Europe blocks cargo and mail from Yemen after terror attempt

by Scott Carmichael on

As can be expected after a major terror attempt, international governments are making major changes to their security procedures to prevent any repeats.

The first changes involve how cargo is handled – because not surprisingly, a lot of the way cargo is screened had been ignored for years, while airports focused on shoes and bottles of shampoo.

According to a BBC report, the only reason things didn’t end in disaster was because a recently captured al-Qaeda member turned himself in and told authorities about the bombs. This means that despite Yemen being a known home to terrorists, bombs could simply enter the international skies in a UPS box.

Now this huge hole has been discovered in the way cargo is screened, the temporary solution has been to simply block all cargo coming from Yemen. In the United Kingdom, Somalia has been added to the list of countries on a no-cargo list. As of right now, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United Kingdom have all put a hold on any cargo, and some of these countries have even banned inbound mail. Germany also banned passenger flights from Yemen, which means Italy is the only country still allowing passenger air travel from Yemen.

Not entirely surprising is the fact that the man behind the tips is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who started making bombs after he was released.

If there is such a thing as an upside to this most recent event, it is that passengers should not be impacted too badly, but anyone who does regular business with Yemen may find life becoming slightly more complicated.

[Image: AP]

Five ways to get to Kabul, Afghanistan

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Does your definition of “adventure travel” involve a safety briefing and equipment to keep you safe? If so, there’s a hard-core version of the concept that you’ve been missing. Chase the ultimate thrill in Afghanistan, and your world will never be the same. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a war going on, not to mention plenty of corruption. You will have an adventure to talk about when if you get home.

So, how do you get there?

Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a lot of demand for travel to Afghanistan. It looks like your best (and sometimes only) bet is to fly into Kabul and branch out from there. Flight availability varies with the fighting and willingness of air carriers to assume the attendant risk, so you may need to hunt around a bit and be flexible. The good news, though, is that the flights appear to be relatively inexpensive.

Below, you’ll find five ways to get to Kabul. The rest is up to you.

%Gallery-9128%1. Air Arabia: though it seems this airline used to offer flights directly to Kabul, this destination is no longer listed. But, you can always get close: fly to Peshawar, Pakistan, and take your chances with a local guide or solo trek.

Bonus: Air Arabia isn’t flying into a war zone any more. Take the hint.

2. Ariana Afghan Airlines: this regional carrier offers flights to Kabul from more than a dozen cities, including some that are recognizable and easily accessible, like Frankfurt and Moscow. A quick look at the website shows you that Ariana specializes in Kabul, as every flight available either starts or ends there. If you’re looking to save a few bucks on your little adventure, you could do worse: roundtrip tickets are only around $1,000 and kids’ fares are even cheaper (bring the whole family!). There are additional discounts for long-term stays of six months or a year. Unsettlingly, one-way fares are listed on the website.

Bonus: There is a customer loyalty program, but details have yet to be published.

3. Pakistan International: There aren’t any direct flights to Kabul, unless you fly from Dubai, make that your first stop from the United States. Flights from Islamabad are available only four days a week (Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday). If you prefer to leave from Peshawar, you’re limited to Saturdays. Build this into your itinerary.

Bonus: Business class seats are available!

4. Kam Air: Do you want choices? You’ll get them with Kam Air! Among the cities that will get you to Kabul are Dubai, New Delhi and Islamabad. Tehran and Mashad require layovers in Mazar, which you probably don’t want. When planning your travel, pay attention to which cities have flights to Kabul on which days (your best bet is Dubai).

Bonus: You have choices … what more could you want?

5. Get a job: if you really are committed to visiting Afghanistan, consider finding employment there. I’ve heard that there are plenty of U.S. government jobs that offer no end of opportunity to go to Afghanistan. You’ll even get free clothing and be surrounded by some well-trained security folks (hint, hint).

Bonus: You’ll get money for college.

[photo by isafmedia via Flickr]

Disruptive passenger arrested in Denver after bomb threat

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A disruptive passenger was arrested at Denver International Airport this past weekend when he said he had a bomb. The passenger was late for a flight to Salt Lake City, missed the connection and left his luggage on the plane. After being “disruptive in the gate area” and making inappropriate comments,” a United Airlines spokesman told CNN, the passenger claimed he had a bomb in his bag.

This was enough to get the plane back to the gate – not to mention the bag off the plane. This was followed by an hour-long delay while the incident was investigated by the authorities.

Now, the passenger is being charged with interfering with public transportation. A trip to the Denver jail is in his future, according to the report.

[photo by cliff1066 via Flickr]

Airlines not alone in poor customer service studies

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The Airline Quality Rating report was released last week, exposing the five worst airlines in the United States. It’s fun to beat up on the airlines … as it is to beat up on other companies and industries notorious for poor customer service. So, this made me wonder just how the airlines stack up against everyone else.

Back in August, the American Customer Satisfaction Index rated hundreds of companies and came out with the results. Some airlines are in there, of course, but they aren’t alone. I took a look at the bottom of the barrel – 18 companies featured by Business Insider – and saw that the airlines were well-represented but far from dominant.

Telecommunications companies led the pack, accounting for a third of the list, with airlines next – four companies accounting for 22 percent. Banking followed with 17 percent. Strangely, social networking contributed two companies, with both Facebook and MySpace getting poor marks for customer service. Insurance, restaurants and utilities each contributed a company.

The airlines that got the nod will look pretty familiar: in fact, they’re four of the five identified in the Airline Quality Rating report. American Airlines took the #12 spot, immediately behind Facebook and MySapce. Delta and US Airways took the next two positions, with United Airlines at #17.

The worst company for customer service was AT&T Mobility, with DirecTV and Citibank behind it.

Continental Airlines iPhone app includes Point Inside airport maps and more

by Scott Carmichael on

Continental Airlines has jumped on board the “make an app” bandwagon. But unlike a lot of branded travel apps, this one is amazingly well designed.

At the heart of the app are all the things you’d expect from an airline app – flight booking, flight status and links to contact information.

But in designing their app, Continental went way beyond the ordinary – for starters, the app includes airport maps from Point Inside – one of my personal favorites. Inside the app, you can also check in, pull up your mobile boarding pass, view reservations and even enable push notifications of flight status messages.

They didn’t even stop there – under the “more” button, users will find a currency converter, a DirectTV program schedule (for in-flight live TV), games, links to Presidents Club locations, a timetable, recent Continental Airlines Tweets and an overview of reservations.

I’ve seen an awful lot of travel apps, but Continental Airlines really shows people how an app should be – a huge amount of handy tools, and all the features a Continental traveler needs to access their reservations. Well done Continental!

All I can hope for is that United Airlines does something similar soon…

You’ll find the free Continental Airlines app in the App Store, or through this iTunes link.

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