Ways to Save with On-Line Booking

by Jamie Rhein on

Neil’s post on cookies, the computer kind, not the kind you eat brings up one way to travel budget smart. Here are some other ways when you reserve on-line so that you don’t get dinged and pay a bigger price than you have to.

When using a travel site, look over the pre-checked boxes carefully. Some services may be checked off and you don’t want them. Travel insurance is a biggie for this one. Budget Travel magazine mentioned Rail Europe has having a $10 per ticket insurance fee that is automatically checked unless it is unchecked. Use that mouse.

When price comparing, make sure that you are including taxes and fees in your comparison. Some sites list those things up front. Others wait until you are getting ready to book to give those amounts as almost and afterthought. Oh, by the way. . .

One thing I have done is to use a site like Travelocity to find out what flights are listed as being cheap and then go directly to the airline site to book. Sometimes the airline lists fares for less than a budget site does.

Airlines Selling More of What Used to be Free

by Neil Woodburn on

Remember the old days of getting pampered on airplanes? Drinks, food, hot towels all for free?

Well, those are indeed the old days.

According to Michelle Higgins of the New York Times, we can expect to see a whole lot less of free in-flight goodies and a whole lot more of pricy items to buy. Higgins refers to this new trend as “à la carte pricing.” Um, yes, I’ll have the airplane seat for $200 and a bag of chips for $3. Ugh.

Occasionally, this works in the favor of the passenger. Carriers such as Spirit Airlines offer very low ticket prices and make their money by selling food and other goods on board. Normally, however, at least with the major airlines, the death of free in-flight meals is nothing more than a cost-cutting measure; ticket prices remain the same.

Continental and Jet Blue, Higgins points out, are two exceptions. Continental still provides free hot meals and Jet Blue still forks out the free coffee and satellite TV. Meanwhile, American Airlines is selling me M&Ms and a bottle of water for $5. Man, it’s like I’m back in prison!

Pimp my Jet, Baby!

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s been a good year for private jets. According to a recent article in Business 2.0, not only did the sale of private jets increase 18% in 2006, but the smaller niche industry of lavishing them with a high-end custom designed interior is booming as well.

Companies like Gore Design Completions, the guys who designed the top-secret interior of the Google plane, are quite busy catering to the exotic whims of those who know how to travel in luxury and style.

Versace leather arm chair? $25,000. Wood paneled bar and liquor cabinet? $50,000.

Basically, I think the rule here is that if you can place it in your mansion, you could pretty much stuff it into your jet–with the possible exception, perhaps, of a Jacuzzi. But then again, no one has seen the Google jet yet.

EOS Jets: 48 Seats On A Plane Built For 220

by Willy Volk on

Last year, Neil waxed positively rapturous about EOS Jets’ announcement that it would offer trans-Atlantic seats that fold down into beds. Guess what? They carried through on their promise.

With only 48 seats on a plane built for 220, each guest gets a whopping 21 square feet of personal space — which EOS calls a “personal suite” — or roughly 40% more than most airlines offer. Moreover, the seats are adjustable, so you can sit in them, sprawl in them, lay down in them — they’re big enough for a person 6’6″ to recline completely! — or configure them to conduct a business meeting, though I don’t know why anyone would want to do that.

With its unique galley configuration, EOS also managed to make it so you don’t have to sit next to that annoying dude slurping his soft drink and spilling crumbs all down that Cheeto-stand he calls a stomach.

Similarly, that kid won’t be looking over your shoulder as you type or watch your DVDs.

There is no coach class on EOS — it’s a premium business class airline ONLY — which means that you might see stuffed shirts like this on any give flight. However, to mix things up a bit, I recommend ditching the turtlenecks and sport coats, slipping on some flip-flops and shorts, and playing a hearty game of Quarters.

Tickets aren’t cheap, but for people who make frequent NYC-to-London trips, the benefit of a solid sleep may exceed the cost.

Up All Flight: Viagra Helps Cure Jet Lag

by Neil Woodburn on

In the never-ending quest to cure jet lag, researchers have turned to a rather unexpected drug: Viagra.

The erectile dysfunction drug was administered to hamsters whose schedule was then interrupted with changes in light patterns consistent with long eastbound and westbound flights.

Researchers discovered that those hamsters who received small doses of Viagra were back to their normal routine much faster than the limp control group. Strangely enough, this only happened when simulating an eastbound flight.

On the other hand, too much Viagra proved somewhat distracting, as you might imagine, and tended to undermine the integrity of the study.

Testing has not yet been applied to humans but when it does, I sure don’t want to be on that plane.