Travel Woes: Avoid Connecting Flights

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend of mine and a serious global traveler had the trip that almost turned her off air travel all together–and she’s a former pilot.

These are the details that I remember from what she recently told me about her return trip from Iceland to Columbus, Ohio. Her nightmare started at JFK airport.

Thunderstorms had paralyzed flights, thus hers to Columbus was canceled. But, feeling optimistic , she thought she might be able to hook up with a Jet Blue flight and headed to the Jet Blue terminal. No luck there either. In her quest for a flight, she left the security area of her terminal and couldn’t get back in. Then she looked for another terminal where she could park herself for the night since all airport hotels were booked. No such luck there either. That one closed for cleaning and she was kicked out to the curb again. After another bout of terminal hopping, she found a chair where she could settle in for the rest of the night.

The next day she was able to book a hotel room since finding a flight wasn’t happening. Booked solid. She arrived in Columbus on Friday, almost two days after she was supposed to have arrived.

At 4 AM Saturday morning she received a call from the luggage courier who couldn’t find her house. Before dawn she was reunited with her belongings.

If you haven’t noticed, she didn’t get any help from the airline except for the rebooking of her flight on the next available flight two days later. The airline wasn’t obligated to do more. The delay was caused by weather.

The flights were full because all flights are full these days. In her words, this summer is a mess. If one thing goes wrong, the whole system slides into chaos.

She also didn’t have a cell phone. Since she was traveling internationally, she left hers at home. Also, there wasn’t any information to be found on where to get hotels outside of the airport.

Her bit of advice after this fiasco was, whenever possible, fly direct and fly early in the day. Connections mean trouble and flying late in the day means there is no wiggle room when flights get delayed. Here is an article by Sharyn Alden that gives some other tips for avoiding air travel woes.

New Capsule Hotel in Gatwick gets Mixed Reviews

by Neil Woodburn on

We posted a year ago about the upcoming arrival of Japanese style capsule hotels within British airports and now they are here–at least in Gatwick (Heathrow will be up and running by Autumn).

Called the Yotel, these itsy-bitsy little rooms are designed to accommodate passengers trapped in layover hell at affordable prices and greater comfort than steel benches found at the gate.

So how do they measure up?

Max Davidson, writing for the Telegraph was a champ and decided to give it a try for the night.

His room (or cabin as they call it) measured seven square meters, was just larger than a bed, and included a small bathroom and shower as well. The good news is that Davidson was impressed with the crisp linen, shower, internet connection, flat screen television and drink service.

But at 1:30 in the morning, things turned bad. For whatever reason, the air in his tiny room was not circulating. Davidson felt like he was breathing the same air he had just exhaled ten minutes earlier. He began panting and hyperventilating. Falling back asleep became impossible and poor Davidson struggled through the rest of the night in perpetual zombie state–like the rest of us stuck in an airport over night.

I’m not sure what the problem was with his cabin, but fresh air is something I tend to expect no matter how little I spend on a hotel (in this case, £55 a night or £25 for four hours). Fetid air in cramped quarters is a serious oversight for Yotel. I sure hope they can fix this because the next time I spend 4 hours in Gatwick, I want to do it comfortably.

Das Urinator: German Pee Bag for Long Road Trips

by Neil Woodburn on

We’ve all been there before. You’re on a long trip and you’ve got to pee really, really bad. The only problem is that there is no toilet anywhere near.

Well, now a German manufacturer has solved this age-old problem.

The RoadBag is a handy little receptacle for your urine. Simply do your business into the bag and a special chemical immediately solidifies your waste, thus preventing any spillage or mess. Seal it up and then throw it away at your next stop. Problem solved!

The RoadBag website is unfortunately all in German. For your convenience–and entertainment–I’ve translated it using Google Translator:

Each man knows it: Situations, in which one would give everything for a toilet. Roadbag® this problem eases once and for all.
Whether in the back-up or on the festival, with the camping or in the sport airplane – Roadbag®, the bag WC for men, facilitates you, where you also are.
Roadbag® is handily, surely, hygenically and comfortable.
The secret of Roadbag® is the superabsorber: This special granulates in the interior bag connects itself with the urine to a firm gel. Thus no drop can run out, become unpleasant smells reliably prevented.
For clean hands after urination Roadbag® a refresher pad is attached to everyone. A completely clean thing.

Oh, and be sure to listen to their classic theme song.

(via RandomGoodStuff.com)

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of July 15

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here we are again at another weeks end. As quirky as we are at times it seems there are still many good practical pickings out there to explore. If you need tips to arrive alive or help in a travel insurance purchase check out some of these. Oh, and if you need someone to do the sight-seeing for you we’ve found a little something in that department too.

5. Americano To Go (Away from Forbidden City):
If you plan your vacations based on the number of Starbucks locations per city, you may very well be out of luck with this particular destination.

4. Think You’re Covered? Top 10 Things Travel Insurance Might Not Foot the Bill For:
This is an excellent post everyone should read! While purchasing travel insurance for your trip to Kilimanjaro can offer some peace of mind make sure you’ve read the fine print. Surprisingly, it does not cover everything you may have previously thought.

3. Vacation Surrogate Will Vacation for You:
Um, I have to agree with many of the comments on the plug above. I don’t get it. I wouldn’t do it, but I’m sure it works for someone out and there and kudos to Sara Thacher – San Fran’s Vacation Surrogate for being clever enough to develop a way for those who can’t travel to the city. I’d rather go on my own though.

2. Airline Hackers: Inside the World of Mileage Running:
I love finding ways to increase my mileage on various airlines, however mileage running hasn’t been one of my methods. This option works well if you’ve got a flexible schedule and a burning desire to collect as many sky points as possible, but there are other easier ways. Read further to find out some tips to mileage running if you’re all packed and ready to go!

1. Six Tips to Stay Awake on Road Trips:
Driving late at night or at dusk and yes, even in the day can be tiring when on a long road trip. If having the windows rolled down with blasts of cool air hitting at your face while the Iron Maiden pumps out from the stereo doesn’t work in keeping you awake, look into some of these other helpful tips.

Virgin America Now Selling Tickets

by Justin Glow on

Finally, Virgin America has started selling tickets! One-way tickets between SFO and JFK are roughly $139-$199 which — considering the amenities on board — is pretty cheap. Here’s the upcoming route map:

  • San Francisco (SFO) to Los Angeles (LAX)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK)
  • New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) begins August 29.
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Washington D.C. (IAD) begins September 26.
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Las Vegas (LAS) begins October 10.
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington D.C. (IAD) October 24.

To purchase tickets, head to Virgin America’s website.

Here are some other VA facts:

  • Virgin America is the first U.S. airline with mood lighting.
  • There are 3000 MP3s onboard every flight.
  • You can plug in to 110v power at every seat. (!!)
  • You can order fresh food when you want it, from the screen at your seat.
  • Red, the in-flight entertainment system, has over 25 pay-per-view Hollywood movies on demand.
  • Virgin America is a cashless airline. Place your order, swipe your card, and you’re done.

Also: Our sister site, Engadget, got a sneak peak at the planes a few months ago. Check out their wicked photo gallery.

(Thanks, David!)