Travel Log: July 2004 Archives

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Cell Phone Use to be Permitted In Flight

Following a recent announcement from Lufthansa stating the airline would offer in-flight Internet access, the Seattle Times reports American Airlines is about to remove the last barrier to a peaceful flight. The airline conducted a trial run last month on a modified aircraft that allowed passengers to use their cell phones inflight. American Airlines expects to roll this out across its entire fleet by 2006. Now, along with screaming kids, we can listen to teenagers have fights with their girl/boyfriends as we contemplate highjacking the cockpit or sitting in the bathroom the entire flight for a bit of peace.

Steve Hall | July 30, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Greece Suffers Tourism Slump Despite Olympics

Even with the summer Olympics about to descend upon Athens, the country of Greece has seen a tourism slump caused by the strong Euro, a sluggish international economy and delayed construction projects. Seattle Times reports as of mid-July many thousands of beds out of a 62,000 bed count in Athens have yet to be reserved and about half of Olympic event tickets have yet to be sold.

Steve Hall | July 30, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (1)

Fodor's Travel Blog

Hey, our favorite travel blog is still BizNetTravel, but we just discovered this excellent one from Fodor's. Check it out.

Rick Bruner | July 29, 2004 | Good Resources | Permanent link | Comments (2)

Global Air Travel Shows Steady Recovery

Smart Money reports the International Air Transport Association says global air traffic has seen a 20.3 percent increase for the first half of 2004, up from the same period last year. Cargo traffic rose 13 percent. Ominously, the biggest increases came from the Middle Eastern carriers who saw a 44.3 percent rise. IATA Chief Giovanni Bisignani predicts the year will end with double digit growth.

Steve Hall | July 28, 2004 | Trends | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Travel Agency Offers Witch Cruises

As if there weren't enough themes for cruises already, Illinois based Pagan Travel Network has put together a series of cruises called "Witch & Famous Cruises." The cruises offer a chance for Pagans to get together, see the worldly sites, swap spells ans see if the can get the cruise ship to turn purely by willing it to do so. Press release reports.

Steve Hall | July 28, 2004 | Travel Ideas | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Boston's DNC Traffic Disaster A Non-Event

As a resident of the Boston area, over the past few months I have been subjected to endless predictions of traffic related horror because the Democratic National Convention was coming to town. Well, now it's here and it's a non-event. Usually willing to weather any sort of obstacle placed in their path, hundreds of thousands of hardened New Engladers have steered completely clear of the Boston area this week making for one of the biggest non-events the area has ever seen.

''God bless the Democrats," said Republican Scott Watkins, who said he made ''record time" on his drive from Haverhill to East Boston and back yesterday. ''We should have this [convention] once or twice a month."

Among those who did choose to commute into the city, there was an air of dreaded anticipation for something that never materialized. ''It was scary. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," said Karyn Courtney, who's commjute was about 20 minutes shorter than normal yesterday. ''This is weird. It's a ghost town."

The Boston Globe reports eats on normally packed trains, busses and subways were empty. Traffic officials have reported that traffic inro Boston has been reduced by 50 percent - a truly stunning accomplishment.

Steve Hall | July 27, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Mile High Club

Been there? Done that? Get the t-shirt!

UPDATE:
In case you don't get the joke or are otherwise of sensitive constitution, this is PG-13 humor!

Rick Bruner | July 26, 2004 | Good Resources | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Amtrak Requires Reservations for All Trips to NY Around Republican Convention

Amtrak issued an alert today:

Amtrak will require customers to make reservations for nearly all of its trains that serve New York City during the week of the Republican National Convention next month, and the railroad will take other safety and security-related measures during the convention.

Amtrak will not change its current, published schedule of trains operating in and out of New York during the convention. However, most of those unreserved Amtrak trains serving New York City that currently require only a ticket for passage will require reservations for all route segments within the Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor, including the Upstate New York Empire Service, during the convention.

Rick Bruner | July 26, 2004 | Advice, News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Man Travels Autobahn By Skateboard

When one is desperate for money, there's no end to the things one will do. Deutsche-Welle reports a 38 year old Swedish traveler suprised motorist as he zoomed down the German autobahn near Winnweiler and was stopped by police who didn't arrest him but were very interested in why he might choose to skateboard the autobahn. Police report he was down to his last two Euros and was travelling to Berlin where he had friends who could lend him money to get home. At least he was smart enough to know the shortest distance between two point is a straight line - or the German autobahn.

Steve Hall | July 24, 2004 | News | Permanent link | Comments (0)

Pre-Paid Travel Cards May Not Be Worth It

CBS MarketWatch reports a new trend in plastic and it's called the pre-paid travel card. For a fee, you can load it up with an amount of money you think you will need on your trip. One of the big benefits is that the card is not linked to your bank account so if the card is stolen, the thief will not be able to access your bank account. But do travelers really need another piece of plastic to carry? With charge cards like MasterCard and VISA promising to cover any charge made to your card that you did not authorize combined with the $8 to $15 upfront costs and "reloading" fees for the traveler card, they may not be the best deal. However, if you are trying to control your child's spending while they are traveling then these cards may be the savior you are searching for.

Steve Hall | July 24, 2004 | Advice | Permanent link | Comments (0)