Combine caffeine and naps for jet lag help

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s what I do to deal with jet lag. I don’t go to sleep much before I travel. I think I was a hamster in my past life. I’m the type who wants to get every last project done, every last dish washed, every last chore behind me before I head out the door. I ruminate. I become more compulsive than usual.

Sometimes, I stay up so late that going to bed may not make sense. That’s what happened before the good-deed travel Mexico trip. It got to be 4:00 a.m. and I thought, I’m getting up in two hours anyway, so why bother? I slept on the plane on and off, and went to bed early the following night. When I travel across time zones, this staying up late makes me tired enough that the jet lag is not as noticeable. I’m thrown off already, what’s a bit more?

When I was living in Singapore, one of my closest friend’s parents visited from the U.S. They are the hearty, cross-country skiing type who stay on a scheduled routine. Their answer to jet lag was to go on a long hike through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve almost as soon as they arrived at our apartment. Our complex edged the preserve which made hiking there pretty darned convenient. They went to bed when they normally do, and seemed not to suffer much. Getting out in the air and sunshine is one way diminish that groggy, disheveled feeling.

There was an article recently in the New York Times that explains how a combination of coffee and naps can help thwart jet lag. I suppose this is what I do, but less scientifically. I always order coffee and a club soda when I fly. Coffee for the boost, and soda water for the hydration. It feels fancier than regular water. Anything one can do to spruce up travel in my opinion.

The photo is of my 2nd cup of coffee on the Southwest flight. It’s slightly out of focus, but then, so was I.

Airlines are slowing down to save on fuel costs

by Jeffrey White on

How much can an airline save on fuel costs just flying a little slower?

JetBlue reckons that by adding two minutes to each of its flights, it saves $13.6 million a year. Southwest is now extending most flights from 1 to 3 minutes, and says it will save more than $40 million. Northwest says it saved about $530 by flying 532 mph instead of 542 mph on one recent Paris-Minneapolis flight (that added eight minutes to the journey).

The Associated Press mentions these figures in a piece about how some carriers are choosing to go it a little slower in this era of insane fuel costs. With jet fuel prices up some 73 percent, to $3.54 a gallon, adding a few extra minutes to normal flight schedules is just one of the ways airlines are coping, along with levying higher fuel surcharges and, of course, increasing fare prices.

United is looking at special software to help pilots choose better routes and speeds and says the software could save the company $20 million a year.

Not all airlines say they have adopted a slowdown approach in order to save on fuel costs. American Airlines, for instance, says it wants to maintain the integrity of its schedules, whatever that means.

It doesn’t seem that customers mind too much. Many are surprised to find out that their flight was a tad longer, and they usually agree that a few minutes is not really that big of a deal. Besides, these slight increases in flight times are built into the advertised schedule, along with taxi time and the like, so we probably wouldn’t know it anyway.

Delta’s baggage fee to be applied retroactively

by Jeffrey White on

As we’ve reported before, Delta will begin charging a fee for checking more than one piece of luggage starting on May 5.

But the twist at Delta is that the fee, $25 per additional piece of luggage, is being applied retroactively. Delta is waving the fee for passengers who booked their tickets between February 4 and April 4, but if you booked on Delta before then — as many have — be prepared to pony up some cash at the check-in counter.

Though it remained quiet on the fee a little more than a month ago, Delta is now finally announcing the fee on its Web site. Not surprisingly, however, it doesn’t mention that it will be retroactively applied.

Traveler “Jason” is angry about this. He tells the Consumerist that he and his wife booked on Delta in January and are planning on checking two bags each. They now face paying an additional $100 for those extra bags on the round trip flight.

“If I would have known that when I booked, I may have thought twice about Delta,” he tells the Web site.

Funny, I’d think whether I really needed four suitcases for a vacation. But hey, that’s just me.

Russian man has a few too many, dies on airplane

by Jeffrey White on

Last month, Iva told us about a Russian man who was too drunk to notice he’d been stabbed in the back with a knife.

Now, add this one to the list of bad things that happen to Russians when they booze: A Russian man on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Toronto didn’t quite make it, dying before the plane touched down yesterday.

Passengers say he had been drinking heavily and had picked fights with several male passengers. Flight attendants reportedly broke up these scuffles by moving the man to the front of the plane, where he died.

Police are now looking into whether alcohol contributed to his death.

What strange things have been found on planes?


Click the image to read the bizarre story…

Airlines store your birth dates, can now better tell tourists from terrorists

by Jeffrey White on

The Transportation Security Administration is now allowing airlines to store the birth dates of their passengers, a change meant to bring some relief to those who are routinely confused for being terrorists.

If you have a name that is always getting flagged because it matches one on a terrorist watchlist — a common, sad but true occurrence these days — the TSA says storing birth dates will allow airlines to more quickly verify that you are not the same person who is on the list.

The TSA itself keeps two lists: one a strict “no fly,” and another in which passengers are tagged for special attention at airport check-in and security.

Right now, those unlucky enough to have names matching names on terrorist watchlists are barred from checking in for their flights online and must instead present themselves to an agent at the airport.

Anybody’s name out there ever raise a flag at the airport?