Have you been watching the Olympic countdown on Vancouver2010.com? With less than three months to go before the Winter Olympics, we’ve already seen promos for the "Today" show’s trip to Vancouver in February, but Tourism Vancouver wants to make sure that Matt, Meredith and Al aren’t the only ones in town for the games.
Air travel competition is heating up, and we’re not talking about corporate profits and losses here. As airlines reduce flights and use smaller planes, passengers sometimes are jostling for storage space for their carry-on items.
Holiday travelers particularly risk raising the ire of grizzled business fliers, who depend on strict adherence to a set of written and unwritten rules to get them on and off of planes efficiently.
Can’t make it to the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Galapagos Islands or China’s Great Wall? While these remain among the world’s most spectacular man-made and natural destinations, there are other sites luring to curious travelers. Among them: 13 added this year to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
They include the Dolomites in Italy, the ruins of Loropeni in Burkina Faso and the sacred city of Cara-Supe in Peru.
The holidays are just around the corner, and if you’re anything like us, you’re probably hoping you won’t have to pay an arm and a turkey leg to get home to celebrate.
Happily, the travel forecast for 2009 is looking much merrier than that of 2008’s “bah humbug” holiday season, when the cost for airline travel soared in the face of the unfolding economic crisis, sky-high fuel costs, severe capacity cuts, and the introduction of a slew of then unheard-of airline fees.
O.K., I’ll admit it. Flying has become a monotonous chore that few look forward to. As a frequent flyer, you’re probably more concerned about who you’re sitting next to than what you’re flying over.
But I always try to think about what Louis CK said on the Conan O’Brien show: "You’re sitting on a chair, IN THE SKY!"
If you still need something to break up the routineness of flying, try a few of these ideas:
Note the airplane type.
Looking to tread terrain still untouched by foreign stag expeditions? Want to unwind in luxury or drink up the sun? Lonely Planet lists the world’s top 10 party cities in its new guide, the “1000 Ultimate Experiences.”
PRAGUE | After a day of traversing cobblestones, what could be better than getting jabbed in the back and pummeled on the head? Prague residents with that thought in their heads are in luck: the city is enveloped in a Thai massage craze. There are more than 40 Thai massage centers in the city, about half of which opened in the last five years.
One such venture is Sawasdee, which has opened four locations since 2005, the latest in April near the Charles Bridge.
Flight attendants are a step closer to qualifying for benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The Senate late Tuesday approved a measure to clarify the intent of the landmark law so that airline flight crews are covered.
The 1993 law grants eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies or after the birth of children. It generally covers employers with 50 or more workers.
Flight crews were considered excluded under the original law because they don’t work traditional 40-hour weeks.