British Airways 'Free Flights' Email a Hoax

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. An email has been doing the rounds lately that purports to be from British Airways offering free trips. It begins like this: "Due to the SARS and the recent war in Iraq, the number of passengers flying world-wide has fallen dramatically. We at British Airways have launched an international media campaign which aims to fill our aircraft once again." It's a fake. Snopes.com, a site that specializing in debunking email hoaxes, has the story.

Andras Revesz | June 20, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Travel Gear and Clothing Bargain Shopping

MSNBC has an article today about where to shop for great discounts on travel gadgets, gear and clothing.

Andras Revesz | June 20, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Travel Advice for American Historical Destinations

Planning a trip to one of this nation's historical landmarks this Forth of July or at another time this summer? CBS's Early Show has advice for avoiding stress and crowds at increasingly popular locations including Washington D.C., Philadelphia, St. Louis's Gateway Arch, Mt. Rushmore and The Alamo.

Andras Revesz | June 20, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

United and Continental to Feature Two-Way Email and Instant Messaging on Flights

United and Continental Airlines both announced this week that they will soon provide two-way email, instant messaging and text messaging during their flights. Both airlines will use the Airfone JetConnect, a product of Verizon Communications, to provide the service. The cost of the service on United would be $15.98 per flight, plus 10 cents per kilobyte of data transfered (typical email messages range from 1 to 10 kilobytes), and Continental would be in the same range. See further details on United's press release and this Reuters story.

Andras Revesz | June 20, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Ugly East Coast Weather Means Friday 13th Travel Delays

Yuck. I'm flying today to San Francisco. Doesn't look good. USA Today's Travel Delay page says that storms are likely to cause lots of delays today.

Andras Revesz | June 13, 2003 | Permanent link | Comments (0)