2010 › May

Whose frequent flyer miles are most useful?

by Grant Martin on

Like airlines, hotels, rollaboards and car services, not all frequent flyer programs are created equal. Plenty goes into measuring the quality of a particular rewards program. How difficult is it to redeem the miles? Can one redeem said miles on a partner airline or for other travel tidbits like hotel stays or car rentals? How many miles are required to make a booking?

It’s difficult to compare all of those data against what a particular traveler may need on a given day, so Ideaworks (link opens a PDF) ran a simple study: how easy is it to purchase an economy ticket with an airline’s miles?

Using a narrow sampling of available routes and itineraries, the study’s findings are pretty dramatic. Among US carriers, Southwest Airlines had the easiest to redeem miles, with 99% of queried itineraries available. Behind them, Alaska Airlines and Continental Airlines scored success rates of 75% and 71% respectively.

At the bottom of the heap? US Airways only returned availability on 10.7% of queried routes, while Delta Airlines wasn’t far ahead with 12.9%. Perhaps that’s why so many frequent flyers are unhappy with their respective mileage programs.

Indicative as these data are, it’s worth nothing that the small sampling taken by Ideaworks doesn’t fully represent the usefulness of each carrier’s miles. Route availability, network, seasonality and elite status all play a role in what routes are available to each traveler

[Via Smartertravel]

JetBlue pilot removed from Boston plane after gun threat incident

by Scott Carmichael on

A JetBlue co-pilot has been removed from his Boston crew lounge when he sent an email to his ex-girlfriend mentioning his plans to harm himself.

The pilot is a member of the TSA Federal Flight Deck Officer program, which allows pilots to carry guns on their plane – the program was developed after the attacks on 9/11. Upon being confronted by authorities, the pilot handed over the gun and was taken to a local hospital for mental evaluation.

Local authorities were quick to point out that the man never threatened passengers and was only considered a threat to himself.

Daily gear deals – $4 iPhone car dock, $12 travel outlet and more

by Scott Carmichael on

Here are the hottest gear deals for today, Sunday, May 23rd 2010. Remember, these deals are often valid for just one day, so act fast before they are gone.

Today’s first deal is for the Griffin TuneFlex iPod/iPhone car mount. This mount plugs directly into your power outlet, and the included audio cable lets you listen to your music using a car stereo with line in. On sale for just $3.99. Click here for this deal.

Next up is a mini capsule speaker – this rechargeable speaker plugs into your iPod or other music device, and expands from a small sphere into a room-filling speaker. On sale for $19.95 over at Dillyeo.com.

Our third deal of the day is for the Monster Outlets to Go power strip with three outlets and a USB charging port. The cord conveniently wraps around the unit for easy carrying. On sale for $12.84. Click here for this deal.

And finally in today’s lineup – if the AC at your hotel is turning your room into a dry hell, check out this Air-O-Swiss travel humidifier. The unit uses regular water bottles for up to 10 hours of ultrasonic humidity. On sale for $49.99 over at Amazon.com.

Swimmer to attempt high altitude swim in the Himalaya

by Kraig Becker on

British long distance swimmer Lewis Pugh has traveled to Nepal, where he is preparing to make the highest altitude swim ever, as he works to raise awareness of global climate change and the effects it is having on glaciers in the Himalaya. The long time environmental activist will make his historic swim, which has been called the hardest ever by some, in an icy glacial lake in the shadow of Mt. Everest.

Widely considered to be the finest cold water swimmer in the world, Pugh has gone for long distance swims in icy conditions before. In 2007 he became the first person to swim across the North Pole and back in 2005 he went for a 1km dip off of the Antarctic Peninsula. He also swam across the English Channel, as well around the North Cape, the northernmost point in Europe, and Cape Horn at the tip of South America. Pugh is the only person to have taken a long distance swim, meaning 1km or more, in all five of the Earth’s oceans, and he does it just wearing a Speedo, goggles, and swim cap, even in the cold water swims.

Pugh is currently in Gorak Shep, a high mountain village located at 17,000 feet, that is the last stop before Everest Base Camp. He is spending his time acclimatizing and taking a few practice swims in the nearby Lake Pumori, which sits at 17,700 feet, where he’ll attempt the official swim too. That swim will be at least 1km in length as well.

In the most recent updates to his blog, Lewis has commented on his first test swim, calling it the most frightening day of his career. He went for a 300 meter swim, and discovered that he was having a tough time breathing and that his stamina was lacking at such a high altitude. Even on that short swim, he feared for his own life on more than one occasion. For a man who is use to feeling ultra fit, it was a scary situation.

The plan was to make the swim yesterday, but another update indicated that Lewis is suffering from altitude sickness, and has delayed the attempt for now. Forecasts indicate that the weather in the region will take a turn for the worse in a few days time as well, ushering in the monsoon season, and effectively shutting the door on these kinds of activities. Stay tuned to see if Lewis can complete his swim before that happens.

Photo of the Day (05.22.10)

by Mike Barish on

What is it with kids today? They always have their hair in their eyes, scowls on their faces and loud music blasting in their iPods. Why all the angst? And why do they all smell like they sprayed an entire bottle of Abercrombie & Fitch cologne on themselves? I blame the MTV. Or maybe it’s that Justin Bieber. Speaking of which, who the hell is Justin Bieber? Anyways, it’s nice to see that emo haircuts and forlorn looks have made their way to rural Thailand. Flickr user AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker found this hipster in a hill town in Chiang Dao. I’m guessing he loves Twilight.

Have a picture of a kid who hates his parents? Or maybe just some awesome travel photos? Upload them to our Flickr pool and we use one for a Photo of the Day.